"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

"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.

"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

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

"Gary" wrote

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.

The ferry is an older and minimally equipped boat. Judging by how
close I was amidships at the pass there absolutely would have been
contact if I had stood on.

--

Roger Long