Idiots can own boats too!

[sprocker]

We had been down to the Marina yesterday to pay our fees for the year (Yikes!!!!!), and went for a walk around the harbour as the weather was stunning.

I was watching a bowrider with inboard coming out of the marina, and just as he came through the entrance he stopped. I noticed there was no prop wash and thought he had broken down.

Now Torquay harbour entrance is not very wide, and yesterday there were lots of traffic in and out, including regular ferries, so he could not have picked a worse place to break down.

A kind chap in a cruiser stopped and threw him a line, and towed him about 50 yards into the bay away from the entrance. Whereupon he threw the line back, and said his 'thankyous'. The chap then went forward into the bows and picked up a 25 litre steel jerrycan, and took it to the stern. He sat on the stern, undid the fuel cap, and started to decant petrol into his tank (No pump, syphon pipe, funnel or even spout!!).

He hadn't broken down at all, he'd run out of fuel!!!

Meanwhile the wash from lots of other boats were bouncing the bowrider around, and as much petrol was washing over the back of the boat and into the sea as was going into his tank.

Eventually he'd emptied his jerry can into his tank/sea, started the engine and went on his way.

Why didn't he check fuel and fill up when he was tied up safely in the nice calm marina berth?
Where was his pump, syphon, funnel?
No common sense involved here?

My wife thought I was being a little harsh when I said "How can anyone be so stupid!" I thought I was being kind!

There was talk some time ago (I don't remember where) about compulsory boat tests being introduced, seeing this chap yesterday kind of makes me think it wouldn't be a bad idea. Is it just me?

[ColinR]

Some marinas will not allow refuelling on the pontoon. I had that discussion with Southampton Dry Stack and they suggested motoring out to a buoy in the river and fuelling up there which would have meant taking the jerry cans out with us each trip. Saxon are more relaxed about it though.

If he was a bowrider and towing to the slip why not fill up on the way there?

As to the lack of funnel etc well what can be said apart from pillock., let alone the pollution aspect of his actions.

[sprocker]

MDL Torquay are quite relaxed about refueling at your pontoon berth, they just ask that you use a syphon/pump, otherwise they ask you to go to the harbour fuel pontoon if you are decanting using a funnel or spout etc.

I have tried to look at it from many points of view, but cant come up with a logical reason.

[ColinR]

Sometimes people are just muppets. As they say in Yorkshire

You can't educate pork.

[antlouhay]

not quite the same but I sure was a muppet ! a few years back decided late on that weather was good for boating, checked the tides and yes good to go , car packed and off I set for a two hour journey to the boat knowing this would leave me with one and half hours of water to get out of Christchurch.
well traffic was bad and 3 hours later arrived at boat with the water fast vanishing out of Christchurch, not time to refuel so jerry cans loaded into boat I would refuel on the way out !!!
ofcourse low water fast approaching and it seemed every last person was determined to get in before the low water... no chance of keeping steady to refuel so decided to get out of the harbour first ...............
have you guessed it yet ?????
well there I was stuck / anchored just inside the run helpless trying to pour fuel from a jerry can with no syphon (left it on dock) with the wonderful mudeford public starring at me polluting the harbour..
and there I bobbed for the next few hours until I had enough water under me to get back to my mooring ...
another 2 hours and I was back home in North Oxfordshire...
so yes IDIOTS CAN OWN BOATS TOO ..

[ColinR]

A brave post that one

We can only learn from our experiences.

Maybe we should have a confessions section

[NikTheGeek]

I fell in once doing that. I did have a spout, but I still spilt a little which made the grp and my trainers very slippy and I slipped, right in, dropping the jerry can full of petrol in to the water.

Now in my defence, I hadn't run out of fuel, I was refueling. And I was tied up at the time. However, it was in the pits at the local powerboat racing club and the spillage closed the area for a short time until it dispersed.

Slippy stuff that petrol....

[shibbs]

not quite the same but I sure was a muppet ! a few years back decided late on that weather was good for boating, checked the tides and yes good to go , car packed and off I set for a two hour journey to the boat knowing this would leave me with one and half hours of water to get out of Christchurch.
well traffic was bad and 3 hours later arrived at boat with the water fast vanishing out of Christchurch, not time to refuel so jerry cans loaded into boat I would refuel on the way out !!!
ofcourse low water fast approaching and it seemed every last person was determined to get in before the low water... no chance of keeping steady to refuel so decided to get out of the harbour first ...............
have you guessed it yet ?????
well there I was stuck / anchored just inside the run helpless trying to pour fuel from a jerry can with no syphon (left it on dock) with the wonderful mudeford public starring at me polluting the harbour..
and there I bobbed for the next few hours until I had enough water under me to get back to my mooring ...
another 2 hours and I was back home in North Oxfordshire...
so yes IDIOTS CAN OWN BOATS TOO ..

Very good, bad days happen to us all!

[betty boop]

A brave post that one

We can only learn from our experiences.

Maybe we should have a confessions section

NO, lets keep the illusion that the new forum is full of professionals, I dont need any help in people knowing things that Ive done badly,stupidly etc.

[ColinR]

Spoil sport