I just red in another thread that summer is over on your north side of the ocean.
Here in Holland it's the same, so here's my problem:
Like each year I've had my share of quarrels on the beach again.
Regarding people and or kids who find it normal to use my cat as a chair when they are tired or using my tramp as a real trampoline.
I'm always alone with my cat, so sometimes I have to leave it for a very short moment.
Here's how I try to protect my precious cat with a text board on the tramp:
![[Linked Image]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/9734212859_ac85aff958_c.jpg)
The text says (in dutch and german):
Please
don't touch anything
do not sit on my boat
(also not for taking a picture)
My question is: is this a typical dutch problem or does this exist everywhere???????
![[Linked Image]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/9734210575_3fa4aff8d4_c.jpg)
It says:
no toy
just hands off
We don't have the luxury of widespread on-the-beach storage of cats here, but I've come to understand that many who do store their boats on the beach share this common complaint.
I've walked out of the hotel before a beachside regatta and found kids handing from my boom held up by the halyard. (Thank goodness the stop knot on the block held...)
I've suggested placing caltops on the trampoline but I've been told by people who sound like lawyers say that I could get in trouble for that.
We have a regular customer who keeps his Getawway on the beach. We replace his front tramp annually, replaced the mast, stays and jib once.
Keeps us in business. <img src="<>/crazy.gif" alt="crazy" title="crazy" height="15" width="15" />
Yes, but leaving your boat overnight on the beach is in my eyes for sure a no-go.
What I ment is the completely crazy situation that I'm walking to my tractor 25 m away from my cat and that when I turn around I see someone sitting on my cat.
And this happens to be always a 200lbs+ fat-assed old german tourist lady having here self being photographed by here drizzly husband.
Oh, forgot to mention, when my cat is on the wheeltrax leaning forward on the sand.
Not to talk about the times that two morons are sitting on the hulls; and yes, one at the bow and the other at the transom of the other hull!!!!!!!!
These bloody narcistic times nowadays!
I live in Norway in a small town. Due to cultural reasons (we have a big country with very few people, and a very violent past) this is no issue.
Putting a tarpaulin over the boat would perhaps deter these people from using your boat as a bench. A sign with
Photos EUR10
and
Fine of EUR100 for sitting on the boat
would be even better <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />
Nice tractor setup with twin ag wheels!
Most of the public beach regattas I've been to, here in Florida, spectators and tourists will walk by and look at the boats, maybe ask some questions, but I've never had anyone touch my boat, let alone sit on it. But in a regatta environment, where it's obvious there's an event going on, I think people are more respectful.
Maybe those German Tourists think your boat is a rental, since you are alone with it? I think your sign is a great idea, and I love Rolf's idea!
Photos EUR 10!
Excellent way to make some beer money!
lots of us leave our cats on the local causeway overnight on the weekends.
for the most part people are cool about it, but on occasion we find emplty beers in our tramp pockets, and footprints on our tramps but it is rare that anyone does much more than that.
Rare but it happens - we have had cats pushed into the gulf (on wheels), hulls and pockets filled with sand, but again it is rare.
One time i drove to the beach and found a couple kissing and rolling around on my friends cat. They looked at me and asked
Is this your boat?
I said
no-but my friend wouldn't appreciate you 2 on his boat
. I felt odd telling two 70 year olds to get off the boat ...
we've had one or two drunks sleeping under the tramp in Delray, but I suspect they may have been sailors...
Didn't Tad or someone get their N20 sail stolen off Daytona?
I recall someone had a few cigarette holes burned in their H-16 trampoline in Key Largo..
But to mimic Timbo's comment, at most regattas the boats are off in their own area and most people who aren't part of the event keep off the equipment.
Didn't Tad or someone get their N20 sail stolen off Daytona?
I recall someone had a few cigarette holes burned in their H-16 trampoline in Key Largo..
But to mimic Timbo's comment, at most regattas the boats are off in their own area and most people who aren't part of the event keep off the equipment.
Had my spin pole broken at Gilligans this year and it's about 50/50 with the kids using it as a play pen.
for the most part people are cool about it, but on occasion we find emplty beers in our tramp pockets, and footprints on our tramps but it is rare that anyone does much more than that.
Rare but it happens - we have had cats pushed into the gulf (on wheels), hulls and pockets filled with sand, but again it is rare.
One time i drove to the beach and found a couple kissing and rolling around on my friends cat. They looked at me and asked
Is this your boat?
I said
no-but my friend wouldn't appreciate you 2 on his boat
. I felt odd telling two 70 year olds to get off the boat ...
Man, have some respect. If a 70 year old couple were making out on my boat, I'ld say
have at it
and see if they needed any candles, a bottle of wine, or anything.
We leave a Getaway and Wave on the beach 24 X 7 at a county park and do rentals on the weekends. I am sure people fiddle with them, but no major damage done.
Thanks all for your comments.
It confirms what I already suspected:
Apparently I happen to live in environs and time period with a, to put it mildly, lowlevel civilization standard of tourists and inhabitants.
Strong words yes; but I remember me to well 25 year ago where I was sailing alongside the coast from beach pavilion to beachpavilion and could leave my cat unguarded with no problem at all.
Nobody would touch anything and people just showed respect for what you were doing.
We Dutch and Germans also have a bit the name of being blunt and ungainly, though there are ofcourse enough exceptions to this rule.
But when kids are breaking up my tractor on the beach while there parents are watching (glad that they are good and have something to do),then you know what time it is.
It makes me gloomy.
Yes, I know on my age that since Adam and Eve, there is no Paradise on earth anymore.
The only comfort which rest is that my spot gives me total freedom the whole year through.
So, one more reason to fly to the sea with my cat........
We had a 14ft cat on a trailer disappear from our club, thought it was stolen until it was found down current a bit later and some bits that were in the sail box. Pretty obvious it was launched still tied to the trailer and bobbed up once the bindings failed. Probably funny if your a drugged out idiot
I wouldn't get too despondent Ronald. The world is (and has been) in no short supply of idiots. I've heard we even have a couple over here on this side of the Atlantic now!
Kidding aside, the best prevention is probably to make it as unattractive to molest as possible - out of sight as much as possible with little for them to play with.
haha, i wasn't going to say anything but they looked at me like 2 guilty teenagers, and asked me if it was mine...
it would have made really funny youtube vid
for the most part people are cool about it, but on occasion we find emplty beers in our tramp pockets, and footprints on our tramps but it is rare that anyone does much more than that.
Rare but it happens - we have had cats pushed into the gulf (on wheels), hulls and pockets filled with sand, but again it is rare.
One time i drove to the beach and found a couple kissing and rolling around on my friends cat. They looked at me and asked
Is this your boat?
I said
no-but my friend wouldn't appreciate you 2 on his boat
. I felt odd telling two 70 year olds to get off the boat ...
Man, have some respect. If a 70 year old couple were making out on my boat, I'ld say
have at it
and see if they needed any candles, a bottle of wine, or anything.
one of the locals with a 5.7 takes his rudders and jib off every time he leaves it overnight. less chance of damage from weather or people.
Kidding aside, the best prevention is probably to make it as unattractive to molest as possible - out of sight as much as possible with little for them to play with.
I'd shovel up a little mound around 6ft x 2ft just beside the boat.
Leave the shovel with a sign saying,
Please dig shallow grave before touching boat.
Thank You,
the owner.
Kidding aside, the best prevention is probably to make it as unattractive to molest as possible - out of sight as much as possible with little for them to play with.
I do that if the boat is anywhere there is traffic...though I put them on the trampoline. It keeps people from tripping on them and/or kicking them by accident.