My wife and I just returned from a cruise to Charleston SC. Along the
way back, we were transiting the ICW from South Carolina past Sunset
Beach, Shallotte, Lockwood's Folly, etc. A rather disturbing incident
took place at Shallotte.

As we rounded the bend east from the inlet and across from the town
docks, we were followed closely by a lot of snowbird traffic and a
barge. At the bend, anchored right in the middle of the ICW channel, was
a small center console fishing boat with three guys in it. They all had
lines down and clearly were paying no attention whatever.

As we passed by rather close, they looked up, aggravated. I certainly
wasn't going to run my vessel aground for their sake, but I did think
I'd do them a favor by warning them what was coming. "There's a lot of
traffic behind us, including a big barge. They are heavily loaded and
you are right in the channel," I called to them. They simply looked mad
at us and returned to their fishing. I then made a security call on
Channel 16 to warn the boats behind us, since the guys fishing made no
effort to move.

We watched astern to see what happened. The other boats scattered,
passing the fishermen quite close on both sides. I'm sure by this time
they were getting the idea, but as far as I could see they made no
effort to move. Then the barge came around the bend. For those who have
never seen a commercial barge, they have wide square bows which form a
wedge down into the water. Getting run over by one leaves you no chance
of survival.

The barge skipper swerved to avoid the center console fishing boat. The
push boat heeled as her prop dug into the sand at the edge of the
channel, then the barge itself caught and the whole tow was stuck
aground. The boats behind the barge were stuck in a blocked channel.

We heard calls on channel 16 for at least an hour afterward.

I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.

Fair Skies
Doug King

I was in a 40' mainship in upper Clear Lake in Houston where the channel
is very narrow, 30' and around a bend came some idiot in a J class with
his largest sheets up and a fair breeze. He cut it so close that people
on our upper deck had to duck and all the while he was screaming that we
had to give way to sail, but we had nowhere to go and no rules stat that
I have to bury the keel in mud to avoid an idiot.

JJ
(cheap teak)



DSK wrote:

My wife and I just returned from a cruise to Charleston SC. Along the
way back, we were transiting the ICW from South Carolina past Sunset
Beach, Shallotte, Lockwood's Folly, etc. A rather disturbing incident
took place at Shallotte.

As we rounded the bend east from the inlet and across from the town
docks, we were followed closely by a lot of snowbird traffic and a
barge. At the bend, anchored right in the middle of the ICW channel, was
a small center console fishing boat with three guys in it. They all had
lines down and clearly were paying no attention whatever.

As we passed by rather close, they looked up, aggravated. I certainly
wasn't going to run my vessel aground for their sake, but I did think
I'd do them a favor by warning them what was coming. "There's a lot of
traffic behind us, including a big barge. They are heavily loaded and
you are right in the channel," I called to them. They simply looked mad
at us and returned to their fishing. I then made a security call on
Channel 16 to warn the boats behind us, since the guys fishing made no
effort to move.

We watched astern to see what happened. The other boats scattered,
passing the fishermen quite close on both sides. I'm sure by this time
they were getting the idea, but as far as I could see they made no
effort to move. Then the barge came around the bend. For those who have
never seen a commercial barge, they have wide square bows which form a
wedge down into the water. Getting run over by one leaves you no chance
of survival.

The barge skipper swerved to avoid the center console fishing boat. The
push boat heeled as her prop dug into the sand at the edge of the
channel, then the barge itself caught and the whole tow was stuck
aground. The boats behind the barge were stuck in a blocked channel.

We heard calls on channel 16 for at least an hour afterward.

I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.

Fair Skies
Doug King

Jeremy wrote:
I was in a 40' mainship in upper Clear Lake in Houston where the channel
is very narrow, 30' and around a bend came some idiot in a J class with
his largest sheets up and a fair breeze. He cut it so close that people
on our upper deck had to duck and all the while he was screaming that we
had to give way to sail, but we had nowhere to go and no rules stat that
I have to bury the keel in mud to avoid an idiot.

Doesn't sound like a very smart place to be sailing through. At the very
least he should first check for traffic bound the other way on radio.

The sail vs power issue doesn't look relevant here, would it have been
better to meet another big motorboat coming the other way? Maybe one
pulling a big wake

You could have hailed back to this guy "I'd be glad to give way,
skipper, but my boat doesn't have wheels."

Regards
Doug King

"DSK" wrote in message news:VRygc.27838

I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.

No amount of diplomatic talk will alleviate stupidity and selfishness in
adults. People like that need their asses kicked, plain and simple.

Restricted channel and with a low wake zone to boot, he was definitely
in the wrong, but you should have heard him scream.

JJ

cheap teak

DSK wrote:


Doesn't sound like a very smart place to be sailing through. At the very
least he should first check for traffic bound the other way on radio.

The sail vs power issue doesn't look relevant here, would it have been
better to meet another big motorboat coming the other way? Maybe one
pulling a big wake

You could have hailed back to this guy "I'd be glad to give way,
skipper, but my boat doesn't have wheels."

Regards
Doug King

"John Gaquin" wrote in message
...

"DSK" wrote in message news:VRygc.27838

I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.

No amount of diplomatic talk will alleviate stupidity and selfishness in
adults. People like that need their asses kicked, plain and simple.



Actually, the best is when they lose their house and other assets to pay for
the time lost and damages and then the word is publicized. Maybe then the
work will get out.
Bill

Doug King wrote:
I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.


"John Gaquin" wrote
No amount of diplomatic talk will alleviate stupidity and selfishness in
adults. People like that need their asses kicked, plain and simple.



Calif Bill wrote:
Actually, the best is when they lose their house and other assets to pay for
the time lost and damages and then the word is publicized. Maybe then the
work will get out.

Maybe both. But it wouldn't have been an ass kicking, these guys out
fishing could have died, right there right then, less than 100 yards
from shore on a calm day. And while it would probably have served them
right, I tried to warn them and that barge skipper probably sacrificed
his job for them.

Unfortunately, I know of many incidents wherein the need to avoid
recreational boaters has caused delay and damage to commercial shipping.
We all pay for this in increased prices and increased insurance, but I
don't know of a single incident where the recreational boater at fault
was made to pay. In one episode I know of (at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
a couple years ago) the idiot boaters at fault were photographed, proud
and smiling, for several news publications. They clearly had no clue
what they had done.

Regards
Doug King

"John Gaquin" wrote in message ...
"DSK" wrote in message news:VRygc.27838

I hope that none of the people here were in that fishing boat. I also
hope that this will be a lesson to some of those who don't already know
not to anchor in a channel.

No amount of diplomatic talk will alleviate stupidity and selfishness in
adults. People like that need their asses kicked, plain and simple.

Yes, that would be an intelligent way of dealing with people.

Is there a VTS in that channel in North Carolina?

Or the 30-foot channel with the idiot sailor?
(Who sounds like he needs to stay in little ditches, lacking the common sense
required to get any farther from shore than he could easily swim)



Not that rules prevent stupidity, and there is a difference between being right
and being dead right, but.....

(from memory-----gist is correct) No vessel under 20m and no vessel under sail
shall impede a power driven vessel operating in
a traffic control scheme.

Fishermen often use the same incorrect argument in these cases that sailors
often
use; the rules do give fishing priority status.....but "fishing" is furhter
diefined in a manner that clearly limits the rule to boats fishing with nets or
other cumbersome equipment, (not rod and reel sportsmen).

Same thing with the classic stereotype of
a brainless sailor in the traffic lanes, sailing his 24-footer under the bow of
a container ship and hollering about his "right of way". A little, incomplete
knowledge is a dangerous thing.

If there is an established VTS, both the sailor and the fishermen were
absolutely wrong without the least defense available to them through the Rules.

If there's barge traffic in the one location, there may be a VTS. The 30-foot
channel?
Less likely.

There are rules against sailing in most marinas, where fairways are typically
at least twice as wide as the 30-foot channel reported here. The rule of common
sense should have inspired the sailor to do otherwise.

The Rules were never intended as a license for sailors to deliberately annoy
or endanger powerboaters.

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 15:18:24 +0000, Gould 0738 wrote:


Same thing with the classic stereotype of a brainless sailor in the
traffic lanes, sailing his 24-footer under the bow of a container ship and
hollering about his "right of way". A little, incomplete knowledge is a
dangerous thing.

Something like this:

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/schramm/ww...-02000154-.jpg


That site has a collection of wipeouts of the racing variety.

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/schramm/www/sailing/wipeout/