Near Miss in Port Huron

Jan 13, 2009
391
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Some misinformation here. Took my boat up Detroit and St Clair rivers in July for the Mac race. 30 footer with a 1GM 10. Max speed in flat water, no current- 6 knots. Adverse current 2-3 knots. Played all the tricks including outside of curves and hugging shorelines in the St Clar River. 20 ft off the docks. 20 yds off Canadian Shore going to and under the Blue Water Bridge. A lot more fun coming back downstream. There is a video on YouTube somewhere of us going up the Canadian side
 
Dec 23, 2016
191
Catalina 27 Clinton CT
No one. One boat is the stand on vessel and one is the burdened vessel.

And then there is the gross tonnage rul


wrong wrong wrong. Check the pecking order on the COLREGS. He is either a RAM or constrained by draft which puts him ahead of any sail or power vessel
 
Jan 4, 2010
1,037
Farr 30 San Francisco
Well it looks like on the video at about 48 seconds in, the laker was pointed dead at the Catalina and still obviously turning. It took them till about 1.07 20 seconds later to correctly change course. In that 20 seconds the ship would have moved maybe another 100 yards closer to them. I wonder if there was any action on the VHF?
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Played all the tricks including outside of curves and hugging shorelines in the St Clar River.
If memory serves, the inside of the bend should have less current. Honestly, it has been a long time, but I've been up & down the Amazon and the Orinoco rivers. Also made one trip down the mighty Miss from the Illinois River to NO.
 
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Jan 11, 2014
11,319
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
If memory serves, the inside of the bend should have less current. Honestly, it has been a long time, but I've been up & down the Amazon and the Orinoco rivers. Also made one trip down the mighty Miss from the Illinois River to NO.
Your memory is still functioning. Inside the curve the water is shallower and slower. Out side curve it is faster and deeper. Every white water canoeist and kayaker know this.
 
Jan 13, 2009
391
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
Oops- we went inside the curves. Worst current other than near Bluewater bridge was the Livingstone channel which is straight.
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Your memory is still functioning. Inside the curve the water is shallower and slower. Out side curve it is faster and deeper. Every white water canoeist and kayaker know this.
Whew... that's a relief.
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Saw this video of a near miss at Port Huron. The folks on this boat are lucky to be alive. Wonder what they are thinking about their experience and seamanship (or lack thereof).
That video was very unsettling.
Let's just forget about the idiots who put themselves in that position and imagine what's happening on the bridge of the ship. None of us go to sea with the intention (I'm not too sure about quartermasters, though) of killing folks out having a nice day on the water. But there comes that moment of realization that it's all out of your hands and all you can do is blow your horn, literally.
People are going to die, your career is up in smoke, and your whole life is going to spin off its axis. Court dates, possibly house arrest, Admiralty Lawyers around you like flies to sugar, and those guys sure aren't cheap. College is gone for the kids and just getting food on the table next week a seemingly impossible chore. Tried, convicted, and sentenced on Fox News, over and over again until a bigger bone comes along for those mangy mutts.
Your kids are tormented at school and everybody stares and whispers as your wife goes about her business outside the house.
And all that, convicted in court or not, because of the actions of somebody else, who will certainly be eulogized at their funeral.

Sorry, rant over.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
That video was very unsettling.
Let's just forget about the idiots who put themselves in that position and imagine what's happening on the bridge of the ship. None of us go to sea with the intention (I'm not too sure about quartermasters, though) of killing folks out having a nice day on the water. But there comes that moment of realization that it's all out of your hands and all you can do is blow your horn, literally.
People are going to die, your career is up in smoke, and your whole life is going to spin off its axis. Court dates, possibly house arrest, Admiralty Lawyers around you like flies to sugar, and those guys sure aren't cheap. College is gone for the kids and just getting food on the table next week a seemingly impossible chore. Tried, convicted, and sentenced on Fox News, over and over again until a bigger bone comes along for those mangy mutts.
Your kids are tormented at school and everybody stares and whispers as your wife goes about her business outside the house.
And all that, convicted in court or not, because of the actions of somebody else, who will certainly be eulogized at their funeral.

Sorry, rant over.
@capta It's the new age: convict in social media; in the news; make it a "story" and who cares about the real information. It's just sell "news",; find the angle to "pull on the heart strings" and create a new "reality" type show... Play it over and over until it's no longer making money, or - as you say - a better game comes to town...

sorry for rant continued by 3rd party...

dj
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
@capta It's the new age: convict in social media; in the news; make it a "story" and who cares about the real information. It's just sell "news",; find the angle to "pull on the heart strings" and create a new "reality" type show... Play it over and over until it's no longer making money, or - as you say - a better game comes to town...

sorry for rant continued by 3rd party...

dj
I don't really think it is all that new. Captain Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez was tried, convicted and sentenced by the press and public for an incident for which he was not at fault. However, as Captain he was the responsible party. As usual, when government entities are at fault there is always a "fall guy" that takes the focus off their misdeeds.
 
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dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
I don't really think it is all that new. Captain Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez was tried, convicted and sentenced by the press and public for an incident for which he was not at fault. However, as Captain he was the responsible party. As usual, when government entities are at fault there is always a "fall guy" that takes the focus off their misdeeds.
Seems what you are talking about above is a bit different concept. I completely agree this is an age old concept, perhaps summarized in this 19th century poem:

The net of law is spread so wide,
No sinner from its sweep may hide.
Its meshes are so fine and strong,
They take in every child of wrong.
O wondrous web of mystery!
Big fish alone escape from thee!
-- James Jeffrey Roche

dj
 
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MitchM

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Jan 20, 2005
1,009
Nauticat 321 pilothouse 32 Erie PA
1/ Re: the exxon valdez: there ‘ s an interesting book out, outlaws of the seas, about problems created by the big international rustbucket freighters with incompetent captains and , crew running under flags of convenience from liberia and malta. Uscg tries to no longer let those rustbuckets in to us ports. The reference to the exxon compared newdesign doublehulls to older ones like exxon and concluded it would have broken up even if it were a double hull.This freighter certainly was competently captained and doing what it should.
2/ 5 blasts to me from any other boat , but especially a huge one,means get. out. of .my .way...
 
Jul 21, 2021
28
Helsen HMS 23 Bloomington
There is another factor I see, it looks like a lot closer passing then it is due to telephoto lens compression of distance. And ships will sound horns around sailboats that are not even close to the channel. I've had it with barges on the Ohio.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,319
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
When a ships captain sounds the ships horn it not random. They are complying with COLREGS. If they fail to comply their license and livelihood are at risk not to mention the safety of others and their vessels. They are not being rude. They are doing their job.
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
When a ships captain sounds the ships horn it not random. They are complying with COLREGS. If they fail to comply their license and livelihood are at risk not to mention the safety of others and their vessels. They are not being rude. They are doing their job.
Scary when a ship is bearing down on you and is blowing his horn five times! I was sailing up the Fore River Ship Channel one day, and passed a sailboat anchored in the middle of the channel. Behind me, the Fore River Bridge was raising, and a ship was backing out of it's slip. I sailed back by the sailboat, and asked why they were anchored. They said their engine died, and they were waiting for a tow. I mentioned that a ship was approaching, and they might want to get on channel 13, and talk to the ship. By this time, the ship was making it's way under the bridge, so I dropped my sail and motored over to the sailboat. I threw them a line and had them secure it to a stern cleat. I was able so pull them out of the main channel, and into the Town River channel as the ship passed by, very close, blowing the afore mentioned five blasts. A very close call!
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,319
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Scary when a ship is bearing down on you and is blowing his horn five times! I was sailing up the Fore River Ship Channel one day, and passed a sailboat anchored in the middle of the channel. Behind me, the Fore River Bridge was raising, and a ship was backing out of it's slip. I sailed back by the sailboat, and asked why they were anchored. They said their engine died, and they were waiting for a tow. I mentioned that a ship was approaching, and they might want to get on channel 13, and talk to the ship. By this time, the ship was making it's way under the bridge, so I dropped my sail and motored over to the sailboat. I threw them a line and had them secure it to a stern cleat. I was able so pull them out of the main channel, and into the Town River channel as the ship passed by, very close, blowing the afore mentioned five blasts. A very close call!
The link below lists the COLREG sound signals.

If disabled in a shipping lane or channel, one should make periodic Security Calls on the Channel 16. This will advise vessels passing nearby that there is a disabled vessel. A security call (sometimes Securitae) is the lowest level of VHF alert. Pan (Pahn) is used when a vessel is in distress, but people onboard are OK. MayDay is for a life threatening emergency.