Crusoe said..
Copied from the Qld Gov Web Site.

Recreational ships
The skipper must have a blood alcohol limit of less than 0.05, the same rules as on the road. The skipper is also responsible for the safety of the passengers and should be responsible for their alcohol consumption. The effects of alcohol are enhanced while on the water due to the sun, wind, waves and constant motion. Reflexes and response times to emergencies are slowed and swimming ability deteriorates considerably.Skippers of recreational boats should also be aware that, when their boat is anchored, it may still be considered to be used for navigation, and the blood alcohol limit applies. The limit does not change unless the boat is securely moored in a marina, to a jetty or wharf or on a swing mooring.

http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Safety/Alcohol-rules.aspx

Well that does it I'm giving up sailing! Bloody fun police!

In true reality I don't drink much at all when I'm solo sailing When on long overnight passages i may have a few beers at sundown while I'm cooking dinner on a nice down wind run 8 miles of a Coast in clear waters but finish up with strong coffees to see me through the night.

At anchor in a shelter bay I maybe known to knock a few back but always have the ability to move anchorages and always constantly monitor changing weather conditions.

heres a story that relates.

The first night on my maiden voyage direct to west coast Tasmaina with my first mate 3 generation WA fisherman just 5 hours out I had consumed a good amount of beers as my mate did the first watch from sundown to midnight although we both shared the moment of sailing with 15 knots off the breeze into the night down the south side of K.I .

By midnight after a coffee I took my 3 hour watch and my crew went below (relived obviously after the banter I was raving!).

Still calm seas full moon heading for Tassie. By 1 am things rapidly changed white caps formed , wind started screaming ,swell started pumping.
By 3am it went from the best nights sailing ever to nearly total crap. The wind came round to the nose and I could not make my coarse and the Auto pilot Mark 1 sh#t the gears.

The crew come up and we discussed about putting in a reef and we decided we would and deviate our coarse to the safest harbour which was Robe on the SE of Adelaide. I set the boat up on a quarter beam reach and retired to my berth.
After 2 hours off my watch with no sleep just listening to the hull getting blasted by high pressured water as we surfed the waves, I decided to go to the cockpit...this is then when I could see my mate struggling to hold the boat on coarse with 5 to 6 metre Swells with breakers!
anyway I took my morning watch and we got into port unscaved at midday, getting into that small harbour was the most Welcoming place on the planet we both agreed!

moral of the story is you do need to watch your alcohol intake,solo,crewed or anytime on the water as always expect the unexpected to be thrown at you!

Good story southace, I have done the westcoaster race a few times
Now in Qld retired . I'll have to let soninlaw know regulation as he regulary drops anchor off straddy for a quiet weekend with a few ales.

southace said..
I geuss the next question is do the same charges apply as car? Do you lose merit points? Loss of car licence?

This from a fisho forum ... read the last post on the page it appears salient to Qld'ers

southace said...
I geuss the next question is do the same charges apply as car? Do you lose merit points? Loss of car licence?

Yes.
You do the lot. Car, motorbike, truck, boat and any other categories combined on your Qld license.

LooseChange said..

southace said..
I geuss the next question is do the same charges apply as car? Do you lose merit points? Loss of car licence?

This from a fisho forum ... read the last post on the page it appears salient to Qld'ers

Oops ..... the link didn't paste the first time round ..... try now ....

http://www.fishnet.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?p=628332&sid=4fe315b4a663bf09e71d8b45ff62eb71

That's just stupid...lose your car licence cause drink driving on a push bike so then you have to ride your push bike to work for 3 months!

southace said..
That's just stupid...lose your car licence cause drink driving on a push bike so then you have to ride your push bike to work for 3 months!

well when i was in qld a while back i knew a guy that lost his licence dui for roller skating pissed down cavil.

My initial reaction was the same as most comments above But on further reflection I do not disagree with the law on dui whether it be on water,land,bike car or mobility scooter. For example the mobility scooter incident on the sunshine coast was a person who was found by police so drunk he was lying on the road ,it was his fourth conviction for dui and he argued it was a motorised wheelchair that he could drive on the road drunk so it was ok. I am sure tge skate board rider had a similar history. Drunk bicycle riders are a danger to everyone on the road (3 killed in NSW) . Perhaps 30 years ago with less traffic it was not seen as a problem but now every weekend there are thousands of riders on the road and most believe they are always in the right.. There has to be a deterrant and fines mean nothing these days. Seems most people just ignore them anyway.
Anchored Boat. - Thinking about it probably the most dangerous on busy waterways are those that anchor for a boozy lunch then motor or sail back to base with impunity as the odds of waterpolice pulling you over are remote. Provided someone on board is under the limit with a licence there is no problem. I guess the big deterrent in Qld is that it COULD cost you your drivers licence.

I just think that commonsense prevails just as it does in drinking in all other places.
Moderation, moderation and then just a bit more moderation if you have any concerns.
When I'm solo aboard I drink very little. I like to be in control of my surroundings as much as possible.
When I am with my wife we decide who of us is the skipper if we want a drink and whoever that is is the non or very small drinker.
The laws are there for a reason and the main reason is that to many wankers don't know when enough is enough and as a result stuff it up for everybody.
Theres plenty of chance to have a few ales on a boat as long as you go about it the right way.
No one wants to pay a fine or worse still loose your license.

Lost my boat licence about 5 years ago in Qld drunk in charge of rubber duck licence for 8 months $800 fine and $800 for lawyer . No affect on car licence but had to do course and resit for new boat licence.Was told at the time skipper must be under the limit plu crew necessary to safely operate vessel.Sorta learned my lesson.

dcr said..
NSW authorities show common sense. The RMS rules clearly state
"Alcohol and drug offences
Breath testing, including random breath testing (RBT), can be conducted on the operator of a vessel while it is underway, including drifting. RBT does not apply when a vessel is moored, berthed or at anchor."

Sorry I side with the QLD ruling. Seen too many dragging fools too pissed to handle the situation. 1 ripper was the night 3 gin palaces steadily dragged towards me until they had to up and leave. I then had the pissed foulmouthed wench trying to secure their dinghy at the stern because they nearly fouled their prop all the while she was being spat at by their engine exhaust water and diesel smoke. She demanded to know why she had to move and that my boat was the one moving towards them and anyway we were the smaller vessel.

That all happened in NSW. While I'm not that stupid to believe it couldn't happen here at least I have hope it may reduce the incidence or at least get someone a similar set of fines in the aftermath.

Frant,
Trying to fathom what your last post means.
Is there a translation for us mere mortals.

Where's Cisco when you need him ?????

No you dont lose your car licence if you get done d/d in the water please dont post unless you 100% know what you are talking about.