Sailing boats’ abuse of searoom
It’s easy for a sailing skipper to forget that while his opposite number in a power boat could well be a perfectly good seaman, he may not fully understand the nuances of manoeuvres under canvas. The timing of a tack, for example, might be anything but obvious to the master of a semi-planing cruiser making 16 knots in a seaway. To tack into the path of an oncoming motorboat can be as antisocial as for her to shake the wind out of a yacht’s sails. Courtesy here is all about trying to think yourself into the next person’s head. Not easy, but more than worth the effort.
Noise
The same could be said for noise pollution. So long as we keep thinking about the neighbours and remember that noise carries surprisingly long distances over still water, we won’t go far wrong. Parties When you’re in harbour and you feel a really good bash coming on, take a look round, see who it’s going to disturb, then try to find a way of mitigating the pain. A civilised guideline is to make sure all the revellers are below by the hour more enlightened times than our own set down for pub closing (around 2230), but if there are young children rafted up to you on the next yacht, it might be kind to do so considerably earlier. If in doubt, one golden rule is always to invite anyone who might be upset to come over for a drink. Given the opportunity, they may turn out to be the rowdiest funsters of all. Running engines and generators In harbour among other craft, a neighbour’s engine droning away and pushing out fumes is a major source of disharmony. If you must charge your batteries, try to do it between sunrise and sunset. Even a generator can be surprisingly antisocial to those not on board. Some boats must start a generator to boil a kettle. Their crews should be aware that by doing so in a quiet harbour or anchorage outside ‘working hours’ they are committing an act that might offend. They should keep the irritant to an absolute minimum.
Boarding other boats
In landsmen’s terms, a boat’s deck is as private as your garden or back yard; her accommodation is the equivalent of your house or apartment. Therefore, always ask before boarding someone else’s boat. A hail with her name
(‘Ahoy, Saucy Sue’) should be enough to attract attention. Even if you are approaching with intent to raft up, don’t put a foot over the rail until someone has said it’s OK, unless you have been directed there by the harbourmaster and are convinced that nobody is on board. The exception to this is when you are in an established raft-up. Stepping across other boats, if someone is on deck, catch their eye and look for a nod. Otherwise, just move quietly across.
The rules for crossing boats are as follows:
• If nobody is out and about, don’t disturb them below, just cross softly and positively.
• Always walk forward of the mast. • Never cross someone’s cockpit without being asked. • When stepping aboard late at night, be careful not to twang rigging and wake everyone up. Also, watch out for booming-out poles and the like stowed on deck. Kicking one of those inadvertently can produce enough noise to raise the dead.
• Never jump down onto someone else’s deck. Always try to lower your weight gently. Walk on the sides of your feet and try not to put your heels down first. In other words, creep like mouse, don’t stride like a buffalo!
The environment Oil
Bilge pumping For some reason, boats seem to generate oil. Most cannot pump their bilges without at least some degree of oil pollution, yet to pump out any sort of oily matter into coastal or tidal waters up to three miles offshore without consent of the Environment Agency is an offence punishable by unlimited fines or imprisonment. This applies even if the discharge is by accident. In one or two specific areas these regulations are policed to the extent that yachts must pump out into containers for disposal in approved sites.
All this can be a major inconvenience, but enforcement is difficult, often impractical, and sometimes less than just. The best solution in practical terms is to try to keep the main bilge as clean as possible by isolating it from the engine bilge or drip tray. The latter must be cleared in some way that prevents its contents getting into the environment, typically by hand-pumping into a can to carry ashore to an approved oil dump. If the main bilge is contaminated, one workable solution is to use oil-absorbing or ‘bio’ soak-up pads. These hold onto oil and other pollutants, allowing relatively clean water to be pumped over the side.
136 | MANUAL OF SEAMANSHIP
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