Equipment for going to sea

[Loafer]

Got a good point Loafer Ocean watchkeeping = boredom

Coastal watchkeeping = eyes on stalks

Ta john. Me and the missus preferred the excitement of 'eyes on stalks'. The only way we'd have crossed 'oceans' is by means of at least a B747-400 series.

[John V]

Me too nowadays.....many years since done any long trips and don't miss them....Now it's very occasional trips Irish sea, English Channel or the North sea on commercial boats but for pleasure...pootling around estuaries or East coast rivers and little trips in the ditches are more my style now!!!

[Aunty_Rinum]

Me too nowadays.....many years since done any long trips and don't miss them....Now it's very occasional trips Irish sea, English Channel or the North sea on commercial boats but for pleasure...pootling around estuaries or East coast rivers and little trips in the ditches are more my style now!!!

I still sail in open waters and have done for a few decades. Thousands of miles of deep water in small boats in all weathers has confirmed what I thought when I first started; the sea is treacherous, unpredictable, and will kill you given half a chance.

The OP asked a question along the lines of what equipment is required for going to sea. The first essential piece of equipment for open water is a vessel designed to go to sea, not a narrowboat designed for "sheltered waters".

If going to sea in a narrowboat the most essential piece of equipment would be a liferaft; they can be rented by the week. The OP will need a life raft if the weather turns nasty and the narrowboat rolls over or breaks its back.

I would suggest that if the OP really wants to know what he requires for seagoing he would be better to ask the question on the Scuttlebutt forum of YBW.com The posters there actually go to sea rather than most people on this forum.

BTW, what is all this talk about Wash pilots? Do Trinity House provide such a service? Is there such a qualification?

[Naughty Cal]

Narrow-boats crossing the wash are required to use a pilot for insurance purposes.

[howardang]

I still sail in open waters and have done for a few decades. Thousands of miles of deep water in small boats in all weathers has confirmed what I thought when I first started; the sea is treacherous, unpredictable, and will kill you given half a chance.

The OP asked a question along the lines of what equipment is required for going to sea. The first essential piece of equipment for open water is a vessel designed to go to sea, not a narrowboat designed for "sheltered waters".

If going to sea in a narrowboat the most essential piece of equipment would be a liferaft; they can be rented by the week. The OP will need a life raft if the weather turns nasty and the narrowboat rolls over or breaks its back.

I would suggest that if the OP really wants to know what he requires for seagoing he would be better to ask the question on the Scuttlebutt forum of YBW.com The posters there actually go to sea rather than most people on this forum.

BTW, what is all this talk about Wash pilots? Do Trinity House provide such a service? Is there such a qualification?

I think you will find that the "pilots" actually prefer to call themselves "guides". Pilots are authorised by a CHA (Competent Harbour Authority) under the Pilotage Act, and none of the local ports actually cover the area under consideration.

 

Howard

[gazza]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by gazza

[Keeping Up]

Narrow-boats crossing the wash are required to use a pilot for insurance purposes.

 

Every insurance company has different rules.

 

My insurance company insists that I must use a pilot (which is fine by me) but I've also heard that some companies insist that you must stay within the recognised shipping lanes which presumably prohibits beaching on the sands to wait for the tide in the way that is generally accepted to be the preferred method for a narrowboat.

 

One day we'll cross the Wash but the difficulty of taking a dog who utterly refuses to be carried, and can't use a ladder, means that it will probably be a few years yet.

[Aunty_Rinum]

I think you will find that the "pilots" actually prefer to call themselves "guides". Pilots are authorised by a CHA (Competent Harbour Authority) under the Pilotage Act, and none of the local ports actually cover the area under consideration.

Howard

I thought that would be the case.

Every insurance company has different rules.

 

My insurance company insists that I must use a pilot (which is fine by me) but I've also heard that some companies insist that you must stay within the recognised shipping lanes which presumably prohibits beaching on the sands to wait for the tide in the way that is generally accepted to be the preferred method for a narrowboat.

 

One day we'll cross the Wash but the difficulty of taking a dog who utterly refuses to be carried, and can't use a ladder, means that it will probably be a few years yet.

I would think it more likely that an insurance company would require you to stay out of recognised shipping lanes.

[Loafer]

Aunty_Rinum, does the word 'snapdragon' mean anything to you?

[peterboat]

I still sail in open waters and have done for a few decades. Thousands of miles of deep water in small boats in all weathers has confirmed what I thought when I first started; the sea is treacherous, unpredictable, and will kill you given half a chance.

The OP asked a question along the lines of what equipment is required for going to sea. The first essential piece of equipment for open water is a vessel designed to go to sea, not a narrowboat designed for "sheltered waters".

If going to sea in a narrowboat the most essential piece of equipment would be a liferaft; they can be rented by the week. The OP will need a life raft if the weather turns nasty and the narrowboat rolls over or breaks its back.

I would suggest that if the OP really wants to know what he requires for seagoing he would be better to ask the question on the Scuttlebutt forum of YBW.com The posters there actually go to sea rather than most people on this forum.

BTW, what is all this talk about Wash pilots? Do Trinity House provide such a service? Is there such a qualification?

Its all ifs and buts again, lots of narrowboats have done this trip if one sank we would know about it, but as none have sunk because they took precautions ie employed a professional guide/pilot and took notice of the weather. Hopefully no insurance company will take any notice of the doom monger,s that as soon as you leave a canal some seamonster is going to drag you to the bottom of the briney

 

Peter

[Naughty Cal]

I thought that would be the case.

I would think it more likely that an insurance company would require you to stay out of recognised shipping lanes.

Unlikely in the Wash!

 

Unless of course they don't like you and want you to get into trouble!

Its all ifs and buts again, lots of narrowboats have done this trip if one sank we would know about it, but as none have sunk because they took precautions ie employed a professional guide/pilot and took notice of the weather. Hopefully no insurance company will take any notice of the doom monger,s that as soon as you leave a canal some seamonster is going to drag you to the bottom of the briney

 

Peter

They have been causing problems with the commercial shipping in Boston Docks and not listening on the relevant vhf channel. But that's a separate matter.

[Aunty_Rinum]

Unlikely in the Wash!

Unless of course they don't like you and want you to get into trouble! .....

It's hard to read, but the chart of The Wash in an earlier post doesn't appear to show any shipping lanes.

[Naughty Cal]

It's hard to read, but the chart of The Wash in an earlier post doesn't appear to show any shipping lanes.

No. There are buoyed channels for each river but not traffic separation systems as on say the Humber.

[Phil Ambrose]

And there is plenty of big stuff coming into Boston.

Phil

[Scholar Gypsy]

The wind on the Great Ouse was so strong this morning that it was quite tricky to get away from the bank at Brandon Creek - quite exciting. No way I would have gone out on the Wash ...

[Naughty Cal]

And there is plenty of big stuff coming into Boston.

Phil

Indeed there is.

 

 

Plenty of commercial shipping and a large fishing fleet.

[Naughty Cal]

The Scarborough lifeboat was out on training exercises yesterday.

 

Glad I wasnt out there, doesnt look a nice day for it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Photos taken from the RNLI Facebook page with permission)

[Ray T]

Interesting photo's. Did the lifeboat crew take their Stugeron?

[Alan de Enfield]

Interesting photo's. Did the lifeboat crew take their Stugeron?

 

Why would the leader of the SNP want "a go" on the Scarborough lifeboat ?

[RLWP]

 

Why would the leader of the SNP want "a go" on the Scarborough lifeboat ?

 

Idiot! He means their pet fish

 

Richard

[Alan de Enfield]

 

Idiot! He means their pet fish

 

Richard

 

Doh - Caviar-Emptor

[gazza]

Pah,the sea state in those rnli pics is almost mill pool like.

 

Can't see a problem myself.......

 

:-)

[John V]

 

Idiot! He means their pet fish

 

Richard

 

 

Why did they call there pet fish Richard ?

 

 

Or even their

Edited February 3, 2015 by John V

[peterboat]

Its scary stuff big water waves bigger than your mast really do make you wonder what you are doing there. Two days later it was like a millpond, and the depth sounder was saying no bottom, the sky showed every star ever made and you forget the fear of two days earlier perfik

 

Peter

[bargemast]

It's normal that they do their training exercises when there's a bit of a sea going, as 9 times out of 10 that's the sort of condition in which they'll get most calls for assistance from boats in trouble.

 

Peter.