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10th January 2008
This article has been sent out for publishing to various yachting magazines
as a result of multiple near collisions experienced by the Partners of sailingunlimited
during Cowes week 2007.
COWES OR COLLS?!
Of those British Yachtsmen and Yachtswomen who did not leave the UK last year to
sail south to the Mediterranean or to begin an Atlantic circuit, many will now be half
way through an RYA shore-based course somewhere in the UK doing their best to
earn a Day Skipper or Yachtmaster Theory Certificate.
Those of us who value the current freedom from licensing and freedom from heavy
handed legislation that we all enjoy as British sailors should take a moment to mentally
applaud every one of them. The voluntary system that they are, probably, struggling
through is exacting and second to none in the World. It is also the only shield that we
have against bureaucratic intervention.
It was disappointing, therefore, to witness the yobbish disregard for the Col Regs
displayed by skippers and crew of some racing yachts in the Solent during Cowes
Week 2007. It saddens us to report this, but we do feel obligated to describe what
happened. We also apologise for the delay in publicly describing this incident and
hope that yotties will understand when we offer the fact that we have been cruising
the Atlantic as our excuse.
On the morning of the 5th August 2007 we were motoring our two yachts, in tandem, to
windward through the Solent. Both of us were single handed, which is normal for us.
We had picked a CTS such that we would avoid the majority of racing vessels and our
formation was one behind the other.
Despite this, it was not very long before something in the region of 20 racing yachts
were bearing down on our two vessels from astern. Obviously, as they were
overtaking, we needed only to maintain our course and speed and keep an eye on
them. Imagine our dismay when we heard a chorus of shouted abuse from many crew
members from several of these racing yachts as they closed on us from astern.
"Get out of the *******way!" was repeated a lot.
Sassy narrowly avoided multiple collisions in to her catamaran, all of which would have
been aft of the beam impacts. It was only good seamanship and excellent helming on
her part that avoided these. She was not being bloody minded regarding hers being
the stand on vessel either, she had nowhere to go and avoided collision by as little as
a meter several times.
As the racing yachts passed my vessel, their crews' verbal abuse continued until I
shouted back that it was their duty keep clear of us. After a short stunned silence, one
crew member then indignantly shouted back; "We are under sail and you are
motoring!" Clearly, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! My reply?
"Rule 13, look it up!"
Since this a report we should point out that we are both Yachtmasters, with thousands
of ocean sea miles in our respective log books. We should also point out that in
describing this incident to many fellow cruisers, in different anchorages in the UK and
in other countries since that day, we have discovered that everyone we spoke to had
a similar story to relate about the ignorance of Cowes Week racing crews.
It is our sincere hope that those crew members and their skippers did look up Rule 13
and that they subsequently learnt something. It is also our sincere hope that this
report is published widely so that such disgraceful conduct is not repeated on the sea
again.
Geoff and Sassy
www.sailingunlimited.net
This article has been sent out for publishing to various yachting magazines
as a result of multiple near collisions experienced by the Partners of sailingunlimited
during Cowes week 2007.
COWES OR COLLS?!
Of those British Yachtsmen and Yachtswomen who did not leave the UK last year to
sail south to the Mediterranean or to begin an Atlantic circuit, many will now be half
way through an RYA shore-based course somewhere in the UK doing their best to
earn a Day Skipper or Yachtmaster Theory Certificate.
Those of us who value the current freedom from licensing and freedom from heavy
handed legislation that we all enjoy as British sailors should take a moment to mentally
applaud every one of them. The voluntary system that they are, probably, struggling
through is exacting and second to none in the World. It is also the only shield that we
have against bureaucratic intervention.
It was disappointing, therefore, to witness the yobbish disregard for the Col Regs
displayed by skippers and crew of some racing yachts in the Solent during Cowes
Week 2007. It saddens us to report this, but we do feel obligated to describe what
happened. We also apologise for the delay in publicly describing this incident and
hope that yotties will understand when we offer the fact that we have been cruising
the Atlantic as our excuse.
On the morning of the 5th August 2007 we were motoring our two yachts, in tandem, to
windward through the Solent. Both of us were single handed, which is normal for us.
We had picked a CTS such that we would avoid the majority of racing vessels and our
formation was one behind the other.
Despite this, it was not very long before something in the region of 20 racing yachts
were bearing down on our two vessels from astern. Obviously, as they were
overtaking, we needed only to maintain our course and speed and keep an eye on
them. Imagine our dismay when we heard a chorus of shouted abuse from many crew
members from several of these racing yachts as they closed on us from astern.
"Get out of the *******way!" was repeated a lot.
Sassy narrowly avoided multiple collisions in to her catamaran, all of which would have
been aft of the beam impacts. It was only good seamanship and excellent helming on
her part that avoided these. She was not being bloody minded regarding hers being
the stand on vessel either, she had nowhere to go and avoided collision by as little as
a meter several times.
As the racing yachts passed my vessel, their crews' verbal abuse continued until I
shouted back that it was their duty keep clear of us. After a short stunned silence, one
crew member then indignantly shouted back; "We are under sail and you are
motoring!" Clearly, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing! My reply?
"Rule 13, look it up!"
Since this a report we should point out that we are both Yachtmasters, with thousands
of ocean sea miles in our respective log books. We should also point out that in
describing this incident to many fellow cruisers, in different anchorages in the UK and
in other countries since that day, we have discovered that everyone we spoke to had
a similar story to relate about the ignorance of Cowes Week racing crews.
It is our sincere hope that those crew members and their skippers did look up Rule 13
and that they subsequently learnt something. It is also our sincere hope that this
report is published widely so that such disgraceful conduct is not repeated on the sea
again.
Geoff and Sassy
www.sailingunlimited.net
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10th March 2008
Make Money Online Newsletter
Every month we will be providing you with information on how to make money online.
Ideas and contributions will be coming in from sailors and Internet Entrepreneurs. If
you would like your idea included in our next newsletter or would like to make sure
that you receive the newsletter each month.
Contact us at: Make Money Online
Click Here to see our current issue for Free!
Make Money Online Newsletter
Every month we will be providing you with information on how to make money online.
Ideas and contributions will be coming in from sailors and Internet Entrepreneurs. If
you would like your idea included in our next newsletter or would like to make sure
that you receive the newsletter each month.
Contact us at: Make Money Online
Click Here to see our current issue for Free!
27th February 2008
Sailingunlimited Sea Survival Ebook
Check out this special online Sea Survival Ebook - reduced to a special price for our
online customers. Download this Sea Survival Ebook onto your computer and print out
a copy for your grab bag. Easier to carry than a traditional book in your grab bag.
Precise instructions on what to do in a Sea Survival Situation, written by a survival
expert. This Ebook will fill the gaps of knowledge for people who know a bit about
surviving at sea and will fully inform you if you are starting from scratch. This Ebook
picks up where RYA Sea Survival Courses stop.
Click Here to Find Out More!!!
Sailingunlimited Sea Survival Ebook
Check out this special online Sea Survival Ebook - reduced to a special price for our
online customers. Download this Sea Survival Ebook onto your computer and print out
a copy for your grab bag. Easier to carry than a traditional book in your grab bag.
Precise instructions on what to do in a Sea Survival Situation, written by a survival
expert. This Ebook will fill the gaps of knowledge for people who know a bit about
surviving at sea and will fully inform you if you are starting from scratch. This Ebook
picks up where RYA Sea Survival Courses stop.
Click Here to Find Out More!!!
| If you would like to make a donation to sailingunlimited then please click the paypal donation button. Many thanks! |
| This information has been put together to give sailors, like you, a way to plan a safer passage for your sea journeys. We are delighted to be able to give this information for Free, but if you think that the information has been helpful we would appreciate any donations given. As cruising sailors ourselves donations helps us to be able to continue giving a free service for other sailors, especially sailors who have not done Ocean Cruising before. |
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