Editorial: No Wake and No-Wake Zones
We regularly hear of the discomfort and danger caused by inconsiderate or untrained skippers who seem totally unaware of the effect of their vessel’s wake. Obviously, the real issue is “destructive wake” as from sports fishermen and hurricanes. Sailing vessels and trawlers, except maybe the newer fast trawlers, are rarely guilty of wake that endangers lives, disrupts navigation or destroys property. High powered, short waterline vessels designed to get to fishing grounds 60 miles offshore as quickly as possible are the usual suspects. Even smaller pleasure craft that slow down, then plow through an anchorage with bow up in the air, can be almost as dangerous and destructive. No wake speed adds very little time to the trip and teaches what boating is all about: patience!
Comments from Cruisers (6)
we were recently cruising along in our 25 foot Rosborough in the Great South Bay off Long Island, NY. Going about 6 knots, when a LARGE sportfish blew by us. He was dangerously close; if I had suddenly turned to port I don’t think he could have avoided us. I just has enough time to turn my bow into his wake; we went up and over and all loose items crashed about the boat. I yelled at him on the VHF; and I rarely do that. A Coast Guard inflatable either heard me, or saw the whole thing, and pulled him over. Finally a little justice for one careless and obnoxious SOB.
Not having no wake zones is a reciepe for even worse damage. The only way to truly enforce no wake is enforcement and law suites. Depressing, but I think it is true. Cost clueless people time and money.
Nov. 2016. Docked at New River (NC) fuel dock on the ICW. A 42′ southbound Sea Ray came blasting through, creating a very large wake that threw my 36′ trawler against the dock; I was on the deck fueling by boat at the time. Fortunately dock hands and my crew were able to get the boat’s name and called them on the radio. The Sea Ray came back, offered the excuse that he didn’t see us because he was looking at his chart or GPS, and gave me his insurance company. The insurance company was very helpful and in the end paid $9,500 in damage repairs. BTW, earlier that day the very same boat came roaring up behind us as we were slowly navigating around a shoal at Browns Inlet. He stopped on a dime when he hit the shoal.
Let’s be perfectly honest – they do not exist in Southwest Florida waters. I feel like starting a website with photos of the 2-4 foot wakes our sailboat has been subjected to with careless, self absorbed, untrained and idiotic powerboaters. Don’t get me started! Stand by and I’ll post the web address.
Having observed this problem for quite a while, especially with large sport fishing boats, I have a theory as to the root of the problem, and it is simply time (or more accurately, the lack thereof). What many of these owners of these large sport fish boats, for example, have is a lot of money. What they don’t have, is a lot of time, having the same 24 hours a day that any bum on the street has. Most of the rich people I know view this as unbelievably unfair and most will spend any amount of money (or fuel, in this case) and are willing to cause any amount off compensable damage, in their never ending attempt to somehow increase their daily allotment of time to 25 hours.
Ten minutes saved by pushing a three foot wake down ten miles of the ICW, and swamping small boaters, and rocking larger boaters, in their path, is an eminently reasonable trade off in their minds. I watched one leave our marina the other day, and he couldn’t even wait to get past the piers in our marina before pushing it up on half plane. Even the dockmaster yelling at him as he went by their office, rocking the boats pulled in to get pump outs and fuel, had no effect.
I have even heard one of these captains that I know say that he would rather write a check for damage he caused than slow down and lose the little time he has before he has to get back to his 60 hour work week to make more money to finance this endless and futile circle. They really think that way. And, I have quit going deep sea fishing with one of my friends because I just couldn’t take the embarrassment of being given the finger over and over again, while knowing we richly deserved it.
Good luck on fixing that mentality. It would take actual jail sentences to even slow it down. And, these are the least likely people to be held criminally responsible for anything in the first place.
James – all I can add to your comments is “AMEN”
All we can do is HOPE and ACT when ever we have the opportunity.