There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 – 200 class named
"Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks. It’s about
as big a private yacht as I’ve seen up this way in the past couple
years.

I was heading back in today solo and close hauled in a good fresh
breeze with the boat working hard under two reefs and hoping to clear
Ram Island without having to make a short tack. The "Floridan" was
coming out and settled on exactly the opposing course with her
stemhead exactly lined up with her mast. I watched for a long time
thinking they must take a slight deviation out into the 3000 or so
miles of open water to their starboard but the angle never changed.

Finally, at about half a mile, I eased the sheets and bore off until I
could at least could see a little angle on the hull and it wasn’t like
staring directly down the sights of a shotgun from the wrong end.
Cursing the loss of 100 yards on what was going to be a pretty tight
squeak to clear the island, I watched her pass about 100 feet off my
beam. Then, I got to deal with the wake of a large displacement hull
going nearly hull speed on top of an already considerable sea.

The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with the
autopilot on and never even waved.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.

Keep an eye out for this turkey if you’re cruising downeast. It’s a
bad one.

--

Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 - 200 class named
"Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks. It's about as
big a private yacht as I've seen up this way in the past couple years.

I was heading back in today solo and close hauled in a good fresh breeze
with the boat working hard under two reefs and hoping to clear Ram Island
without having to make a short tack. The "Floridan" was coming out and
settled on exactly the opposing course with her stemhead exactly lined up
with her mast. I watched for a long time thinking they must take a slight
deviation out into the 3000 or so miles of open water to their starboard
but the angle never changed.

Finally, at about half a mile, I eased the sheets and bore off until I
could at least could see a little angle on the hull and it wasn't like
staring directly down the sights of a shotgun from the wrong end. Cursing
the loss of 100 yards on what was going to be a pretty tight squeak to
clear the island, I watched her pass about 100 feet off my beam. Then, I
got to deal with the wake of a large displacement hull going nearly hull
speed on top of an already considerable sea.

The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with the
autopilot on and never even waved.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.

Keep an eye out for this turkey if you're cruising downeast. It's a bad
one.

Roger, was she on starboard tack, engine, or restricted in her
maneuverability?

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

It's a power boat.

--

Roger Long



"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 - 200 class
named "Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks.
It's about as big a private yacht as I've seen up this way in the
past couple years.

I was heading back in today solo and close hauled in a good fresh
breeze with the boat working hard under two reefs and hoping to
clear Ram Island without having to make a short tack. The
"Floridan" was coming out and settled on exactly the opposing
course with her stemhead exactly lined up with her mast. I watched
for a long time thinking they must take a slight deviation out into
the 3000 or so miles of open water to their starboard but the angle
never changed.

Finally, at about half a mile, I eased the sheets and bore off
until I could at least could see a little angle on the hull and it
wasn't like staring directly down the sights of a shotgun from the
wrong end. Cursing the loss of 100 yards on what was going to be a
pretty tight squeak to clear the island, I watched her pass about
100 feet off my beam. Then, I got to deal with the wake of a large
displacement hull going nearly hull speed on top of an already
considerable sea.

The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with the
autopilot on and never even waved.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.

Keep an eye out for this turkey if you're cruising downeast. It's a
bad one.

Roger, was she on starboard tack, engine, or restricted in her
maneuverability?

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

And not restricted? In that case, a bummer.

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

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
It's a power boat.

--

Roger Long



"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 - 200 class named
"Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks. It's about as
big a private yacht as I've seen up this way in the past couple years.

I was heading back in today solo and close hauled in a good fresh breeze
with the boat working hard under two reefs and hoping to clear Ram
Island without having to make a short tack. The "Floridan" was coming
out and settled on exactly the opposing course with her stemhead exactly
lined up with her mast. I watched for a long time thinking they must
take a slight deviation out into the 3000 or so miles of open water to
their starboard but the angle never changed.

Finally, at about half a mile, I eased the sheets and bore off until I
could at least could see a little angle on the hull and it wasn't like
staring directly down the sights of a shotgun from the wrong end.
Cursing the loss of 100 yards on what was going to be a pretty tight
squeak to clear the island, I watched her pass about 100 feet off my
beam. Then, I got to deal with the wake of a large displacement hull
going nearly hull speed on top of an already considerable sea.

The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with the
autopilot on and never even waved.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.

Keep an eye out for this turkey if you're cruising downeast. It's a bad
one.

Roger, was she on starboard tack, engine, or restricted in her
maneuverability?

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

Well, actually it was restricted despite 100+ feet of water, half a
mile clear on one side and several thousand on the other.

Restricted by arrogance and stupidity.

I've got to remember that my new cell phone can take short videos.
Three of those would have made a great attachment for a report to the
Coast Guard.

--

Roger Long



"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
And not restricted? In that case, a bummer.

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

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
It's a power boat.

--

Roger Long



"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 - 200 class
named "Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks.
It's about as big a private yacht as I've seen up this way in the
past couple years.

I was heading back in today solo and close hauled in a good fresh
breeze with the boat working hard under two reefs and hoping to
clear Ram Island without having to make a short tack. The
"Floridan" was coming out and settled on exactly the opposing
course with her stemhead exactly lined up with her mast. I
watched for a long time thinking they must take a slight
deviation out into the 3000 or so miles of open water to their
starboard but the angle never changed.

Finally, at about half a mile, I eased the sheets and bore off
until I could at least could see a little angle on the hull and
it wasn't like staring directly down the sights of a shotgun from
the wrong end. Cursing the loss of 100 yards on what was going to
be a pretty tight squeak to clear the island, I watched her pass
about 100 feet off my beam. Then, I got to deal with the wake of
a large displacement hull going nearly hull speed on top of an
already considerable sea.

The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with
the autopilot on and never even waved.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.

Keep an eye out for this turkey if you're cruising downeast. It's
a bad one.

Roger, was she on starboard tack, engine, or restricted in her
maneuverability?

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

Roger Long wrote:
There has been a Canadian flag mega yacht in the 150 – 200 class named
"Floridan" tied up in Portland for the past couple weeks. It’s about
as big a private yacht as I’ve seen up this way in the past couple
years.

Hmmm... just the name already makes me suspicious....


..... I watched her pass about 100 feet off my
beam.

Bummer, you could have let them hit you and sued for
millions. The lawyer's lobby would probably elect you President!

But seriously, why not just hail on VHF?


The captain was standing on the bridge wing having a ciggy with the
autopilot on and never even waved.


Porb'ly didn't even see you.

As someone said, Yes, the rich are different than you and I.


Well, they share one characteristic with the very poor- they
don't have to worry about money

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 20:38:27 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Then, I got to deal with the wake of a large displacement hull
going nearly hull speed on top of an already considerable sea.

Roger, with all due respect, a large wake should be regarded as just
another wave in a seaworthy and decent sized boat such as yours. It
is unreasonable to expect people to slow down except in a confined
area where you could lose control.

With regard to the right of way situation, did you sound a danger
signal or attempt contact on channel 13 or 16? That is the proper
course of action, preferably before the situation becomes critical.

Even though you had the right of way it would have been prudent to
have hailed him and proposed a "two whistle" pass. Most larger boats
will assume "one whistle" in the absence of some other arrangement.
Almost all boats of that size are piloted by professionals and will
respond positively to requests presented in a professional manner.

"Wayne.B" wrote


Roger, with all due respect, a large wake should be regarded as just
another wave in a seaworthy and decent sized boat such as yours. It
is unreasonable to expect people to slow down except in a confined
area where you could lose control.

Agreed and I am not a wake nazi. But we're talking here about the
wake within the first two or three waves as a result of a vessel
passing far closer than is prudent. No danger but it took some
finesse in those conditions to get through without getting soaked.
Actually, the wind blanketing of the close approach was more of an
issue. I can coax a boat through just about anything but I could have
been one of many people out there that could have gotten knocked down
or backed trying to get the boat moving again.


With regard to the right of way situation, did you sound a danger
signal or attempt contact on channel 13 or 16? That is the proper
course of action, preferably before the situation becomes critical.

You really think someone in a an enclosed, air conditioned, pilothouse
is going to hear the pipsqueak horn a sailboat can carry far enough
against a 20 -25 knot wind to have any beneficial influence on the
situation? Back when I used blow horns because I believed what I read
in books, I never noticed that anyone seemed to hear them in
situations like this.

As for the radio, my theory is that someone oblivious enough miss
seeing a 32 foot sailboat directly ahead isn't going to be on the ball
enough that I want to waste time talking to them. It was another of
those days when I was using both hands for the boat. I doubt he could
have understood the handheld out in the wind even if he hadn't been
out on the bridge wing sucking a cig.

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote



Roger, with all due respect, a large wake should be regarded as just
another wave in a seaworthy and decent sized boat such as yours. It
is unreasonable to expect people to slow down except in a confined
area where you could lose control.


Agreed and I am not a wake nazi. But we're talking here about the
wake within the first two or three waves as a result of a vessel
passing far closer than is prudent. No danger but it took some
finesse in those conditions to get through without getting soaked.
Actually, the wind blanketing of the close approach was more of an
issue. I can coax a boat through just about anything but I could have
been one of many people out there that could have gotten knocked down
or backed trying to get the boat moving again.


With regard to the right of way situation, did you sound a danger
signal or attempt contact on channel 13 or 16? That is the proper
course of action, preferably before the situation becomes critical.


You really think someone in a an enclosed, air conditioned, pilothouse
is going to hear the pipsqueak horn a sailboat can carry far enough
against a 20 -25 knot wind to have any beneficial influence on the
situation? Back when I used blow horns because I believed what I read
in books, I never noticed that anyone seemed to hear them in
situations like this.

As for the radio, my theory is that someone oblivious enough miss
seeing a 32 foot sailboat directly ahead isn't going to be on the ball
enough that I want to waste time talking to them. It was another of
those days when I was using both hands for the boat. I doubt he could
have understood the handheld out in the wind even if he hadn't been
out on the bridge wing sucking a cig.

It's funny how these things always seem to happen to you. What was it
last time, a small ferry?

Gary

"Gary" wrote

It's funny how these things always seem to happen to you. What was
it last time, a small ferry?

Gary

Twice in 36 years doesn't add up to "always" in my book and, while I
may be the only one reporting in this particular venue, I'm sure I'm
not the only one this happens to.

Twice in a summer may be a interesting statistical cluster. What I
think I'm really seeing here is a change in culture and expectations
of professionals on the water made more obvious by my having been a
pleasure boating Rip Van Winkle for 15 years. Far fewer people have a
clue about the right of way rules than they used to and I'm sure this
effects the thinking of commercial operators. Effectively, there are
no right of way rules for pleasure boats now or between pleasure boats
and commercial craft. Perhaps it's reasonable for the commercial
boats to just go in straight lines and keep the right of way rules
between them and their peers whose behavior can be predicted.

The responses about large vessels are off the mark. Both of these
were boats that could, and would, have diverted around a floating log
without a second thought to avoid possible damage to their props.
They held their courses either because of inattention or because they
assumed I would adopt the role of the burdened vessel in violation of
my duty to maintain a straight and predictable course. Neither
reflects well on them.

I would happily put the plots of my courses down an any USCG inquiry
table. I maintained a straight and consistent course as the stand on
vessel. When it became clear that the burdened vessel was not going
to respond appropriately, I diverted or slowed in time to avoid danger
of collision as well as danger that they would divert in the same
direction.

Regarding the radio, it is only a means of communication. The
handling of your vessel can be an excellent and even more convenient
method of indicating your intent. If you intend to depart your stand
on course, make a big and obvious change, show the other vessel the
whole side of your boat for a few moments and then come back to the
course that will clear. If they are watching, they'll get the
message. If they aren't watching, they probably aren't going to make
any sudden course changes before taking a look around.

--

Roger Long