it was JUST before, I think had I tried to gybe or tack, ,
in that light wind I would have ended up more in their way.

SBV



"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
Seems like blowing a horn after the fact is a bit late,
but it's not clear
if they were sounding the horn before or during.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"otnmbrd" wrote in message

25.201...
"Scotty" wrote in
news
Last week while sailing up a river channel, about
200yds
wide, doing 3 kts in light. wind, I spotted , off my
starboard stern quarter,2 powerboats, 'sitting' next
to
each other. I figured they were fishing, or just
talking to
each other. Then they seemed to be trolling, very
slowly up
river, as I was cutting across the channel at an angle,
I
figured I had plenty of time to cross in front of them,
rather than behind in case they WERE trolling lines.
Then the lead PB starts honking his horn ( like a NYer,
when
the light turns green) and yelling. I heard something
about
my Mother, and towing and privilege. Since we were both
going slow, and not real close, I continued on my
coarse. he
never got closer than 100 ft. Only after they passed
did I
see the small towing line between them.

Would a 'tow' like this have 'privilege?

Not necessarily

Would he be
considered a RAM?

Possibly....if he cannot deviate from his course/speed
up/slow down

Wouldn't he need to be displaying a day
shape?

Can't remember where I read this, but no. If a vessel is
not normally
engaged in this type operation and would not normally
carry these type
day shapes because of their size then they need not be
displayed but they
should make every effort to inform (blowing a horn like
a NY taxi driver)

Given that I had ample time to cross, was I still
wrong to do so?

If you could do so safely with ample clearance, no....
ample clearance is
the key phrase.


Even if it had been a properly marked 'real' towboat,
and
someone crossed in front, causing the tow to turn, but
no
collision happened, what if anything could/should be
done to
the crossing boat?

First off, a "real" towboat is still obligated to obey
the normal
steering and sailing rules unless they are RAM (and RAM
is not an
automatic designation for a towboat), so there can be
any number of
possibilities as to right or wrong in your maneuver.
In answer to your question..... no harm no foul....
expect a tongue
lashing. Naturally if your maneuver was "illegal" and
the turn the
towboat had to make to avoid a collision endangered or
caused injury to
the tug,it's tow,or crew then you should expect a report
to the various
authorities and possible actions, collision or not.

Is there penalties for near misses?

To date, not generally.


otn