I had an exciting freighter experience this past weekend. I went for a leisurely sunset sail with a couple of friends on Saturday from San Francisco (where I had parked the boat for a few days) across the bay to Emeryville (where I am permanently berthed). We were probably about a half-mile south of the Bay Bridge when a cargo ship came under the bridge and turned to port, east towards Oakland - a course that would cross well ahead of us without ever getting close.
About a minute after making the turn east, the freighter made a sudden starboard turn to the west, which put it on course straight for us. The wind was light and we weren't moving very fast, but our course was perpendicular to the ship's, and I figured we would probably pass ahead of it at this point. But it continues to bear down on us - those things always move faster than I expect - and blows a few horn blasts, so we scramble to fire up the engine and open up the throttle. With the engine going strong, we're in good shape to get out of the way. All clear, we start to relax and laugh about the situation. Then the cargo ship alters course again. At first I think I'm imagining it, but it's turning steadily to port, apparently tracking us to stay aimed straight at my boat, and continues to close the distance. So I hand off the wheel and run for the radio. Hail "unidentified cargo vessel" (hard to read a name when it's coming straight at you) on channel 16, and the Coast Guard helpfully tells me that ships only monitor 13. Try again on the right channel. The pilot responds right away. It turns out he's just turning in a circle to drop anchor. No danger, he sees us, and we're fine on our course. We shut the engine down and had a nice sail the rest of the way. (Here's a video <https://vimeo.com/169479667> of the post-freighter portion of the trip.) Takeaways: (1) Count the horns. My guess in retrospect is that he blew three to indicate that he was in reverse and starting to slow down, not five for "get out of the way if you don't want to be a smudge on my hull," which is what I took it as. (2) I need get myself a handheld radio that I can use from the helm. Sam 35-3 SF On Thu, Jun 9, 2016 at 1:46 PM, Indigo via CnC-List <[email protected]> wrote: > Here's the link to the video of the idiotic sailor who tried to cross in > front of a freighter during Cowes Week in 2011. The skipper was fined GBP > 3000! > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_tUoUxzt9sI > > -- > Jonathan > Indigo C&C 35III > SOUTHPORT CT > > On Jun 9, 2016, at 16:01, robert via CnC-List <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Tanzer 26 actually broadsided a container ship > > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All > Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
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