[QUOTE=jdcavo;118931]The guy in the sailboat was our client (his insurance company paid our bills) in the first case I tried as a new lawyer. He insisted on going to trial and theb case was so hopeless, even the new guy rifght out of law school couldn’t make it any worse than it already was, so they gave it to me. Almost as soon as it started, he came back to reality and took the ridiculously low settlement the other side was offering. We had a minor victory in pre-trial when we got the Judge to rule that the audio would be turned off when this video was shown so no one would be prejudiced by the comments from the videographer (i.e. “what an idiot”)
This version is edited. The full version shows the helmsman onn the sailboat jumping overboard right before the collision, and later his fiance hanging onto the mast of the sinking sailboat.[/QUOTE]
you realize of course that every one of these threads is like a hunk of red meat dangled on a hook in front of me…how can you ever blame me for only doing what is my nature?
[QUOTE=c.captain;118933].how can you ever blame me for only doing what is my nature?
There’s no court in the land that would ever convict me![/QUOTE]
Oh, I am sure there would be someone who will blame you… I think Judge Judy would be the place to start. Got an Alibi?
[QUOTE=awulfclark;118922]Not just that, but often these little guys don’t realize just how fast the ships can close that distance. I’m not sure if it’s just a matter of scale, or if it’s something in people’s brains that says, “No way that massive ship can move that fast.” But yes, to us on the large vessels, a boat 2000 feet away seems rather close–that’s only 2.5 ship lengths to me–while to them, that’s almost an eternity, something around plus or minus 50 boat lengths.[/QUOTE]
I made a trip in a boat eastbound across Puget Sound with another professional mariner some time ago. We had to hold up outside the traffic lane to let a large container ship go by northbound. We knew better then to try and beat it but both of us were surprised how quickly it closed the distance and how fast it seemed to be going when it passed. I can see how boaters can get in trouble misjudging both the speed and the distance. The intuition you develop about speed and distance on a small vessel doesn’t serve you well in ship traffic. You have to deliberately use larger safety margins.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;118944]I made a trip in a boat eastbound across Puget Sound with another professional mariner some time ago. We had to hold up outside the traffic lane to let a large container ship go by northbound. We knew better then to try and beat it but both of us were surprised how quickly it closed the distance and how fast it seemed to be going when it passed. I can see how boaters can get in trouble misjudging both the speed and the distance.[/QUOTE] Too bad the ‘target audience’ is not here reading this!
The intuition you develop about speed and distance on a small vessel doesn’t serve you well in ship traffic. You have to deliberately use larger safety margins.
Thus the issue at hand. It is not really intuition, but inexperience in relation to the entire marine spectrum. What applies on the yachts is definitely a different aspect than what is seen from the commercial vessels bridge. (and visa versa)
[QUOTE=rshrew;118972]She earns 45mil$ a year I read somewhere![/QUOTE]
what a BABE! Wonder if she’d ditch her old man and run off with a dashing seagoing devil may care pirate type after the acquittal?
you know, speaking of babes, I went back over the old posts in this thread and realized the absolute “Hot to Go” Maritime Harlot I missed earlier!
That’s one Commodore I’d like to subordinate myself to on a slow boat to China. Could even teach her a thing or two about “Shooting the Moon” and maybe even experience a mutual “Green Flash” together!
Another problem is that, from the perspective of a boat, ships appear to be going slow even when they are moving at over 20 knots… and the boaters are not look far enough ahead!
A few years back I wrote an article about using AIS to avoid ships for a yachting magazine and was asked to talk the topic at meeting off offshore sailors. They were shocked when I began talking about actions to take when you see a ship at 24 vs 12 miles… So I asked them what range scales they used. Two in the crowd said they switched their radars to 6 miles, about half said they used the 3 mile scale and the rest had their radars set to 1.5 miles or less!
A couple of them even left the talk shaking their heads when I told them they might as well sell their AIS receivers on eBay (AIS-b transceivers were not FCC approved at the time) and spend the money on float coats because once a ship with a zero cpa is less than a mile away from you… they ain’t going to have time to be looking for life jackets.
[QUOTE=john;118982]Another problem is that, from the perspective of a boat, ships appear to be going slow even when they are moving at over 20 knots… and the boaters are not look far enough ahead!
A few years back I wrote an article about using AIS to avoid ships for a yachting magazine and was asked to talk the topic at meeting off offshore sailors. They were shocked when I began talking about actions to take when you see a ship at 24 vs 12 miles… So I asked them what range scales they used. Two in the crowd said they switched their radars to 6 miles, about half said they used the 3 mile scale and the rest had their radars set to 1.5 miles or less!
A couple of them even left the talk shaking their heads when I told them they might as well sell their AIS receivers on eBay (AIS-b transceivers were not FCC approved at the time) and spend the money on float coats because once a ship with a zero cpa is less than a mile away from you… they ain’t going to have time to be looking for life jackets.[/QUOTE]
To say nothing of the sailboaters who think they ALWAYS have the right of way, or the guy in his center console with a fishing line off the stern that now thinks he’s a fishing vessel per the rules. And apparently the fish only bite in traffic separation schemes or at the pilot station.
The point is, education is critical, the question is how to do it effectively. And the book the thread title refers to, even if it is overpriced and kind of a waste (from our perspective), if a few yacht drivers read it and learn something, well, that’s a start, innit?
