If I needed any reminding, I've just been reminded why I so dislike the Solent on summer weekends. I've just returned from a weekend's instructing for one of the RYA sailing schools.
The students were great. We had three day skipper candidates and one competent crew candidate. They all had a great attitude to the sport: the three will make excellent skippers, and our competent crew will do well with a bit more experience and confidence. The weather was excellent, and we had good wind on Sunday. It was great to be teaching people who had such a brilliant attitude.
Which is more than I can say for some of the racing yachts out there. On Sunday afternoon it was chaos, with yachts everywhere, few of them obeying the collision regulations. Many were racing, but not on any marked course that I could discern.
Twice, in two separate incidents in a period of about ten minutes just east of Cowes we were almost run down by large racing catamarans. The first was a minor incident, but the second had the potential to have been very serious indeed. Both were caused by fast yachts failing to obey the collision regulations.
In the first incident, we were on starboard tack and barreling towards us on port tack some distance away was the unmistakable twin hull of a racing catamaran, white water flying from its two bows.
Relative bearings unchanged, I carefully explained to the student on the helm why the collision regulations required us to stand on, as the catamaran was the give-way vessel, and in such crowded waters, a change of course could confuse the situation and create an incident, rather than avoid it.
However, the catamaran made no attempt to change course, and my estimate was that it was doing at least 20 knots and on a collision course.
There was nowhere we could go - to tack would have put us across the bows of a smaller sloop, and to gybe away would have caused a turn to port which would have put us across the course of the catamaran should she actually decide to take avoiding action. There was no option but to sit tight and hope.
For a few heart-stopping moments, the catamaran held course to T-bone us. It actually crossed our stern with no more than three feet between us, doing a good 20 knots. The students were horrified, and in one case, actually very frightened.
Having settled things down, we tacked a few times towards Ryde, when it happened again. This time a similar catamaran about 35' long and going like a rocket tacked round not far from us, and headed straight for us.
Again, it was going very fast indeed. Again, we were on starboard tack, and he was on port. But unlike the last time, the situation was closer, faster, and it was clear that unless we got out of the way there would be a collision.
I advised the student on the helm to call for a tack, but given the relative inexperience of the crew, it took a few moments for them to get into position and make the move. As we began the turn, it seemed to me that there was no way we were going to avoid being hit at high speed. I mentally ran through my collision actions.
Barely half-way through the tack, the catamaran barreled past us at high speed with absolutely no attempt at even a minor course change. There was less than one foot of distance between us, and I had to stop the helmsman turning further because it would have turned our stern into the side of the other vessel.
As he passed us, the helmsman shouted: “Thanks. We're racing.” Had we been seconds later in the turn, we would have been hit and holed, with the very real possibility of serious injury to the students.
Later, back at the marina, I was chatting to a racing sailor about the two incidents, and how serious one of them could have been. “Oh,” he said, “When I'm racing I just head straight for the helmsman of the other yacht and hope it all sorts itself out.”
It used to be a point of pride amongst all sailors that we would do our best to give each other sea-room, and obey the collision regulations. In return, those of us who weren't racing would keep clear of marked race courses.
I'm more than happy to keep clear of marked race courses, but it's impossible to keep clear of those who treat the whole of the Solent as their private race-track. And it's attitudes like that which make me dislike and distrust that particular breed of gung-ho racing fraternity. The issue is a serious one, because sooner or later someone is going to be killed.
I have to be out on the Solent again during weekends this summer. But I won't be particularly looking forward to it.
Richard Thomas holds a Commercially Endorsed RYA Yachtmaster and Cruising Instructor (Sail) certificate. He runs his own delivery business, www.yachtmovers.co.uk. He is available for deliveries, assisted passages, own-yacht tuition, and yacht management.
