T200 Marshalls

donutsina911 · 29 June 2005, 18:18

a quick line to thank all of you who volunteered for T200 marshalling - we were out for the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and without you're help it would have been chaos...apart from a couple of power crazed prats the boys and girls marshalling made life for charter companies a whole lot easier and safer...

RussellH · 29 June 2005, 19:01

...apart from a couple of power crazed prats ....

I wonder if (allegedly) I was one of these. We went out on Monday. Left Portsmouth and staying well away from anyone made for the eastern end of the IOW. Then we went back down the line enabling one of the passengers (with a nice new Nikon) to get some pictures.

We waved cheerily to the marshalling RIBs, and received equally cheery responses, no problem.

We strayed once inside the yellow buoys, in order to pass the stern of a sailing vessel on starboard. The marshall at that point waved (again without malice) and we moved back outside the markers when the way was clear.

Arriving in Cowes we moored up at Town Quay (£3.00) and took lunch. Before you ask, the drivers all drank Coke!

Then we made our way back.

No problem until we encountered one stroppy couple in a RIB trying to insist on a 5 kt speed limit.

Let me make this clear:

- it was Monday, not Tuesday
- we were not passing through an anchorage, all the nearby vessels were underway at appropriate speeds
- a RIB (or other planing vessel) does not do well in a chop at 5kt. In fact it makes a greater wash at that speed (and is far more uncomfortable) than if it were on the plane at 10-12 kt, as we were.
- we had three qualified powerboat drivers on board, a couple of whom are instructors.
- the "safety information" for the Tuesday makes no mention of 5kt, and the paragraph "safe speed" specifically refers to the (perhaps Tuesday) situation of "large numbers of small craft in a small" area. Which did not apply.

We were/are not prats. We had full control of our vessel at all times, and did not interfere with a single sailing or power boat during our voyage.

And whilst I will heartily endorse the view that by and large, the marshalling was superb, in any volunteer project there will be some not up to the task.

If Mr & Mrs Meldrew read this, perhaps they would like to know that my local authority is looking for power-crazed individuals to fill traffic warden vacancies. Post your address & I'll send the application form.

LURCHER · 29 June 2005, 19:18

We were in Gold area and I hope we did not upset anyone except the jetskier who I hope we upset a lot! What a fabulous 2 days we had . We had been assigned the area along the old submarine barrier but on arrival at 0900 on Monday all was very quite so we moved across the box to the the main channel side where we had a great view of all the ships leaving Portsmouth in the morning on Monday , during the day Raven 1 our controler asked us to form a 4 RIB rolling road block in front of the parade of yatchs held in Gold area and to our delight we led the parade past Endurance and back round Horse Sand fort and in through the small boats passage in the sub barrier. We did the same again on Tuesday for the real thing and raised our hats to HM and party .Were we lucky ?
Met Richard and Louise saw Kermit and Missed Ginger Coastie Great time had by all . returned to Hayling in whiteout conditions and decided not to do fireworks in view of conditions and forecast . family still not speaking to me as we watched on TV in flat calm .

The Jackeens · 29 June 2005, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellH

If Mr & Mrs Meldrew read this, perhaps they would like to know that my local authority is looking for power-crazed individuals to fill traffic warden vacancies. Post your address & I'll send the application form.

Hahaha

(Apparently a couple of marshalls were over-egging the custard slightly!

)

We were very happy to meet some really friendly ribbing marshalls however who stopped for a quick chit chat : Mark Halliday & mates in Renegade; nice to see you!!! Mark Wildey & crew in Jellignite; good to see you again and Peter T. aka Ribald in Pendragon : loved the blue flashing light !

Fiona was delighted to put faces to names too!!!

Us

Brambles · 29 June 2005, 19:48

We had a good couple of days and in the most part were well received as marshalls on our spot. As far as I could gather the people creating the most wash were the military ribs & rigid raiders

Without doubt however, the highlight of the event for us was our magnificent mother ship

Sunseeker Predator? Fairline Squadron? No - Lottie of Chichester. We were greeted by the skipper on Monday morning informing us that the engine was overheating, and that he really ought to to do something about all the rust on the hull. This fine vessel probably last set to sea at the last Fleet Review. None of our crew were brave enough to test the "facilities" on Monday and two of us had to help the crew get the anchor up in the evening. Needless to say, she didn't make it back on Tuesday.

Cheers

Ian (adopted call sign: "will you be our mummy?")

Louise · 29 June 2005, 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brambles

"will you be our mummy?")

Our 'mummy' was a lovely shiney gin palacey thing (well we were 'Gold Box' you know!

) and her crew were a really friendly bunch but in the swell we didn't fancy trying to get alongside her swim platform so steely bladder control was called for!

We also had a great time although we were very tired by the end of our fourth day on duty! As you say, the vast majority of our 'customers' were brilliant and responded very positively to all requests/reminders!

It was good to meet up with so many RIBnet and BIBOA friends again, even if it was just for a quick hello at times! Won't write a long (boring?!) list of everyone we met but must make a couple of mentions: Lurcher (& crew) - nice to meet you and see your RIB. It looks even better (if that's possible!) in the 'flesh' than in your photos! Ollie (qcamel), we thoroughly enjoyed your company and stories!

And you should get a medal (or at least a mention in despatches

) for all the zooming around you did! Bruce, Jo and Paul - great company as ever!

Mark Halliday · 29 June 2005, 21:44

I would like to thank all you spectators for your good behaviour on monday and tuesday.

We had the pinch point at Ryde Sands (aka Bruces Bank). Less than 100m for people to park and pass through.
99.99% of all those out there were brilliant. They did their best to keep inside the bouys and keep to a safe speed. We did have to get physical with 1 or 2 who would not do as asked, and found running just off their bow encouraged them to alter course.

The Raven Control radio opperators were fantastic, non stop RT for over 10 hours.

I hope they all had a good long drink afterwards to relieve what must have been a very tired voices.

robin · 29 June 2005, 21:53

Richard B · 29 June 2005, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

The Raven Control radio opperators were fantastic, non stop RT for over 10 hours.

I hope they all had a good long drink afterwards to relieve what must have been a very tired voices.

Well said Mark.

Over the four days, we heard Richard, Helen, Amanda and Julie at Raven Control and their professionalism did them great credit. Their efforts gave us tremendous confidence in the organisation of the 100+ marshall fleet.

Helen and Amanda are well known for their dedication to safety control for RIB racing and their skills transferred well to this event.

Mark Halliday · 29 June 2005, 22:11

We had Julie on Ch 74 on monday and I don't think she even stopped for a "comfort break".

They were all cool, calm and totally in control (pun not intended) despite the pressure.

Jimbo · 29 June 2005, 22:15

Our mother ship was bob the bucket and terry the thermos...

I also agree with all the thankyou comments directed at the Marshalls, it's a long day to be out there doing what is boring for a long period of time, so thankyou to everyone for giving up your time so that people like me could be out there to watch it.

We had no trouble with marshalls (apart from the nearest ones making themselves decidedly scarce as we rescued a saily yacht with anchor rope/rudder/prop related problems) and I think they did a fantastic job of keeping people where they were supposed to be, probably in the face of much opposition.

Louise, we saw you as we came out of Portsmouth 1100ish, but you were looking the other way and have never met me so I didn't wave!

Louise · 29 June 2005, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Louise, we saw you as we came out of Portsmouth 1100ish, but you were looking the other way and have never met me so I didn't wave!

Sorry Jimbo! Next time!

jackeen · 29 June 2005, 22:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbo

we rescued a saily yacht with anchor rope/rudder/prop related problems)

Was that the one at the lightship when we stoped there and you had a quick chat with pete 7 or Ozz ??

paul

Brambles · 29 June 2005, 22:23

I couldn't agree more regarding Raven control, it was a real education listening to them on the VHF. I thought the ladies were a model of clarity & brevity. Richard was a bit more informal but I loved the way he spoke to the boaters who refused to take instructions from marshalls. So much more polite than I would have been!

DJL · 29 June 2005, 22:24

I had a good day yesterday. Fireworks were brilliant - quite a sight all those anchor lights too.

RussellH I think I met the same marshall boat, got told off for doing 9kts in an effort to stay on top of (rather than in) the rather large wake from the binliners travelling at 5kts.

Also saw a marshal boat put themselves very dangerously in front of a RIB travelling at speed in an attempt to stop them - could have ended badly.

Richard B · 29 June 2005, 22:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbo

We had no trouble with marshalls (apart from the nearest ones making themselves decidedly scarce as we rescued a saily yacht with anchor rope/rudder/prop related problems)

Jim, please be aware that dealing with incidents such as this were outside the scope of the marshalls. Attending incidents like this would have diverted us from dealing with our primary responsibilities which were the security of the Naval Fleet and the logistics of organising the spectators. This isn't just my personal opinion, it was our instruction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I think they did a fantastic job of keeping people where they were supposed to be, probably in the face of much opposition.

Thank you for your positive comments, and for similar comments from others - I'm sure they will be much appreciated by all. There wasn't a great deal of opposition during the day - the vast majority of spectators were extremely responsible, and those who needed advice were gracious and courteous. The minority was an interesting study of human nature!

RussellH · 29 June 2005, 22:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJL

I think I met the same marshall boat, got told off for doing 9kts in an effort to stay on top of (rather than in) the rather large wake from the binliners travelling at 5kts.

I wouldn't want anyone to think I was disparaging of the efforts of the vast majority of volunteer marshalls, or (as been rightly pointed out) the radio controllers. Ch 11 was never so interesting & we had a great day out, albeit 24 hours earlier than most.

Russell

Mike C · 29 June 2005, 22:52

Just echoing all comments about Raven Control who were fabulous and also thanks to Mothership 24, Pompey Lil who's 'heads' were compact but welcome!, (Thanks to skipper, Mike)

Being stationed in the N/W corner of Gold Area, much of the traffic we dealt with were people who had failed to take note of the small boat channel extension and intended to travel east.... The majority took instruction OK... but there were several who wanted to argue the toss!... and of course the aforementioned pair of jet-skiers on Monday who were just unbelievable!.... Though I did send a single jet-skier away on Tuesday who was very jolly and no problem!

The other main 'offenders' were probably a few fishermen who, like some truck drivers on the motorway were a rule unto themselves...

But a great couple of days which I'm very glad I was a part of! Pity about the weather though... I chickened out of the fireworks too

Hi to all I met!

Mike C

Richard B · 29 June 2005, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by RussellH

Ch 11 was never so interesting

Dunno what you were listening to, but certainly wasn't us - we didn't use 11 for any sector!

brucehawsker · 29 June 2005, 22:58

I would happily accept that the instructions given may not have always seemed logical or appropriate to either marshalls or the sheep being marshalled. But were given unambiguous instructions regarding where the line was, how it was to be held, and the speed to be maintained while on passage - for both the Monday and the Tuesday. It was not a case of having a wide latitude to interpret the rules.

A RIB going at 9 knots, or crossing the corner, while safe in and of itself, encourages Fairlines to go at 12 knots, follow the same course, and then the Sunseeker cuts in further, goes faster, and before you know it 15 knots is acceptable and the line has moved 200 metres.

And if the RYA Marshalls did not act, the Police were quick to move in, or the Marines.

I suspect we were all being watched very closely, and any unidentified trace moving at above 8 knots took up the time of a radar operator... think how many such traces there were.....

Ultimately, the worry was safety in the widest sense. I saw a large number of marshalls behavinig brilliantly, and sometimes pursuit and interception and delivery of a bollicking was the only answer - and it was not without risk.

But if everyone had been totally responsible and obeyed the Notice to Mariners about the marshalls, the lines and the wash, we would have had nothing to do....