I Don’t Believe It !!!!

There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity, in my opinion sailors should not engage in any 'conversation' with powerboaters as it always ends up with yelling and abuse just because of the distance involved. Any interaction should be carried out by the safety boat as it has more presence on the water and in most clubs looks official. Explaining what they did wrong is much more likely to stop them doing it again than yelling at them.

Did you have to complete a test before you were allowed on the water? I doubt it.

I'm not picking on you jpbuzz it's just that your post seems to have distilled the sentiment of the thread.

I have 2 absolute favourites both from my time in Plymouth.

First one during a windy RWYC race the chairman of NCPs 100 foot super yacht 'Leander'  decides in anchor in the sound between the top and the bottom mark.  So imagine the look on the crews face as lots of yachts from J-24 upwards come hurtling downwind with the occasional broach thrown in for good measure and at the last moment either nip round the front or back (bow or stern for any of you nautically obsessed types!) of this pristine blue hulled lovely.  He had every right to moor there but being a professional the skipper decided to move over to cawsands bay from a while!!

2nd later

I agree. There are going to be rescue boats on the course, so why can't they keep an eye out for non-racing boats/jetskiers/waterskiers who look like they might enter the racing area and ask them to turn back?

That way there are no incidents, no hostility, everyone's happy.

Reminds me of a recent event at Weymouth, where someone resembling Captain Birdseye plodded through the course in and old wooden yawl, causing me and someone else to change course.

Having just ducked half of the RS400 fleet who we were sharing the course with, loosing the lead in the process, I wasn't in the mood for any more ducking, although I did yell something that rhymed with 'ducking' to the rather surprised-looking yachtsman!

Bit surprised by some of this.. Ok there's the general idiot factor of creating a wake next to an unpowered craft, but as clubs what effort is being made to advise people of the fact that racing / training is going ahead, where it's going to be and what the course marks are?

It's dead easy as a dinghy sailor to assume that everyone is aware of what's going to be happening.. but think back to when you were just starting out and someone had to explain the courses to you!

Perhaps you need to have a word with the local harbour authority or local council about getting some sort of notices up by the public slipways?

Being a pond sailor we don't have this problem, if the safety crews do it without a good reason they get lynched in the bar afterwards :-)