VTS - smile, you are on TV

[Skyva_2]

Went to Southampton VTS at Dock Head yesterday with the Moody Owners Assoc.

Fascinating visit. Most of the Solent is on CCTV, and there was Rainbow Warrior near West Ryde brooding over its options on interfering with the Iraq fleet!

Apparently most yachties are well behaved, the fear factor seems to work well enough; in fact the pilots are just as apprehensive as us, as we can see them and they can't see us - so don't get too close, the MPZ is only just big enough.

They had a radar screen shot of the start of the Round the Island Race; I did not have time to count 1500 boats but most of them seemed to be on the screen off Cowes, so reflectors do work, at least in that scenario.

Keith

 

[ccscott49]

How do you know it was the reflectors, if they had them hoisted, that were giving the echos?

 

[Skyva_2]

Good question, and I could not tell. On the other hand, if the echoes were just the yachts then you may not even need a reflector.

 

[ccscott49]

Good point!!

 

[Reap]

I would be very surprised if they had reflectors hoisted

 

[ccscott49]

I would aswell, seeing as they were racing, good point. I'm still not convinced radar reflectors on a heeled boat are effective. I have yet to see a difinitive study done on this.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Calshot is unlikely to run you down

Dont forget that VTS has a big radar on a big tower at Calshot, and has people trained and paid to sit watching it. From recent incidents, we can assume the same is not always true of merchant shipping.