I Know how you feel

[Guest]

There has been much discussion on here with regards to boats engine testing on Breydon Water with regards to the amount of wash produced and the effect it has on slower boats. Should fast planing boats slow to displacement speeds where the wash is often greater. Some say staying on the plane will create less wash but mean passing at speed. So to test this theory Barry decided to pass me on Breydon at planing speed and close quarters and as can be seen from the following video that theory is the biggest load of b......s known to man.

It did however prove that Birchwoods have a self righting tendency.

[Guest]

NEXT TIME TAKE ME WITH YOU HELL YER!!!

Jonny

[wayneakp]

And if the occupiers of that slower boat were to be say...having a cuppa, or maybe washing the dishes then I would guess that the lady of the boat may not be best pleased

[Happy Jax 3]

I bet that was a but clenching experience Jonathon!!

The things we do in name of science!!

[jimbo]

Good one 'Mythbusters'

[Guest]

Washing up water doesn't stay in the sink, but makes an effective water feature .....

Several cupboard claps that have survived many a sea trip (but not Barry) need tightening and the dog couldn't wait to get off.

[baz1033]

Maybe if I went faster?

[mbird]

Sorry, I'm confused. So should we plane past slower boats or not????

Do I suspect there may have been one or two expletives there Jonathan?

[AdnamsGirl]

Yikes ... that brought back some unpleasant memories!

We experienced the same thing a few years ago .... only not voluntarily .... and it was incredibly scarey. We were crewing for our friend, crossing Breydon in a Broom Admiral - 43 and a half feet of mahogany is usually fairly difficult to roll, but not on this occasion! On reaching Reedham, ready to make a crossing, the sky was looking ominously dark and the storm clouds began to gather behind us but we figured we would make it across before it hit us. Out on Breydon we spotted a small sports cruiser heading towards us at great speed from Yarmouth. Naturally, we expected it to come down off the plane and slow a little as it passed us ..... it didn't .... in fact it actually targeted us deliberately and made a pass at a similar distance shown above. Turning to try and ride over the wash didn't have much of an effect and we were thrown all over the place, the helm seat flew across the wheelhouse, I was slammed against the side of the boat and items which had been stowed for safe passage were all over the floor. If that wasn't bad enough, the helm of the offending boat then spun round and targeted us again from behind ..... there was no way we could avoid the full brunt of the wake and the boat rolled violently. We were, by this time, just sitting ducks in the water as the idiot made repeated close passes, backwards and forwards, laughing with his mates as he did so. By this time I was just cowering in the cabin as I was absolutely terrified ..... the skipper admitted afterwards that he was genuinely concerned that we were actually going to go over at one point. We just couldn't make any progress as we had to sit there and try to keep turning to attempt to ride out the wash. A hire cruiser which had been crossing from Yarmouth had been thrown on to the wrong side of the posts, but thankfully managed to right themselves.

I phoned River Control to ask for assistance ...... by this time the storm clouds had caught up with us and the rain started. Finally, the sports cruiser gave up and shot off back towards Breydon Bridge, leaving us in the middle of Breydon in the midst of a violent squall. As we were a good way across, it really didn't seem to make any difference whether we carried on or tried to turn back to Reedham. Visibility was almost down to zero by the time we finally made it to Vauxhall Bridge. We had also been towing a wooden tender which had been swamped by the combination of wash from the idiot and the heavy rain. Once safely through Yarmouth we slowed to a crawl whilst the skipper climbed down into the dinghy to bail it out before it sunk completely. A formal complaint was made to the BA afterwards, but (as far as I am aware) nothing was ever followed up.

Thankfully, such behaviour is extremely rare, but I have to confess to crossing Breydon with a sense of trepidation ever since.

Carol

[mbird]

It does rather rubber stamp the idea that all fast boats should slow down to a sensible speed when passing or overtaking slower craft. Something I have always done, but often wondered if it made the wash worse. Case proven I reckon!

[Guest]

I shall refrain from comment as the video clip speaks for itself .....

Perhaps I won't .........

Another nail in the coffin for allowing speed testing on Breydon I reckon ..... keep the clips rolling!

[Antares_9]

Just goes to show how complacent a nice calm day on Breydon can make you, if you had that coming at you at sea I know you would have quartered it long before you did there Jonathan. So with your experience of wobbly bits and that happens in a proper ship, what chance poor old hirer, or even privateer in a broads boat with the throttles already on the stops have? We always passed stuff at displacement speeds for just that reason and still treat yachts and other slower boats the same at close quarters even at sea. To do otherwise is inconsiderate, rude, and selfish, also it could easily be argued, contravenes the COLREGS and harbour bylaws that apply on Breydon.

Lou, it's not the speed per se, just like on the roads its inappropriate speed and lack of consideration that causes problems

[Guest]

Lou, it's not the speed per se, just like on the roads its inappropriate speed and lack of consideration that causes problems

In my experience the people who act recklessly will continue to do so regardless of advise/evidence that shows they are a menace to others. It seems the only way to curb this behaviour is to create blanket bans/laws for all.

I still feel the video clips of this sort of behaviour, reckless or not, serve only to draw attention to a potential problem .... which means in the UK ..... a law to BAN all speeding!

[mbird]

In my experience the people who act recklessly will continue to do so regardless of advise/evidence that shows they are a menace to others. It seems the only way to curb this behaviour is to create blanket bans/laws for all.

And reckless will continue to then break those laws, thus rendering them a waste of time. Just look at the number of speeding motorists regardless of "blanket bans" on speeding i.e. the limits already in place.

[Hylander]

This is the kind of behaviour that puts my wife off crossing Breydon. Stupid or what, no care and consideration for others. The boat you passed is a modern boat and probably sea going , have you any conception of what a small Broads cruiser would suffer with attitudes like this.

[mbird]

You're missing the point Pavillion. Those in the video would not dream of passing any other craft like that, and have the utmost respect for other river users.

[Hylander]

Sorry obviously got wrong end of stick and more than relieved to have done so. It must be extremely frightening to the person being passed.

[senator]

If you ask me it is about time someone got their own back on that Birchwood

Have done a lot of learning in the wake of Crackerjack and have through my own fault caught its wash in much smaller boats. Buttock Clenching comes to mind but I can sympathise with the contents on the floor bit

It is amazing how responsible users of sea boats are on the broads, the education that experiments like this provide can go a very long way to eradicating poorly informed decisions.

[AdnamsGirl]

I should add that we have never encountered behaviour like this again when crossing Breydon - all of the faster, sea going boats which have been on Breydon at the same time have been courteous and have slowed down and given us a wide berth when passing. I do still get a sense of dread when seeing a boat approacing at speed ahead or behind and think "oh no, not again!!" after that experience. I'll admit to being in tears below decks because it was absolutely terrifying - and just utter disbelief that someone could behave in such a dangerous manner just to get a laugh. As I said, I am in no doubt that we were deliberately targeted - the vessels owner/ helmsman knew exactly what they were doing and were just out to cause distress. Such cretins should never be allowed behind the wheel of a boat! Had we been sunk as a consequence, I do often wonder whether they would have actually stopped to try and help us or just sped off.

Carol

[baz1033]

Just to clarify, the skipper of the Birchwood has many years of experience with his boat in varying sea conditions. Under no circumstances would this have been attempted without the confidence of him dealing with it and no where in the vicinity of other boats not included in the test. As you could hear in the video, we were in constant radio contact with other. The reason for the video being posted on NBN is to demonstrate to other boat users the dangers of passing at high speed. This answers the debate that passing at displacement speeds causes significant less disruption than passing at planing speeds. Speaking from my own experiences, all my fellow cruisers (which are members of NBN) respect other boat users and slow down accordingly on Breydon. Smellylo, in no way should our testing be labelled as idiotic and reckless nor should we be compared to the very few idiotic boat users who you've had the misfortune to encounter.

[seaboater]

This sort of behaviour is pretty common in parts of the Solent and particularly prevalent in confined waters such as Poole Harbour where the Sunseeker crowd reign, and have no consideration whatsoever for smaller boats. The only way to minimise the wayward roll is to steer into it at 90 degrees, but this is often impossible in crowded waters....or even if possible, makes for a long journey as you spend a significant time steering in the wrong direction! Once you've got over the first part of the wash, you then need to steer back so that you remain in the centre of the two parting waves rather than hitting the one from the other side.

To avoid giving other people this bad experience though requires you to slow right down to displacement speed. The wash from a planing hull is actually at its absolute worst, just before it gets on to the plane, at which point it's putting up great big solid waves with a trough behind them.

[G&A]

Thanks for posting that guys, a point well made.........just goes to show how it may look like less of a wash at speed until you take the force into account.

Reminded me somewhat of a buttock clenching journey out of Gt Yarmouth on the way to Southwold!! If only I'd had a pound for every time some strange word popped out of my mouth!!