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I Learned About Sailing from That

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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/13/2008 : 15:32:22

When I used to fly there was a saying that flying is hours and hours of boredom highlighted by a few seconds of sheer terror. Yesterday reminded me of that.

I had a blast sailing yesterday for about 5 hours. Temp in the afternoon got up to 73 and the winds were 8 - 11 knots and very steady.

I sailed out to the Houston Ship Channel and dinked around for awhile waiting for a container ship to come by so I could get some pictures.

At first, while I was actually in the channel the ship was about 3 miles away and there were a couple of tugs alongside. I then noticed the tugs pulling away and the ship starting to accelerate so I started moving out of channel. Still 2 miles away or so.

I moved to a point about 300 yards away from the channel and waited. Ship comes cruising by at a good clip and I got my pictures while watching for any kind of bow waves coming off the ship. Didn't see anything.

After the ship passed I checked once more for any type of waves and then I turned my attention to getting turned around so I could head across the channel to follow a couple of other boats through a channel to the east side of the bay. While turning and watching out to see what a Catalina 38 near me was going to do I was also putting away my camera. When I got through I looked up and there was at least a 10' - 12' wall of water coming at me like a tsunami.

For a brief instant I thought of turning and try to make a run for it but realized that a) It was too close and moving too fast and b) I was already heading straight into it.

Just as it was about to get to me I realized it was very steep and looked like it was about to start breaking (luckily it didn't). When I got to the top of the first wave I could see that the next wave in the series was about 8' high and very close to the first wave and also steep. I was then concerned that the bow was going to get buried in the second wave (luckily it didn't). After riding out a couple of smaller waves the excitement was over. Total elapsed time was probably no more than 45 seconds.

What was interesting is there was a tanker coming down the channel about a mile behind the container ship at about the same speed. I never saw or felt any waves from the second ship. I was somewhat farther away but not much.

The only things I can figure that caused the first ships waves to be so big would be the shape of the hull and I think I may have been in the area where the channel goes from 60' - 80' deep to 8' to 10' in the bay which would cause the waves energy to pile up the water much like waves on the beach.

Of course after the scare is over there's always that rush when you realize you survived and think "that was cool"! It's not and I'll never get that close again!

Thankfully it was just one of life's reminders that it can all come to an end in a matter of seconds if you don't pay attention. Especially when dealing with the sea!

GaryB
'89 SR/WK
Kemah,TX

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 01/13/2008 15:34:25

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2008 : 16:01:39

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 ...and I think I may have been in the area where the channel goes from 60' - 80' deep to 8' to 10' in the bay which would cause the waves energy to pile up the water much like waves on the beach.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I think you're on to it there... As the water gets shallower, the wave slows down, it's length reduces, and it becomes steeper. I had a similar experience with a wake from a big tug plowing down Long Island Sound a quarter mile away--the C-25 went airborne off the first wave and smashed into the second--green water rolled right over the cabintop, dousing me and a friend, and leaving 6" or so to drain from the cockpit. As the waves approached, I was debating whether to take them at an angle, and decided not to because I was worried we'd broach. It's interesting to replay those events in your mind--what you saw, what your options were, whether you recognized all of the options, how you reacted, and how it came out.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 01/13/2008 16:03:05

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 01/13/2008 : 18:30:58

Our marina owner has been heard to say "...beware the ocean, it is out to get you..."

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 01/15/2008 : 10:55:50

Eons ago, and two boats ago...I had a 22' stinkpotter. I lived near the Nanoose Maritime Test Range, just north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. This is a long deep fiord-like bay where Canadian and US Navies test and recover torpedoes. I had a group of flatlanders on my boat and we all decided it would be cool to get close to a Destroyer that was just departing the bay. I don't know how long that Destroyer was or how fast he was going, but suffice to say, at least 200' longer and a lot faster than I originally thought.
The Destroyer threw off a bow wave and a wake that tossed us around like a toy. I thought we were goners.
That was my first indication that stinkpot drivers tend to be knuckleheads.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 01/15/2008 : 16:44:45

I'd have to say the container ship I referred to above was traveling at least 20 knots and possibly faster. I was really shocked that it could go that fast. It also amazed me that it went from 2 or 3 knots when I first saw it off in the distance to the 20 knots + in about a mile and half or two miles.

GaryB
'89 SR/Wk
Kemah,TX

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 01/15/2008 : 18:03:21

I think those big ships can gain speed faster than they can stop - and they generally are an environmental hazard. They are a hazard to other boaters, they contribute more green house gases than all the vehicles on the road today, they injure and kill marine life and they cause significant shore line damage.
I'm glad all you got out of it was a thrill ride.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/15/2008 : 23:15:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 ...It also amazed me that it went from 2 or 3 knots when I first saw it off in the distance to the 20 knots + in about a mile and half or two miles.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">That was probably an optical illusion. Big ships always appear to be barely moving at a distance, and as they mysteriously close on you, you find they're moving faster than they appear to be--by a lot! 20-30 knots is not unusual--planing speed on a pleasure boat, but it doesn't look that fast on a ship.

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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2008 : 07:38:01

I'm awful glad I'm nowhere near any shipping lanes. It's bad enough when a 80 ft. commercial fisher speeds out Ponce Inlet and creates a 5 ft. bow wave. I will definitely remember this thread though and keep a good distance if I ever chance to be in the vicinity of a 700 footer.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2008 : 19:16:19

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave Bristle
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by GaryB
 ...It also amazed me that it went from 2 or 3 knots when I first saw it off in the distance to the 20 knots + in about a mile and half or two miles.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">That was probably an optical illusion. Big ships always appear to be barely moving at a distance, and as they mysteriously close on you, you find they're moving faster than they appear to be--by a lot! 20-30 knots is not unusual--planing speed on a pleasure boat, but it doesn't look that fast on a ship.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

In this case the ship really was moving slowly. When the tugs backed away to the side they just floated alongside the ship for a couple of minutes. They were perpendicular to the ships direction of travel. After a couple of minutes you could see heavy smoke start coming from the stacks and shortly thereafter the tugs were left behind.

BTW, I was watching part of this through binoculars.

Now it's possible the ship could have been farther away than I thought giving it more time to accelerate.

GaryB
'89 SR/WK
Kemah,TX

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/16/2008 : 20:54:19

Nonetheless, I stand by my warning: Ships close on you much faster than they look like they will.

Edited by - on

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4304 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2008 : 07:59:41

No argument Dave, I agree with you! As I said in my original post "I'll never get that close again"!!!

Some people may not know it but if you get too close, especially in a narrow waterway, you could actually be pulled into the ship as it goes by.

GaryB
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2008 : 20:18:06

Have you guys seen pics on the newest container ship built for Maersk by a company in Holland? Forgive me if I've mentioned this in another thread a few weeks ago. It will travel between China and our west coast and that's it. The ship is 1,302 feet long (1/4 mile) with a beam of 207 ft. That's wide enough for 22 containers side-by-side. The tower rises 10 stories above the deck, and it carries a crew of 19. In the photos I saw, the pier had 11 container cranes to load/unload, which were fed by 5 lanes of trucks. A link is below.
I wonder what kind of wake that puppy generates?
It's single screw is powered by 1 supercharged 2-stroke diesel engine. cylinder bore is 38", stroke is 96" and it looks like there are 10 or 12 cylinders.

http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2006/11/the_largest_con.html

You might also just google "emma maersk" The pics are incredible.

Edited by - dmpilc on 01/17/2008 20:56:27

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 01/17/2008 : 23:19:42

Wow, that's a huge ship. I was on the [url="http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=142&type=ContainerRollonRolloffShip"]Stephen W. Pless[/url] for a while back in the 80's. She was around 800' long by 105' wide, easily more the 3x the size of the tin can I was on. The Emma is WAY bigger than that. The Pless could easily do around 20kn and as I remember it didn't take us all that long to get up to speed from a dead stop.

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jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 11:32:30

As it's a civilian ship (not military), what is the huge bulb in the bow for (Gallery 3 photo)?

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 12:37:31

Sonar. You see that bulb on most modern ships, including those weird cruise monsters.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 12:44:03

Jerry,
I'm not sure which ship or photo you're referring to, but you probably mean a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbous_bow"]bulbous bow[/url]. They're designed to reduce the hydrodynamic forces as the ship plows through the water, reducing fuel costs and increasing speed. If you thought it was a sonar dome, in my experience (admittedly limited), sonar domes are mounted back from the bow and are usually made of neoprene. Of course this was just the one on my destroyer, the only one I've had occasion to actually see & touch when we were in the yards for repair. YMMV.

Edited by - on

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/18/2008 : 16:00:46

From what I read, the EMMA will do almost 35 knots!

Edited by - dmpilc on 01/18/2008 16:01:37

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