******** or what?

[spanner]

Fame and glory:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_irelan...and/3629862.stm

[RUDD]

Seen plenty of lunacy at sea.

Felixstowe has two powerfull tidal rivers each side of it. The Deben and the Orwell.

The port of Felixstowe lies on the river Orwell.

At the top of the river is the Port of Ipswich.

Opposite the tidal suffolk Stour joins the Orwell.

On the Stour is the port of Harwich, Mistley and Colchester.

The Orwell estury is a very busy place.

Loads and loads of shipping.

Shipping consists of mainly container ships, There are container ships of all sizes, coasters, tankers, grain ships, car transporters, timber ships, pilot boats, police boats, coastguard boats, customs boats, tug boats, various tender boats, lightships, Trinity house boats (used to tow lighthouse ships, change bouys etc), dredgers, commercial fishing boats, speed boats, yachts, small fishing boats, the foot ferry, jet skis, cruise liners and the sea cat.

Felixstowe is the only UK port that can take the bigest container ships in the world.

Some can carry 6500 TEU. A teu is twenty foot eqivelent, (20ft container).

 

As you can imagine, it is a dangerous place.

I have seen weekend sailors lose the wind in their sails right infront of a 109000 ton 356 meter long container ship.

They then wonder why they can a blast of the vessels horn.

Many cannot start the out/inboard engines and have had to be towed to safety.

I have also seen plenty of fully motorised craft get into trouble.

On the Deben the amount of craft that get stuck on the sandbanks at the mouth is amazing.

 

You would not belive how many craft appear at weekends skippered by total nob heads who think they know what they are doing.

 

The Harwich lifeboat and the Seaking from RAF Wattisham, the coastguard and the new volenteer coast watch have plenty of work to do.

Mainly at weekends.

 

Me and my mate used to take a dingy half a mile out to sea at weekends.

We would take a VHF radio in a waterproof bag.

Flares, matches, water, food, oars, spare petrol, a small cooker and most importantly a compass.

We always knew the way back because of the compass bearing as it is surprising how quick the fog can roll in.

[dale]

maybe a lessen in those words john.

next time you meet someone with no way of navigating in fog either they follow you to the nearest port or offer them no advise.

to think the clot must have been going with the tidal flow to get there rather than across it???

[spasor]

Manx.

The sooner folk have to get a degree of training, to obtain a license the better?

I don`t give a damn about tossers that want to seem big men.

However. Their passengers, plus the crew that have to rescue them. Deserves a tad of respect?

I passed certain exams years ago. When ever I get the chance to take the wheel, under the supervision of a skipper, I grab it!!

The instruction of "steer 170" I could cope with. To be then given a GPS plot to follow, was something else. I think I`m only safe to give an accurate Mayday message. Unless they`ll wait for my bearings, via the sextant?

I`m afraid, we live in an age of. I can afford it. So I`ll drive it!!

Pity that so many brave souls, have to risk their lives for such folk.

Maybe the RNLBI should take a holiday?

[Newt]

Tow Job (video clip)

[Vagabond]

spanner:

The trouble is they were given an education via the advice from Manxman, and they chose to ignore it.

Exactly! That, to me, is the worst part of the whole sorry business. Until they met Manxman, they might plead ignorance. That is bad enough, but rejecting good advice is just irresponsible.

 

A strong case for some sort of financial penalty to be imposed on irresponsibility.

 

The sea is dodgy enough as it is, even for experienced and responsible mariners - that is why I support RNLI. This fiasco was a misuse of those services.

[RUDD]

Newt

 

that is funny.

Helicopters are delicate machines that are very hard to fly.

How the hell that pilot thought he could tow a boat beats me!

[gonefishing]

perhaps he was just going to lift it?

[Yakity - Yak - u.k.]

Nice one Newt.

 

Front of ski at that pace.......always works

[Guest jay_con]

The dopey f---ers, should have been charged the full price of the search and rescue pluss a fine on top.

 

The futures bright the futures orange.