Wake boarding near Teddington

[Actionmat]

That boat passed me a couple of weeks ago. I was moored, the owner was heading towards Kingston. Too fast, plenty of wash and ignored the bloke waving and shouting who was washing his boat(me).
What a @&£)

One good thing about the Thames, is you always get have a word eventually, in a lock or on a public mooring.

 

[blueocean17]

I am the owner of Breakers II and would like to put my side of the story.

I have owned a boat now for three years and have spent most of my boat learning on the non-tidal Thames. However I have taken the trip down to Rochester three times on another persons boat taking instruction to learn about this passage. Once last year and twice this. In addition in April this year I took my boat down to Kew bridge with two experienced boaters to gain confidence/experience using my own boat on the tidal Thames.

I understand the maximum speed on this part of tidal Thames is a maximum of 8 knots but it is important to not create wash and to monitor it regularly. At the time of passing these small boats I was doing 6.5 knots as reported by the GPS log (helped by the outgoing current). Previously to this location I had checked my wash a number of times and wasn't creating any noticeable wash. Just after passing these small boats I glanced back and saw that now even though my speed was the same that I was creating wash so immediately slowed my speed so I wasn't creating wash. Now that I know that for some reason wash is worse in this part of the river I will make sure I slow down at this point.

I am very sorry if I have caused any problems but I was trying to be responsible and monitoring my wash regularly. I would welcome constructive advice from other people how to avoid this situation occurring again. How often do other people look back to check their wash? There is a lot to do following the charts, looking out for other river users. I was probably looking back every two minutes.

I haven't been any where near Teddington since April this year so I think it may be a case of mistaken identity a few weeks ago by Actionmat. I see quite a few boats of the same time on the non-tidal Thames. I'm afraid I think in the case of Actionmat he has mistaken me for another boat of the same type (I see quite a few on the non-tidal Thames) but would be happy to discuss this with Actionmat if he/she wishes.

 

[Actionmat]

Your boat looks recognisable to me, but if you say it can't be you then who am I to argue? On the non tidal side you don't need to check your wash every two minutes, the rule of thumb is ' brisk walking speed'. there are plenty of bikes and walkers on the towpath, it's easy to judge. If you're overtaking them, you're going too fast, if boats are bouncing up and down behind you, ditto Ps, it's 'he'

 

[A1Sailor]

ditto Ps, it's 'he'

You look more like a woman in your avatar. Is it a picture of Mrs Mat?

 

[Actionmat]

You look more like a woman in your avatar. Is it a picture of Mrs Mat?

I'm surprised to see you trolling this forum, A1. There are no Lochs on the Thames

 

[rosssavage]

And of course everyone meant to say "well done for doing the decent thing and fessing up"
they also forgot to say "ok, no real harm done, and we were ALL new to this once too"

See you on the river soon

 

[Newbroom]

And of course everyone meant to say "well done for doing the decent thing and fessing up"
they also forgot to say "ok, no real harm done, and we were ALL new to this once too"

See you on the river soon

+1

 

[Lower Limit 1909]

I glanced back and saw that now even though my speed was the same that I was creating wash so immediately slowed my speed. .... I am very sorry if I have caused any problems ...

Thanks for coming on here and aknowledging the problem and your apologies are accepted (it wasn't my boats being banged against the pontoon below their fenders however). I did notice you throttle back rapidly after passing the pontoon but wasn't sure if this was due to the people on shore shouting at you or the geese and ducks screeching in alarm. It sounds like you saw the havoc being caused and I'm pleased it won't be happening again.

I would welcome constructive advice from other people how to avoid this situation occurring again. How often do other people look back to check their wash? There is a lot to do following the charts, looking out for other river users. I was probably looking back every two minutes.

I don't habitually look back and check my wash unless I know that my speed through the water and the river depth and width are anywhere marginal in terms of wash generation. In these cases I'd check it (a) the moment I increased my speed through the water or (b) the river character changed (depth / width / moorings) or (c) something like very young ducklings or kids in kayaks were around.

All taking into account the fact that speed over the ground on the tidal thames can be +/- 1 - 4 knots through the water depending on the tide and fluvial flows.

Unless you are in a particular rush then it should be possible to stick to a range of speeds on the river that you know and have tested to be appropriate to the situation (i.e; no need to be constantly looking backwards).

Mostly I control my wash by looking forward. Identifying things likely to amplify it (e.g; shallows) and the things that are especially vulnerable to it at even a low level (see examples above) and adjust my speed (through the water) before arriving in the area requiring it.

With a large semi-displacement hull, 1 metre draft, and large prop you are also going to get hull squat in 2 metres of water at 6 - 8 knots which will also increase wash.

Even the commercial river cruisers slow down a bit on this section - at least if they see somebody watching them

The best place to learn about your wash on a tall flybridge which gives a very deceptive perspective is to get into your tender and get somebody else to drive your boat past at various speeds a few metres away. The same way they are now training HGV drivers by making them ride bikes on urban roads with lots of trucks on them.

I trust that all forumites will offer you a friendly wave (no pun intended) when passing as a fellow Thames user attempting to do the right thing but - like all of us - not always getting it right.

 

[Time Out]

I think there is a lot of overthinking of the problem here ...

Big boats will produce big wash just find what revs create the most acceptable amount of wash. Job done, I have never driven a boat on the Thames in any other way ...