Ferry encounter
 

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
"Tom Dacon" wrote

(snip) Vessels should slow to minimum speed while within 500 yards, and
maintain at least 100 yards distance unless they have obtained permission
to approach.

I don't what the situation might be where Roger sails.

Well, we don't have anything similar that I'm aware of. With a 1000 yard
wide harbor, it would be chaos it we did. There usually is a boat with a
blinking blue light just off the stern of any cruise ships that are in
town (room for one only) but I've never seen them chase anyone.

There was a lot of amusement a year or so ago when the USCG was escorting
the ferries back and forth. I don't know whether it was the laughter or
the fuel bills that ended that foolishness.

--

Roger Long

Interesting link. Of course, if the ferry is approaching you, you'll have
limited ability to get to the distance requirement. They're talking about
ships over 100 feet in length, so that wouldn't hold for the ferries around
here. Also, anything that large would be restricted in maneuverability in
the channels.

They never escorted the ferries here.

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

Ferry encounter
 

Without knowing all the particulars (i.e., being there) it's hard to tell
who did what to whom.
At any rate, my guess is that it was just one of those circumstances we may
all run into that's mainly kept in the memory banks for future possible
incidents, where we can now think of another possibility of what may happen.



"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I wish my point could point well enough to have come left. I'd win every
race I entered!

The easiest action for the ferry to have taken would have been a slight
diversion to the middle of the channel. There was not other traffic that
would have been a factor.

She may have assumed that I would tack to stay in the channel so as to
keep at least 20' of water under my keel:)

--

Roger Long

Ferry encounter
 

On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 12:36:09 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:


Here is the chart with the ferry (excursion boat would be a more
accurate description in this case although it is operated by a ferry
line) shown in red and our course in black. I just read rule 9 and I
would be curious if anyone would think that it applies to a 6 foot
draft vessel near high tide in this case.

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Encounter.jpg


If she thought you were motorsailing she would have been the stand-on
vessel.
Only explanation that fits the facts. Hard to judge her emotional
state. :o)
Mark E. Williams

Ferry encounter
 

"Maynard G. Krebbs" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 12:36:09 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:


Here is the chart with the ferry (excursion boat would be a more
accurate description in this case although it is operated by a ferry
line) shown in red and our course in black. I just read rule 9 and I
would be curious if anyone would think that it applies to a 6 foot
draft vessel near high tide in this case.

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Encounter.jpg


If she thought you were motorsailing she would have been the stand-on
vessel.
Only explanation that fits the facts. Hard to judge her emotional
state. :o)
Mark E. Williams

Unfortunately, it's not good enough to think that. One is obligated to avoid
a collision, and it doesn't matter if you think you're right and don't.

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

Ferry encounter
 

Roger Long wrote:
I wish my point could point well enough to have come left. I'd win
every race I entered!

The easiest action for the ferry to have taken would have been a
slight diversion to the middle of the channel. There was not other
traffic that would have been a factor.

She may have assumed that I would tack to stay in the channel so as to
keep at least 20' of water under my keel:)

Roger,
It looks to me that the ferry was burdened. I would have sounded 5
short blasts and called the ferry on the radio and asked about the
ferry's intentions as soon as I realized that the ferry was not going to
mnvre in accordance with the rules. Time permitting of course.

Gary

Ferry encounter
 

"Gary"

Roger,
It looks to me that the ferry was burdened. I would have sounded 5
short blasts and called the ferry on the radio and asked about the
ferry's intentions as soon as I realized that the ferry was not
going to mnvre in accordance with the rules. Time permitting of
course.

You must be a powerboater. Short BLASTS? You mean five short little
peeps (which I doubt they could have heard), if I could have taken one
hand off the wheel in conditions in which the boat had become
seriously overpowered due to the wind increasing very rapidly. I was
lugging until I could get to the lower traffic zone to reef. I was
just holding it together and this was happening too fast to have
started a radio exchange, even if I could have spared a hand.

Despite the number of people on the boat, I was essentially single
handed. If situation awareness counts for anything, the ferry skipper
(or skipperette) should have been able to look at the conditions, one
person on deck, rail in the water, main eased, and figured that maybe
I had my hands full and couldn't be counted on to do any fancy
maneuvers.

She's actually damn lucky I am a good enough helmsman to have been
able to carry a controlled luff under those circumstances. If I'd hit
her or taken the rig out coming aback while trying a last minute
avoidance of a burdened vessel standing on, you can be damn sure I
would have been going after her license.

--

Roger Long

Ferry encounter
 

"Roger Long" wrote:

"Gary"

Roger,
It looks to me that the ferry was burdened. I would have sounded 5
short blasts and called the ferry on the radio and asked about the
ferry's intentions as soon as I realized that the ferry was not
going to mnvre in accordance with the rules. Time permitting of
course.

You must be a powerboater. Short BLASTS? You mean five short little
peeps (which I doubt they could have heard), if I could have taken one
hand off the wheel in conditions in which the boat had become
seriously overpowered due to the wind increasing very rapidly. I was
lugging until I could get to the lower traffic zone to reef. I was
just holding it together and this was happening too fast to have
started a radio exchange, even if I could have spared a hand.

Despite the number of people on the boat, I was essentially single
handed. If situation awareness counts for anything, the ferry skipper
(or skipperette) should have been able to look at the conditions, one
person on deck, rail in the water, main eased, and figured that maybe
I had my hands full and couldn't be counted on to do any fancy
maneuvers.

She's actually damn lucky I am a good enough helmsman to have been
able to carry a controlled luff under those circumstances. If I'd hit
her or taken the rig out coming aback while trying a last minute
avoidance of a burdened vessel standing on, you can be damn sure I
would have been going after her license.

I would anyway. Or at least file a complaint.

Ferry encounter
 

"Rosalie B." wrote

I would [go after her license] anyway. Or at least file a
complaint.

Well, I'm sure she (and I only say "she" because it was a female head
that stuck out the window to look back at me, could have been a
girlfirend, crew, or trainee) didn't get this far in her career
without understanding the rules well enough to have been saying to
herself, "Yikes, if that idiot had hit me, I wouldn't have a leg to
stand on." The caliber of the ferry district crews seems high enough
to me (a former consultant to them) that I don't think a complaint and
the flurry of paper surrounding it is needed to drive the point home.
I may feel different if I see more of this.

As a former pilot (well, still one officially but self grounded), I
know that we all screw up occasionally, even when the consequences are
more endangering to ourselves than a slap on the wrist from the Coast
Guard.

Since this incident though I've been watching the behavior of other
vessels more analytically; also myself. I think there is some basis
the idea mentioned here somewhere that electronics have put a lot of
people on the water who haven't gotta clue. Loss of the expectation
that others will follow the rules changes behavior.

The ferry captain may well have been thinking, "This bozo will tack
like all the others do." I, in fact, give way to the CBIT vessels with
early, clear, course changes 99% of the time because they have a job
to do, are on schedules, and I like to handle my boat. Just as I type
this, a very plausible explanation occurs to me.

I sail a lot and my boat and behaviour could easily be as well known
to the ferry captains as they are to me. "She" may well have been
thinking, "Oh, it's that guy, he'll tack." Meanwhile, I'm thinking,
"There's a professional in that pilothouse, I can count on them to do
the right thing." If it had been a 50 foot seaway or a dragger, you
can be sure I would have tacked. This is all pointing to something a
lot more subtle and complex than knowledge of the rules of the road.

--

Roger Long

Ferry encounter
 

Roger Long wrote:
"Gary"

Roger,
It looks to me that the ferry was burdened. I would have sounded 5
short blasts and called the ferry on the radio and asked about the
ferry's intentions as soon as I realized that the ferry was not
going to mnvre in accordance with the rules. Time permitting of
course.


You must be a powerboater. Short BLASTS? You mean five short little
peeps (which I doubt they could have heard), if I could have taken one
hand off the wheel in conditions in which the boat had become
seriously overpowered due to the wind increasing very rapidly. I was
lugging until I could get to the lower traffic zone to reef. I was
just holding it together and this was happening too fast to have
started a radio exchange, even if I could have spared a hand.

Despite the number of people on the boat, I was essentially single
handed. If situation awareness counts for anything, the ferry skipper
(or skipperette) should have been able to look at the conditions, one
person on deck, rail in the water, main eased, and figured that maybe
I had my hands full and couldn't be counted on to do any fancy
maneuvers.

She's actually damn lucky I am a good enough helmsman to have been
able to carry a controlled luff under those circumstances. If I'd hit
her or taken the rig out coming aback while trying a last minute
avoidance of a burdened vessel standing on, you can be damn sure I
would have been going after her license.

No I'm not a power boater. Even though the ferry appears to have been
the burdened vessel, you are still required by the R of R to go through
the steps of indicating you don't understand her movements etc. I keep
an air horn and handheld VHF in the cockpit just for that reason.

How far ahead of you did the ferry pass? Maybe her appreciation of the
situation was different from your. Her ARPA may have indicated a safe
CPA astern (one that the ferry was comfortable with) while you were
eyeballing it.

Gary

Ferry encounter
 

"Gary" wrote

What you are saying here is you only adhere to the rules when you
want to and the rest of the boats on the water know you do that?
What about the rule that requires you to stand on? Maybe you have
inadvertently created the confusion by allowing some vessels to pass
while demanding your rights with this one?

Not at all. I'm quite cognizant of the need for the stand on vessel
to behave in a predictable fashion. Once a situation has developed to
the point that the burdened vessel needs to make a correction in
course I religiously go straight and steady.

When I give way to the ferries, I do it well in advance of it's
becoming a crossing situation and do it with a clear and often
exaggerated course change to make my intentions clear. This is done
well in advance of it becoming an encounter. Thinking about it
further, I probably do this far enough outside their zone of concern
that I kind of doubt that the notice. After all, I know exactly what
their route is likely to be.

Still, the point about creating confusion is an interesting one. I
see it more in terms of everyone's aggregate behavior though. Maybe
it would be better if everyone insisted on their right of way. In a
small busy harbor, though, you are often burdened and stand on at the
same time to different vessels.

--

Roger Long