Evan Gatehouse wrote:

Nobody in the commercial fleet runs at 32-36 knots, especially not
tankers! The very fastest container ships and LNG carriers are
around 25-27 knots. Cruise ships are slower, around 22-23 knots top
speed and most tankers are slower still. The exception would have
to be the SL-7 Fast Sealift ships which did 33 knots on trials.

I am not sure where you operate, but it's worth noting that there are a
number of situations where one encounters commercial vessels that routinely
operate at greater than 40 knots.

I have been sailing Bay of Fundy for quite a few years now. This is an area
where fog is common, and also an area where the "cat" ferries transit from
the US over to Nova Scotia. These beasts are over 300 feet long and have a
cruising speed of near (or perhaps over) 50 knots.

Several people have been killed by them in the past few years. Indeed, I
had the devil of a time getting the attention of the Bar Harbor - Yarmouth
ferry in high visibility conditions in one particular instance. The last I
heard there was a lot of pressure from operators to add this type of service
in Long Island Sound, a very high traffic area.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/