Idiots in boats . . . adventure on the intracoastal

[Guerillabill]

Idiots in Boats

We took our C-Dory 22' out for her maiden voyage yesterday. It isn't a new boat, but new to us.

After purchasing it, I've had it in the shop getting the motor tuned up, and then I basically rewired the boat and replaced all the electronics.

So after having the boat for two months, and not having had it in the water yet, we were excited out our maiden voyage.

We left Venice, Fl at about 9:30AM, and ran north up the intracoastal past Sarasota Bay, and then back to port.

Spent about 6 hours on the boat, testing out all the gear, running the motor at different RPMs, and just getting familiar with the boat's handling.

It was a great trip.

The boat ran flawlessly, and we discovered that the 4 stroke Suzuki 70 could quickly get the boat up to 20mph at around 4000rpm.

But most of the day we spent cruising at about 2100 RPM which was about 6.5 mph.

We did encounter some interesting situations on the water.

For example, as we approached one of the drawbridges which was being opened to allow a larger boat to pass under it, the boat in front of us decided to stop and take pictures of the larger boat as it passed under the bridge.

So the 'captain' of that boat turned off his motor, and stood up in the boat to take photos.

When he did, the current caught his boat, turned it sideways in front of the approaching boat that was passing under the bridge.

We were behind the boat taking photos, and had to stop and back up and maneuver to shore so the large boat could maneuver around the photo boat as it blocked the larger boat's passage under the bridge.

The two boats almost collided under the draw bridge - and the guy taking the photo never realized he was almost crushed by the larger boat - he just kept taking photos.

The larger boat did manage to squeeze by, and his captain waved and yelled 'thank you' to us as he came by - because we had made a path for him to get around the photo guy.

Further up the intracoastal, we saw a man rowing a single scull rowing shell, coming in from starboard out of an inlet, passing across the lane.

He was sitting facing backward in the boat, so he couldn't see where he was going, but he was moving pretty fast.

Unfortunately, he did not see the 42' cruiser heading down the intracoastal, and the captain of that boat did not see him - until they were about 12 feet apart.

Had the captain of that 42' cruiser not seen the rower and sounded his horn, it would probably have been a fatality.

The large boat could not veer too far off course due to the low depth in that part of the intracoastal and had to rely on the rower to get out of the way.

The bow wave from the cruiser picked up and threw the rowing scull away from the boat, and into our path.

We had been expecting that, and had already powered down to a full stop.

The rower was wet, but otherwise unharmed. And hopefully a little wiser.

Another few miles up, we saw a large boat heading our way at very high speed, throwing up a large wake.

Even at 300 yards, we could see how large a wake it was, and started taking photos.

We knew this tsumani sized wake in the limited space of the intercoastal was going to have an effect on us, so we moved over as far to the right as we could, and prepared to turn 90 degrees across the wake as soon as the boat passed.

We did the 90 degree turn to cross the wake, but the wake was a fast rolling 6 footer which picked us up, and dropped us into the mud at the waterline on the far edge of the lane.

As we dropped into the mud, the motor died when the prop hit the mud.

It took us a few seconds to realize what had happened, why the motor died, and why our depth finder was showing 0 feet.

As the wake from the fast moving boat recinded, we floated up off the mud, and were able to restart the boat on the first crank.

We were amazed that the guy driving the big boat showed so little concern about the speed limit on the intracoastal or the problems he was causing other boats and damage to boats in docks.

But we survived, and learned a lesson.

We learned to look for these kinds of situations, and to be sure to not get caught in one if there are concrete seawalls on your side.

A wave that leaves you in the mud is nothing compared to being pushed into a seaway at speed.

As the day passed, we discovered that at almost every draw bridge, tourists in rental boats would stop their boats near or under the bridges to take photos, and in the process almost always caused other boats to take evasive action.

And we discovered that other than the one jerk in the big boat with the tsumani wake, most large boat owners were aware of their wakes, and were careful to not cause problems for other boats.

We did have a good time, we were extremely happy that the C-Dory did well, we were impressed that the Suzuki motor ran flawlessly, and that we arrived back home safe and sound.

Can't wake for the next trip.

Bill

[journey on]

There are idiots everywhere, and glad to see that you still have your share on the right coast.

In general, big power boats on the ICW really are quite good about slowing down when they're passing you, either way. If they're overtaking, they expect you to slow down until they're past; in a sailboat this means to about 3-4 knots. It works.

In the Broughtons this summer, we were in several narrow channels and noticed that no-one slowed down, just let the wake roll. We became used to this, but obviously no-one was concerned about their wake. And we're talking boats in the 40+ class. The other navigational nuance we noticed, is that boats would set their autopilot and it was up to you to get out of their way. If they were crossing port to stbd they just kept coming. In a 25' boat, you learn that size has the right of way up there quickly , and act accordingly.

Boris

[El and Bill]

Years ago, on our 20-foot sailboat, in the Allig.-Pungo canal of the ICW, a big delivery boat dude was leaving a "tsunami" wake (great term, Bill). We were all aware of his approach since the VHF was ablaze with swear words.

He passed us with his wake (we were cowering in a side channel). Folks were calling Coast Guard with no help available. He swamped a local fisherman in a small open boat. He took his own action - swam ashore, got in his truck, headed down canal, waited in the brush with his 12g in his hands. When the 'tsunami' boat came by he blasted a hole through his waterline.

The radio lit up with the idiot's call for help - not a peep in response. We passed by him, hoved up on the bank, half submerged, an hour later and he was still on the deck waving frantically after at least a half dozen boats had passed by ignoring him.

Once in a great while there is satisfaction when justice (?) is done. Fortunately, no one was below decks in the boat when the blast came through.

[thataway]

Welcome to weekend boating in Florida--more South Florida than North Florida. But there are a lot of "idiots" out there. Up here, the VHF radio is used fairly frequently to arrange for "passes", but we do have a fair amount of commercial traffic.

My experience in S. Florida is that the Sport fishers were the worse, followed by migratory large motor yachts. Boating on the ICW, can be a "defensive" sport.

But, don't put your boat at risk.

As for the Scull--the row boat has the right of way--the motor boat should have been looking out for him, and should have slowed down to avoid any damage. There is a specific law in Florida, which says that you are responsible for damage by your wake, and there are specific penalities.

There are other parts of the law: a partial summary of Florida Statute chapter 327:

Anyone who operates a vessel with willful disregard for the safety of persons or property will be cited for reckless operation (a first-degree misdemeanor).
All operators are responsible for operating their vessel in a reasonable and prudent manner with regard for other vessel traffic, posted restrictions, the presence of a divers-down flag, and other circumstances so as not to endanger people or property.
Failure to do so is considered careless operation (a non-criminal infraction).
A violation of the Federal Navigation Rules is also a violation of Florida law.

Any vessel operating in a speed zone posted as "Idle Speed - No Wake" must operate at the minimum speed that allows the vessel to maintain headway and steerageway.
Any vessel operating in a speed zone posted as "Slow Down - Minimum Wake" must operate fully off plane and completely settled in water.
The vessel's wake must not be excessive nor create a hazard to other vessels.

A video camera is the best way to document any transgressions.

[Jack in Alaska]

Don't you guys know........."you can't fix stupid". It is terminal and is everywhere.

We have uncaring knotheads up here also but not nearly as many thankfully.

[JamesTXSD]

Congrats on the new boat! Oh, and it sounds like a fairly typical day on the water. We've been waked by powerboats, dinghies, sailboats, jetskis... I used to think they were all out to get me, but I've come to the conclusion that one should never underestimate the stupidity of the average person... they just don't know any better. According to the law, you ARE responsible for any damage done by your wake... and we've seen boaters who have been pulled over for just that.

Calls to the CG regarding wake generally create no response, but I've found that if you say something along the lines of: "Name, Name, Name, this is MyName. Look out for the wake from Name-Of-Offender, he is creating a monster wake. Darn near swamped us and that poor kayak (fishing boat, canoe, etc, etc) by the shore." Of course, there is no other boat I'm warning... I just like to broadcast the idiot's boat name.

All one can do is keep a good look-out (as required) and do your best to keep distance between you and the idiots.

Have fun with the new boat.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[BrentB]

We will be in Charlotte Harbor in SW FL soon and have my camera ready and plenty of batteries! Something new to do when fishing!

[marvin4239]

The photo is my neighbor's dock being built on the ICW NE Florida. In the picture the guy on the boom had climbed it to free the cable which had run off the pulley. The weight you see hanging down is around 1,000 lbs. Shorty after I snapped this they got waked by about a three foot wake from an express cruiser that didn't bother to slow. Miracle the young man didn't get hurt.



After this incident I positioned my boat in the channel in and attempt to slow traffic and act some what as a lookout. Second picture is them trying to pull up a misplaced piling. It wouldn't take much of a wake to swamp them in this situation.



This took place early in the morning on a week day to try to avoid traffic.

[Guerillabill]

Here's the photo of the boat that caused the tsunami wake that pick up our boat and dropped us in the mud-flats.



You can see the wake size at the boat, and as most wakes do, it builds as it pushes away from the boat.

Also note that there are no registration numbers on the boat, as required by Florida law.

The area was posted 'minimum wake area' with signs every 1/4 mile.

Because this boat was running down the middle of the channel, we didn't have much room to take evasive action.

Bill

[mcc272]

Bill --

Actually, that boat doesn't have registration numbers most likely because it is a federally documented boat. With Federal documentation, federal regulations prevent you from having state numbers on the boat. Boat can be either state registered or Federally documented. States don't like ot lose the revenue so that often have some form of registration for Federally documented boat that does not include numbers. In COnnecticut where I live, a Federally documented boat is required toregister for a Certificate of Decal. You pay the same fee as state registration and get a decal which is a different color from the registration decal color for that year.

Most boats with a boat loan on them (secured by a lien on the boat) are Federally documented because the bank requires it so it can perfect a first priority ship's lien on the boat with the Vessel Documentation Center. It is very difficult to find ship's liens at the state level since you have to check every state.

Jim

Jim

[Reviresco]

Zoom in on the master, registration number or name & hailing port, along with any identifying feature such as damage or a unique component. If it's a documented vessel you can search the vessel name and send them a picture and a "here's your sign" or love note.

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGuard/index.html

If you have any damage to your vessel or any injury notify CG or local marine patrol for an incident report and forward copies of your photo's to them. LE will investigate and identify the owner/operator for you...