Page 22: of Marine News Magazine (May 2012)

22MNMay 2012They?re back! And, even earlier than expected. The air and water temperatures have begun their steady climb upwards with each passing day. As we move towards the late spring and early summer, recreational boaters are prepping their power boats, sailboats, canoes, kayaks and jet skis for the season. In fact, with this year?s mild winter weather, many of these vessels are appearing even earlier than normal on the nation?s waterways. And while that might be exciting to the recreational boaters who are look- ing forward to an extended season, professional mariners who work those same harbors, rivers, sounds, bays and lakes need to be extra vigilant as they compete for spaceand safe passage for their oversized vessels. It is a safe assumption that many of those operating these private pleasure craft and various non-motorized boats are not well-versed in the Rules of the Road that professional mariners operate under. The result? A wide array of marine incidents from collisions, allisions, capsized boats, groundings, wake damage and many, many more near misses. And what?s almost certain is that when a profes- sional mariner gets involved in an incident with a recre- ational boater, the authorities will be predisposed to find fault with the professional mariner ?who should have known better.? And if the Coast Guard investigators believe a message needs to be sent to its license holders involved in one of those incidents, charges of negligence leading to suspension and revocation (S&R) proceedings are a distinct possibility. Our MOPS claim files tell the tales of many of these ?David vs. Goliath? type incidents between recreational boaters and professional mariners, and, sadly, many impacted mariners believe they are placed in a ?guilty-until-proven-innocent? posture when defending their actions.NOTFERRY GOODA quick review of a typical encounter between a com- mercial vessel and a pair of sailboats in a popular waterway fronting a picturesque New England town illustrates the uphill battle a professional mariner and his or her attorney have when things go wrong. The master of a high-speed catamaran-style ferry was plying his course westbound across the bay with a full load of passengers when he spotted two sailboats off his port bow in parallel courses preparing to cross under the sus- pension bridge spanning the bay. Both sailboats were pro- ceeding north, crossing his bow from port to starboard. He continued west on his trackline to take their sterns well clear of his vessel. Suddenly, sailboat number 1 ? approximately 200 yards ahead at this point ? jibed back across his bow, 180° to the south. Recognizing the change in conditions, the ferry?s captain came to starboard to take the stern of sailboat which had reversed course. As sailboat number 2 maintained its northerly course, he came to port to take its stern. When only about 80 yards separat- ed the ferry from sailboat 2, it jibed, coming hard about to port, approximately 180°-200° off its previous norther- ly track.When he saw the second sailboat turning to an imped-ing course, at one point bow on to the ferry, the captain went hard to port while simultaneously taking the ferry out of gear and dropping astern to reverse power. That evasive action notwithstanding, the ferry was still making slight headway. The cat?s captain then grabbed the hailer and repeatedly warned the skipper of sailboat number 2 to ?tack away?. He got no response and the sailboat made contact with the high-speed catamaran as she was backingfull. The sailboat struck the ferry on its starboard side bow, damaging its mast and fiberglass hull. The ferry cap- tain immediately reported the incident, and the Coast Guard promptly responded and towed the powerless sail- boat into port. Marine Casualty Incident Reports (2692) were completed and submitted by the ferry?s Master with INSURANCEBy Randy O?NeillDon?t Sail Into Trouble this Summer The cold, hard lesson to remember is that when there are encounters between commercial vessels and pleasure craft, the professional mariner will always be held to a higher standard of care. MN#5 (18-31):MN 2011 Layouts 5/7/2012 9:53 AM Page 22