Is this just plain Rude, or worse?-gctid387043

[Guest]

Helloooooo Everyine

On Monday I had a few friends out for a joy ride and an island picnic. There were 5 of us.

On the way back to port in a channel that is close to half a mile wide, we were just chugging along at about 5 knots. Now I will readily admit that my head was not quite 'on a swivel' but I was paying attention to what I was doing. I was alert.

But not alert enough. MY GF's eyes just about popped out of her head as a gargantuan cruiser (45 footer? Bigger maybe?)came flying by us, within 20 yards, and with a wake that looked like you could surf it. No, I am not kidding - that damn wake looked 4ft high, really steep, and was curling as it overtook my boat. I yelled to people to hang on as I steered into it to lessen the impact. Still, stuff went flying everywhere. My friends in the cabin all got hurt to some degree: one bloody nose, one girl hurt her ribs, one banged her head and still has a huge knot on it. My cooler went flying with drinks and ice everyhwere, coffee cups broke in my galley,,,,,you get the idea.

Well due to the fact that my first action was to lessen the wake plus teh boat was going so fast and waving a huge Canadian flag behind it, I could not see the name of the boat. But I will remember it and given the opportunity, they will get an earful and some of my best gutter language. I know some real gems in Francais in case their English is limited.........

So, was this just rude, or was it worse?

I think it was worse, somewhat dangerous in fact.

Any thoughts besides the fact that I wasn't aware of it until it passed? All I can say to that is it was clearly hauling a$$ if it totally surprised me like that. I typically look back every minute or so & do a 360 lookout

Any criticisms on my driving are kind of expected here So feel free to scold me.

I should have seen the turd no matter how fast he was approaching but surely there must be some responsibility on his end to not flip us over or beat the snots out of us with his monster wake?

Oh, and would it have been better if I had turned my stern to that wave? or would I risk being swamped?

[Guest]

Rude and dangerous very bad behavior . You were just enjoying the day i always thought a rear view mirror would be a great addition to most boats. dont judge all canadians as bad.

[Guest]

jamie mac wrote:
Rude and dangerous very bad behavior . You were just enjoying the day i always thought a rear view mirror would be a great addition to most boats. dont judge all canadians as bad.

No, I don't do that.

Actually, it was silly to even mention it and I wouldn't have except that the flag blocked the boat's name.

[Guest]

Seems like about every other time we are out, some butthead in an express cruiser has to cut thru all the guys fishing and toss us around in their wake. I hate that. I guess with the gallons per mile those get for economy it's too expensive to give anyone some decent berth.

I think I would have chased him to get a vessel name and reported the incident along with the fact your guests were injured, to both local enforcement and the canadians. It would be nice to see him getting the should deep cavity search on the way back across the line.

Makes you wish you could say say things like "flood the forward torpedo tubes", and "fire fish one and two".

If you notice, there are several "idiot" posts because it was a holiday weekend. I don't do holiday weekends. I'll do maintenance, honey-do's, etc etc, and then the next weekend we take the boat out.

[Guest]

Much worse than rude--illegal!!

You were being "Overtaken" and were, therefore, the "stand on" vessel. The other boat was overtaking you and was the "give way" vessel. The overtaking vessel is obligated to advise you of his intention to pass, either by sound signal (1 short blast to pass on your starboard side, 2 short blasts to pass on your port side) or over the VHF radio. You would respond to his "intention" by signalling back with a like signal if you agree or the "danger/doubt" signal (5 or more short and rapid blasts) if you disagree.

He is liable for any damage/injuries caused by his wake. This should be reported to the authorities since injuries and damage resulted from his actions.

Wally

MOONSHINE

2000 4788

[Guest]

According to the rules of the road you are supposed to signal before you overtake another vessel. I think it is one blast to port and two to starboard (may have that reversed). At any rate you should not overtake so close or at such a speed as to cause the incident you described.

[rafaelfigueira]

LazyCrusr wrote:


On the way back to port in a channel that is close to half a mile wide [...]

Oh, and would it have been better if I had turned my stern to that wave?

What about turning stern-side to the wake and powering up? I dont know your situation and speeds, but I do that sometimes in my bowrider, when there is space. Essentially run away until the wake is small enough to be handled.

[Guest]

"US Coast Guard (repeat two more times), this is LazyCruiser (repeat two more times). I was nearly swamped near (location) by a 45-foot vessel flying a Canadian flag. He did not signal his intentions, and passed us going approximately 25 knots, within 50 feet of my boat. Last seen heading (direction) towards (nearest landmark)."

This will get someone's attention. They will probably ask you for further details (injuries and property damage), and on a slow day might even look for the turkey.

You *do* have a VHF radio, right? :-)

Rob

[Guest]

I would still report it, especially since there were injuries. Unfortunately this type of thing happens all to often and you can't let these numbtards get away with it. Just because their boat is bigger doesn't mean they are above the law and above common courtesy if nothing else.

[All_In]

That boat overtaking you is responsible for his wake and was the give way vessel. Can't trust anyone when on the water. Was on a friends boat out of Vancouver a couple years back and some 50' boat was approaching from the stern, we watched his actions as he approached. Straight at us the turned to pass on starboard the changed to pass on port side, then aimed straight at us again. One buddy was ready to take evasive action on the controls and the other waved his arms and yelled at the other captain, the other boat finally changed course. Some captains just do not pay attention, even when they are on plane.

Robster also gave great advice

[iceclimber]

Bad form. Someone could have gotten tossed overboard.

[Guest]

The rules and laws of navigation aside, I think common sense tells [most] boaters to give all other vessels as much room as safely possible. Unless there was some reason that the other boat knew of that you didn't - there's no reason that a boat over taking another boat should pass that close when there is plenty of safe room. We aren't talking about a tanker that couldn't change its course.

Some people are just jerks. i was out last weekend and returning home at around 28mph, had a wake boat on my tail driving the "calm" section of my wake - i would assume because it makes their voyage smoother, still this idiot and his family were 20 meters off my stern. I slowed down to force him to pass and i think (know) he was actually pissed.

I try to take wake and large waves head on or somewhere less then 45 degrees. I hope your crew will be ok.

The little devil on my shoulder wants to tell you that the next time you see the boat anchored for a nice afternoon, do a few power turns around him....but that wouldn't likely be a very good message.....

[Guest]

"Responsibility for your wake" has mostly to do with damage to the shoreline and fixed structures. This situation sounds like the waterway was reasonably wide and there was no speed zone. If you push the issue you will get asked why you are underway in a boat that can't take waves. If you were anchored the discussion might be different but not necessarily.

You could still make a call on 16 generally announcing the danger of the big wake. If you use "pan pan" the local Coast Guard will probably respond.

Rule 34 (signals when overtaking in a narrow channel) also implies that the warning signal can be used (5 blasts) when intentions or actions are in question. If it was in fact appropriate for the passing boat to sound signals then it would also be appropriate for the passed boat to sound the warning signal. If there was a desire to bring some sort of justice to the passer you would have a much firmer stance if you could tell authorities that you sounded warning signals.

By the way - one blast means "I am going to show you my port (one syllable) side". Two blasts mean "I am going to show you my starboard (two syllables) side". This is the case for all meeting and crossing situations.

[Guest]

robster_in_edmonds wrote:
"US Coast Guard (repeat two more times), this is LazyCruiser (repeat two more times). I was nearly swamped near (location) by a 45-foot vessel flying a Canadian flag. He did not signal his intentions, and passed us going approximately 25 knots, within 50 feet of my boat. Last seen heading (direction) towards (nearest landmark)."

This will get someone's attention. They will probably ask you for further details (injuries and property damage), and on a slow day might even look for the turkey.

You *do* have a VHF radio, right? :-)

Rob

You're on the right track but what's even better in this instance is Homeland Security! I would've enjoyed watching the action on this guy's boat when they pull him over!

I am married into a Canadian family and most of the Canadians I have met are the nicest people on the planet. But I have met some real Ice-holes up there as well. I witnessed a situation as you just described. We were in a narrow channel between Genoa bay and Maple bay some of you PNWers know it well. There was a older couple, probably locals enjoying a nice sail on a small sail boat ~ 20' long. This real DB in his brand new 65' yacht w/ canadian flag, on plane no less, goes zooming through putting out a wake big enough to surf on. The guy was doing at least 20 kts. Right at the narrowest part of the channel was the sail boat. I was surprised the sail boat wasn't swamped or someone went over board. A small power or fishing boat would've been. I went by Mr DBYachtsman with a single finger salute maybe he got the message. Lucky my boat at the time was a bit faster than his. I swore if I saw him back in US waters I would call Homeland Security as they don't really need a reason to board your boat anymore than "suspicious behavior from foreign vessels".

What it comes down to is money can't buy intelligence or common sense.

[Guest]

JohnWms wrote:


By the way - one blast means "I am going to show you my port (one syllable) side". Two blasts mean "I am going to show you my starboard (two syllables) side". This is the case for all meeting and crossing situations.

That's how I remembered it. The easy way for me was one blast = one syllable Port. That's where the boat would be when I pass it.

two blasts = two syllable word Starboard. That's where the boat would be in relation to my boat when I pass it.