IT'S A BIRD … IT’S A PLANE … IT’S A … FREIGHTER???

     Or, DANG – those things move fast! 

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May 2, 2013

     A loaded supertanker traveling at normal speeds takes 20 min. to stop.

Unless you sail only on smaller inland lakes, sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with narrow shipping channels. Shipping channels are dredged out to be deep enough to let freighters and cruise ships travel from port out to sea, or through the Great Lakes, or up and down major rivers, without risk of running aground. We have an important shipping channel in and outside of Tampa Bay.

You may not have yet taken a boating safety course. If you haven’t, you may not know it, but these very big ships always have the right of way in those channels. You, as the smaller boat, cross those shipping channels (and you do cross them, not use them) at your peril.

There may be a shipping channel near to where you typically sail. If so, you have probably seen large freighters, or perhaps cruise ships, from a distance. Here’s what you need to know about them:

They move very, very, fast, and

They stop very, very slowly.

As the quote above says above, it can take a freighter 20 minutes to come to a full stop. What’s more, if you’re close to them, they cannot see you. Even if they could, they couldn’t do anything to avoid you. They can’t leave that channel. If they hit you, they will not be considered at fault.

Many sailors have heard that boats under sail have the right of way, and that motorized vessels must give way. Up to a point, that’s true, but that rule is true because of the bigger rule – right of way is determined by how maneuverable each boat is – not how it is powered. Generally speaking, a sailboat is less maneuverable than a powerboat of comparable size. But freighters and cruise ships aren’t very maneuverable at all when they’re in a shipping channel.

I photographed this freighter as it was moving toward the Skyway Bridge and the Port of Tampa. As I approached the shipping channel, I could see it off in the distance. I did not use any zoom on this photo. Very rapidly, this freighter was not far from me at all. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I could have ended up in the shipping channel with a huge ship steaming down on me, unable to stop. Either I would get out of the way, or it would crunch me and my boat into little bitty pieces.

Any time you are anywhere near a shipping channel, scan early and often for those big babies. Shipping channels use the same markers as the channels used by pleasure craft (in other words, us), so they’re easy to spot. You do the same thing you do to make sure you’re in your channel: you spot two red or two green, and line them up. That will show you where the shipping channel is. It will also be clearly marked on your chart plotter.

As you approach the shipping channel, turn your engine on (make sure no lines are dragging in the water first). You can leave it in neutral, but if you should suddenly realize there’s a big ship near you, you can use that extra power to maneuver. Never try to beat a freighter or cruise ship: that’s like trying to beat a train at a railroad crossing. It’s just not worth it. Tack, or gybe, or use your engine, and just get out of the way until that ship has passed. And take a good look at how fast it’s really traveling.