[tdw]

'Drunk' boat skipper charged after yacht hits rocks near Sydney's Balmoral Beach - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

0.165 .... wow. the legal limit in Oz is .05.

A rather nasty blow did come through Sydney Sunday evening. In the anchorage where we were it was pretty crazy for a while there. I'm guessing he got caught out but even so .... low on fuel, pissed as a parrot and a holiday weekend. Recipe for disaster.

 

[mad_machine]

The town I grew up in, Ocean City, NJ, is a "dry" town.. meaning you cannot buy or publically consume alcohol there. You are still allowed to cross any bridge (it is an island), buy your beverage of choice, bring it back into town, and consume it in your home or on your property, but not in any restaurant, on the boardwalk, or on any public property.

Every summer they have a "night in venice" where all the waterfront home decorate up to a theme, and there is a boat parade with equally decorated boats that run up and down the back bay and around the lagoons where the homes are. It is basically OCNJ's excuse to drink.

Every year there is some boating incident that involves a high level of alcohol, the worst being when I was a young child and the boat of some family friends or ours was literally run over by a very inebriated captain. Half the people on the boat were killed and the rest injured by his twin props.

I have never liked "night in venice" since.. even when I lived in that town, I made every excuse not to be in town while it was going on.. sadly though, here in the US consuming alcohol whole boating seem to go hand in hand and is somewhat expected

 

[tdw]

I know it goes against what some think but personally I have no problem with alcohol consumption on board provided the boat is nice and safely tucked up for the night. I'm also not agin having the odd beer while sailing.

Otoh, falling down legless drunk is another matter altogether. I'd also think there is a big difference twixt a beer at 5 knots and over the legal limit at 30.

 

[sailorbill1]

Im from the old school, I no some people will say well youv gotta change, but I couldn't imagine sailing with out a coldy or angkered up and eating freash fish, scallops or crays and not having a nice glass of savi or beer or rum&coke, Its just gotta be done in a manner were you are not endangering those on board or around your vessel. Some of my most pleasing memory's is sundowners on the ocean with good company and a nice breeze.