I am here bowsprit....

The said paper work was filed in the annals, I will need to look through the Secretarys draws and I will report back I find somthing.

Churchy

Honory member of the Waxham cut regatta committee.

But did W&OBYC display the nouse to enquire what the qualifications were of the person making the request? Regrettably it seems the Blessed Authority are content to remain a bunch of amateurs and it really isn't difficult to find members of most local yacht clubs who are hugely more highly qualifed than anyone Colegate employs. For as long as they maintain this stance and refuse to take navigation seriously, they are likely to lose any formal argument with those who hold a piece of paper and happen not to agree.

Maybe I should add a word of caution. Daring to disagree with Colegate is a sure way to have your parent's marriage licence withdrawn - regardless of the rights and wrongs of the situation.

OF

Really, Calchas?

In that case I am going to ask each club if this is so and who requested the reports. I then need to ascertain that person's credentials. All will be posted here.

I think the NSBA should be aware of this, too.

No-one minds ensuring good safety standards and all clubs I know have trained members i/c safety BUT interference by BA's unqualified staff is not acceptable. It points up the ongoing problem: zillions of eco-whatevers at the BA but no-one with the slightest knowledge of boating of any kind, let alone racing.

All members of the Nav Com have copies of the relevant document, page 57 and 58 of the Port Marine Safety Code, Safety Management System issue 1.1 that may not be communicated to a third party as it is regarded as confidential.

Should the Authority enforce safety at motor boat races?

The crux of the matter is that the BA employs no-one qualified to take such action - there is mounting evidence that they treat their navigation as a second rate statutory responsibility.

Their absence of qualified staff is a major problem for them in dealing with outside bodies. A bird whispered to me that letters of complaint had been written to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency by the BA Navigation Dept. complaining about standards of an MCA approved and inspected Broads passenger vessel. The grapevine (hearsay only) next reported the last complaint questioned the competence of the skipper. Unfortunately the skipper holds a ticket and a commercial endorsement and the man who wrote the letter doesn't. Credibility gap? OF

Hello Peter, and let me take the opportunity to congratulate you on your submissions to the BA on the proposed Bill. It gave me, and the others who read it at the same time, great pleasure.

Can you define "influential"? I'm curious but, whatever it is, it is a silly concept. What on earth are they smoking?

As a skipper, I am the primary person concerned with what is safe for me, my crew and my yacht when I race. No-one is or can be as familiar with my craft or my experience as I am. There are plenty of boats which can be dangerous in light winds, or with stupid helms, or tired helms, or any other of the many variables in a particular setting. That is why I objected when my home sailing club decided to mandate the use of lifejackets in all racing craft, though I accept that a majority of my peers decided otherwise.

As a society what costs are we bearing for the myth of total safety? And why have we become so passive that we allow others to even consider bossing us about like this?

OF4CEO
Squitty