On Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:01:40 -0400, rhys wrote:

Frankly, though, I have had far closer encounters with dopey fellow
recreational sailors, powerboaters and jetskiers than I have with
commercial maritime traffic. I have had 35-40 foot sailboats under
main and motor cross my path obviously under autopilot in Lake Ontario
with no one at the helm or visible. I gave one such "near miss" two
miles offshore a blast with the horn (I was under sail alone) and saw
a bed-headed sailor with a mug of what I assume was coffee appear in
his cockpit, peering owlishly about as I sailed off, having missed him
by about three boat lengths.

Coming back south to Lake Ontario was a real eye opener towards the
end of this season. The recreational traffic was so much denser in the
Niagara to Toronto area. I had got used to scanning the horizon,
seeing nothing, and figuring I had 10 or 15 minutes to myself.

The freighters were much easier to deal with. There weren't as many of
them. They didn't change course capriciously. Their lights were good.
It was still challenging to keep comfortably out of their way in tight
places like the St Clair River, especially at night.

Some people just don't get it. He probably thought his chartplotter
would shriek if he got near another vessel.

There's an advantage to starting out with very limited instruments

Ryk