Barge traffic

Sep 14, 2014
1,251
Catalina 22 Pensacola, Florida
General prudential rule applies, from Prudential Ins. do the prudent thing to avoid collision.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,993
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
@Cowpokee What @Stu Jackson said about improving the skill to approximate distance. Then you can work on estimating CPA or Closest Point of Approach and avoidance of contact.
The ColRegs have been identified. We know that sailboats can have privilege while sailing, unless the other boat is restricted by depth... yada yada yada..
There is one rule of survival. The bigger boat and the faster boat can make your day a bummer. So when in doubt protect your self. The rules will not help when your in a crunch and the water is invading your space.

Of Course through the years Stu has become a very skilled sailor. We are just not sure why he is such a BC Ferry magnet.

You can be sailing along with him and the water is empty of other boats, and then there is one of these

steaming at you about to run you down.
 
Aug 2, 2005
1,155
Pearson 33-2 & Typhoon 18 Seneca Lake
A friend of ours loves to tell this enlightening story.......

The following contact was overheard while monitoring Channel 16:
Yacht owner: "Tug with barge in tow approaching Turkey Point. This is the sailing yacht Longshanks."
Tug Captain: "This is the Tug Uncle George. I read you Longshanks."
Yacht owner: "You are overtaking us and as the overtaking vessel you must keep clear. I will maintain my course to cross the channel in front of you."
Tug Captain: "I am restricted to the channel. Change your course."
Yacht owner: "We are under sail and you need to keep clear."
Tug Captain: "You are in a shipping channel. You need to change your course."
Yacht owner: "We are sailing in a race and need to maintain this heading to reach our next mark. You need to keep clear."
Tug Captain: "You need to change course now!"
Yacht owner: "We are on starboard tack and, therefore, we are the stand-on vessel. You need to keep clear."
Tug Captain: "I hope you've got a Bible on board!"

Of course, this story sounds better when told to a group who have enjoyed one or more adult beverages while sitting at the marina!
 
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Apr 8, 2010
1,942
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
We have a lot of ship and barge traffic on our river, and the professional skippers are generally up for some radio communication with polite pleasure boat operators desiring to keep clear. As noted, you should also know the horn signals as well.
Sometimes, on a slow day they might even share some local knowledge about the best way to get thru a channel.
 
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
Most modern FM Marine radios have a "Scanner" to scan preset channels fast.

FM Ch16 monitoring is required by all barges for hailing and emergency.

All craft must have a sound making device.

"A vessel of less than 39.4 feet (12 meters) must, at a a minimum, have some means of making an efficient sound signal i.e., handheld air horn, athletic whistle, installed horn, etc. A human voice/sound is not acceptable."

Jim...
Actually here in Puget Sound, our Washington State ferries won't respond to channel 16 contacts even when you call them by name.

Ken
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Cowpokee: Where were you sailing? I'm stumped by barges in a reservoir.
Only judging by the picture I think you did stay far enough away.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
View attachment 149550

What is the proper etiquette while sailing in the vinicity of barge traffic?
Yesterday I went out for a late afternoon sail hoping to catch the evening breeze for a moonlight sail.
As you can see in the pic, the wind was very light although I was still making slightly greater than one knot while I was crossing the narrow channel.
As the barge rounded a corner about 500 yards from me, I could here his engines back off to idle speed. At first I attributed the quietness due to the tug turning directly away from me.
But after observing him for awhile, I noticed he was operating a greatly reduced speed. Later, it occurred to me that he might have been waiting for me to give him safe maneuvering room. Finally this was confirmed by his two blasts then I heard his engines rev up again.

Now I am conscience of the fact that the tug captain is out there making a living and I would no way intentionally cause any disruption to him performing his job. Had he hailed me on the VHF I would have made my intentions known. I even would have started my engine to clear the channel quicker if that would have increased his comfort level.

While it is hard to judge distance over water, how much separation should I have maintained between us? My thinking was that as long I am operating outside of the channel I wouldn’t be impeding his movement. He might have thought differently.

BTW, after the sun set, the wind did pick back up for a great moonlight sail.View attachment 149551
@Cowpokee

Was that Kerr Reservoir? I've done a few night sails there myself while camping at Hibernia. But I did not know there was barge traffic there. I'm assuming you were someplace else? If not.. let me know. I don't want to be surprised by a barge on my next Bugg's Island trip.

BTW: Great night shot.
 
Nov 26, 2008
1,966
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
Most modern FM Marine radios have a "Scanner" to scan preset channels fast.

FM Ch16 monitoring is required by all barges for hailing and emergency.

Jim...
Sorry, but that is not the reality of the real world. I have given up trying to hail any commercial vessel on 16. I'd guess i got about 10% success vs about 80% success hailing on 13; especially by name. This is from 7 years of full time cruising the east coast and the inland rivers
 
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Sep 29, 2008
1,928
Catalina 310 #185 Quantico
Although many don't have it, if your radio has AIS (such as a Standard Horizon 2200), you can select them and call them via DSC. I would imagine that would get their attention. On the Potomac River the barge captains are always respectful and appreciative if you call them to clarify intentions.
 
Dec 23, 2016
191
Catalina 27 Clinton CT
Golden Rule #1: If it's bigger than you, and can hurt you, turn away right away. X2. My guess is you met him in a river and he was running down the river. This gives him the right of way. If he was running downstream , which it appears he is his lack of speed is because he is sliding the tow around that bend. They will reduce speed until almost the same as the current, hug the bend, and shove the nose of the tow out into the current. This allows them to "slide" the whole tow around the bend using the current. He will have his predictor line on the radar to show where he is going as well as a meter to show his side slip. Once he has made the turn, he will power out of it. You can tell when they are doing it. Most of them will have floats tide off to both sides of the barges to show their speed through the water versus the current
 
Mar 30, 2013
700
Allied Seawind MK II 32' Oologah Lake, Oklahoma
Cowpokee: Where were you sailing? I'm stumped by barges in a reservoir.
Only judging by the picture I think you did stay far enough away.
I'm not Cowpokee but...
Looks like he is on Kerr reservoir in NE Oklahoma.
It is part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas river navigation system that starts at the Port of Catoosa just NE of Tulsa and leads to the Mississippi River. He could actually "sail" from Oklahoma to the Gulf.
The lake I sail on, Oologah Lake, was built primarily as a feeder to keep the water in the system at the Tulsa end.
I know several folks that have made the trip.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McClellan–Kerr_Arkansas_River_Navigation_System
 
Jan 8, 2015
360
MacGregor 26S, Goman Express 30 Kerr Reservoir
Hey guys, thanks for all of the great responses. The intent of my post was to ask what separation distance I would maintain so the tug captain wouldn’t feel like he should be concerned about my position.

Reading everyone’s responses, I now understand that communication is the better answer. Looking at it from the tug captain’s perspective; not having to guess about my intentions would give him the greatest piece of mind.

Thanks RoadKing Larry for so eloquently describing my sailing grounds.

Stu Jackson: Good suggestion, I can go back to my GPS tracklog and check relative position to the shore line. Also, I do have a copy of Chapman’s which was intended for last winter’s reading.
 
Nov 1, 2017
635
Catalina 25 Sea Star Base Galveston, TX
Commercial vessel has the right of way, especially when they're restricted in their maneuverability by draft/size. Sailing in the Galveston ship channel I've learned that they typically don't give a crap at all even if you're under sail without your motor running; they will play chicken and won't stop because...well, they can't. If you don't have a VHF (which you should, especially sailing in commercially shared waters), then use an airhorn to signal your passes (two bursts for passing them on their stbd. side, one for passing them on their port).
 
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WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,039
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
One of the best ways to get commercial traffic to talk to you is to put the Admiral on the radio. She always gets a response where I have to call several times. Like others have said. AIS allows you to call them by name.

And I believe in the Gross Tonnage Rule. "He who has the Grossest Tonnage gets to make the rules." Tug captains are working. I always talk to them to make their job easier.
 
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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Quite often, especially in rivers or the ICW, tugs and barges are operating on the very edge of control. Rounding bends or setting up for a bridge when the current is running, they may not have the ability to avoid another craft. Therefor obviously, one should keep well clear of them and not expect them to be on the most obvious course...
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