Collision today

Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
...what's the distinction with "limited maneuverability" of a trawler with a long or multiple long lines?

My take is Limited Maneuverability would incure damage to the L.M. if taken. Fail to maneuver to miss another boat just to save your hooks and bait is no excuse.

" If the fishing vessel is not fishing or is using equipment, which does not restrict their taking evasive, action for safety then they are not termed as fishing vessels."
 
May 17, 2004
5,079
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
Context matters. And I might add that no one has claimed, as far as I am aware, that the power boat was "engaged in fishing." Just because you are on a fishing boat doesn't mean you are "engaged in fishing" from dock to dock.
Fair enough. I figured the writer probably just lifted the line from the COLREGS, but you're right that to a non-boating reader without the definitions section of the rule book it's likely to be misunderstood.
 

DougM

.
Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Winner! A rampant problem with the Chesapeake charter boats captains - they interpret the COLREGs to infer that them fishing gives them a RoW. Trolling ain’t trawling.
Same problem on Lake Michigan!
 

MitchM

.
Jan 20, 2005
1,021
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
thee is no way that boat fishing at trolling speed would have ridden up past the midline on that sailboat and done so mush crush damage. the USCG investigation will be done by experienced engineers who can calculate vessels' velocities of approach and angle of collision. i suspect this USCG licensed motorboat captain will lose his license--if he has one. as well he should...
 
Jan 18, 2016
782
Catalina 387 Dana Point
Since it's a charter fishing boat, I'd surely hope the 'captain' has a licence. He will very likely no longer have one.

Pretty amazing how well the J-boat held up to being t-boned. It looks almost fixable. I'm impressed. I used to race on J-24's and they seemed paper thin. That J105 held up awesome.
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,415
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
thee is no way that boat fishing at trolling speed would have ridden up past the midline on that sailboat and done so mush crush damage. the USCG investigation will be done by experienced engineers who can calculate vessels' velocities of approach and angle of collision. i suspect this USCG licensed motorboat captain will lose his license--if he has one. as well he should...
Exactly. Trolling on the Bay is at 3-5 knots, which would only provide enough kinetic energy (neglecting friction and crash losses) about 5 inches, realistically only 2-3 inches. 12-15 knots, on the other hand, would do that (half of the energy goes to friction and damage, the other half to lift).

The sailboat was ghosting; there are no waves to speak of. The sailboat would have been going only a few knots and could not have ducked.
 
  • Like
Likes: msseasailor

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
The sailboat was ghosting; there are no waves to speak of. The sailboat would have been going only a few knots and could not have ducked.

The J/105 was owned by Chesapeake Boating Club and provided to one of its members for an sail that day. Kevin Ryman,who is a principal owner of the Club, told the press that the boat was on a starboard tack in 8-10 knots of wind.
My guess is that the J/105 would have been going 5-6 knots across the water.
Clearly the powerboat didn't have the right-of-way and was the burdened vessel. Right now, we don't know if the fishing boat turned into the J/105, or if it changed its speed, or what.

It is one of those things, like when a car runs over a pedestrian in crosswalk. Unless the pedestrian did something HUGELY wrong, it's just the driver of the car's fault.

P.S. - The boating club is pretty neat, has both sail and power boats for its members to use for a reasonable price. http://chesapeakeboatingclub.com/
 
  • Like
Likes: BrianRobin
Oct 26, 2008
6,083
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I guess technically it is a "collision", but it seems kind of absurd to call it a collision when clearly it could be described more accurately and visually descriptive as 'a commercial fishing boat ran over a sailboat'. I suppose it is a newspaper article and they have to maintain some semblance of objectivity (unlike political news of the day :cool:), even to the point of saying that CG could not disclose which boat caused the accident. I think it is pretty obvious to even the most inexperienced observer.
 
  • Like
Likes: msseasailor

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,748
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA

SG

.
Feb 11, 2017
1,670
J/Boat J/160 Annapolis
That's what I figured too. But then when you read http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/boat-accident-chesapeake-bay.89307/ not everyone seems to think so. (Not that I agree with their speculation, but not everyone sees it as open and shut).
At 30 knots, a boat is going 50'/Second. (If you remember you HS physics, 60 mph is 88'/second; and, knots are about 15% more than mph.). I "drive" a 24' outboard powered dual cockpit boat sometimes in Florida at 30 knots. If that fishing boat were going 30 knots (like the passenger reported), then he really shouldn't have cut anywhere near the sailboat. If you're planning on passing any where close, and don't pay attention at those speeds, you can suddenly end-up t-boning someone. It's amazing that no one was killed.

Around Thomas Point, the waters are open, it was a "quiet" and un-crowded Friday, clear visibility, etc., etc. Really no excuse for a "USCB certified captain" getting into that situation with sailboat.

I share the notion that people that supposedly "drive" boats can have so little sense of i) Rules of the Road; ii) the basic thoughtless of zooming by someone at those speeds and throwing a wake; and iii) the consequences of a slight error when you're cutting close to someone. Those comments are SCARY, when you read them.

I plead guilty to cutting close to the sterns of other sailboats, especially when they are on a port tack and I'm on a starboard (and they don't yield); but I almost never pass in-front of another boat closely unless I'm sure I can bail-out and they seem to be watching.

P.S. - I find it amazing that they reported that weight of the fishing boat is only 3500 pounds. The 24' Robalo that I drive with only the big single outboard and no fuel or gear weighs over 5500 pounds. When they say that powerboat was "super light" and made wood planks with glass over it, I don't know why that is lighter that a cored hull?
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
...
From Rule 3 of the COREGS:
d. The term “vessel engaged in fishing” means any vessel fishing with nets, lines, trawls or other fishing apparatus which restrict manoeuvrability, but does not include a vessel fishing with trolling lines or other fishing apparatus which do not restrict manoeuvrability.

The interpretation below isn't the "REG" - I'm not sure where it's codified?

Meaning: Fishing vessels means vessels actually fishing and which due to their equipment in the water are unable to move away and keep clear of other vessels. If the fishing vessel is not fishing or is using equipment, which does not restrict their taking evasive, action for safety then they are not termed as fishing vessels. The equipment as specified under the Rules is nets, lines (long line tuna fishing), trawls or other equipment, which are similar.
That has always been my understanding of what the rule said, but I was unable to find it in writing the last time I went to look for it. Thank you for posting.

That aside, the fastest trolling that I have ever seen was about 15 knots. I only see that kind of speed when people are going after wahoo with very heavy gear. I doubt that 15 knots would put the head boat that far up the J boat. Also, I don't see any gear heavy enough to support that kind of trolling hanging off the stern of the boat, so I'm pretty sure that the head boat was not trolling at the time of the incident.
 
  • Like
Likes: msseasailor