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Benton
Joined: 28 Mar 2003 Posts: 12
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 5:52 pm Post subject: A boat ran me over at TI Sunday 7-11 |
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It was a nice windy and swelly day at Treasure Island. I went out with my 4.5m and 74L board fully powered. There were about 30 windsurfers out. I noticed there was more fishing boats than usual passing through. No problem after years of sailing Crissy Field I am used to sailing with boats and tankers. Of course safety first, I will never abuse the right of powered vessels should always give way to non-powered. I often chose to stall my board wait for the boat passed by then cross behind it. That way I am not in their way. They don’t block my wind and I can get some air or ride their rake. Everybody is happy and smile exchange. Good vibes.
I was sailing port-tack and I saw two boats coming from windward. These two boats were far apart with a bigger one in front. There was plenty of room in between. With my 4.5m powered up I decided to cross as soon as the one in front went by. As I dropped in I smiled and gave them the shaka, usually I get plenty of smiles and shaka back, but this time was different, there were about six people on board screaming at me with eyes wide open waving with both hands. Next thing I knew something caught my sail and I looked up there was a white line. THEY WERE TOWING! It knocked me off the water. Now my sail covered me and I was still hooked in. As soon as I cleared myself and got my head out the water, the boat in the back was coming straight at me. The hull was a few feet from my face and about to run me over. I started paddling like hell. That few strokes must be like Michael Phelps winning his last gold and luckily I got away. But my rig got ran over making the sound like Godzilla crushing cars and houses. After that, the two boats stopped briefly. They did not ask if I need help or was I ok, then took off really fast, probably because they saw the price tag still stuck on my sail. Everything happened so fast and I was just overwhelmed. At that time Sofy came to help, checked me out to make sure I was ok. Thank you Sofy.
My rig seemed to be ok but I was not taking any chances. I then went back to shore de-rigged to check the mast and boom and everything else. All is well except my sail got a facial, the boat’s hull left black oily marks all over it. No problem I re-rigged and went back out with the wind and swell still good. Ahhh I need some ramp to take the edge off.
I am writing because I don’t want this happen to anybody. In this experience I learned when two boats are going the same speed, no matter how far apart they are, they could be towing. I swear this white line they used was invisible in the water. Things can get a lot worse if it was any lower it could have struck me in my head and last thing I wanted was tangled in a line with boat on each end. I wish they could have red flags along the line to make it visible.
It is windy now and time to go. Have fun and be safe.
Ben |
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LUCARO
Joined: 07 Dec 1997 Posts: 661
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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scary!
glad you are OK.
Good tip about 2 boats traveling the same speed |
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RichardMueller
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 85 Location: Phoenix, AZ
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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Good post Benton; I have had a similar experience (Phoenix, AZ at Lake Pleasant) with a power boat pulling a raft with kids in it. I bore off to miss power boat and then saw the "rest of the story".
Richard |
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dogalone
Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 113
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Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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how far apart were the boats when (as) you first saw them? |
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tyler4bu
Joined: 06 Jul 2009 Posts: 101 Location: Santa Barbara/San Diego
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:10 am Post subject: |
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Instead of frantically waving their arms, did they bother throttling off? Seems like a boat at tow speeds should stop quite quickly when unpowered... |
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techno900
Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 4161
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:33 am Post subject: |
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Good story and advice. However, lake sailors have to consider other issues while passing behind power boaters.
Ski boats sometimes leave their ski ropes trailing behind, either moving or stopped.
Ski boats frequently spend more time watching the skier than where they are going.
Slow moving boats sometimes are trolling with 50-100 yds of line behind the boat. I have only snagged one trolling line, now I give them all plenty of room. The fisherman was more than mildly upset.
Our choices include passing well ahead of the boat or well behind to be safe. If in doubt, jibe and go the other way. Jibing clearly makes the boater happier when they know what you are going to do. |
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higgybaby
Joined: 25 May 2004 Posts: 149
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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"two boats coming from windward"... so they were towing downwind in 4.5 conditions. Probably 25-30 knots of wind? Rocks on a lee shore if you were north or west of TI and barges, mooring buoys, and bridge construction if you were east with a strong current sucking under the bridge.
Gosh, why didn't they stop and hang out? |
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beallmd
Joined: 10 May 1998 Posts: 1154
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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I sailed behind a boat in Kihei/Maui Sunset and thought nothing of it until I hit a really heavy line they were using for trolling. Never saw the line but it was solid. Now I don't sail behind boats at all, they can always be trailing something behind and a large hook could be a part of it. |
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tm00
Joined: 21 Jul 2000 Posts: 250 Location: Lake Champlain - NY
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Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:44 am Post subject: |
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I have found that as wind/waves increase the field of vision of boat drives tend to decrease. It seems to me that when it is really blewing most 'captains" are staring at their bow and that is the only place they are looking. |
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shibumi57
Joined: 13 Jul 1998 Posts: 68 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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This is exactly why I love sailing the Delta in the very early morning, particularly on the weekends. At 7:00am, it's seldom that there will be much, if any, boat traffic. Every once in a while a fishing boat, but that's even rare. If I see a boat coming close, I'll sometimes power down and schlog a little, give the boat a smile and a wave, and then get back on a plane.
It's amazing what a little courtesy to strangers, a smile and a short wave will do while on the water, either with boaters, kiters or other windsurfers. There are plenty of large sets of swell for jumping that I can use as opposed to using a boat wake for a ramp. I don't see any need blast towards a boat from the side wondering "do they know I'm just going to try to launch off of their wake versus run into the side of their boat?" |
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