Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2010 1:47:40 GMT
I had been rather looking forward to at least one trouble free weekend after the traumas of drying out in Appledore and battling through the gales on the return from Portishead. Last weekend was supposed to be spent repairing all the accumulated damage and installing a tiller pilot - and little did I expect any further damage, but on Sunday afternoon my wind instrument masthead sender units got smashed and I didn't even leave my moorings for the whole weekend! What makes it worse is that, as one of the repair jobs, I had only just got them working again that morning.
Mick came by on 'Pointer' on Sunday afternoon and we rafted up for a cup of coffee. Being the cautious type (after Appledore anyway, if not before!) I made sure that our sterns were aligned so that, with Pointer being a smaller boat, our mast wouldn't be in line to allow for the usual waves generated by the power boats in the bay.
All went well and we were chatting away, as you do, when I noticed a set of 3-4ft waves approaching. This is well above the norm, even for the most inconsiderate of the power boats who pass close to the yellow bouys marking moored craft at speed. I warned Mick of incoming wave and we both had to hang on as our boats banged together and we listened to the sound of various items crashing off the tables and seats onto the floor inside the cabin. I have been on the trots ever since joining and it is not normally necessary to make sure everything is battened down. That is something only usually needed in a gale, but these were abnormally high waves.
Later, when working on my torn mainsail (which incidentally is so frayed where the hem came away from the leech that a whole section is just horizontal fibres. Nothing to sew anything to, so I think it is a job for Andy Freemantle!) I noticed bits on unidentifyable plastic on the deck, but couldn't work out where they had come from. Only later did I glance up at the mast to see the wind unit hanging out at 90 degrees instead of vertical and the cups missing completely. The masts of the two yachts must have been drawing large 360 degree circles in the sky due to those waves and collided at some point, despite careful planning to prevent this.
Whoever caused those waves needs to be shot. It must have been something pretty big moving rather quickly - or something of medium size moving extremely fast indeed. The ribs belonging to the sea safaris often do tight turns at speed closer to the moored boats than they should and even they don't create waves of the magnitude we encountered. I can honestly say they were the worst I've ever known since being out there. Whoever caused them must have known the wake their boat generates. It was far beyond simply breaching the etiquette of using the bay - it was just being plain idiotic, but unfortunately by the time any wake spreads out sideways enough to reach the moored boats the offending craft has long passed and mingled with the crowd in the bay.
Had I been able to get a boat name I would be making an official complaint, but as it is the next job is to inspect the damage to see exactly what needs to be replaced. Is anyone any good at climbing masts?
Julian.
Mick came by on 'Pointer' on Sunday afternoon and we rafted up for a cup of coffee. Being the cautious type (after Appledore anyway, if not before!) I made sure that our sterns were aligned so that, with Pointer being a smaller boat, our mast wouldn't be in line to allow for the usual waves generated by the power boats in the bay.
All went well and we were chatting away, as you do, when I noticed a set of 3-4ft waves approaching. This is well above the norm, even for the most inconsiderate of the power boats who pass close to the yellow bouys marking moored craft at speed. I warned Mick of incoming wave and we both had to hang on as our boats banged together and we listened to the sound of various items crashing off the tables and seats onto the floor inside the cabin. I have been on the trots ever since joining and it is not normally necessary to make sure everything is battened down. That is something only usually needed in a gale, but these were abnormally high waves.
Later, when working on my torn mainsail (which incidentally is so frayed where the hem came away from the leech that a whole section is just horizontal fibres. Nothing to sew anything to, so I think it is a job for Andy Freemantle!) I noticed bits on unidentifyable plastic on the deck, but couldn't work out where they had come from. Only later did I glance up at the mast to see the wind unit hanging out at 90 degrees instead of vertical and the cups missing completely. The masts of the two yachts must have been drawing large 360 degree circles in the sky due to those waves and collided at some point, despite careful planning to prevent this.
Whoever caused those waves needs to be shot. It must have been something pretty big moving rather quickly - or something of medium size moving extremely fast indeed. The ribs belonging to the sea safaris often do tight turns at speed closer to the moored boats than they should and even they don't create waves of the magnitude we encountered. I can honestly say they were the worst I've ever known since being out there. Whoever caused them must have known the wake their boat generates. It was far beyond simply breaching the etiquette of using the bay - it was just being plain idiotic, but unfortunately by the time any wake spreads out sideways enough to reach the moored boats the offending craft has long passed and mingled with the crowd in the bay.
Had I been able to get a boat name I would be making an official complaint, but as it is the next job is to inspect the damage to see exactly what needs to be replaced. Is anyone any good at climbing masts?
Julian.
