Im beginning to wonder about sailboats

[Alan Wheeler]

Do you have a friend named Sundance?

No and I hope like heck nobody calls me Butch :-0 ;-)

[NoTies]

Show me a yachtie who passes a stinkpot at 35 knots 20 metres away, upsetting everything on board and stinking up the air and I'll concede that maybe yachties need to learn more about the rules and courtesy. I haven't met one yet but over half the stinkpots on Auckland harbour do exactly that to me and other yachts every time we're out. (which is pretty much EVERY day under sail)

[Knottygirlz]

Originally Posted by pwederell

Show me a yachtie who passes a stinkpot at 35 knots 20 metres away, upsetting everything on board and stinking up the air and I'll concede that maybe yachties need to learn more about the rules and courtesy. I haven't met one yet but over half the stinkpots on Auckland harbour do exactly that to me and other yachts every time we're out. (which is pretty much EVERY day under sail)

I really hate to break your mold, but, weather permitting, we go out EVERY day during the boating season. Get home from work, grab some food to BBQ on board, head out for 2 or 3 hours, then come back. On weekends, we are out all day...

Lori

[Alan Wheeler]

Lori it's not the going out everyday Pete is getting at, it's the stinkpotters going past at incredible speeds only a few metres away.
Pete, I think you are lucky they give you 20m. I am getting infuriated by them doing it in the channel. In either direction.

[cooper]

In the Lakes here the police have come up with a solution.....They have got themselves VERY fast jet skis !! They hide behind moored boats or simply hang in the back ground and then ....pounce. They take speeding in the chanels and blasting past other boats at high speed seriously. Ever since we had to be licenced they expect people to know the rules. If you push your luck on one, they may just check your saftey gear...or a bretho....boat registration numbers to small....l think you get the picture. Not long after they got their trusty steeds a boat came flying past a packed jetty..(one of those large italian jobs) people jumping up all over the place to stop there boats from smacking into the jetty.....next thing outa nowhere.....one on either side....."pull over driver"......it was a beautifull thing...

[seafox]

I doubt it the average sailboat would use their engines for more than 200hrs/year

that would be right. I use my boat every week and have lots of four day trips all the time. I average around 140 to 150 hours per year. Most of that is just to charge the batterys and keep the beer cold.

I have had motor boats and yachts and love both. All I can say is that everyone who has ever been on my yacht says "Now, that sounds much better" when I turn off the motor and let the sails take over. and I have to agree it does

[cooper]

Warm moonlit evening ,........sailing the golden trail of light ...........gentle breeze...........cold beer in hand..........maybe even a little quiet music.......Somehow DUKA-DUKA-DUKA-DUKA-DUKA-DUKA-DUKA-DUKA does not fit this picture.....

[seafox]

Yep. They get to where they are going in 30mins........then what? It takes us all day and that's half the fun.
Seem to be a lot of old yachtees around our marina. The launchees don't last so long.......heart attacks!!

[Knottygirlz]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

Lori it's not the going out everyday Pete is getting at, it's the stinkpotters going past at incredible speeds only a few metres away.
Pete, I think you are lucky they give you 20m. I am getting infuriated by them doing it in the channel. In either direction.

Alan,

I realize that was the jist of it, but the "EVERY day" has ben emphasized a few times in different discussions. I rewrote that post a few times before leaving it at that.
We encounter the exact same thing in the canals here. We get "waked" many times and slammed into walls by stupid, inconsiderate, uncourtious and whatever else you want to call them powerboat operators. The best we can do is take down their numbers and report them. We do, a process that is made easier because they usually make more than 1 pass.

I had the not so pleasurable experience of spending a few days on another board that catered mostly to powerboaters and I can see where the attitude towards them is justified in many (most) cases. Those of us that do the right thing and are considerate of other boaters are not welcomed there to express that opinion, but nor are we really welcome here to say wait now, we are not all like that. We, and the rest of the members of this board who operate power boats and show the proper amount of respect to others are definitely in the minority. I get it.

What makes me crazy are the generalities. You operate a powerboat, so on the water you MUST surely be an a$$hole. You operate a powerboat so life must suck since you can only afford to go cruising once a month etc. etc.

K...I'm gonna shut up now.

Lori

[Sailormann]

..a little known study conducted by a group of Maritime university students, courtesy of a Canada Council grant, determined that the IQ of boatowners was inversely proportional to the number of horsepower their craft boasted.

While researching, they also formulated the hypothesis that the need for big engines and excessive noise was a defense mechanism engendered in response to the threat felt by men suffering from feelings of inadequacy, as they confronted tall, firm masts pointing assuredly skyward. The students submitted an application for a further Canada Council grant the next spring to follow up on their theory, however by that time the Trudeau government had been ousted and their work was lost to us forever ....

[Capct]

Just for the record

I alway slow down in the pressence of rag boaters and give them the right of way.You have too....they can and often do ...tack on you without warning.Ya have to watch them closely if you are in proximity to them if they are under sail.Which around here is about half of the time

Personally I like to avoid all boats.But whether you pass going in oposite directions or pass in the same direction courtesy and seamanship to minimize all wakes is the norm
I also give these guys the right of way,they turn without warning too



But I don't whine about their wakes either....nor do I make wakes until I am well clear of obstacles and other boats

Most guys I know who Captain their own vessels are also educated and courteous ...You are liable for your wake thats simply the law.You are expected by law to obey no wake zones and low speed zones....again thats the law.Maybe down under its different I dunno

I liveaboard her now for about 6-7 months of the year and half of the time Im cruising up or down the West Coast of BC.Its not like this changes much except maybe in the summer when there are more tourists around.

[seafox]

A group of eskimoes living in China on a Rotory exchange managed to buy the research and have been continuing with the study.
Apparently the extra diesel exhaust fumes numb the launchees brains causing them to act like retards whenever under power.

[NoTies]

In NZ we have no compulsory licensing for recreational skippers, no compulsory boat registration and very little infrastructure to enforce the maritime laws. As a result, the selfish and ignorant behaviour by a large percentage of power boaties goes unchecked. I am out sailing 6-7 days per week (it's my job) and have ample opportunity to observe the lack of respect that is endemic here.

[Pura Vida]

I guess I don't understand where the anger comes from with a few folks in the powerboat crowd. Rick and Alan have had this jest going through a couple of threads now and it has always been in good humor (or seems so to me), no harm no foul. But at my cruising club it has become a matter of rude competition. A new member joins and half the club roars with excitement and the other group boos when they announce what kind of boat they own.

So what is it? I understand how a powerboat wake can cause a dangerous situation for a sailboat from time to time. But I have owned and operated too many powerboats to buy the "Oh my! He is going to tack!" bit. Why the anger? Just pass them at a respectable distance and wave, wish them a nice sail.

[seafox]

In NZ we have no compulsory licensing for recreational skippers, no compulsory boat registration and very little infrastructure to enforce the maritime laws. As a result, the selfish and ignorant behaviour by a large percentage of power boaties goes unchecked. I am out sailing 6-7 days per week (it's my job) and have ample opportunity to observe the lack of respect that is endemic here.

Here meaning in "Auckland". It aint so bad in Wellington and down the Sounds.