Magic_Sailor
New member
In the "What should he do" article in this months YM, I'm not sure I agree with the answer given.
This was - Fred's got a GPS, wind with tide, no swell he could probably get into Salcombe safely.
However, the question is "what should he do?" Not, "what would you do?"
Now Fred (I forget his name) suddenly finds himself in fog at night (note) and 1 hour later (note) (when it's daylight) calls the rest of the crew on deck and instructs all the crew to put their lifejackets on. I read that as no one had jackets on
There's an arguement which says that everyone should wear a life jacket all the time. There's another arguement which says everyone should definitely wear a lifejacket at night and clip on. There's an even better arguement that says that everyone should wear a lifejacket in fog and clip on. In fog, at night - even better. But, Fred only thought to do this after they entered the fog.
Given that that doesn't appear to be the action of an experienced Skipper, could he really be expected to get a boat into a relatively narrow harbour with rocks (awash I think) on the 2 metre line. OK so he's got GPS but what if it fails at a crucial moment (as sod's law says it will). What if he panics under pressure (which can happen in fog - even on a YM exam!)
No, given Fred's apparent (I stress) lack of experience, I think he should've put up with SWMBO's moans and gone round the Start to anchor up until things cleared - he had plenty of sea room to make that decision and plenty of tide to help him.
You never know, in the time it would take to get round the headland, the fog could've lifted somewhat.
What do you think me hearties?
<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>
This was - Fred's got a GPS, wind with tide, no swell he could probably get into Salcombe safely.
However, the question is "what should he do?" Not, "what would you do?"
Now Fred (I forget his name) suddenly finds himself in fog at night (note) and 1 hour later (note) (when it's daylight) calls the rest of the crew on deck and instructs all the crew to put their lifejackets on. I read that as no one had jackets on
There's an arguement which says that everyone should wear a life jacket all the time. There's another arguement which says everyone should definitely wear a lifejacket at night and clip on. There's an even better arguement that says that everyone should wear a lifejacket in fog and clip on. In fog, at night - even better. But, Fred only thought to do this after they entered the fog.
Given that that doesn't appear to be the action of an experienced Skipper, could he really be expected to get a boat into a relatively narrow harbour with rocks (awash I think) on the 2 metre line. OK so he's got GPS but what if it fails at a crucial moment (as sod's law says it will). What if he panics under pressure (which can happen in fog - even on a YM exam!)
No, given Fred's apparent (I stress) lack of experience, I think he should've put up with SWMBO's moans and gone round the Start to anchor up until things cleared - he had plenty of sea room to make that decision and plenty of tide to help him.
You never know, in the time it would take to get round the headland, the fog could've lifted somewhat.
What do you think me hearties?
<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>