I get a real kick out of all the hullabaloo from sailors who use the ICW. It was built as a commercial waterway and was supported by the tonnage of commercial traffic that used it. Pleasure craft got a free ride.
Commercial skippers didn't need every mark to be lit, nor did they require policing by some over zealous local LEO. They just ran their tugs and barges up and down the waterway, cursing at the fools who actually thought there was a chance in hell that the tugs and barges could avoid a collision, should the pleasure boaters put themselves in harm's way.
Then politics reared it's ugly head and funding dried up, and the waterway got shallower and shallower, cutting the commercial traffic and justifying the politician's cuts, because the tonnage decreased significantly.
I haven't used it in years, but when I did, it was a often. Ft Lauderdale to NY or even farther, the ditch was a quick (4 days) easy run inside to Newport, VA for the sport fishing boats I was delivering.
We used lots of fuel, around 800 gallons a day, and the marina's loved us. Free dinners or beer (fun tickets in Thunderbolt), and free donuts and coffee at the crack of dawn, when we departed. Good times were had by all.
On the day's voyage we would do our best to slow to pass the sailboats, but not so much the ones headed against us, as they'd take the wake on the bow. As any power boater knows, a boat on a full plane throws a lot smaller wake than one that is not, so slowing was a double edged sword. And those big, 1500 horsepower turbo diesels do not like going up and down, speed wise. It really screws them up. They are designed to go nearly flat out or trolling speed, not up and down a couple of dozen times a day. So not slowing for oncoming boats was more than just discourteousness. Of course, we would go outside whenever possible, but during the winter, those days were few and far between.
If anyone gets underway, be it in the ICW or the ocean, it is prudent seamanship to stow things away and secure hatches. If a sailor does not do this and encounters a wake that swamps their forward cabin through an open hatch, or throws unstowed items hither and yon around the cabin, they certainly cannot blame the boat that made the wake. Does not everyone who navigates the ICW know that this scenario is probable, if not certain?
Lastly, if a motor boat is coming up behind you and wants to pass you, SLOW DOWN to idle speed or even pull her out of gear for a minute or two, if you don't want a giant wake. The courteous motor boat skipper will slow down to pass in narrow water, but if you don't slow down sufficiently, then the motor boat cannot get by you without throttling up and making a much bigger wake. Your choice, not the power boater's. After all, he's adding time to his trip to slow for you, you can reciprocate, can't you?
I no longer run the ditch, so don't go yelling at me that I am an assh*ole. I had a job to do and I was using a commercial waterway for commercial purposes and was trying to be as courteous as possible within the constraints of my vessel.
It is up to all of us to understand the other boaters' needs and limitations, and act accordingly.
its turned into a gun discussion.
