Charts . . .

This sounds like a joke, but I swear that it is true. Guy in a sailboat pulled into the slip next to me yesterday, and was going to stay overnight and then head out across the Gulf of Mexico to New Port Richie (north of Tampa). About a 27-hour run, which I have done quite a few times. He had just bought the used (very used!) sailboat locally. Appeared to be new to boating. I asked him if he had charts, and he said yeah. Showed me a State of Florida map. Said "See, I just go from here across the Gulf until I get even with New Port Richie, and then I turn and go in. Piece of cake."

Wasn't sure what to say, so didn't say anything. I did find out by asking him that he had towing insurance. Then went back to my boat and had a glass of wine. Thought about life.

John

I have a friend who used to boat like that. Then he took up flying like that. I cannot understand at all why he is still alive, but he is.

When I took the Power Squadron boating class a few years ago, I shared a table with a couple that owned of 40+ foot power boat on Lake Erie. When we got the the navigation part, chart work, piloting, etc, they couldn't find their way to the front door. Had no clue about any of it, but they were always talking about going out to the islands and such. I finally asked them how they managed to navigate their boat and get home. Their reply was "Oh, we just wait for the ferry and follow it back". Sigh.

Back in the 70's a friend of mine was a 3rd mate on a brand new 1000 food ore carrier here on the Great Lakes. They were out on sea trials when the captain asked for the Lake Erie chart. My friend looked in the chart table and discovered that there were no charts onboard. He was a quick thinking chap and went down the the mess room where he had noticed that placemats had a map of the Great Lakes. They spent 3 days cruising around Lake Erie using placemats as charts.

Quote from experienced Papua New Guinea (notoriously dangerous mountainous place to fly) commercial aircraft operator Laurie Crowley to newly employed pilot checking map to gauge the height of an approaching gap in the ridge line:" Put that bloody map away son, or you`ll be dead in a week. Use your eyes".
Not sure how that translates on water, but it`s a good quote.

A bit of humor from our recent trip taking a 5788 Bayliner from Lake Union in Seattle down to Stockton, CA.

We were headed into Ilwaco, WA which has a channel that has a few turns in it. The owner of the boat liked watching his screens (AIS, radar, plotter) and as we were entering the channel to Ilwaco I started pointing out the next channel marker buoys. He got a bit nasty and told me to stop it because it was distracting him.

I stepped back from the helm and watched him navigate a straight course when the channel turned to port. I was considering letting him run aground as he got well outside the channel but couldn't bring myself to do that.

I told him "Stuart, if you don't start looking out the window instead of watching your screens you're going to have some serious problems."

He looked up, saw that he was well outside the channel and made a hard turn to port to get back on the right course. He didn't say anything but I rather curtly told him that if he'd been watching the buoys instead of his screens he wouldn't have gotten us so far outside the channel.

He was pissed but didn't say anything.

Boating can be simple or complicated. Some make simple issues wayyyyy too complicated and some who are used to simple get in over their heads before they know it.

Nothing wrong with using a road map if you have the boat and cruising style that doesn't need much in the way of navigation.....but don't try to run dangerous areas in the fog unless you have good equipment and know how to use it.

Also...no matter what...some people can just do the extraordinary with next to nothing...and some have trouble with life the moment their feet hit the floor when they get out of bed in the morning.

We followed this packer for a couple miles heading south out of Prince Rupert. He began shaving the inside corner between an island and a marker buoy. We thought, well, maybe he knows a navigable slot through there, but we decided to play it safe and pass on the outside of the buoy.

Two minutes later;

**Photo of packer aground not loading...will try later**

All good stories !!!
I remember having an American Airline pilot on international routes sharing our marina in Jupiter FL who owed a 30' sailboat. He was planning a trip to the Florida Keys ( about 120 miles ) with his family in a few days and asked me if it would take more then 8 hours of sailing to get there.
What bathered me the most wasn't him not knowing how long the trip was going to take , it was the fact he was an American Airline pilot on international flights !!!

Trying the photo again...

Not too sure what was going through his head. Seemed to be a no-brainer even without a chart!

I keep wondering what his story was:



The tug remained beached for a couple of months or so. It returned to its regular mooring for a short time, but I haven't seen it for several months now.

MurrayM said:

Trying the photo again...

Not too sure what was going through his head. Seemed to be a no-brainer even without a chart!

Click to expand...

Do not name your boat "Diligence" if you're going to cut corners.

markpierce said:

I keep wondering what his story was:



The tug remained beached for a couple of months or so. It returned to its regular mooring for a short time, but I haven't seen it for several months now.

Click to expand...

A lot of commercial vessels beach themselves to keep from sinking till repairs are made or don't want to be bothered with dockage/mooring issues (sometimes money)....at least in my neck of the woods...

I just go from here across the Gulf until I get even with New Port Richie, and then I turn and go in. Piece of cake."

In many places there are so few nav hazards that simply finding the A or lead in buoy , then following the usual nav aids works just fine.

Around here we have to keep a sharp eye out for guy's honing in on their favorite crappie bed when close to the main channel.They are usually looking down at their screen and circling and hardly ever look up . When the wife says" looks like he's circling ",I just change course but making sure a Nascar bass boat is not blasting up behind me first. I'm at 6 knots they are at 60 mph.They can come up on you pretty quick.