What Do You Do When You See Kids About To Throw Bricks At Your Boat

[stickleback]

Saw some primed with half bricks. I thought for a second then ran from the back of the boat (I wasn't in charge!) grabbed my camera and started photographing them. They vanished!! But a few half bricks hurled at a boat could be catastrophic. Imagine if one hit the guy in charge.....

[Capt Ahab]

A camera is your best defence

[bizzard]

Get in first and lob them some sand and cement.

[Paringa]

Shotgun yes a camera...

[peterboat]

Normally grab the machine gun whoops camera

 

Peter

[haggis]

Engage them in conversation as soon as you are within shouting distance. Not agreessive but just asking things like do the live round here etc. Keep chatting as you go past and look back and continue the conversation. I have found that the stones or bricks are usually casually dropped behind them as they seem to have a dislike of chucking stuff at someone who is talking to them. Has worked for us several times

 

haggis

Edited August 6, 2013 by haggis

[luctor et emergo]

A catapult is the repellant of choice.

[Guest]

Pause the boat, as soon as you spot them. Reverse if you can, ask the crew to retrieve a camera, ensure it's obvious you are taking pictures of them.

 

They will normally get bored while you ring 101 (thinking you may be ringing 999) and wander off.

[CV32]

Pray for a nasty disease that affects their fertility lasting a few generations so the little bastards can't reproduce any offspring ....

[nigel carton]

Engage them in conversation as soon as you are within shouting distance. Not agreessive but just asking things like do the live round here etc. Keep chatting as you go past and look back and continue the conversation. I have found that the stones or bricks are usually casually dropped behind them as they seem to have a dislike of chucking stuff at someone who is talking to them. Has worked for us several times

 

haggis

Yes this sometimes works

[Guest]

Yes this sometimes works

If you encounter a group of kids yes, I would agree.

 

If you encounter a group of kids holding half bricks as per the OP probably needs a different approach.

[tree]

Engage them in conversation as soon as you are within shouting distance. Not agreessive but just asking things like do the live round here etc. Keep chatting as you go past and look back and continue the conversation. I have found that the stones or bricks are usually casually dropped behind them as they seem to have a dislike of chucking stuff at someone who is talking to them. Has worked for us several times

 

haggis

This tactic was used many times many moons ago, i often would say 'lads where is the nearest shop ... I need to get some milk for a cuppa as my OH is driving me bonkers, this would often get a laugh and directions, especially if i added .. that i would end up chucking my OH in unless i had a cuppa, a lickle bit of 'reverse psychology and often or not when chattering they would just be bored ( and boredom i was told when a lass ..leads to mischief !!).. But in some cases this might not work.. so best advice then get yer camera out, adn if no camera... then yer mobile phone.. if you have one and start speakign Loudly .. giving out their descriptions ectera if no mobile then dont follow the next bit of advice.. as moi ( who has a very fiery temper) would just say' you lob owt at my boat and moi will be off here in a flash and catch yer and rip yer ruddy head off, a cross and angry moi would scare the pants off a Regimental Sarg Major lol)

 

edited for missed bit.

 

Sometimes approaching a situation like this, you get a kind of feeling .... is this green, amber or red alert... is it just bored kids messing around( and agree it is usally easier to deal with younger children), or is it the older teenagers showing off, peer pressure to their mates ectera.. we only ever had a few Red alerts... from grown men about to lob bricks /bottles at us from a bridge grr... as we approached i would then shout.. ' give us a break we are on the dole and the owner of the boat is paying us to deliver it'... maybe we were just lucky, but they never chucked owt at us and even on once occasion lol asked us ..how they could get similar work.

Edited August 6, 2013 by tree

[blackrose]

Yes this sometimes works

 

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. A group of kids on the towpath started verbally abusing at a mate of mine who was moored up, calling him a baldy wanker. Fortunately it was just abuse they were hurling. He decided to take the friendly approach and engaged them in conversation and even invited them onboard to show them the boat. However, no sooner had they got off the boat 10 minutes later and retired to a safe distance than out came the insults again "Baldy, wanker!"

 

At least it wasn't bricks I suppose.

Edited August 6, 2013 by blackrose

[dmr]

We experienced this a couple of weeks back on the way into Liverpool, two lads, 14 ish, jumped out from a bridge 'ole with a rock in hand,

Gillie immediately engaged them in conversation and they made a sheepish exit.

Most thugs can lob a rock at a boat, but its much harder to hurt a person who is talking to them.

If they are off their heads on drink or drugs then just take cover, but otherwise engage them in conversation.

A tip here...most kids like to show off their knowledge, so ask them some questions that they CAN answer...

Is it far to the city centre?/are there any shops near here? etc might be good.

What are you views on the theory of relativity might not be good.

 

Aggression might just work, but the boat behind you will pay the price!

 

...............Dave

[MaryP]

Saw some primed with half bricks. I thought for a second then ran from the back of the boat (I wasn't in charge!) grabbed my camera and started photographing them. They vanished!! But a few half bricks hurled at a boat could be catastrophic. Imagine if one hit the guy in charge.....

 

Where were you please?

[Alanji]

Fortunately I have not yet been threatened with bricks but did encounter lots of youths on Wigan, Burnley and Blackburn flights. My experiences have ranged from the lovely - inviting a grandmother and her granddaughter onboard, who excitedly phoned her daughter to say "You'll never guess what I am doing - sailing up the canal on a barge", Whereon two lads asked if they could come on - which I agreed to in return for some help with the locks. To the very depressing - two lads on the stern when I got back from setting the next lock, which gave me some cause for concern - but they were only trying to get out of the wind to do a couple of lines of coke - completely out of their heads at midday, very sad.

I heartedly agree with some previous comments (You are great Tree) - just interact (honestly) with these people and they will respond. Treat them as inferiors (as one boater I shared some locks with did) and you will have trouble.

[stickleback]

 

 

Where were you please?[/quot

 

On the Caldon going through Milton. The bridge they were on was quite highand a bit far off for a conversation without shouting - which immediately sounds like either aggression or fear!

[rubblequeen]

I agree if you can engage them but how do you start a conversation when they are on a bridge and your approaching on your boat. Friendly wave maybe. Just how do you know what they have in their hands behind the wall? I always try to make eye contact with a friendly nod and hope for the best. Having been a social worker for many years I know just how damaged some of these kids are so I expect the worst, especially as I am convinced they can smell a SW from a mile away and with two of us on board what hope have we got. Well only that there is a bobbie in the boat behind

[Guest]

I agree if you can engage them but how do you start a conversation when they are on a bridge and your approaching on your boat. Friendly wave maybe. Just how do you know what they have in their hands behind the wall? I always try to make eye contact with a friendly nod and hope for the best. Having been a social worker for many years I know just how damaged some of these kids are so I expect the worst, especially as I am convinced they can smell a SW from a mile away and with two of us on board what hope have we got. Well only that there is a bobbie in the boat behind

 

I've recounted this on here before but-

 

The only time we have been pelted with stones (and it was very light stuff) was as hireres on the Leeds and Liverpool. A small group of kids on a footbridge in Shipley thought it would be a jolly wheeze to throw stones at a boat.

 

We however got the last laugh as it turned out that the guy cycling down the tow path and who witnessed the whole thing turned out to be their teacher!

 

'We'll talk about this on Monday boys" where his words to them as they scurried off.

[Naughty Cal]

We have never been in the situation where kids have been throwing things or threatening to throw things at the boat.

 

We have come across groups of inquisitive youths on our travels and also groups of youths who at first glance could be taken as intimidating or aggresive but we have found by far the best way to deal with them is to engage with them and talk to them rather than treating them like you are something you have just trodden on.

 

One rather fine example of this was earlier this year in Newark. As soon as we moored up the owners of the narrowboat behind us warned us about the group of youths who had been causing trouble and being aggresive with them. We took this as always with a pinch of salt. Later that afternoon said group of youths walked back along the path next to the boats and started politely asking us questions about the boat. We had a few minutes chatting to them like they we human beings and they then went off on their way. As they walked past the narrowboat the chap onboard shouted at them telling them to "bugger off" in not so polite wording. Low and behold they retaliate and shout abuse back at him. What did he expect after talking to them like that?

 

We always try to talk to groups of youths as we would wish to be spoken too and not assume that just because there is a group of youths that they will be trouble.

[comfortably numb]

We encountered some kids (probably aged around 12) yesterday on the Caldon around Milton, so these were probably the same ones as the OP. They were on a grass embankment just past a bridge and as soon as they saw us they hurriedly began to pick up stones. The then watched as we approached and one was banking the stones together in a threatening manner. So I gave them a friendly wave and held up my phone (camera) and kept it on them as we passed. As soon as we had passed they began to throw them in the canal behind us.

 

Another thing I do when going through areas where there may be problems is to keep an umbrella handy This at least gives the person on the tiller a little protection while you're getting clear of them because even if the fabric were to tear at least it would slow down a projectile and if one hit the spokes would probably stop it altogether. That's my theory anyway, although thankfully I haven't had to use it yet.

 

Interestingly we encountered the same problem in the same place in the early nineties, so these yesterday might have been the sons of those. Like father like son as they say !!!

[Doorman]

A tip here...most kids like to show off their knowledge, so ask them some questions that they CAN answer...

 

...............Dave

Like...........where's the nearest police station or detention centre?

Edited August 7, 2013 by Doorman

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

Traveling at a slow pace you cannot go to war with them. They think that a catapult is a war game. Boiled sweets tossed to them works, one scrote on a bridge was miffed when I threw sweets to his mates on the towpath. His fault for being on the bridge.

[stickleback]

NC, I agree entirely - talking is usually the best approach. And treating people the way I would hope to be treated.

 

But seeing kids with half bricks on quite a high bridge that you're approaching and having one lobbed towards you (half brick, not child!) - presumably to gauge distance, force required etc

engaging in conversation wasn't an option!

 

However, appearing with a camera certainly worked!

 

If I had taken decent pics I think I'd have sent copies to the local parish council, schools etc. What appears to be a bit of a lark to the kids involved could have really serious consequences for the boaters.

[bizzard]

I stand on bridges sometimes but my mum told me never to accept sweets from strangers.