Interaction With Freighter... Who's Right?
- Thread starter Rain City
- Start date
Rain City
Crew Member
Bingo
this ^^^^^ having a radio and using it, before the 2 vessels got close to each other why not call them up and ask where they are going or letting them know your intentions? aside from his sound signals did they make any attempt to contact you? i was out near turn point and had a freighter call me way before they were even close to make sure i was aware that they were coming through.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
The pilot must know that 99% of the boat traffic out there does not know what those horn signals mean. I suspect they do that as part of their training and to cover themselves in the event of a collision. Bridge conversations are recorded and the horn blasts would be recorded too.
However I think most would have done what RC did in this case. Turn to shore makes sense
The 5 blasts is the most important. “ I don’t know what your intentions are”
However I am way bigger than you and can’t stop.....Your move.
However I think most would have done what RC did in this case. Turn to shore makes sense
The 5 blasts is the most important. “ I don’t know what your intentions are”
However I am way bigger than you and can’t stop.....Your move.
Tugcapitan
Well-Known Member
Ok I’ll play.
Fair warning, without being there I’ll have to make many assumptions.
For one, I’ll be nice and say “I think you are mistaken” if the blue arrows represent the ships course on your marked up navionics picture. There’s absolutely no way the freighter was that far north going inside the sailing/swimming bouys off Dunderave. If he was at full steam as you say, and leaving the harbour, he’s most likely loaded which would mean his draft is between 25-50 feet. No chance he’s in 40 ft of water.
Here’s my guess, you are near the middle of his intended route to the normal and charted outbound lane (between QB and half a mile North of QB), you are headed to QB. One long blast is his “nice way” of letting you know he’s there and you’re kind of in his way but doing ok, or it was a short blast letting you know he’s altering to starboard. He’s plotting you and knows how close you’ll get and when, and is altering to starboard to go around you. Uh oh, you turn to starboard. Now his plan to go around you is up in smoke and you get 5 short blasts for the trouble. Now he’s trying to stop altering to starboard, it takes a while because he’s so heavy. You go even faster to starboard and he’s now pissed and sounds another 5. Passes off your stern.
The only other option I see is that he was not at “full steam”, and was actually slowing down to drop anchor in one of the three West Van anchorages and he felt like you were in his way.
It can be deceiving, but a container ship at first narrows coming out will be on you at the QB bouy in 5 minutes. If you draw a triangle from first narrows, to the QB, to a position half a mile north of the QB, this is the area to avoid when you notice a ship coming out of the harbour. Like others have already said, listening to ch 12 takes all the guess work out of it and you’ll know who’s coming and what their name is should you need to call. I would suggest that’s it’s very rarely that a rec guy needs to call up commercial traffic, when most situations can be resolved by taking EARLY action to stay out of the way.
Fair warning, without being there I’ll have to make many assumptions.
For one, I’ll be nice and say “I think you are mistaken” if the blue arrows represent the ships course on your marked up navionics picture. There’s absolutely no way the freighter was that far north going inside the sailing/swimming bouys off Dunderave. If he was at full steam as you say, and leaving the harbour, he’s most likely loaded which would mean his draft is between 25-50 feet. No chance he’s in 40 ft of water.
Here’s my guess, you are near the middle of his intended route to the normal and charted outbound lane (between QB and half a mile North of QB), you are headed to QB. One long blast is his “nice way” of letting you know he’s there and you’re kind of in his way but doing ok, or it was a short blast letting you know he’s altering to starboard. He’s plotting you and knows how close you’ll get and when, and is altering to starboard to go around you. Uh oh, you turn to starboard. Now his plan to go around you is up in smoke and you get 5 short blasts for the trouble. Now he’s trying to stop altering to starboard, it takes a while because he’s so heavy. You go even faster to starboard and he’s now pissed and sounds another 5. Passes off your stern.
The only other option I see is that he was not at “full steam”, and was actually slowing down to drop anchor in one of the three West Van anchorages and he felt like you were in his way.
It can be deceiving, but a container ship at first narrows coming out will be on you at the QB bouy in 5 minutes. If you draw a triangle from first narrows, to the QB, to a position half a mile north of the QB, this is the area to avoid when you notice a ship coming out of the harbour. Like others have already said, listening to ch 12 takes all the guess work out of it and you’ll know who’s coming and what their name is should you need to call. I would suggest that’s it’s very rarely that a rec guy needs to call up commercial traffic, when most situations can be resolved by taking EARLY action to stay out of the way.
Rain City
Crew Member
You know what I played it over and over in my head and looked back at the charts and I think you're absolutely right. I'm looking at the wrong marker in which case I'm basically centered in the channel. This was 100% on me. I would say though that I did "think" I was doing the right thing by heading to shore and I did it immediately and as quick as I could under the kicker power alone. Lesson learned.
Good lesson for most of us myself included; know the rules of playing with the big boys when on their turf, or maybe just stay off their turf. I had an asian flagged container ship play games with me a few years back near the Port of Tacoma; I was headed south he headed north on a parallel course which would have given us a good 1/4 mile distance from each other when he passed. He started bearing at me; I'd turn to starboard to give more clearance then he would correct to a collision course. I was on a sailboat under power - limited options. I finally turn 90' port & some he decided to stop playing. What I see much too often is that many boaters make small & slow course corrections so that it is impossible to know if they changed course or just taking a leak & nobody is manning the helm. I once got rammed by a sailboat under sail while I was trolling; I kept making corrections & he would change course for a collision. He admitted he was down below with nobody at the helm. I also once had a much smaller power boat try to cross my bow I& pass me strb-strb with a jetty on my strb just to save 50' but he quickly figured he wasn't gonna win; last thing I was gonna do was turn into the jetty or turn to port.
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Holy fak
Reeltime
Well-Known Member
Seems like a new route for the ships, probably why the new QD yellow marker went in last year, right at low tide they lined up quite a few freighters
to pass through the Lions.. ships were side by side passing each other right at the green marker ready to go under the bridge..
I have a video of a speed boat 2 sail boats in the the way of the shipping lane getting the 5 blasts and port authority pushing them out of the way while the two
ships are making there way in.. i'll upload that vid ships looked like they were on a collision course
to pass through the Lions.. ships were side by side passing each other right at the green marker ready to go under the bridge..
I have a video of a speed boat 2 sail boats in the the way of the shipping lane getting the 5 blasts and port authority pushing them out of the way while the two
ships are making there way in.. i'll upload that vid ships looked like they were on a collision course
scott craven
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be anywhere near one under power
Gong Show
Well-Known Member
On our boat it is the "Law of Tonnage"
There are also other definitions in the Collision Regulations in the Shipping Act that mention the abilities of a "vessel constrained by her draught" and a "vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuvre" as well as "Narrow Channels" in relation to the Rules of the Road that all boaters should be aware of. It changes the expectations of "red on red" and other stand-on courses so that the vessel NOT constrained or restricted is the give-way vessel: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._1416/page-3.html#docCont
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