The British Abroad
The British Abroad
While we were relaxing in Paxos we came across a family from England who have a third share in a Bavaria 38. We were stern too tied with two lines in the rocks with our anchor dropped further out in the bay lined up around the bay like everyone else. This family arrived in the bay motored around and obviously decided they would moor next to us. No problem we thought. Father on the helm, teenage daughter on the anchor and Mum in the dinghy ready to take a line to the shore. We gave her one of our lines to hold her still as she was bobbing all over the place while waiting for her husband. Daughter was instructed to put the anchor down and she unfortunately caught the large power boat’s anchor who was our neighbours before the new family appeared. After a few attempts they managed to free their anchor and the power boat decided to leave. Father then reversed and called to the daughter to put the anchor down again. He had the anchored dropped to far out in the bay that they ran out of anchor chain and rope so he could not reach far enough back into the mooring. Up the anchor goes again and he reverses back further before the anchor goes down again. Mother was in the dinghy and asked while he is reversing for the line to tie to the rocks. Father promptly threw the whole line at her and missed the dinghy and it went straight into the water. Jim seeing her problem jumped in the water and retrieved the line. Mum was then out of the dinghy and took the line from Jim and was swimming to the land but lost the dinghy. Vivienne then took to the water and went after and saved the dinghy for her. The entire time father is still trying to reverse into the space with teenage daughter getting more and more upset on the anchor. Mum managed to get a line around one rock but it was not long enough to reach the boat now settled. Father then found another line and passed it to her and she tied what we thought was a safe knot but she did tell her husband to check it when he put out the second line. He found a rock to put the second line around and put a small rock on the top to secure it! We were a little concerned as the first knot didn’t seem to get changed and the joining line was frayed. The weather was forecasted to blow very strongly in the night.
At 3.30 a.m. I heard knocking on my side of Ariel I jumped up to see out the saloon window their boat bumping us. I wake Jim and with Geoff and Viv we were trying to keep off their boat as the knot Mum had tied in the afternoon had given way and they were moving forward on the anchor and with one line holding them and they were up against us. With more wind luck they could have been up against the large boat the other side. Jim said you need to put out another line to which he replied he didn’t have any more and could we get him one. Jim and Geoff went off to find a long line and were thinking of launching the tender to secure the line for them and Viv and I were left to keep fending Witch Doctor off Ariel while all the time it was moving forward on their anchor. While Jim was gone he asked if he lay beside us for the night by just tying an old line he suddenly found. No, I am sorry I said we have a painted boat and we cannot allow you to lay alongside us in such strong winds let alone the angle he was at and not to mention the small filthy fenders he had. He then decided he would let the second line off and move out into the bay in the direction of where his anchor was. So without warning Jim and Geoff he let go of the line which was still attached without any engine and then he surged further forward along Ariel and then managed to cross over our anchor chain which was pulled tight. So we had Witch Doctor hooked over our anchor chain and at this point he was going to start the engine with our chain somewhere between his keel and rudder. Geoff and Jim advised him not to start the engine as goodness know what damage he was going to do but to slowly pull up their anchor which would then move them forward and with us pushing him off our chain. Once off our anchor they started their engine and they moved out into the pool and while we are still up appear to go to bed.
The next morning father appears to retrieve the lines. On passing by Ariel he didn’t say anything and on his way back to his own boat Jim called him back to advise him it would have been polite to have come and thanked us for all our help during their arrival and the night session and to check to see if in fact they had caused us any damage. Not a word of thanks was uttered by this rude little man. No wonder the British abroad appear to offend other nations when a simply thanks and a sorry for all your trouble would have been the order of the day. Everyone has to learn and even the best have problems but everyone understands but politeness costs nothing. This chap has bought a share in a boat which is not fully equipped and does not have enough experience to captain his own boat. Hopefully we don’t meet them again for fear of what problems they will cause next time.