On Sun, 13 Aug 2017 14:34:38 -0400,
wrote:

On Sun, 13 Aug 2017 14:02:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 13 Aug 2017 13:43:52 -0400,
wrote:

...while navigating through a crowd.

But he was caught up in a really tough situation.


http://gcaptain.com/captain-has-lice...eid=1fb2ec477f

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He should have stopped and waited for the CG to clear the channel.


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That would be the text book solution of course. I'm guessing that he
thought the CG would open up a path for him, and by the time he
realized that wasn't going to happen, he was in too deep. The wind
coming from his port side was blowing him out of the channel and he
had little or no steerageway for maneuvering. His only hope at that
point would have required powerful bow and stern thrusters which he
probably didn't have. USCG was really at fault for not keeping the
channel clear in my opinion. Those boats run on a regular schedule
and everyone should have known he was coming.


I agree it is hard to say what happened from a news story but backing
down and getting out of there as soon as he saw the mob in the channel
was probably the right answer. "Never take your vessel into a
situation you can't get out of". I also understand he believed he had
the right of free transit through that channel.
I am not sure if thrusters would have worked in that situation either.
Imagine what happens if he starts rolling them over with the outflow
or sucks in a kayak. People are just stupid and probably do not
understand what a thruster does.