BLUEMOMENT

Shard wrote: I suppose we could have a Golden Spirtle Award.

When I were a lad stirring porridge had a completely different meaning.

ash wrote:A great number of mobo 'drivers' never appear to look behind them.

au contraire, you only have to look at any set of mobo 'our day out photographs', you will see 3 of the helm and 53 instruments, and another half dozen of the wake. Making wake does seem to be a high excitement factor for most, and it is most.

I don't pretend any longer that it is a minority who ruin it for the rest, as if this is the case, that minority are all in Tremadog Bay, and follow us whenever we go on cruise. Amazing we all have the same holiday, some might say, unbelievable.

Alcyone wrote:

sahona wrote:The Kirsty McCall story should be part of the mandatory syllabus for power boaters.

Well, for everyone. I've actually surfaced from a wreck dive and had a forty foot yacht sail between my buddy and myself, 10 yards apart. Our dive boat was 20 feet away, shouting and pointing at our A flag.

My partner was helming the dive Rib. Since this we have agreed always to put the RIB in the path of any oncoming vessel, rather than allow them to run over divers. They usually steer away. Some still shout, and appear confused when we point at the A flag.

Fact is, some people just don't know the rules. I have hence developed a very defensive attitude towards my boating.

I had 8 divers down on a wreck in Liverpool Bay one afternoon. We were diving off a buoy we set earlier, I was standing off in a 45ft ex jock MFV. An angling charter boat arrives and begins drift fishing using the buoy as a handy marker. Buoy had A flag out the top, no wind and it had flopped, but it was perfectly obvious what was happening, big ladder over our side, 4 divers kitting up on deck, activity from us etc.

I began screaming down the VHF that he should get his anglers to pull in his lines and go away, we were on our second to last LW dive anyhow, another hour and it was all his. I was told he knew what he was doing ??

It was only when I threatened to RAM his vessel that he finally shoved off, I was a lot bigger then and by the now the slanging match was me stood on out bow. I was so angry that I was baying for blood. Imagine a shark hook through a divers face, the fight to clear could even cause such a panic that we may have had a drowned diver.

It still makes me angry now just thinking about it.

I think all you divers should have solid "flags" in two dimensions - plastic, wood - doesn't matter, same as an anchor ball or motoring cone. Right, that's the 'floppy in no wind' bit sorted.
Now, make sure you report EVERY near miss to the Chirps or Cg or someone...name names - is there a web site the insurers watch, that would hit the twats in their pocket (maybe..) before someone else gets killed.