That caught your attention didn't it!!

I was asked exactly this question by the Salcombe Harbour Master this morning when he presented me with a bucket of electrical tape that his staff had collected from the Batson boatpark on Monday morning even though there were waste bins that the waste tape could have been put in. 

From the amount that was just dropped on the ground after the boats had de-rigged and gone home made me wonder if there is going to be a world shortage and if I should inverst some of my hard earned cash in the futures market for the stuff!!!

Seriously though, it makes me wonder if this happens every where else 'cause if so the class could get a bad reputation. As they say, 'tis in your hands.

Good point well made, John. However, in my experience it's certain dinghy sailors in general, not one class in particluar. Look at any dinghy park amd you'll find a selection of tape, old cordage, fittings packets and wrappers, not to mention general litter.

I think that the point that was being made was that it was noted after a MERLIN event.  They were there that wweekend.  It's like golf, people leave pitch marks unrepaired on the green - bad form - but if you repaired your own plus one other the greens would soon be perfect.  So take your own litter away (and not just rigging tape) - plus another bit - and the class would get a positive rather than a negative reputation and more importantly be welcome back.  (Sorry if this seems like/is a rant but litter is a real bugbear of mine).

Firstly I have total contempt for people who are prepared to air their views in public but won’t own up to them and hide behind :) and so on. If you have a view and are prepared to air it put your name to it.

However I will deign to answer the comments this time as they raise two VERY important issues.

Firstly Millbay Beach is privately owned and without the good will of the beach owners YOU wouldn’t have a Merlin Week in Salcombe.

Secondly the Fairway. It is there for a very good reason, namely to allow you start line with 50 boats on it in the busiest part of the estuary. Salcombe is an extremely popular port for visiting yachts people and to allow them and the commercial craft who use the Harbour a safe passage at all times without having to transit the line during a start sequence there has to be a fairway. If you looked at the Salcombe charts you would see that there is a Fairway marked right up the middle of the Estuary, if this was enforced the start line would be split to two channels on either side of the estuary.........What we have is an alternative which actually works.

As to its width, every year I get moans about the Fairway getting wider – if that were actually true it would have reached East Portlemouth and be on its way back by now! No it is in exactly the same place as it was 10 years ago.
You will remember that a few years ago we tried an alternative start line and it met with negative comments from both racers and spectators alike and was discontinued after one race.

John, 
I have mixed views about people using aliases on forums. It's nice to know who you are talking to but some of us have to bear in mind that search engines are all-powerful, and some of us don't want to be traced around the web.
Please don't dilute this important thread with the whole minefield of anonymity on the interweb.

Litter is unacceptable. Perhaps more so in Salcombe than in some other places.
Rigging tape is pretty much only going to come from sailing dinghies, so dropping bits of used tape directly affects our reputation. It makes it harder for Sailing Clubs to keep pressure on really messy types  (e.g. commercial fishermen, some yacht owners, dog owners...) which many clubs need to do to keep the place reasonable.
We should all support John with this, wherever we sail.

'Litter is unacceptable. Perhaps more so in Salcombe than in some other places.' 

Please explain to me, and perhaps others, where litter would be more acceptable. Maybe where there aren't so many second homes of the idle rich?

When you're rigging your boat in Portsmouth with other people's rubbish blowing around the boatyard, a bit of tape is less likely to be noticed. But I still put mine in my pocket.
A significant minority obviously think chucking their tape on the beach or car park is OK, are you suggesting they do so at Salcombe out of disrespect for the inhabitants?

This isn't unique to the Merlins or to Salcombe, we've seen it in other clubs and commented on it saying why doesn't anyone care? 
When a class is the only one with an open meeting in a location then there's no-one else to blame so it's time to wise up and if you want the class to return to the club then bin the rubbish. Clubs could help by reminding us with a few strategically placed black bags.

This seems to be a general dinghy sailing thing. My former club suffered from loads of discarded rubbish mainly after opens, schools or series with visitors. Not only that, but being a reservoir, there were regular mounds of HUNDREDS of water bottles collected at the dam if it was blowing northerly, or if from the south it would get 'lost' in the trees etc up the nature reserve end! The water company were not impressed.

Probably the result of loose items following capsize, but there is no excuse.

When I was taught, including powerboat, nothing was left in the water! I remember someone losing his hat from a safety boat at speed, and once the situation was over, the instructor made the errant candidate drive back and retrieve it; not easy in bad weather on a choppy estuary.

Tie them on or leave them ashore (preferably in the bin!)and clear it all up; honestly, this is kids stuff!!!!

No, I'm not suggesting that litter is dropped at Salcombe out of any malice at all. What I find intriguing is the concept that litter is more acceptable in one place than another. I end up with pockets full of bits of tape and that couple of inches of rope that you cut off something.

this littering will always happen, you can still drive along the road and see people throwing stuff out of their windows. However in order to manage the situation simply pay for someone to clear up in the evening after everyone has gone , especially at sensitive locations suck as these. either paid directly out of MROA pot or the clubs in question stop moaing and put an additional £1.50 on your entry and they organise a cleaner £40 boats = £60 quid so enough for a couple of folk to sweep up. club happy, competitors happy, cleaners happy everyone wins .
so stop moaning and manage the situation but you cannot manage to stop 80 sailors dropping plastic, but you can pay someone to clear up. for Mill Bay this should be a must.

Well, in my humble opinion that really is rubbish.
We each clean up your own mess, end of problem. If littering is condoned because 'someone else will clear it up' what happens at events when there isn't anyone to clear up - does it somehow become  their fault for not providing sweepers? Set an example and take it home. I don't want my entry fee/membership paying for other peoples litter habits thanks.

(comment responding to the comments about the payment of hired help to clean)

problem is people will not look atfer their own, so in order to preserve the perfect reputation of the MROA then manage the situation and pay for someone to clean up, or ask for the club to do it and pay through the entry fee or make a donation to the club to have it cleaned...then it id deligated , the club have responsiblily and you need not worry about it.QED

There is no excuse for bad manners which this is. I bet most would not just throw litter down in their homes so why do it elsewhere. It is common courtesy to bin it properly or take your rubbish home. No excuses. This just shows a total disrespect for others, wildlife and the environment.

Guys......please!!!

This is the second clearup in here, can we keep things civil and not have a go at one another?

Thanks