On Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:20:51 -0500, Richard Casady
wrote:

Cruise ships cruise in the neighborhood of 20, A reasonable speed for
my 22 foot sterndrive. You run half a mile alongside a ship, and if
need be, let it serve as a breakwater.

That tactic may work OK on small lakes in Iowa but I eagerly await
your test results in the Gulf Stream. You may be trying to make a
joke of course but I'm always concerned about someone reading advice
like that and taking it seriously. There are one or two boats per
month lost on the east coast of Florida because they are out there on
the wrong day and/or the wrong boat, not very funny if it happens to
you or someone you know.