AIBU to think a Russian ship firing in home waters matters?

But then you asked why didn't they use their siren or flares when all the media reports said that they had. Are you just reading headlines and making the rest of it up in your head?

Forgot to say - I would have been more amenable to correction, had you simply pointed out my error, rather than attacked me over "bullshit".

But we live and lean! have a nice day!

I accept I was wrong about the waters part, although to be fair I was referring to the english channel / our backyard, rather than making precise statements about demarcation lines.

All the best!

Just to add this was in international waters in the busiest shipping lanes of the world

The Russians did all that. The couple confirm they heard the 5 warning blasts and moved "2 degrees port" . Now anyone who doesn't know how to navigate, change that into a clock face and the prats moved from dead on 12 o'clock to 20 seconds to 12 o'clock!

So yeah the Russians or any other navy in the world would have noticed " we clearly changed course " .

Allowing for an error at it was actually 20 degrees that's just over 4 minutes to twelve!

Remember to drive on the road you need a driving licence. To sail nothing. These people might have been sailing for years but they were bloody stupid.

Anyone who goes on about right of ways etc think about this ... I am cycling, just a head a lorry turns left across my path. I steer around it and I am OK, a little annoyed, but OK. I carry on because it's my right of way and I am dead...I am turning those handlebars

You got your facts wrong, then doubled down on them.

@BlueSherbet I thought they used flares after the sirens.

So they didnt try a flare or their helicopter?

Both much less provocative options that firing weapons.

They tried the radio, the yacht didn’t respond.

They used their siren, the yacht changed course by two degrees which is so small it would not have registered.

The Russians then fired into the air, not at the yacht, and the yacht finally turned.

This was not in our territorial waters.

Happy to help.

Well thats a lovely, heart warming point to end our discussion on then.

The points I made were fully robust, splitting hairs over a facetious joke doesn't change that.

It was in international waters. Not English or French. And the Navy does shadow Russian warships through the channel routinely

Thanks for calling me a Silly Billy. My nan used to call me that and you just brought back some lovely memories

Cherbourg, not Dieppe. Accuracy matters.

Yes they could have used their radio, a flare or siren to warn the yacht.

Or they could have sent their organic helicopter unit to warn it off.

But instead they chose to fire weapons in our territorial waters....to prove that they could do so without consequence.

Oh grow up, I was making a joke with the "rowing boat" as would have been obvious to anyone who was not an utter clown.

And sorry to say, the part of the english channel where this happened is UK terroritial waters. Why would a UK ship be shadowing anything in French waters? Silly billy.

Maybe sit this one out and leave it to people who know what they are talking about 😉

The Kelvey couple, interviewed in Dieppe, Mrs Kelvey as spokesperson,
declared that they had been sailing for 16 years, were on their way to France
and “it was our right of way” - so there you have it -
the Frigate would have been warning them as the Kelvey’s didn’t give way
and were on a collision course.

Someone ask the Kelvey couple if on a motorway they steadily stay in the
middle lane doing 68mph.

Vilifying the Captain/crew of a Frigate in International Waters sounding an alarm
to a smaller more vulnerable yacht was more a concerned courtesy than an act
of aggression.

They could be related to the pig headed couple captured by pirates off the coast
of Somalia, sure they would be safe and unmolested, heedless of all advice to the contrary.

Older people have slower responses, can be hearing impaired without even knowing,
bloodymindedness is not confined to an age group (two year olds can do it)

I was an infrequent leisure sailor and yes I've seen the navy handle yachts that were pissing about in a dangerous manner - the Russian warship's actions do not strike me as worrying or indeed excessive

BS. Was the warship supposed to sit quiet and let the yacht crash into it and the yacht's crew potentially drown? If you are a big ship in a busy and dangerous shipping lane it is absolutely your responsibility to warn more vulnerable vessels not to endanger themselves by getting too close.

So not home waters, nor a rowing boat then. Thanks for correcting your previous bullshit

The russians fired the warning shots purely to demonstrate that their shadow could or would do nothing in response.
It was in the English Channel this happened.

Given it appears the Russian vessel was in international waters I'm still not sure what people think the Royal Navy should have done.

Its a small craft suited for intercepting people smugglers or drug shipments.

It is wholly unsuited to confronting a russian frigate, which comprehensively outmatches it in both size and arnament.

Yes, it can shadow a frigate, but could never confront it - as it showed when it failed to confront the russians after firing shots - and so whats the point of shadowing it at all?

Its only to keep up a threadbare pretence of a functioning navy.

The russians fired the warning shots purely to demonstrate that their shadow could or would do nothing in response.

It was in the English Channel this happened.

I agree it appears unusual to the general public especially when whipped up by the media however from a military perspective i understand what has happened which is why I spelled it out as it is a standard kind of escalation procedure. They felt threatened for some reason as are on operations related to their shadow fleet (I presume) and scared the encroaching yacht away but then there was no further action from them when the yacht finally took the hint. You have to also place this in the context that Ukraine have been driving small drone boats into their fleet packed with explosives. Warships set up an exclusion zone around them which they will defend when on operations.

I've just skim read the thread and I can only see two references to their age?

They are the same age as my parents who still sail regularly, there's no ageism from me just total shock at the number of poor decisions it took for them to end up in that situation

Why was the Russian ship drifting?

Due to age?