Am I doing the right thing?

[Alex9797]

Hey all,

in the past I have been quick to have a bit of a go at people passing close to small boats that puts the smaller boats occupants at risk. I am now starting to get a bit paranoid that I am doing it myself. At the risk of sounding like I'm off to confession...


forgive me father for i have sinned

I would appreciate any help to improve my skills on the water and ask the following from people who know the area around horizon shores and jacobs well.

When returning from the Pin or Peel Island to HS I do not come off the plane when I pass the cabbage tree boat ramp. I always keep a good lookout for small craft leaving the ramp and try to pass as far away from the ramp as possible, at high tide I will actualy pass on the wrong side of the green marker to increase the distance. At low I will cut just inside this marker if traffic allows.

Do people think that this is acceptable ?

My other sin is to remain on the plane thru Jaobs Well. My boat is a 575 cruisecraft and i know that the sign states that only boats over 8 metres need to do 6 knots , again I am wondering if I am doing less damage by staying on the plane and getting thru quickly ( 44 kmph ) than to drop off the plane ?

cheers


Alex

[nigelr]

Just see what happens when you are trying to launch/retrieve and someone goes past the ramp 'on the plane'.
I would respectfully suggest you go 'off the plane' when passing ramps.
As I launch and retrieve solo, I can tell you that having craft go past 'on the plane' and thus creating a healthy bow-wave, is a pain in the a## and does nothing to make operations easier or safer.
Regards Nigel.

[PinHead]

Alex..you do not have to come off the plane going through Jacobs Well..only 8 metres or over (slowest part of the trip for me...I do about 4.5knots through there so I create no wash)...as for Cabbage Tree..courtesy can go a long way...as in most situations, however, there are also laws and as long as they are not broken you have no legal obligations only moral ones...those are you to decide on.

[shayned]

Alex, My son, all through life there are temptations placed in front of us, these are a test of your moral fortitude, while at times the need jam the throttle controls fully fowards comes over everyone in god's great flock, even those owning Johnson outboards who really should know better. The question you should be asking yourself is, just what is it, that you're rushing towards.

I think there's a little bit in this for all of us, don't you.

Now drop $5.00 in the poor plate on your way out and don't let the vestary door hit you in the ar*e as you leave.

Yours prayerfully,
Father Shayne

[finding_time]

Alex i dont know about your boat but, my boat makes less wash on the plane than it does at 6 knots so it a hard choice sometimes.

Ian

[seatime]

G'day Alex

The accepted practice now, which is encouraged by QPS and MSQ, is for boaties with complaints to report illegal or percieved illegal activities. Descriptions of the offending vessel and their rego numbers are recorded with the authorities for each complaint and feed into the data base.

Now this may not concern most boaties, but when one of these vessels that has flags on it on the data base is checked, they will go through them with a fine tooth comb. There wont be any friendly warnings, only infringement notices, and that will be a marked vessel from then on.

I've been at Cabbage Tree Pt when a large vessel has gone past on the plane causing a half metre wave to knock an old gent off his feet whilst he attemted to hold his boat. I reported that tosser myself. This type of behavior constitutes a Marine Incident, it has the potential to cause injury to persons or damage to property and will be investigated by the authorities.

Any time I see this type of behavior that is a near miss I intend to submit an incident report.

cheers

[seatime]

BTW those 6 knot no wash signs mean 6 knots is the max speed if you are not creating wash. If you create wash at 6 knots that means you need to go slower until there is no wash. They don't mean you can do 6 knots regardless.
The point of the sign is to not create wash, if your vessel creates a wash at 4 knots, you will have to proceed at 3 knots or slower until there is no wash.
There has been so many complaints about the 6 knot zones that the authorities are about to crack down, it'll be a good revenue raiser.

[Cheech]

Some say if you come almost to a stop and then go back up to 6 knots, you will create less wake than if you just drop off the plane to 6 knots. Don't know if it is just an illusion, but that has appeared to be what happens with my boat as well.

As for the distance away from the ramp you mention at cabage tree, that seems reasonable to me. That is a fair distance. What a strange place for a ramp out there in the open from wind and see, as well as passing boats at a major intersection.

[PinHead]

gelsec..I certainly hope that the crackdown on the 6 knot rule also applies to people in small boats within the 30 metre range from anchored cos it appears to me that bugger all know of this rule or they all choose to ignore it.

[PinHead]

another where the speed limit is ignored is the 6 knot zone from Horizon Shores to Steiglitz wharf..that is 6 knots for all vessels

[Alex9797]

thank you for all of the replies .

Generaly speaking I try to do the right thing on the water.

Nigelr : I hear you mate, been there done that. Thats why I was asking.

Father Shane : nearly p@%%@# myself.

Gelsec : Couldn't agree more. I'm not convinced what I'm talking about is illegal behaviour. The ramp is probably 60-80 mtres away ( I'm guessing but people familier with the area will know what I mean ) and is not signed as a no wash zone. Perhaps it should be .

Cheech & Ian : you guys have hit the nail on the head. At 60 metres or so from the ramp does a correctly trimmed planing hull put out less of a wash ( a displacement hull puts out a bow wave) than slowing down. Buggered if I can figure it out.

Pinhead : agree that it should be all boats if they present a danger. Mate I can't remember the number of times I have waved boats traveling in the steiglitz stretch to slow down. Usually met with the finger. It will not stop me from doing it however (encouraging them to slow down)


Recently I saw a 60 foot + cruiser passing within 20-30 metres of the ramp on a busy saturday morning. The skipper seemed unsure whether to open it up or slow down. In the end he just made a pigs breakfast of the whole thing and smashed everyone on the ramp >

That particular intersection can be quite busy at times and the sun is often in your eyes when returning from the pin.

hmmmmmm I think I may have seen the light


thanks guys

Alex

[alsere_42]

i see what your saying i often think should i slow down around smaller boats that are staitionary or should i slow down off the plain,to me i feel there is less wash while im on the plane than when im going slow,and i have often taken notice when others pass me when im sitting still i think its better when they pass me on the plane. how ever i do feel like i should slow down when approaching a stationary boat just to feel courteious.

[Volcano]

I have a question about the 30 meters from an anchored vessel. (I may have misunderstood PinHeads post... please ignore if I am on the wrong tangent)

Now, I have a 5.3 metre boat, and I often head out to Mud via the Dohles rocks ramp. Those familiar with the area know that often small tinnies anchor up in the DEAD SET middle of the channel. Especially at low tide, it makes it damn near impossible to go past them WITHOUT disrupting them even at 6 knotts (The deep water channel there isnt the broadest).

Who is in the wrong there? A boatie with the s#!&@ at someone anchoring in the middle of a busy channel, or the anchored boatie? I always assume that safety prevails, and slow down as much as possible to ensure everyone is safe, but I have politely informed people that they are smack bang in the middle of a narrow-ish channel and copped torrents of abuse.

Whats the go there?

[Alex9797]

Good question Volcano.

Often when I have the boat nose in at slipping sands down the pin way some turkey will go through the anchorage somewhere between planing and displacement. It seems to make the wash worse. The same thing happens every time that I pull up in the little inlet at the top of south straddy (Opposite swan bay). I always slow down to no wash going thru an anchorage or when boats are up against the sand. People who block narrow channels, well I just dont know >. The rules state 30 metres and rules is rules

cheers

Alex

[cliffo]

Hey Volcano

I Just Copy and Pasted this straight out of the Aust. Marine Safety Authority - Prevention of Collisions Issue 7 - July 2005.
I Knew there was a rule about anchoring in channel's , So Your not in the wrong mate, they are!

Rule 9

b) A vessel of less than 20 metres in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway.

(c) A vessel engaged in fishing shall not impede the passage of any other vessel navigating within a narrow channel or fairway.

(g) Any vessel shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, avoid anchoring in a narrow channel.

Rule 9c and 9g Spell it out pretty clearly I reckon

Hope that clears up a few things