Near misses in Broadwater - crazy times

[ozscott]

I took my family out yesterday (Sun) from Runnaway Bay. I took the channel closest to the mainland running down to wave break island and then from there (after finding that there was NO room at all at the anchorage on southside of wave break, went further and spent the day in the bay opposite the trawlers and Hotel Vicasi. Great day and the kids loved the swim.

I rarely go to the broadwater. What amazed me was the sheer number of boats but also the number of boats that didnt either know or bother obeying the right of way rules and the keep to starboard rule in the channels. I had lunatics in 25-40 foot boats trying their best to hog their left of the channel instead of their right and with me going further to my right to the point where had it not been a King Tide I might well have hit sand - at one point I had to bring my boat to a halt because of such idiots. I do my best to keep a lookout and think for other drivers - ie how much room have they got and how are other boats apart from mine going to effect them etc, but I had the impression that very few I passed did the same.

On the way back through the same channel there were about 20 wave boarders doing about 35kph in 20 knott winds and para-sufers of similar number - I know that power gives way to sail, but most of these guys must think that they own the waterway!

Anyway, great water and the fam had fun, bet what a mess - I will stick to the bay for a while.

PS. Some of the gin palaces really put out and enormous bow wave - coming back to the marina, I overtook a 45 footer doing about 20 knots - I accelerated through his 2metre plus bow wave at about 25 kn and was well and truly airborne for a moment - which is pretty spectacular in a heavy 21 footer!!. Last time I did that I was a 16 foot Haines, so obviously I have not been trying hard enough of late!!! She came back down buried the nose for a second and then punched through. The old Seafarer has plenty of bouyancy up front so that sort of caper is pretty safe and gives the kids a good thrill (the wife not so happy though!). Unfortunately in a narrow channel if your going to overtake such a large vessel kicking up such a big curler, you dont have a lot of options. I have tried on other occasions passing large gin palaces by backing off going over and trimming the bow up so as not to bury the nose in the trough on the other side but that seems dangerours to me unless the vessel being overtaken is only doing 10 knots or so.

Cheers all.:)

[Noelm]

the confusion is you only have to pass on the right side if there is danger of collision, there is no reason to go over onto a sandbar or rocks or whatever just to pass on the correct side if there is no danger of a crash, but you should stay on your side of the channel just out of courtesy.

[ozscott]

The trouble was mate that there was a danger of a collission almost all the time - the waterways were saturated with boats and under those circumstances, all punters should stay on their right....otherwise as was the case, there were boats cris-crossing all over the place because they started off on their port side!

Cheers

[Kiktz]

I personally think they should have a wash/ speed limit on larger vessels.
At the rate that some of the trawlers and larger boats come through there,
it just cant be good for anyone.

AJ

[saurian]

Glad I don't live there.
Ta.

[PinHead]

I took my family out yesterday (Sun) from Runnaway Bay. I took the channel closest to the mainland running down to wave break island and then from there (after finding that there was NO room at all at the anchorage on southside of wave break, went further and spent the day in the bay opposite the trawlers and Hotel Vicasi. Great day and the kids loved the swim.

I rarely go to the broadwater. What amazed me was the sheer number of boats but also the number of boats that didnt either know or bother obeying the right of way rules and the keep to starboard rule in the channels. I had lunatics in 25-40 foot boats trying their best to hog their left of the channel instead of their right and with me going further to my right to the point where had it not been a King Tide I might well have hit sand - at one point I had to bring my boat to a halt because of such idiots. I do my best to keep a lookout and think for other drivers - ie how much room have they got and how are other boats apart from mine going to effect them etc, but I had the impression that very few I passed did the same.

On the way back through the same channel there were about 20 wave boarders doing about 35kph in 20 knott winds and para-sufers of similar number - I know that power gives way to sail, but most of these guys must think that they own the waterway!

Anyway, great water and the fam had fun, bet what a mess - I will stick to the bay for a while.

PS. Some of the gin palaces really put out and enormous bow wave - coming back to the marina, I overtook a 45 footer doing about 20 knots - I accelerated through his 2metre plus bow wave at about 25 kn and was well and truly airborne for a moment - which is pretty spectacular in a heavy 21 footer!!. Last time I did that I was a 16 foot Haines, so obviously I have not been trying hard enough of late!!! She came back down buried the nose for a second and then punched through. The old Seafarer has plenty of bouyancy up front so that sort of caper is pretty safe and gives the kids a good thrill (the wife not so happy though!). Unfortunately in a narrow channel if your going to overtake such a large vessel kicking up such a big curler, you dont have a lot of options. I have tried on other occasions passing large gin palaces by backing off going over and trimming the bow up so as not to bury the nose in the trough on the other side but that seems dangerours to me unless the vessel being overtaken is only doing 10 knots or so.

Cheers all.:)

I had similar with a tinny skipper heading back to Jacobs Well..He stuck to the far right of the channel..another boat was overtaking him on his left hand side..i had to split the difference and go between them. If I cannot stay where I am supposed to due to someone else being there I then choose the safest way through.

As for the airborne bit...I wouldn't call that very smart driving either...especially with the kids on board.

[PinHead]

I personally think they should have a wash/ speed limit on larger vessels.
At the rate that some of the trawlers and larger boats come through there,
it just cant be good for anyone.

AJ

This little gem comes up every summer...how about we restrict the whole lot to row boats only...and yes..my boat does put out some wash and yes..I do cruise along at about 24knots but how about we also restrict idiots in small tinnies anchoring in narrow channels...but I would also be against any of those as we all do have rights to use the waterways in whatever vessel we choose...whether it be a kayak or a 100' motor yacht. I do not believe anyone should be inconvenienced in what they want to do but some common sense has to prevail from all boat skippers.

[FNQCairns]

A wash limit, will not happen! those that make the rules will be the ones that also own the gin palaces or know those that do, they will ensure all others are restricted first, it's human nature and corruption also IMO but that's the way it is. The little guy will get shoved around first.

cheers fnq

[ozscott]

thanks for that bit of Wisdom pinhead - I didnt have much choice about getting past him and I did the best I could. I didnt plan to get air under me even if the kids loved it. I drive very responsible both with kids on and without. i thought I had made it clear that I didnt have much option but to power over the wake - its a 21 footer seafarer with a 115 so its not a powerhouse.

[DaMaGe]

Well I must admit, I don't line boats up just to make sure I am on the correct side, however I haven't had all to much experience in smaller channells etc. In saying this I think I would give way to a 25-40ft boat that would be coming up a small channel, I wouldn't be too concerend to make sure I was on the correct side and nearly beaching myself in doing so, I would just let them through while stopped and continue, with family on board this may make my trip very slow and long but that's the way I have been trained with the wife onboard.

I have 2 ways of driving my boat, The Fisherman way, or the Family way.
When fishing, I don't mind the boat ruppling across the water top, when family is aboard I just plough through whatever chop, and will stop and allow other people to pass, or go past me, and/or give way just to ensure none of the kids go ass up, and the wife and kids are still getting use to being in a boat etc.

Back on topic, if you go out there thinking every other boat driver is a nut, and stay out of there way, even if it means giving way or stopping then you should have safe boating, also if it means having to be on the incorrect side while passing them from the opposite direction, as long as it's safe that my opinion.
I always go about personal patience, even when I see incompetence on the water.

[ozscott]

I have seen tinnies fishing the edge of the mangroves at the very outside of channels almost sunk my speeding gin palaces. A 30 footer doing 30 knots + at the pin (where I spend a bit of time) in very narrow and shallow channels is just plain stupid, but you see it all the time. One day one of them will drown some poor basta*rd and then perhaps some policing will prevail. What a lot of these people either dont know or forget is that they are responsible most of the time for these things. For example a personal injuiries matter was tried in the Brisbane Supreme Court last year where a guy was travelling down the Nerang River (or Coomera I cant recall now) and hit a mored boat (about 16 foot from memory) that had no lights on at night time. The boat that was moving was not exceeding the speed limit, but the Judge (White J) still found that the driver was negligent in not travelling slow enough to avoid a collision with an unlit boat, knowing that boats often more in the area and sometimes with no lights illiuminated.

The paramount duty under the Rules is to avoid a marine collision or risks to life.

Cheers

[ozscott]

Da - I have stopped myself many times for other boats when it looks dodgy. I agree that at times you have to go on the incorrect side, but its crazy to have to do it every 40 metres or so.

Cheers

[PinHead]

thanks for that bit of Wisdom pinhead - I didnt have much choice about getting past him and I did the best I could. I didnt plan to get air under me even if the kids loved it. I drive very responsible both with kids on and without. i thought I had made it clear that I didnt have much option but to power over the wake - its a 21 footer seafarer with a 115 so its not a powerhouse.

why didn't you just put the nose of the boat into the wash and power off and go thru it slowly ???

[ozscott]

Mate - as I say I have done that before - with smaller washes its not usually too bad but this was over 2 metres tall and was moving quickly away from the vessell. I might have done it slower, but then again there is always the risk of broaching given the amount of water and its speed.

Cheers

[DaMaGe]

Can an offical complaint be made to the police to patrol this area in the next few weeks.

There were a number of boats on the water due to high temp's on the weekend, and some nice conditions in some places.

[PinHead]

Mate - as I say I have done that before - with smaller washes its not usually too bad but this was over 2 metres tall and was moving quickly away from the vessell. I might have done it slower, but then again there is always the risk of broaching given the amount of water and its speed.

Cheers

you were the skipper..it is your call..I would have done it differently but we all make our own choices.

[Stubbie Holder]

I have boated in many different places in Aus. and the U.S. and the Broadwater these days has to be the scariest of the lot with regards to skippers that don't have any idea of how to share a waterway. I spent a lot of time between Sea World and South Straddie in the late 70's and it was a boating paradise with very few fools around. Nowdays it is a different proposition, you need to keep your eyes open and head on a swivel. Glad I now live in a different area where the local boaties are very proficient in their seamanship.

Stubbie!

[Kiktz]

Pinhead,

Wan't having a go at you, But then again if you do drive a big boat and put out a
monsterous wash. Take the time to have a look behind you and watch the small
that near get washed away on the spit beach or on the western side of wavebreak.

As has be discussed many times before

" IT ALL COMES DOWN TO HAVE A LIL CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS"

Aj

[leezor]

Glad I don't live there.
Ta.

I'm with Saurian!

[finga]

And people wonder why I will hardly ever go out in the boat on week-ends and never on public holidays. Especially down the broadwater or Pin.
I've already lost enough hair in my life :'(
Bring on the week days when everyones at work 8-)

[PinHead]

Pinhead,

Wan't having a go at you, But then again if you do drive a big boat and put out a
monsterous wash. Take the time to have a look behind you and watch the small
that near get washed away on the spit beach or on the western side of wavebreak.

As has be discussed many times before

" IT ALL COMES DOWN TO HAVE A LIL CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS"

Aj
mate..I have a 30' gin palace...but if we are going to talk about consideration for others then how about we make sure it applies to all...I was anchored for a short time yesterday near the Jacobs Well boat ramp (yes, I always go through there at 6 knots or less with no wash) and nearly every boat either leaving the ramp or heading back to it went past creating wash...now what is that rule about distances from anchored vessels and speed??? We all break the law at times..I am as guilty as the next bloke..all it needs is some common sense. I also go down there in my tinny and use the same approach to my boating...keep a good eye on approaching and following boats and act accordingly. I will give you another example...was heading back towards Horizon Shores one afternoon..a glass boat about 16' was sitting in my wake...i eased back to come off the plane and slow down to go past Jacobs Well..was the skipper behind me watching...nope..he was sightseeing..he was gaining on me rapidly..had to give it everything to get back on the plane and make sure he was watching as I slowed again..it does not matter what size or type of boat you drive...there will always be someone not doing the right thing..just the same as on the roads.

[ozscott]

what sort of gin palace have you got mate?

[PinHead]

what sort of gin palace have you got mate?

jusat one of those fibreglass ones thateveryone hates cos it causes wash behind it.

[Fish Guts]

2 metre swell off a 45 footer my arse..anyway.. um my major concern wouldnt be the weekend warriors on the broadwater, but the amount of sharks that hang around between marina mirage and the longliners and trawlers..never..ever let ur kids swim outside versace near the trawlers !!

[ozscott]

it would have been damn close with the 20 knots wind that was adding to the wake.

Yep - thought about the trawlers and bi-catch + guts etc that they might off load there - commented to the wife about it - but we were on the other side near sea-world, the water was clear and they did not go out more than 8 feet and I could see into the water for another 15 20 feet out (very shallow sand bank on the king tide). But I hear what you say otherwise.

[Fish Guts]

oh thats fine then. i thought you were closer to the trawlers.

[ozscott]

no worries mate - thanks for the input about it...some people dont think about it...the mate I was with didnt and when I mentioned it he thought I was a luni (but I was the one with the divers knife strapped to my leg and was always out in the shallows with my kids and his!

[Ron173]

I got a mate lives on the Gold Coast, he says the ramps are all chocca, and when you get out, there are d*&heads everywhere, hooning around, with no consideration for others.
Reckons you gotta go out real wide to get some peace, and then you gotta worry that your trailer is still there when you get back, and if it is, its a bonus if its still got all its rollers etc.

Ron

[tigermullet]

I might not enjoy the extremely chaotic environment of the Gold Coast Broadwater area but in the Jumpinpin area it is just enough to be endlessly entertaining on a weekend.

Weekends are generally used for doing a little cleaning of the boat and for just sitting around with a cup of coffee or a beer whilst watching the show. It is fascinating and has provided hours of interest for myself and on board guests.

So many types of boats, so many levels of boating skill - some are very competent and others act as if their licences fell out of the corn flakes packet last Wednesday. It is all amusing entertainment if anchored safely out of the way.

Gin Palaces (what a great term - I love it) or Poser boats, with skippers or trophy wives draped languidly in a chair sipping champagne also look out on the passing parade of cruisers, tinnies, tourist operated house boats, rubber duckies taking Fluffy or Tiddles to shore for a leak, and jet skis zooming hither and thither without much purpose but making a great deal of noise while they are at it.

And at night out come the wherethefukarewe tribe with helm positions lit up like Christmas trees and if not blinded by that, manage to destroy all hope of seeing anything by waving spot lights around.

If we are lucky there will be a wind change with strong gusts blasting boats, especially tourist operated houseboats, from there anchored position and chaos really starts to rule the water.

My mate likes the difference in dress; trophy wives in sheer bikinis emphasise the large beer gut of the husbands; blokes on jet skis dolled up in form fitting wet suits and dinky little life jackets - one rider he spotted even had on those poncy gloves normally used by drivers of racing cars and didn't seem to appreciate his call to me to have a look at this w*nker; fat ones, thin ones and all shapes in between, most dressed just in an ordinary way but some are covered from head to toe in fear of the sun and salt or whatever the current TV advertised fear might be. Most wear hats - they must like chasing them and retrieving them from the water every time the wind gets up by a few knots.

And dogs, always dogs being ferried back and forth. Generally they are white and fluffy and must have their little paws dried before getting back into the rubber ducky. Often, on one small island, there is a blue cattle dog running loose. I don't know what his name is but we have called him, 'Jack'.

Poor Jack always seems to be in a state of indecision when the white fluffy balls of fur are landed on his island and cannot quite seem to work out whether to play with them, eat them or root them. If Jack is not yet completely neurotic, one of these days, Fluffy or Tiddles is in for a hell of a surprise. I hope that I am there to see it.

By 4pm on a Sunday there area returns to quiet and peace with all of the crab pots strung out in long diagonals across narrow channels picked up if not forgotten or swept away by the tide. The temper tantrums have died down and wives have stopped being blamed for not dropping the anchor correctly. Off they go - back to the frustration of suburbia, some, I suspect, quietly thinking of divorce and why does this normally quiet husband of mine turn into a Hitler-like lunatic as soon as he starts the boat engine?

I love the sight of stranded boats on sand banks in the morning. It's so easy then for them to see which side of the channel they should have been on.

[PinHead]

oh..and tigermullet..you forgot about the tinnies with about 2" of freeboard skippered by the flanno shirt and ugg boot brigade with mouths on them like sewers..and that is their female companions...takes all kinds.

[PinHead]

where the hell do I find a trophy wife in a sheer bikini...I already have the beer gut.

[tigermullet]

Dunno, Pin. My mate and I are investigating but without much hope I'm afraid. We reckon we are well qualified too apart from the lack of money.

[tigermullet]

I left the flannel shirt mob out of it Pin - they're me mates!

[ozscott]

I love it...thats just beautiful. I think most of the fluffy white dogs are called toto. I love anchoring up in Tiger Mullett for the night before attacking the tailor at sunrise and I swear I can hear the gentle sound of slik sheets being rustled and the odd fart...oh..sorry the later sound is in my half cab...

[tigermullet]

I will add that name to my list OZ. That makes four so far - Toto, Popsicle, Fluffy and Tiddles.

One bloke down there has a couple of those sausage dogs and we've named them Snag and Sav. Sometimes we call them Submarine 1 and 2 cos they don't swim real high in the water with those funny little legs.

It's a bit like watching Syncopated Drowning - sorry, Synchronised Swimming.

[ozscott]

..they get big medals for saving their owners though..according to the news article about another female walker that was attached...frankly I wouldnt be running for the hills if a suasage dog attacked me (although I might die laughing) but everyone has a different view of what a fierce pooch is!

[rick k]

love these posts with lots of views- some might call it conflict- might learn something :)

I see 100% the problem with the overloaded boat, be it a gin palace or a tinny.

I see the problem with those who put pots in channels (love the 1.25 litre softy bottle float, minus label), and those who anchor in channels.

But maybe if they are on the edge of channels, or away from the edge of channels, and my wash is a problem, I am responsible for what my wash does? If nothing else, they were there first...... Then again, maybe a 6m boat with plenty of freeboard is the minimum for the broady these days.

All I can say is that there are inconsiderate or incompetents in the little'un's flottilla, and among the gin palace skippers. But perhaps it is more likely that a problem skipper in charge of a large boat is more of a danger to 'innocent' bystanders than those in the 2" freeboard tinny. Of course the 2" freeboard tinny can cause plenty of harm as well.

Be interesting to see if a workable solution comes up :) I propose that the Gin Palace owners buy out the 2" freeboard tinnies, and provide them with trophy husbands or wives, and a 6 metre boat with self draining deck and huge scuppers. If adopted you'll see me in the garage with the grinder removing freeboard :)

[PinHead]

U Bewdy...out on the gin palace for 3 days down the Pin area..look out everyone...another idiotic boat skipper on the loose.

[tigermullet]

Carnage at the Pin by Pin? Gin Palaces rule!;D