BRIDGES

     They’re more complicated than scary

Going through bridges -- I remember the first time I did it. I fumbled with the radio, sweated bullets over the timing, and was relieved when it was all over.

Those are the two big issues: using the radio and timing your passages. I’m going to talk about them one at a time, with a few comments at the end.

USING THE RADIO

The reason for following these steps when using the radio is out of courtesy to the bridge tender, who is juggling multiple balls at once sometimes. Predictable conversations make life easier for him or her. What you say will also make sense to the other boats around you, who will then know what to expect.

When you see the bridge in the distance, switch to Channel 9.

Call the radio when you are clearly visible and identifiable to the bridge tender. Here’s the language to use (the bridge tender will call you “Captain” out of courtesy. He or she doesn’t care whether or not you handed the radio over to a crew member).

1.   Call the bridge three times – “Corey Bridge, Corey Bridge, Corey Bridge…”

2.   Identify your boat: “This is the sailing vessel ‘Pink Floyd.’”

3.   Identify where you are: “I’m approaching from your north side.”

4.   Identify what you want: “I’m waiting for your next opening.”

5.   Make it clear that it’s the bridge tender’s turn to talk: “Over.”

The bridge tender may have a question or two for you. Always say “over” when you’re done answering.

The bridge tender will tell you when the next opening is. Thank him/her, and say, “Standing by.”

        

TIMING YOUR PASSAGE

There will be a main path through the bridge. For sailboats, that path is through the span opened up when the bridge is raised. If the bridge does not open, there is usually a small light at the center, on the edge of the bottom of the bridge surface. That will be lit at night but you’ll be able to spot it during the day.

For bridges that open, wait to one side of the path through the bridge and back some distance, as powerboats without a lot of height can go through at any time. If you want, you can sail or motor around, but keep a 360º lookout as bridges are heavy traffic areas but with no easy rules about where any one boat should be. If you wait in place, leave the engine in neutral.

The best advice I can give you is “Don’t hit the bridge.” You may have seen sailboats squeaking through the bridge as soon as there’s a crack at the top wide enough for their masts. Actually, according to the bridge tender I spoke with, you’re not supposed to do that. Both current and wind are shifty under a bridge. Leave yourself a good margin of safety. The two boats in this video did not leave a good margin of safety, as you’ll see (turn your sound on for this):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZ21k4mfSQ

 If no one was hurt in that accident, they're very, very lucky. Several things were probably in play in that accident. First, the bridge tender may not have been able to see the boats trying to get through. They often can't see boats that are very close. Second, once a bridge has started to close, the bridge tender cannot always interrupt that process. In that video, incredibly, it appears that not one but two sailboats were going to try to go through a closing bridge.

Don't do that.   :)

However, the bridge tender is obligated to keep both boaters and drivers in mind. So you don’t want to waste his or her time, either. So what do you do? Tell the bridge tender that you’re familiar with your boat’s capabilities and speed but that this is your first time going through a bascule bridge.

Then, as the time to opening gets closer, zig zag a little closer to the opening so you’re ready to turn toward the bridge when the time is right. But when is that?

        

Well, it depends. The bridge tender uses a specific sequence of signals that can help. First, he or she sounds a horn five times. Five blasts of a horn is a warning sign. Then you’ll hear bells and see traffic gates drop down. The next step is that the bridge will start to open, but scan the bridge. If there are bike riders or pedestrians on the bridge, that will delay the opening.

As you start to approach the bridge, go slowly, and gradually increase your speed as the spans open.

As soon as you’re sure your mast is through, Say “Thank you, Bridgetender.”

WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

        

Wind: when the wind gets to a certain level, bascule bridges cannot be opened safely. Lower than that speed, the wind may push your boat about, another reason to make sure the bridge is wide open before you go through.

                 

Current: any current can be exacerbated by things like dredging. It may be more of a “water funnel” than it looks like. Watch the water swirling around the bridge supports as well as pilings (ex: “low wake” signs) near the bridge. In addition, if you poke around on your chart plotter, you may find a feature for currents. It can’t tell you what the current actually is where you are, but it may be able to tell you what the current is likely to be at that time (based on tide and history).

Engine problems: I was on a friend’s boat once when his engine died just as we were about to go under the bridge. We glided under; he steered the boat to the side; and we immediately put the anchor down. He had previously been sailing in rough water, and dirt from the side of his fuel tank got sloshed around. He had a clogged filter, easily solved because he had a spare filter. Make sure you have typically needed spare parts on your boat.

        

But wait – it’s a sailboat, right? Why not just sail through the bridge?

Well, let’s think this through. Do you have many years’ sailing experience? If so, why are you bothering to read someone telling you how to go through a bridge? Going through a bridge is not a dangerous thing to do with engine power. Under sail is a different matter.

The wind shifts unpredictably under a bascule bridge. In fact, a bridge tender can refuse to let a boat go through under sail. Some sailors leave a sail up as they go under, but the smart ones are still under engine power.

But it’s not just bascule bridges. Where I live, recently a bascule bridge was replaced with a 65’ high span. Most sailboats go right under with no problem – some very big sailboats will just have to go outside. I have a friend who has been sailing for many, many years. He could truly be called a master sailor, and would be the “go to” person for many, many people if they needed sailing advice.

And yet, when he tried to sail under that new bridge, he ended up in a real pickle. The wind shifts weirdly under the bridge. I’ve experienced it although I wasn’t able to identify the cause. Worse, he had a current against him – he estimated that it was moving at about 3 knots. Before he knew it, he was through the bridge but the current had sucked him over and jammed his boat against a large construction barge still finishing the bridge up. He and his companion were trying to fend the boat off with little success. Fortunately a power boater came by and gave them a tow (another choice for people in my area would be to call Eckerd College, who would be likely to get there before Boat US). He had three stanchions badly bent, but it could have been much worse.

In retrospect, he believes that he should have realized that the current would make it hard to sail safely under the bridge, especially given the obstacles on the other side. In retrospect, he believes he should have put the anchor down and just waited for the tide to slacken.

This proves there is always something more to learn about sailing!

There’s one more thing you can do before going through a bridge, and that is to gather local knowledge. You can make a general call on your radio to find out if there’s anything unusual about the bridge. You might try calling Boat US, as they will be familiar with bridges in the area since they often have to tow boats through that bridge.

Finally, Bridge Malfunctions: It happens. One time I went through a bascule bridge that could open only one span. There were three or four sailboats on each side waiting to go through. The bridge tender told us all frankly that it was up to us to decide what to do, so we did. We decided that southbound boats would go through first, and then northbound, since there wasn’t room for two boats to pass at the same time safely.

Unfortunately, every once in a while a bridge tender will make a request that just isn’t reasonable. I know of one case where the bridge tender kept insisting that the waiting boat get closer. The skipper did that – and ended up with his boat wedged sideways against a bridge piling. I have to wonder about this incident. I find it hard to believe that the bridge tender didn’t know that this could happen, given the current at the time. Politely tell the bridge tender that you need to keep a safe distance for your boat but that your boat will have the power to get through in a timely way when the bridge opens.

Another time, I was “buddy boating” with another boat. I had been leading the way toward the bridge, but all of a sudden the other boat put more power down, passed me, and headed for the bridge first. The water was very rough, and I think they just wanted more speed going through. Then the bridge tender said to me, “Can you catch up with the other boat?” If I had had one day’s more experience, I would have said, “I’m sorry, sir, but my boat is going as fast as she can.” Instead, I gave the boat more throttle … and she overheated. I ended up being towed under the bridge, and towed home the next day.

FINALLY – and this one is really scary – I know someone for whom the bridge came down on their mast while they were going through. This unfortunate couple owned the last boat in a group sailing together. As in the video, their boat was demasted. It might be that the boat before them said something that led the bridge tender to believe the entire group had passed. I don’t know whether they radioed the bridge tender or not, but every single boat going through should radio the bridge. However, don’t count on the bridge tender to remember how many are going through or to count them accurately. They are only human and may be dealing with other issues at the same time. Given what happened to the people I know who got squashed by a bridge, if I’m the last boat in line, I contact the bridge tender again and tell them that I am the last boat and will be entering the bridge shortly: “Bridge tender, this is the sailing vessel ‘Pink Floyd,’ about to go under your bridge. I am the last boat in the group.” I don’t risk having the bridge close one boat early.

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