Hi all, can I just remind the crew out at nth haven a couple of basic sailing rules;
1 - water craft under power and under sail should give way and avoid collision with craft not under power.
2 - there are rules to give way to other water craft under sail and general port/starboard sailing rules.
i recommend a few need to remind themselves of these rules of sailing. I know you like to keep upwind but keeping a track of other water craft and respectfully keeping a reasonable distance away from others would be a great idea. There's so much space out there I don't understand why?
100% agree. I'm sorry that happened. I can give you some explanation (not an excuse).
Haven has a bad wind gradient - the worst I know of. Wind speed varies with distance from shore line. So, sailors will form a line in a Goldilocks zone of wind strength. If you go out of that towards the shore, and you get a lull in wind, then its possible to end up back at the shore, or end up on the rocks (which would be a disaster). So, sailors will want to hold their tack where possible; plus many of them are doing their tricks. The attack angle of a short board windsurfer (kiter surfers are a little better, but not much) is horrible compared to a sailing boat. So, not a lot of "effective" space. Some sailors can't sail there as they don't have the skills or rigging knowledge to get out.
To add confusion, most of the users you see at Haven are wave sailors/kiters (surfers). So, they will follow surf rules. On a SW wind direction, this conflicts with sailing rules.
I don't like sailing at Haven, as I find it too crowded and sometimes some agro. The last thing I want to get when sailing is angry.
