Sailing Pet Peeves...can we keep out of the War Room?

[BobM]

My personal pet peeves, as a sailor, are:

(1) Why it is acceptable to place lobster pots in the middle of the thirty foot wide channel to my harbor
(2) Why do the kids race committees invariably set up the course across an area just outside the channel wihere there is clearly restricted maneuverability for an incoming keel boat?
(3) When someone throws a three foot wake at me do they really expect me to wave back?

 

[Bob S]

I agree completely. Snagged my first lobster pot Saturday and after 15 minutes of turning hoping to free us I ended up diving off the side. What a pain in the butt!

Had a 40' Sea Ray pass me coming into Mattapoisett going 20 knots about 30' off my starboard and had to do a 90° turn into his wake.

Races, there always seem to be one that i cross as tactfully as possible to not disrupt anyone. Sometimes it can be difficult to do but I try never to be in a hurry.

How's things in Winthrop?

 

[sailaway78]

I think it is the same everywhere

I hear about the traps from guys in the NE and S.Florida. We have the same thing here on Lake Ponchatrain. The cajuns down here believe it is their God give right, and if a navigation channel gets in the way, well thats just too bad. These guys believe that they are making a living, so all others are just spectators, and deserve no consideration.

 

[Maine Sail]

Radio checking on VHF 16, which is actually illegal to do..

People hailing their launch on VHF high power...

People who smash into other boats and then fail to report it as I just witnessed 30 minutes ago.. The owner of the power boat now knows which sailor hit them, and who failed to report it....

There's sooo many more....

 

[Roger Long]

I'm no longer peaved at the guy who kept setting his pots just inside the swinging radius of my rudder at the mooring last summer. I finally took a turn of the warp around a stern cleat, powered about 100 yards away, and let it go. No further repeats.

Hey Maine Sail, do you know who went ashore on Ram Island yesterday? They are still there. Looks like a 45 - 60 foot sailboat.

 

[Maine Sail]

Hey Maine Sail, do you know who went ashore on Ram Island yesterday? They are still there. Looks like a 45 - 60 foot sailboat.

No, but I really must ask, HOW in this day and age does a 45-60 footer go ashore on Ram with a 60+ foot lighthouse smack dab in the middle of it.......??

 

[Merlin Clark]

I hear about the traps from guys in the NE and S.Florida. We have the same thing here on Lake Ponchatrain. The cajuns down here believe it is their God give right, and if a navigation channel gets in the way, well thats just too bad. These guys believe that they are making a living, so all others are just spectators, and deserve no consideration.

Here on Florida Indian River Lagoon, crabbers keep thier traps (just) out of the channel which helps the boaters who know what and where the channel is and can recognize a crab pot bouy.
Plenty of boaters here who just wander around banging into things (boats, pilings, mangroves, seawalls, manatees and the bottom). Only safe place to put pots around these people would be on land and the higher up the bank the better.

 

[gpd955]

Capsizing your PWC, getting pulled out of the water by 2 sailors trying to enjoy their Bombay martinis, checking your iPhone and walking to your boat leaving your 2 overweight passengers in the water for 2 of us to rescue.

 

[Brian Schwerdt]

My personal pet peeves, as a sailor, are:

(1) Why it is acceptable to place lobster pots in the middle of the thirty foot wide channel to my harbor
(2) Why do the kids race committees invariably set up the course across an area just outside the channel wihere there is clearly restricted maneuverability for an incoming keel boat?
(3) When someone throws a three foot wake at me do they really expect me to wave back?

Hear hear! While (1) and (2) don't really affect me on the lake, I'm sure they're no picnic. But boy are power boaters inconsiderate sometimes. There are a lot of them on Oneida, and even though it's a good size lake (84 sq miles), they seem to always want to skim right by me. I'm pretty sure they just have no idea how obnoxious that is to a sailboat (nor do they take the time to think about it, either)

 

[FourPoints]

Capsizing your PWC, getting pulled out of the water by 2 sailors trying to enjoy their Bombay martinis, checking your iPhone and walking to your boat leaving your 2 overweight passengers in the water for 2 of us to rescue.

Were you the one that pulled the people out yesterday? I was heading home up the East River yesterday and heard CG station Sandy Hook's side of the conversation about the vessel that capsized and someone plucked them out of the water... I didn't catch the details as I was listening on the handheld as the ships radio doesn't have a remote mic...

 

[Stu Jackson]

1. people who don't use their boats and let them disintegrate

2. ditto for one year

3. ditto for two years

8. ditto for eight years - it's an ugly mess and the skipper on the other side of this boat and I have had no success getting the marina to do anything about it, even though ya have to "be good looking enough" to even get accepted into the marina

 

[cephius (Dave)]

Mooring lines thrown across the dock when a boat is out sailing.

 

[shipwreck66]

Me and the local race committee have an understanding. If they choose to place their buoys at three farthest corners of the lake and expect everyone to stay out, I will strive to disappoint. Seriously, do they expect all non-racers to hug the rocks on the shoreline while they scream and yell at each other.

 

[gpd955]

Were you the one that pulled the people out yesterday?.

No. This was just one of our dock neighbors, who is aptly named "Clearhead", who bought his PWC Thursday and did so much damage to it on Sunday that it was towed away this morning. Although the stories of his antics yesterday, and our 3 rescues, didn't even need any embellishment because they were that outrageous!

Didn't hear anything about Sandy Hook. Everyone make out OK?? The one time I sailed there it was rather interesting!

 

[gpd955]

1. people who don't use their boats and let them disintegrate

I know what you mean. I sold my Catalina 30 3 years ago and it hasn't moved from the slip, hasn't been pulled, holding tank still has my contributions in it, sails are still on and wrapped with the same line, dock lines are mine and we have actually added extras since my old ones were down to the last strand.

The guys on the boat every weekend and has done nothing...not even replaced the dock lines and given ours back.

I am very sad every time I see her because I really babied the boat when I had her...even though the last year she didn't run at all.

 

[wetass]

Hear hear! While (1) and (2) don't really affect me on the lake, I'm sure they're no picnic. But boy are power boaters inconsiderate sometimes. There are a lot of them on Oneida, and even though it's a good size lake (84 sq miles), they seem to always want to skim right by me. I'm pretty sure they just have no idea how obnoxious that is to a sailboat (nor do they take the time to think about it, either)

Plenty of sailboaters seem to have their heads up the rear-ends as well some times - Its just that most powerboaters are able to move a lot faster and get themselves into trouble lot quicker.

My peave is boaters at public docks that take up way more space then they need - usually so they can have a 15' space for their dinghy behind their boat - of course they never pay for the extra 15'. Luckily not much of a problem anymore for me now that my kids are a bit older and boat is a bit bigger so anchoring out is much easier.

 

[Joe]

Mooring lines thrown across the dock when a boat is out sailing.

Yikes! Guilty, your honor.

 

[MaranaF]

Jet-skis' anywhere... Particularly an ancorage!

 

[dscribner]

In considerate boaters, swabbie and stink-potter alike. We were three miles out. close hauled on a port tack. This . . .boat, had to be 40 feet, huge diesel belching stink. Some guy with sparkley teeth, a tiny speedo and a Martini in one hand , steering from the 3rd or 4th deck, plows in front of us, may be 100 feet off our bow. I had to turn into his wake so we didn't roll. Did I mention we were three miles out.

We were motoring very slowly towards the dock. A sailboat, about 40 feet, passed us by about 100 feet then tacked poorly, right in front of us. I was the give-way vessel, no argument there. But, my intentions were very obvious and it would have been much easier and more neighborly to show a little consideration and tack to my stern. I hovered in the current until the fellow had taken care of business and moved along before resuming. We're all in this together. We should act the parts.

 

[thinwater]

* Sailors who tip-up the outboard on the tender at the dingy dock. They can slash tubes.
* Searchlights aimed at other boats. Terrible for night vision.
* Power washing or sanding while on the hard, without doing quick survey to see which others are painting or varnishing (the yard employees are most often guilty). They have a schedule to keep.
* People who want a "quick fix." They ask for help, but don't want to help or listen to the explaination. Translation; they don't value skilled labor. They see it as a knack, not learned.


99% are good company.