Why not, if the traffic behind you is 100s meters away and the traffic coming in your direction is 10 minutes away why not use the river to your advantage, keeping a good lookout and having plenty of time to move to the right if required. All you have to be aware of is the "article" being a total nuisance , zig zagging down the channel. I must admit that many times I wish they would leave their tack too late and run aground.
That’s quite a strange attitude. Many many small sailing craft have no engines. Did you not learn to sail in one? If not, there’s your problem. I’m not going to spill your coffee tacking a Dragonfly 920 up the Beaulieu river, that, I agree, would inconsiderate, and madness in fact. But as I say, I have a boat with no engine. Would you tow me in if I asked you? That would prevent the inconvenience of obeying the colregs. Though if there's a river finish, we’d be sailing in anyway.