Wake boarding near Teddington

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Lower Limit 1909

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It's that time of year when 3-4 times an hour some speedboat goes by at 12-18 knots on the plane on our reach between Teddington and Eel Pie Island. Probably only 1 - 2 per hour between 11PM and 2PM.

Today one of them was towing a wakeboard on a 3 metre line with a kid on it at high speed at high tide using the treebranches that encroach onto the water as one sided slalom course (putting those on the shore as well as those on the water in danger). It's the same boat that regularly planes past with 4-5 SOB after midnight and it's normal mooring location (on Eel Pie Island) is well known.

Am I just being a grumpy old git who should be ignoring all this and let these folk carry on competing for a Darwin Award (and hoping hey don't take out any bystanders in the process) or should something be done to curtail this?

A few speeders a day is innevitable but at this rate it'll be jetskis next.
 
I thought there was a speed restriction in that area although it's higher than the non tidel, 8 knots I think. Do the PLA enforce this limit?
 
Wilfred123 said:
I thought there was a speed restriction in that area although it's higher than the non tidel, 8 knots I think. Do the PLA enforce this limit?
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Yes. 8knot. PLA do patrol 1 - 2 times a day but are easily spotted a long way away and have 8 miles of river to cover.

I do wonder whether a half day with a discrete camera and speed gun followed up with an instant nabbing or a later visit (half the weekday daytime speeding boats are locally mored and easily found) wouln't go amiss though.

Otherwise we just wait until they encounter one of the semi-submerged pallets or tree brancheswe get down here regularly. Won't be pretty on a wakeboard on a 3 metre line at 15 knots.
 
Please report it, the more reports the better. I've seen that boat on the plane between Teddington and Kingston, the owner is an inconsiderate bell end.
 
You sure it's not Tedd RNLI "training" ....

Never seen what you describe but will keep an eye out now ! May wonder down later tonight !

What boat is it ?
 
Actionmat said:
Please report it, the more reports the better. I've seen that boat on the plane between Teddington and Kingston, the owner is an inconsiderate bell end.
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Which side of the plane were you looking out of?
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We are currently on our two week cruise up the thames and it seems that even in the quiet upper reaches of the thames there are idiots about. In particular the owner of the early 90's bayliner called 'Athena' who one peaceful quiet evening thinks it's totally acceptable to go past Beale Park planning at high speeds. I did see him again today in a queue for Benson lock, totally unable to control his boat at idle speed whilst everyone else around him just kept control in the busy queue.

i have no hesitation in naming and shaming pricks like that.
 
I know pretty much every mooring on the island and can only think of one possibility on the rentals and one riparian owner.

Could you give a description of the boat and the mooring please?
 
Not sure I want to name and shame as it hasn't happened again (the wakeboarding). I suspect most of us locally know the craft in question. Let's just say we were all teenagers once.

I'll quickly change my opinion on this if it happens again if only for the safety of those involved.

Not sure if it's the weather or because they've all headed off to Magaluf, but now down to the usual quota of a few 'planers' a day on weekdays and a couple an hour on sunny weekends.
 
I have only seen wakeboarders once and that was 8/9 years ago and it was my mate. I can only assume it is on the south side of the island, which sort of implies a resident family, the kids of whom have been brought up on the river and are generally very respectful of it.

Just thinking that this mate just happens to be working at that side of the island and does sort of look like a teenager...
 
OK - this time I will name and shame. No excuse when you're a grown up. 50 - 60ft or so flybridge cruiser named Breakers II just went downstream from Teddington at such a rate creating so much wash it nearly took out several small moored craft. Worst wash I've seen in a couple of years (and there's some serious competition).
 
Yes - the 'sold' Penton Hook boat. New owner keen to 'open it up a bit' once through the lock?

As Chris_d says, this large semi-displacement vessel at 8 - 10 knots would probably be at the worst possible speed for wash generation. (With 37 year old engines it might just be stuck there as well).

Realistically most vessels need to keep it to the non-tidal 8KPH limit until at least past Brentford to keep wash at an acceptable level. Maybe time for the PLA to drop the limit here to 5 knots? Bear in mind the speed limit here is over the ground not through the water (unlike above Teddington) so even 5 knots against an ebb tide could be 9 knots through the water in a reach that is narrow in several places and has a lot of moored vessels on pontoons.

If anybody had been on any of the smaller pontoons or a small vessel they would have been very lucky to stay attached to them with the wash created by Breakers II today. Fortunately a couple of detatched fenders were the only casualties I saw resulting from this.
 
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