12 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com NOVEMBER 2017EDITORIAL COMPLAINTS
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Don’t burden us with
unnecessary tech!
The more I read articles like How
distress alerts are changing (Sum 17),
the more I despair. The makers of
pyrotechnics, manufacturers of EPIRBs
and PLBs are pushing their kit onto
bureaucrats who have never set foot on
a yacht. I have no problem with ocean
travellers having that kit, but for
day-sailing in non-tidal waters, it’s
bonkers. Even VHF is now compromised
as DSC reduces the number of channels
available for coastal use.
I run a charter company in Greece
and everyone – everyone – is using
mobile phones. There’s never a problemwith range or charging, and the
coverage is brilliant. We had no VHF in
the old days but as they evolved, it took
the blazer brigade about 20 years to
catch on to their usefulness. Then they
allowed their development to create
dangers like the panic button and
extended range (in an emergency, a
working channel can be blocked by
trivial traffi c). Madness.
Coastal sailing is going along fi ne with
mobile phone communication thank you.
These are also excellent for navigation!
We also have VHF as backup.
Barrie Neilson‘Focaccia the police!’
We were out on the River Forth for the
departure of HMS Queen Elizabeth from
Rosyth. We kept a respectful distance
from the new aircraft carrier, under the
constant gaze of several police craft.
My wife was out on deck when a police
RIB took a wide arc around our bow over
to our starboard, presumably to check us
out. While the police were about 20m
away, my wife asked them whether they
wanted a snack, by proffering the
aforementioned snack directly towards
them and shouting ‘Focaccia bread stick?’
The police offi cers’ demeanour changed
immediately, and they had very stern
faces as they drew alongside, at which
point my wife cheerily re-offered the
bread sticks. The offi cers’ faces lit up as
the penny slowly dropped, and they
realised that my wife wasn’t shouting
abusive profanities at them after all.
As it transpired, later on it was me who
was shouting profanities aimed at the
very same police offi cers, when I spotted
the black marks their RIB had left along
the length of our gelcoat. However, by
then we were on our mooring, and the
police were well out of earshot.
D BrownRed diesel is the UK’s
problem
I have been following the red diesel saga
in YM for a few years now. Your
September issue even made an angry
letter from a subscriber on that subject
Letter of the Month.
Although I also fi nd the actions of
Belgian customs in this matter a little
over-zealous, I am wondering if it is not
more appropriate for yachties to turn their
ire towards the UK government instead.
Indeed, in 2007 all European countries
including Great Britain banned the use of
PHOTO: DAVE JEPSON/ALAMY red diesel in leisure craft. In 2017, tenLETTER OF THE MONTH