T-Boned!

Or, This is why you should have a ditch bag!

In the photo below you'll see a sailboat that, until recently, was a racer frequently used by its owner. The owner did not belong to BCYC, but he frequently raced this boat in our races. You can see that the boat was taken care of. Although it might be due soon for a new bottom job, that bottom was squeaky clean.

About three days ago, he was sailing his boat in Boca Ciega Bay when he was suddenly T-boned -- hit right in the middle -- by a pontoon boat!

This is the result. It took less than two minutes for his sailboat to sink.

As sailors, we often talk about "right of way." In fact that isn't the phrase used any more. The Coast Guard now talks about the "stand on" vessel and the "give way" vessel. In the case of a sailboat under sail and a power boat (such as a pontoon boat) under motor power, the law is crystal clear: the sail boat is the "stand on vessel," under normal circumstances expected to maintain its course and speed. The "give way" vessel is the one under motor power, and is required to change course in order to avoid a collision. 

However, things are rarely that cut-and-dried on the water. The over-arching rule from which all other rules branch is, "Do everything possible to avoid a collision." This means that you can't "stand your ground" and say "but I was the stand-on vessel!" Even if you are the only person on your boat, you are required to keep a lookout. That means swiveling your head like an owl -- constantly -- when you're by yourself on your boat. It may be that this sailor's view of the oncoming vessel was blocked by his headsail, a common occurrence. But it is then his responsibility to move about the cockpit or do whatever else is necessary to know what is on the other side of that headsail. "The headsail blocked my view" is an incictment, not a defense.

On the other hand, the driver of the pontoon boat had the same responsibility, and no big sails to block his view. I've heard this story from several people who all repeated the same details, so I suspect it's true: when he hit the sailboat, he had dropped his cell phone and was searching the bottom of his boat to retrieve it. 

"Don't text and drive" applies every bit as much when on the water as it does when behind the wheel of a car.

Both skippers will probably be found to be at fault to some degree; that is nearly always the case under maritime law. However, it is possible that the pontoon boat was coming so fast at the sailboat that the sailor had no chance to change course and avert a collision. If that's the case, the blame will be entirely on the operator of the pontoon boat.

The rules regarding which is the "stand on" vessel and which is the "give way" vessel can be complicated, but always keep the #1 rule in mind: do whatever is necessary to avoid a collision -- if you can.

DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHART PLOTTER

      Or, Where DO these channel markers come from, anyway?

"Not all who wander are lost." 

JRR Tolkien

 Last spring at the end of sail school, all the sail school students were invited for a sunset/evening sail on Boca Ciega Bay. I was one of the host boats, and took some delightful people out.

One man in the group in particular was interested in learning everything he possibly could on this sail. So he got a fair amount of time at the helm, with me by his side since this was his first time sailing a boat of this size. He did a great job, too. He was a fast learner and I’m sure he’s still learning all he can.

As we were going in, I showed him how the chart plotter displayed the red and green channel markers so accurately that you could use the chart plotter to guide you through in pea soup fog. He stared at the chart plotter, watching the little icon that indicated my boat.

As we approached the entrance of the channel, he spotted the red marker on the chart plotter and stared at it intently. He had already heard about “Red right returning,” meaning to keep the red markers to the starboard of side of the boat when returning through an access channel.

And he was, indeed, approaching the channel with the red marker on the starboard side of the image of my boat on the chart plotter.

The problem was that he was not paying any attention to where the green marker was, and it’s a narrow channel.

So as we approached, I said to him, “Where’s the green marker?” He pointed it out on the chart plotter, not realizing that unless we changed course, and soon, we would hit that green channel marker. I took the wheel and pulled it to starboard, and then he saw what I was talking about. He saw it on the water first, and it made him gasp.

I told him – “Don’t fall in love with your chart plotter. Make sure you visually spot what you’re seeing on the screen."

The electronic gear can be fascinating. It’s kind of cool to watch how the depth changes as your depth sounder reads it. You soon learn that the ocean bottom is nothing like a road on land. Water depth can vary a lot in a very short distance. As long as your keel doesn’t touch any of it, it doesn’t matter, but it is interesting to observe.

Unfortunately we may (may, the inquiry hasn’t been done yet) have recently seen a case of what I call “electronics hypnosis” with tragic results out in the Seattle area. A 25’ sailboat and a very large, very fast ferry were on a collision course. They did collide, and although the man single-handing the sailboat survived, his sailboat is now at the bottom of a channel. We don’t know yet what happened except for one thing the sailboat skipper admitted to: he had recently been in some fog, and was focused on his radar screen.

He made a poor choice, choosing a channel that commercial ferries use at high rates of speed to double-check his electronics.

C’mon. We all know that the electronics tools are more than “gadgets” and can give us crucial information, but when you put a new one on your boat, get yourself out into open water before exploring it. Even then, set a kitchen timer to ring every two minutes so you can look around and make sure some boat isn’t gaining on you, on a collision course.

In fact, while you’re out there exploring your new chart plotter or whatever you got, take the time to explore it thoroughly, so when you are in heavy traffic you’ll only have to give it a quick glance. You wouldn’t drive down the road with your eyes intently focused on your rear view mirror, and you should use your electronics in the same way. If you need to dig through menus, make sure there’s no one around you, and if you have someone on the boat with you, put them on 360º constant watch so you don’t have to worry about playing bumper cars with your boat because you’re not familiar with your chart plotter yet. Even if the area is clear of boats, you still have to watch out for things like crab traps and lobster pots, which can make a royal mess of your propeller.

Tell your chart plotter: “We’re friends. I respect and admire you, but that’s all we can be.”

Go to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/boldlygosailing?skip_nax_wizard=true

The Most Dangerous Things We Do on Our Boats

     Or, Liquor Goeth Before a Fall

Sometimes we forget that this thing we do, sailing, can actually be a little bit dangerous. When most people think about danger, they think about things like the boat tipping over, or being caught in a terrible storm. But in reality, the most dangerous things you do on your boat are also ordinary, everyday activities. They don’t look dramatic, or risky, or scary. That’s one thing that makes them dangerous –- they become so ordinary that we don’t always pay full attention while doing them. In my opinion some of the big ones are:

·      Getting on and off the boat

·      Going down the companionway “steps”

·      Drinking while sailing, and

·      Sailing with friends (What? Yes …)

Stepping aboard:

It’s so easy to get on and off the boat casually, but you should give it your full attention and not think about anything else. One misplaced foot, and you could fall in the water between the boat and the dock. You could be squeezed between those two big, hard things –- onto barnacles! People have died because they hit their heads on the dock on the way down, knocked themselves out and no one knew they were in the water.

If you put netting on the bow or stern of your boat, you can set things on the boat without risk that they will fall into the water, and you can then get on the boat with both hands free to do so securely and safely. (By the way, according to a doctor friend who sails, if you cut yourself on barnacles -- do not pass GO, do not collect $200 -- get yourself to your doctor immediately, who will undoubtedly put you on antibiotics, as barnacles and dock-bound oysters can contain some very nasty, dangerous bacteria.)

Don’t get on or off your boat with your arms loaded with “stuff.” Your center of gravity is already higher than the lifelines, and loading yourself up only makes that worse.

Going down the companionway “steps”:

They aren’t steps. They’re LADDERS. It’s very dangerous to go down ladders with your back to the rungs. Yes, I know these rungs often look like steps, but please – always turn around, face the steps, and use the handholds. I know a man with decades of sailing experience who slipped going down his companionway. He lay on the floor of his cabin for hours with a badly broken leg before someone found him. I know another fellow who spent an enjoyable night drinking with friends, and then fell going down his companionway. Fortunately he was only scraped up and bruised, but not badly hurt – see below.

Now think about your cabin. Most cabins are not spacious, and there are many things you can hit as you fall. The same rule applies for this as for getting on and off the boat: heads shouldn’t hit hard things, and your hands mustn’t be loaded up with stuff as you go up or down the companionway ladder.

Drinking while sailing:

I don’t let my crew drink until we’re done sailing for the day. On a 24 hour shift, we would have rotating shifts and try to work out R and R time for people, but still, real moderation would be key. Alcohol affects balance, and boats tend to lurch suddenly. Sailing while drinking is common –- many people’s fantasy of sailing is of tootling around the Caribbean with the wheel in one hand and a fancy drink in the other (you wouldn’t do that driving, though, would you?) Alcohol also stimulates socialization, and you can end up with everyone having a great time in the cockpit –- and no one noticing that the boat is headed straight for that channel marker (see below).

One person I have met lost the entire ring finger on her right hand just by adjusting a docking line –- after having had too much to drink. The line wrapped around the base of her finger and tightened, and took it right off. 
LESSON LEARNED: Alcohol can make you go "bump!" Party hearty if you want – but at the end of the day.

Sailing with friends:

Say WHAT??? Yeah, you have to be careful. Remember when you were 16 and had just learned to drive? What did you want to do first? Pick up all your best buds and go cruising around town, right? Some states now don’t allow new drivers to have any passengers with them because they are such a distraction to drivers for whom much is not automatic yet.

 Sailing is similar. There’s a lot to think about (really, it can be overwhelming at first), and someone has to be looking out for hazards. I know someone who hit a channel marker (those things pop up in the craziest places!) with three people on the boat. The skipper was facing his guests –- and forward, but the guests were facing him, and he was looking at his friends, not the water. He was going along pretty fast and when that channel marker jumped out into the middle of the channel, it did a lot of damage to the bow of his boat. (By the way, you’ve met this man before. He’s the one who ended up with the keel in his boat instead of under it.)

FINALLY:  Buy a good, sharp, folding knife and attach it to your pants or shorts any time you sail – whether on your boat or someone else’s. West Marine sells excellent knives,

as well as elastic cords with clips on them.This is the knife and cord I use:

If your favorite sailing shorts don’t have belt loops, sew a metal (not plastic) ring inside the left pocket if you’re left-handed, and the right pocket if you’re right-handed. Clip that knife on!

Then, if your leg should get caught in a line and you go overboard, you will know you have that knife with you, and you can use it to cut yourself free without worrying about losing the knife. It was the first safety tip given to me (thanks, Craig!) and I think it was one of the best. Recently a fisherman near my marina drowned in six feet of water because he was tangled in his anchor line and couldn’t get free. It’s not a common accident, but probably a fatal one without a sharp knife to free yourself with.

This is my safety advice to newer sailors. Have fun – but be careful out there!