How Soon We Forget

By Hans Roeben

A lot of power boaters used to be sailors. It seems many have quickly forgotten what it was like to be on a sailboat and be overtaken by a powerboat at full steam. Here is an example from the Tinsley Island Cruise.

Helgoland departed at early light on Sunday morning from Tinsley to get a head start and make the return trip in one day. By the time we were about to pass under the Antioch Bridge, we were about 45 feet south of the north bridge tower, in the ship channel. The noise of an approaching powerboat at my stern made me turn around. The vessel was moving at full speed toward me, heading between Helgoland and the bridge tower. There was zero traffic to my port, so I was able to avoid a collision by quickly making a change of course to port. After the boat passed, we were hit by a huge wake, which almost threw my wife Sally out of her bunk. As the trip progressed we were overtaken many times by powerboats and only a very few slowed down or kept their distance as they passed us. Most of them passed us VERY close, waving in a friendly manner, but leaving a huge wake behind. Other sailboats had similar experiences. (Boat names and yacht club affiliation available upon request.)

These examples illustrate that some boaters are either ignorant of proper seamanship or inconsiderate. The rules state the passing vessel is the burdened vessel, and all vessels are responsible for their wake.

The July 2001 issue of the BOAT/U.S. magazine, SEAWORTHY, reported many light and some very serious physical injuries caused by this kind of bad seamanship. Here is an excerpt from that article:

"A few people do lose their lives and many, many more are injured, some permanently, in encounters with boat wakes. A man in New Jersey broke his leg. A woman in Florida was thrown forward and broke her wrist. Another Florida resident was pitched forward and broke several ribs when he was slammed against the center console.... A man who was thrown high in the air broke his back, a potentially devastating injury that occurs more frequently than you might imagine. These accidents were certainly painful; you don't break a bone, tear a ligament, or dislocate a knee without having to endure weeks of pain and discomfort."

How would you feel if you caused a serious physical injury to a fellow club member after having had such a wonderful time together on St. Francis Y.C.'s great island, Tinsley?

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