BLUEMOMENT

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The RYA has written to Marine Scotland, raising a series of issues arising from the Scottish Government’s current consideration of the proposal for the Kintyre Array ‘offshore’ windfarm – which is not, by any stretch of the imagination, offshore. It is simply in the water.

Just like ours off the N Wales & Wirral coasts (& right across the Dee Estuary). I like them, lazily turning, graceful pillars, right across the horizon. No problem to yotties, you can easily sail thro or round them.

They may be expensive & not that efficient, but they aren't much of a hazard to boats - provided you look where you are going.

Arghiro, how are they lit at night?

There is a bank of diesel generators on shore that supply the electricity to power the lights that warn you of their presence & a couple of old diesel tankers that drive up and down from Oban to deliver the diesel. But don't worry, they are using bio diesel, extracted from rape seed so we they aren't destroying food crops to create the fuel ... well they are just reducing the land available to plant food crops and reducing the amount of rapeseed oil available for other purposes

My word, and I never realised that the wind stopped at night. I love these fora, you learn something every day! Not quite so sure about the need for generators for units connected to the grid tho'.

Page 12 of this PDF http://www.bwea.com/pdf/28proceedings/T ... Barker.pdf shows the recommendations for lighting windfarms. It seems to work, no-one has hit one yet. Or can you advise me differently?

Dohh... they only need the generators when there is no wind
If the electricity went backwards, then you could power some of them and the'yd make their own wind and blow the other ones round so they'd still produce electricity and you wouldn't need the generators! Simples

Gardenshed wrote:Dohh... they only need the generators when there is no wind
If the electricity went backwards, then you could power some of them and the'yd make their own wind and blow the other ones round so they'd still produce electricity and you wouldn't need the generators! Simples

Of course, simply put them in a circle and they'd power themselves faster and faster forever.

Arghiro wrote:No problem to yotties, you can easily sail thro or round them.

They may be expensive & not that efficient, but they aren't much of a hazard to boats - provided you look where you are going.

That's not what your referenced Trinity House report says. To quote:

The intended and agreed purpose on marking
of the windfarms is to warn of the proximity
to danger.
The Prudent Mariner will not enter the area.

Sounds to me like "keep out, or it's your fault if you have problems"...

Thanks Arghiro, seems to be yellow flashers, so as long as they don't move, we'll assume they're not hovercraft.
Must say, I don't fancy sailing into a zone of such lights at night, must play havoc with the vis, hope I don't meet myself coming the other way (used to say this when I drove a motorbike too!)

DaveS wrote:

Arghiro wrote:No problem to yotties, you can easily sail thro or round them.

They may be expensive & not that efficient, but they aren't much of a hazard to boats - provided you look where you are going.

That's not what your referenced Trinity House report says. To quote:

The intended and agreed purpose on marking
of the windfarms is to warn of the proximity
to danger.
The Prudent Mariner will not enter the area.

Sounds to me like "keep out, or it's your fault if you have problems"...

I read that as referring to proper ships.
I agree it might be sensible to go around at night, but our experience with the Welsh farms is that small boats are not unwelcome when they sail in & around the farms in daylight. Heck, the supply boats do it all the time without bouncing off them. It might be a bit harder trying to weave a large container ship or tanker thro the field tho

It's only commonsense isn't it??? For our size of boat, the blades are way up above us & the columns are a long way apart - it's not like manouvering in a marina is it - and that doesn't worry many people.