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People are just different

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RedRedWhine
Navigator

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USA
167 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/25/2008 : 22:39:50

I have been sailing for a while now. I use to have a ski boat for a while. I have nothing against power boaters but some of them just need to be a little more respectful. I was sailing this weekend and I was going through a narrow shallow channel. As I was going through a power boater was coming head on. I was in the middle of the channel and proceeding through it. He continued heading to me and I had to move to starboard as he went by me at a good rate of speed. I just think that sometime people do not understand that a sailboat has a draft. I was in 15' of water but the bottom is not flat but has small mountains and can change fast.

After I got through the channel I saw another power boater sitting dead in the water. He had the engine cover up and was buried in the compartment trying to fix something while ridding out the wake from the other boat. I pulled up close and blew out my main sail and coasted by slow to see if he needed help. He said that he had the boat serviced and they did not hook up a hose which cause the boat to over heat. He said he was fine and thank me for the help. I took off and a little bit later he came by and waved.

Two different boaters (people). I know that not all power boaters are like the first guy and I am sure the same goes for a sailor. But it would be nice to just slow down and think about the others around you.

Sorry to vent and I will get off my soap box now. I love sailing and I love everything about it.

Don and Kim Young
Las Vegas Nv
http://web.me.com/bolter303/Our_World/Welcome.html

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 08/25/2008 : 23:18:48

Works both ways... Recently in a very busy channel, a BIG Bendy Toy was coming right at me under power, on the wrong side. I finally veered to port, passed him starboard-to-starboard, and suggested as we passed that he try the correct side of the channel. His response: The NY finger. I'll admit I have more problems with meandering powerboaters, although less than we had before CT had a certification program.

Edited by - on

willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2008 : 12:26:22

In Delaware, fishermen actually anchor in narrow waterways,(Indian River Bay / Rehoboth Bay ditch), and the coasties don't bother them. I like powerboats and I like fishing, but I really believe a lot of people leave their brains at home when they go on vacation!
As long as I'm venting, last year as I was passing under the 34' Indian River Bridge, a 48' Post Sportfishermen came flying through at about twenty knots and suddenly veered towards my boat. The guys in the back were drinking beers and howling at "the bobbing sailboat" while I was scared SH*%less watching my mast rock towards the bridge superstructure. IDIOTS!
Just had to vent here!
Willy

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2008 : 14:42:39

This past Saturday Rita & I took SL out for a spin in Elliott Bay (Seattle's shoreline essentially). We had a nice day that included dodging the standard ferries, tour boats (some really nice sailboats do tours here), three gigantic cruise liners and a cargo carrier. We had the VHF scanning across 9-13-16 & 22A and it was kind of fun listening to the professionals keeping each other apprised of their movements and what they intended to do, especially one cruise liner backing out of it's mooring into Elliott Bay while an east bound ferry was on it's way in. They talked to each other like they did this every day, which I suppose they do, but the liner had to blow his whistle several times at an idiot in a red & white power boat that was dawdling directly behind his stern. The guys in the wheel house couldn't have seen him, so the stern watch must have told them about it. The power boat just couldn't seem to be concerned, they stayed maybe 100 yards off the stern of the liner as it steadily backed down on them. The liner was nearly beam to the onshore wind, so he couldn't afford to make mistakes. After several (I'm sure annoyed) blasts, the power boat slowly idled away to the north, still in his indirect path and the liner was able to make his backing turn out into the bay. Rita & I watched this wondering at the level of intelligence it takes to loiter behind a giant thing that can't possibly stop if it wanted to. What if your engine stalled?

On the way back in, we have to go through some narrowing channels to get up the Duwamish River to our marina. We luffed up out in the anchorage to drop our sails. Rita drove while I did the deck work, then we headed in. We ended up directly behind a Ranger 26 that was doing about 4kn up the river. As soon as we made the turn into the channel, there were two guys in a power boat trawling upriver on our side of the channel. We both elected to pass them starboard to starboard even though there was sufficient room to starboard to get by them, both of us ending up on the wrong side of the middle of the channel the Ranger actually in the downriver side of the channel. The Ranger continued upriver on the wrong side which surprised me a bit and I pointed it out to Rita & explained why we weren't just following them. By this time a Beneteau 35? had joined up with us and was sort of splitting the middle between us and the Ranger, and crowding me from astern. This annoyed me so I went even further to the right to give him sea room to pass if he chose, but we were also trying not to encroach on the Ranger in front, so I had to match his speed best I could while keeping the Beneteau off my butt. The Beneteau guys were having a good time, laughing & joking, and finally decided to back off of us and got in line behind and all of us continued upstream behind the Ranger. At the Spokane Street Bridge, I always like to pass through the center which I know is 55' MHHW, so tons of room but the bridge deck slopes quickly down on either side & I don't like to tempt fate, so I centered SL up in the channel as did the Beneteau. Immediately after the bridge is a footing for the railroad's bascule bridge which is almost always up, but it's eastern footing narrows the channel by half, and our marina is directly upstream from it. So as we went past the bascule bridge, I immediately cut to the left to let the Beneteau know what my intentions were, when all of a sudden the Ranger did the same thing in front of me. Oh, ok, maybe he's in our marina, or Harbor Island which is just upstream, so I slowed to a crawl & let him do whatever he was going to do. He just sat & idled slowly across our bow about 40-50 yards in front of us. The Beneteau & I were doing hand signals to indicate what we were going to do, and he indicated that he was headed to Harbor Island, but neither of us knew what the Ranger was doing. Pretty soon the Ranger reversed course & headed to the right side of the river still right in front of us, the Beneteau more than me now and you could see the frustration on the skipper's face. Finally he cleared in front of us & we both throttled up to cut him off from our separate approaches. I guess I shouldn't be astounded when a sailor does something dumb, but I plainly was, and Rita asked me why. I suppose I just expect more of a fellow sailor than I do a power boater (present company excepted of course) and it irks me when they let me down. I doubt that he even knew he was doing anything wrong, but he couldn't have not been aware of two more boats directly downstream of him. To be honest, after all the excoriation of "Bendy Toys" on this forum I expected worse of the Beneteau driver than I did the Ranger, and in the end, other than crowding me a bit at the entrance to the channel, he did all the right things. The crowding could have simply been his boat taking longer to slow down than ours does.

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2008 : 15:31:42

The problem with human beings at the wheel of a motor vehicle or boat is a sense of entitlement.

I could go on and on about how stupid some boaters are, but I won't... but I will be posting a video compilation of 'boating activity' that I am preparing for the local boating authority.
We have a little point and shoot video camera that we have been pointing and shooting at the dock and local waterways. Amazing stuff. stay tuned. It is frightening, stupid, funny and much more.

One of my favorite is a near miss at the dock/launch ramp where a PWC leaves the dock at full throttle while a sailboat is backing away and in-between them is a 25+ foot powerboat towing three little kids on an inflatable toy...Dad and Mom are preoccupied with something forward and have no idea their kids are about to get hit.

Edited by - on

RedRedWhine
Navigator

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USA
167 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2008 : 21:38:35

Some of the best times are sitting at the launch ramps and watching the idiots. I watched a guy slam his boat into the dock several times trying to dock. Than a very hot woman in a 30 foot fountain pulled in between tow boats and dropped off a guy back out with out touching a thing. I just laughed. Fun times

Edited by - on

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 08/26/2008 : 22:19:36

There are 2 kinds of people in this world: considerate and inconsiderate, boaters or otherwise.
Steve A

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

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USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 09/04/2008 : 10:24:30

IMHO it all begins when it stops being all about sailing (or boating)and starts being all about the boat ("Bigger is better"-"My boat cost more than yours"- "My boat goes faster than yours" - "I bought a boat because my neighbor bought one")

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 09/04/2008 : 12:25:48

I was looking at a magazine article about how the new pod-drives and joystick controls (that's powerboat-speak) can make a novice boater look like a seasoned captain around a dock... My immediate thought was, "Ya, but in a channel, does he know the rules??" One of these days I'll be saying, "Hey, Mr. Picnic Boat guy, I got your joystick right heah!"

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 09/04/2008 12:26:42

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