Following 3 months of intensive consultation with its personal and affiliated membership amounting to over 500,000 active boat users and representatives the RYA has responded to the Government White Paper.

The RYA concluded that:-

· All the current calls for legislation stem from one tragic collision involving commercial vessels operated by professionally qualified seafarers (Marchioness 1989)

· Two other recent Government-led reviews of legislation (Coast Byelaw Review and the Port Safety Code), after exhaustive enquiry into further action needed for coastal and harbour safety, made no mention of alcohol or the need for new laws.

· There has been no independent inquiry into the need for nor is there any independent evidence of, the need for new laws.

· The existing law (Merchant Shipping Act and Byelaw controls) on drunk navigation appears sufficient to deal with problems as and when they arise.

· However the RYA would not oppose a legislation giving new byelaw powers to breathalyse the drivers of private craft under power in the cases of speeding, collision or dangerous navigation on certain lakes, beach areas or harbours where a problem exists.

Commenting on the Government suggestions, the Chairman of the RYA General Purposes Committee, Peter Allan, said:-

“No one in the RYA would condone excessive alcohol consumption in leisure craft, and in fact we are not aware of any evidence to show that this is a general problem. Inevitably there are occasional incidents, but we believe that the existing byelaws that apply in most harbours, beach areas and inland navigations around the country are more than adequate to deal with isolated incidents as and when they arise. The last thing we want is an expensive and over-engineered solution to a problem that, quite frankly, does not exist”.