Stu,
You are correct in your point about visibility forward the headsail. Rick D, did not drift off-scope, but rather he nailed this problem that exists for sailboats.
I, like you Stu had a full deck cut 155. The boat previously was a club racer. to see forward, I had to sway back-n-forth just to see ahead. I had my NEW 155 high-cut off the deck for vis. Best thing I ever did. Also, complacency IS an issue.
Let's also give credit to Warren. Yea, money can buy you a bigger boat, but not experience or logic. Hence the saying, "More dollars than sense..........DUH."
Then there are the fools that think they know rules of the road....DUH(again). Merlin touched on this, as witnessed by me personally many times. You can learn rules of the road from the book and follow it to the letter however, "ALWAYS, BIGGER HAS THE RIGHT-OF-WAY................PERIOD!"
AND THEN, IT'S ALL ABOUT PLANNING. Your plan to go down a traffic separation or shipping channel. Let's compare a Hugo to a semi tractor trailer. Which one would you rather be in for the collision? Yet I witnessed this idiot sailor running the same course as a freighter in a shipping channel with another freighter coming up in the opposite direction. This was all going to happen at the same time in a dogleg.
Yea, our sailing hero was on the correct STBD side of the channel but this big-a** freighter was bearing down at 12 kts. with an inbound coming from the opposite direction. Wow, a crossing situation.
The idiot probably read the rules (and thought he understood them in the bigger scheme of things but, as we will see, he did not) for he forgot 4 important things to avoid this.
First, you're a puny little plastic sailboat moving slow in a high traffic big boat channel.
Second, you're in this channel with this monster bearing down on you & another monster coming from the opposite direction. This meeting situation will not allow both freighters to alter channel course at this junction.
Third, YOU will ALL meet in the same place @ the same time........Oh what joy.
Fourth, both freighters have been sounding the 5 blast danger signal for five minutes now, although our hero(?) remained steadfastly under sail on his course.
What this sh**t ass sailor didn't not foresee (or oblivious to) was, did he have sea room to bounce out of the channel to stay clear? Was there enough water? Did the prudent(?) navigator pre-plan his course and positioning allowing for close-quarter situations? If he had to bounce out of the channel was there sufficient depth?
Well, as the two freighters met & passed each other, the sailboat kissed all the way down the outbound freighter's STBD side hull. I watched as the sailboat admiral fell back from the wheel. The wheel spun & the rudder swung. Oh, then the mighty plastic boat turned to stern, Bernoulli's Law saw to it that the suction between the beast & the sailboat kept the little against the freighter's hull once more.
The sound of fiberglass scrapping, The spreaders snapping, the mast & sails falling, the complete turn-around of the boat. And let's not forget the lovely sounds of six people screaming in unison in a dark operatic tone. I watched this from about 50 yards away. It was like a black-n-white movie, Abbot & Costello meeting Optimus Prime.
He was an older gentleman(?), with 5 elderly people on his boat. When the freighter passed, I dropped sails & motored over for assistance. His antenna was gone and, I when I saw there were no injuries, hailed both freighters to let them know. I also radioed the Coasties while I helped them secure the mast, sails & rigging somewhat to the hull. Oh, I forgot to mention, I knew the depth out of the channel (cause that's where I was watching this horror flick from) & I towed him here & helped him drop anchor. I stayed close by until help arrived, then I booked, as I had my hottie onboard & she had a different agenda for me.
I couldn't wait for the USCG to show up, as he did nothing but recite the rules over & over(as he interpreted them) & complained that it was Optimus Primes' fault not his. I relented as this was not the correct forum to tell him that he F**ked up.
Maybe this is a good example of why you should carry a gun onboard.........just for the peace & quiet. To be honest, we became good friends after his survival. He has a new boat, a captain's license & we take turns sailing on both of our boats.
CR
