Trafalgar - Exclusion Zone

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xcw

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So how many times were you chased out of the Exclusion Zone over the weekend? I managed 5 times /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif All the marshalls were very friendly (even the ones with the machine guns!) - I think they secretly enjoyed the opportunity to turn their blue flashing light on and open her up to chase me away. Interestingly (and annoyingly) the trips around the bay type boats bringing the punters out from Portsmouth did not seem to be subject to the same restrictions.

Do you think it would be in order for me to set up an exclusion zone around my yacht next time I anchor off East Head on a sunny weekend? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The various ribs and landing crafts seemed to totally ignore the small boats channel when they brought the boys in for beers on Saturday evening - AND not a Volunteer Harbour Patrol person in sight to put them right /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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The various ribs and landing crafts seemed to totally ignore the small boats channel when they brought the boys in for beers on Saturday evening - AND not a Volunteer Harbour Patrol person in sight to put them right

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Plenty of them around when I came in , but they just seemed to be ignoring the majority of people who were all going the wrong way. Pathetic
 
I only got turned away once, I thought ther huge gap between two grey things being used by the IOW ferry was big enough for me too. As a member of the RYA can I get one of those nice blue flags too?

I think most of the, day tripper, boats in amongst the fleet are carrying ships crews. Perhaps the Navy has laid on trips to make sure all members of the RN get to see a grey funnel ferry on the water.
 
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I think most of the, day tripper, boats in amongst the fleet are carrying ships crews

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Correct - the days of ships using their own boats for this is long past. These days the only grey funnel liner able to do this is the LPDs and they had their landing craft and hovercraft working well yesterday.
 
I can't believe that anyone could be proud of being pushed out of the zone 5 times.

In case anyone doesn't know - an exclusion zone meens keep out. EVERY vessel that enters it has to get permission. This meens every RIB, ferry hovercraft, military or civil etc etc. Just listen Ch11. As for the "sighseeing" vessels, ever wondered how the navy crews get ashore?

Come on pepes, the security guys have a bad enough job without people who should know better pushing into the zone. Your just giving our country a bad name in front of the world's navies & press.
 
wooslehunter


I am with you on this. Somebody who needs telling 5 times is undoubtedly a plonker. Security is being taken VERY seriously, and those guns are loaded
 
Sailing East from Cowes we had to tack down the solent Sunday. Difficult to avoid entering the exclusion area, which is massive and includes the main channel off Portsmouth out to no mans land fort

As for getting permission, spithead control seemed overwhelmed by radio traffic and was missing a lot of calls.

Guess you had to be there
 
I was harassed on 6 separate occasions,at no time was I in the zone but was close to it. One guy nearly caused an accident with incompetent manouvring(had I my foghorn handy he'd have got 5 toots), three were polite, 2 were rude.Twice I was given contrary advice, once by someone who knew neither the area or the regulations in force. Also was shooed away from an area and then 5 minutes lated 5 yachts sailed through the area (totally empty). CH 16 was full of ships calling when they should have been using CH11 .. all in all not good. Totally amateurish and not a good advert for what's supposed to be a professional force. My earlier comment about better uses of taxpayers money stand .. and in light of that display I wonder how much other waste, incompetence and miscommunication goes on in the RN.
 
That's why Indigo is staying on her mooring until the whole tawdry fandango has upped hooks and got back to rot at the dockside.

BEWARE - have been out there on big occassions in the past, and the sea conditions can get very uncomfortable with the way the various patrol craft set up conflicting wakes.
 
We were out in the Solent on Sunday.

Stopped twice, once by the police and once by RYA marshalls.

Both very polite, more of a reminder about the exclusion zone since I don't think we were actually *that* close.

Just a small point, I thought that the NTM as broadcast on VHF earlier in the day stated 200m for regular ships and 400m for the aircraft carriers. Both times we were stopped they asked us to keep 400m clear of anything grey (their words).

Also noticed that they seemed to be much more active north rather than south. Tacking back past Cowes in the afternoon, south of the fleet, we barely even saw any security and I'm sure we got closer than on the north side.

Briiliant day out, only marred by forgetting to apply suncream - paying for that now!

. . Greg
 
I missed the warning about the exclusion zone, so tried to use the same gap as I used to go out on Saturday - spent two hours punching the tide from Cowes& was told to go back. As I went back, s dirty great big tanker showed up to give us another hour's diversion. Bo££ocks to that sez I - we'll go along the S side. This took us ... a while...., but was worth it as we went past all the tall ships.

The entrance into the harbour was EVIL!!!!!!!!!! Huge ebb tide, boats and ships everywhere throwing up huge wake. It combined to make a horibly confused, shelf emptying sea. Jissel's mast must have managed 30 degrees each way fore and aft and 45 degrees port & starboard!! My boys loved it.

On a more serious note, a lot of the marshals, both RYA and the heavies seemed a bit vague. SUrely it would have made sense to print up a few thousand leaflets to give to the straying boats to clarify everything.
 
I actually had the map and so knew where the relevant areas were.. which was more than some of the marshalls seemed to! Down the boat today my 3 neighbours were all discussing the aggressiveness of the marshals and how they were all being stopped well out of the zones .. quite appalling really.
 
I agree Jimi - all these electronics are no use to them as their chartplotters don't show the exclusion zone............

If only osmeone had gone round each boat and plotted it on they might have done a better job.
 
I think you misread me, I'm not at all "proud" of being turned away, just amazed at the ferocity of how the whole thing is being policed. Quite honestly I was not aware of the extent of the exclusion zone - yes i'm sure it was published but I'm not in the habit of checking before every sail in "my" local waters (that I have sailed in for the last 30 years). The exclusion zone, as others have mentioned, did not appear to be uniformly enforced, although as I mentioned in my earlier post the marshalls were all very friendly and I had quite a long chat with most of them. Interestingly on one occasion just as I was being advised I was entering the exclusion zone another rib came along and tried to extract £10 from me for the offical programme, which delayed my tack out of the zone.

Of course security is very tight, but quite honestly if it presents such a risk what on earth are all of those ships doing in the restricted waters of the Solent for what afterall is a hugely expensive jamboree?
 
Quite agree with the 'plonker' statement from wooslehunter. Being a government employee myself (although thankfully I was at T200 on a recreational basis) I can quite sympathise with tribulations of both the volunteers and the pressed men involved with the security. Although I was moved on myself on one occasion I thought they did a fantastic job which could only be akin to hearding cats, considering the idocy of some people ie those who feel the rules are purely there to allow Royal Marines to drive their boats fast, believe me they would have been having the same amount of 'fun' chasing round the waterways off the coast of Iraq, this is their job. Those of this opinion should show a bit of gratitude and respect to those involved in this mammoth security operation, without whose widely recognised professionalism and abillity to affectively police such a wide area, there would probably have been no recreational craft allowed anywhere near the action and only commercial craft would have been able to witness it all.

When XCW can think of a better way to maintain the security of the participants and the safety of the spectators I suggest he/she gives QHM a call. Until then please refrain from confusing your hobby with their profession.

Spleen vented, happy sailing! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
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