What would you do?

[Henry]

Happens all the time

Yes, this happens all the time. And sometimes it will be without warning. We were headed in company of anothe sailboat, to an anchorage. We had to go through a pass between two islands so we began to strike our sails. The other sailboat did the same and was about 200 yards from us. We were clearly not under way at all. I was on top of the cabin recovering the main sail when a powerboat suddenly rounded the island. I never noticed it as my back was to him. My wife yelled "Hang on!" I grabbed the mast just as he split between our two boats. The resulting wake knocked me off my feet and had I not been bear hugging the mast, would have dumped me in the drink. Second story: While heading into our marina. We have a large seawall along the north leading to the entrance to our marina. It is perhaps half a mile long. The channel is quite wide, but the south end becomes very shallow. We were headed in and hugging the south markers. Two, very large (45 maybe 50 feet) powerboats going at full throttle passed us on the north side between us and the seawall as they did not wish to wait any longer for their sundowners. We got hit broadside by not one, not two, but four huge wakes in quick succession. We had no option but to ride them out as turning into them in the channel was out of the question. We had no time to look for registration names or numbers. It was hang on and hope we don't capsize. Our boat is not a small one either. They knew exactly what they were doing and probably had a good laugh at our expense.

 

[Rag Waver]

My boat...

...the Cynthia Mae, was set on her beam ends by the wake of a passing workboat at 4:30 a.m. one morning, and my wife and I were nearly rolled overboard. We were snugly anchored, and sleeping peacefully on the washboards of a crab-scraper replica I had finished building earlier that summer. Only the taffrails kept us from being unceremoniously dumped into the dark waters under Horse Marsh. But, such is life on a boat, since stink-potters seem to thrill in following a single rule: Maintain course and speed, regardless. As for motor boats passing from ahead (or from astern), they leave a wake whether they cross you or not. I'm in the habit of simply altering my course, trimming my sails, and meeting (or taking) their surging wakes at a comfortable angle -- I don't even have to think about it, it's become second nature. For me it's only a minor inconvenience, although a big part of sailing life in an area where the power boats-to-sailboats ratio is about 167:1 (someone actually did the math!) in general. It's proportionately worse during tourist season, when it's more like 378:1. Do I find sailing in such conditions too much trouble? Not at all -- if I didn't enjoy playing with sail trim, I'd just get a ding-danged motorboat. As Renoir said, more or less, to his frowning instructor when asked if he found the study of art amusing: If painting didn't amuse me, I wouldn't be doing it.

 

[newsailor06]

Although I am new sailing,

we had a power boat when I was in my teens. Actually it was an under powered boat, but it did leave a big wake since it was an inboard. When I see an approaching PB, the first thing I do is site the boat between the stancions. I was taught to judge the course by observing what the other boat does between them. If it is gaining on the forward stanchion, it will pass across the bow. If it is losing ground and coming closer to the stanchion to the aft, it will pass behind. However, if it is staying in the same place and holding evenly between, then it is more than likely a collision course. In any event, however, I make the adjustments that I have to. I consider it like riding a motorcycle on the highway. You can be in the right of way and still lose. You can end up being "dead right." Most of the time its not that we are going to any particular destination, it's just the ride we are enjoying.

 

[Bob7291]

Camera

If this is a persistent problem, how about keeping a camera handy and taking a shot of the PB, showing his registration numbers and/or stern ID. If a few of these are turned in to the Coast Guard, it might be sufficient for them to contact the guy and let him know he is being monitored. Plus, there is nothing like seeing someone else pointing a camera at you to make you wonder why he might be doing it.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Oh, no, monitoring

keep the gestapo at home, deal with the idiots one at a time.

 

[Ross]

Just learn to deal with it

you probably sail in larger seas than these power boat wakes.

 

[Tom Spohn]

Most people

are nice folks who want to do the right thing. When the wrong thing is done it is usually out of ignorance--ie. not knowing the right thing. Here is what I would do.1. Once I saw that the power boat was not going to give way, I would turn to avoid most of the wake. Before it hit at 10 o'clock I would warn the crew and guests to hang on and would manuever the boat to minimize the wake. I would also use the binoculars/camera to identify the offending boat.2. I would try to hail the offending powerboat and discuss what happened with the captain pretty much like Scott from Seattle ( reply 25) said above.3. If I got no response, I would put out a "securite" in the area and would report the boat to the Coast Guard when I returned to port.4. Washington State has finally passed a law requiring all boat operators to pass the US Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxilliary one day safety course. If I was in a state that did not have this requirement I would lobby my state representative to get this is place.5. I would try to not let one unfortunate incident ruin an otherwise perfect day.

 

[miketcook]

When I see oncoming, my concern is that there is nobody at the wheel, as I've seen that occasionally after crossing. So I assume it could be on autopilot, and navigate accordingly.

 

[SeaBob48]

I heard this years ago from a veteran sailor. I us it during any unsafe condition mostly by powerboaters.
Security,Security,Security. All vessels in the area of _ _ _ _ be advised there is a vessel leaving a large wake showing no regard for the safety of smaller vessels.
Then add the heading, location, time and the vessels Reg # and name of the vessel if you can. Previously said, the USCG is monitoring this on chan.16 Any local Marine Patrol worth anything will too. You can also contact the next bridge on 9 or lock on 13. If everyone would do this consistently (every single time) the USCG might get the picture.

 

[jssailem]

Mike... You have really been searching the archives. That message was form 2006. WOW.

It is still a good message and a reality that all boaters need to consider. Sure the CG Regs say that a sail boat has right of way when sailing. But... There is also the rule of MASS which sometimes ignores the rules of the Coast Guard.
Big boats under power trump sail boats under sail when they are bigger.

 

[Daveinet]

The story scenario is bogus. If the power boat speeds up, he will be on plain and will not create much of any kind of wake. The faster that power boat can go by me, the less wake he has and less interruption to my day. At 40 or 50 mph, that's only a few seconds of interruption and they're gone. What bothers me much more is the power boat who thinks they are being curtious by slowing down, creating a huge wake and taking forever to just go away. If you are not going to hit me, go by me as fast as you can.

 

[NotCook]

Learn CBDR

Navy and Coast Guard teach "constant bearing, decreasing range," which is the phenomenon of eyeing a collision course far away and following it. If the treeline behind the oncoming boat is fixed and not moving, you're on a collision course. Slowly try to deviate so as not to alter your sail plan, and you'll pass (usually behind) without anxiety or incident.

I think the prevailing issue is the effect of the wake, not imminent collision, though that clearly is also a concern. These idiots seem to have no regard for, or at least awareness of, the impact of their wake, and their liability for it.

 

[NotCook]

The story scenario is bogus. If the power boat speeds up, he will be on plain [sic]

That really depends on have much they speed up, and from what speed. As you point out, if they are on a plane, and they aren't a massive vessel, they may well decrease the size of their wake, On the other hand, of they speed up, and they are still less than plane, they are probably going to make an even bigger wake. I agree wholeheartedly with you that I'd rather they cross on a plane than at that worse possible non-plane speed that just maximizes their wake! What really gets me is a "Speed Limit 10" in a harbor, that assures all the powerboats will be producing maximum wake!

 

[Michael Davis]

What really gets me is a "Speed Limit 10"

Up here the speed in small craft harbour is written “ 5 knots. or minimum wake, whichever is slower”