Armond,

Those are "high speed ferries", not ships. They involve a whole different
set of operating parameters than ships, including stopping distance.
In dealing with them and discussing them, you need to realize and understand
that comparing them to normal commercial traffic is comparing "apples to
oranges"....., same applies to standard tugs and Z-drive or Voight
Schneider.

otn

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message

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.