You thought rowers were bad...

[jaws]

Saturday heading up stream past Hampton Sailing Club I had a sailing dinghy tack towards me as it past amidships of my starboard side. I had no choice but to slam the gear forward to get out of the way! No apology from the offending raggie although I did have the satisfaction of watching him get tossed about by my wash! As I passed the sailing club I noticed the spectators kept very quiet as I half expected a "watch your wash" cry from the balcony.
On the way back today passing Thamesis sailing club I had yet another raggie tack directly across my bow forcing me to put the engines astern and perform an emergency stop and reverse! I blew my horn to notify them of my presence and they simply turned their heads away, more intent on winning the race than the safety of themselves or other river users.

This isn't another "them and us" scenario as I had a guest on board who is an RYA certified sailing instructor and even he thought they showed a complete disregard for other river users. I make a real effort to try and predict when raggies are about to tack and maneuver accordingly.

 

[Captain Coochie]

You must have scared them as they stayed well clear of me today . Or they may have sussed that i dont bother stopping

 

[jaws]

You must have scared them as they stayed well clear of me today . Or they may have sussed that i don't bother stopping

I do envy the passenger boat who just carry on through not giving a damn

 

[Captain Coochie]

I had them bully me so much once i was forced against the wall and had one of them trapped . He turned on a six pence and got out of the way
I was sure i was going to crush him but as he past me he said " all part of the fun "
I'm not sure where the fun was to be honest but now i just pick a point and aim for it and give or take where i need to but i wont dance all over the river for them and to be honest i think that would cause more confusion for them .

 

[westernman]

When I was a kid and helmed an Enterprise in races at Kingston, I was very happy when cruisers just kept a constant speed and consistent course and did not try to do anything. On the whole, despite relatively little space and the need for a whole fleet of dinghies to be tacking back and forth across the river it really all worked out without any problems. Having to tack to avoid cruisers is no problem - is all part of the tactics and planning. It the cruisers start dodging about, it kind of makes things unfair and unpredictable.

So, my advice, if you have a fleet of racing dinghies in front, just keep up a constant speed and don't try and dodge around anyone - they will all avoid you. By just a few inches at times - no point in sacrificing more than the absolute minimum in hard gained ground made good to windward.

 

[Captain Coochie]

There we go , problem solved . Just pick a point , put the boat on tick over and keep a look out .

 

[SnowCat]

So, my advice, if you have a fleet of racing dinghies in front, just keep up a constant speed and don't try and dodge around anyone - they will all avoid you. By just a few inches at times - no point in sacrificing more than the absolute minimum in hard gained ground made good to windward.

Yes, that's what I try to do when passing Thamesis, but then reverse in a rowing eight is not too easy!
Can manage a stop though when the dinghy that we are attempting to pass behind turns straight for us!

 

[SAMYL]

On the way back today passing Thamesis sailing club I had yet another raggie tack directly across my bow forcing me to put the engines astern and perform an emergency stop and reverse! I blew my horn to notify them of my presence and they simply turned their heads away, more intent on winning the race than the safety of themselves or other river users..

If they were in a race then it would be good manners on your part to keep out of their way. If they were not racing then do what you think best in the circumstances.

 

[teddington_lock]