Boats on the Hawkesbury over Christmas

[bessell1955]

Well, my eldest son asked if we could go for a fish for Bass, down the front of home.  We put the bat in  and the boat traffic was horrific.  It was like putting your boat in a washing machine.  It was difficult to get into clear water, at times jet skis were overtaking on both sides  and ski boats would often stop in the middle of the river.  This made overtaking a little bit difficult.

So the fishing went out the window.  On a positive note the vast majority of boaters displayed due diligence and were very safety conscious.   I dare say the increase in boats is due to the current Covid issue.  People are unable to travel, so they holiday in the local area.  This is the case of our children, they had holidays plans cancelled, so they all came home to spend some time with us.  A blessing in disguise ? 😎

[Pickles]

A pity when your “home water” is over populated and you can’t get a quiet flick in. I guess we’ve got to expect it over holidays and weekends with others wanting to use the water for their preferred sport.

[bessell1955]

Well, son set sail again this afternoon and went up to Windsor and then back to Sackville.  He informed me there were  a lot less boats on the river.  I do understand that people are entitled to have access to their choice of recreation. but as with every right comes responsibilities.  Each boat driver needs to be responsible to their crew as well as other boating users.

I have had a Commercial Coxswains certificate, when I operated commercial vessels  and after being involved in yesterdays washing machine.  I saw that a number of boat operators have very little experience.  The one that stood out was was the one that insisted on stopping midstream causing other vessels to divert both sides to avoid a collision.  One does not stop a car in the middle of the road to change passengers, so why stop midstream?

I do have to again qualify my report by stating that the majority of boat operators were, vigilant and adhering to all safety rules.