Unfortunately we will always have those who have little or no regard for others safety whether it be on the water or land & that is why the ones with the brains take extra precautions to make sure that everyone is to made as safe as possible. Great story & glad you came through it safely.
I had a similar situation a few years back in a narrow pass.
Copied from another post:
Vessel “BIG FISH”
Please read this!
Yesterday it was an early start to time “hole in the wall” rapids and channel. We were ‘just’ through the narrows where it begins to widen a bit when we witnessed the most inconsiderate, rude, dangerous and outright illegal show of seamanship I have seen in a very long time.
A large, guessing in the 80-100ft range, modern looking, private vessel named “BIG FISH” passed us without warning about 50ft or less off our port beam!
We were cruising about 7.5 knots with the current and guess BIG FISH was travelling about 11-12 knots. To say their wake was huge would be an understatement! With no VHF warning, it was “right there” before I had any time to prepare or react. Emma B was tossed valiantly about! It was about 7:30am and our coffee cups were thrown onto the sole, one breaking and one leaving a substantial dent in the Teak and Holley floor. Claudia got off her seat to try and stop things from falling all over and she was knocked into the dinette table with the next violent roll, bruising a rib. With the wake that large and waves so close together it was all I could do to prevent a broach! Had a broach occurred, this could have ended much worst!!
As I said, one of the rudest, most inconsiderate, outright dangerous and illegal displays I have witnessed in a very long time!
It utterly shocks me that a vessel the size of “BIG FISH” would be captained by someone like that! So utterly irresponsible, he was totally unworthy of being in control of such a large vessel!
If BIG FISH is reading this, the proper procedure for passing so close in a narrow channel would have been:
1-Hale me on VHF 16, my boats name was clearly displayed on the stern
2-switch to another channel to communicate
3-announce your intention to pass close to my port side and request that I slow down, thereby allowing you a very slow, wake free pass
4- once I had slowed down, pass just slightly faster than I am going, producing absolute minimal wake in that close proximity
5- once clear and well in front, return to your desired cruising speed.
The entire exercise above would have taken BIG FISH an extra 2-3 minutes at most.
If you know the owner or captain of BIG FISH, please pass this message along.
Certainly the rudest, most inconsiderate and unprofessional captain I have witnessed!
I case he is unaware, marine law states you are responsible for damage caused by your wake.
This behavior is analogous to what often occurs regularly to bicycle riders on our roadways...
Kudos to the illustrator for this story. Please consider providing credit for this contribution, too.
Unfortunately we will always have those who have little or no regard for others safety whether it be on the water or land & that is why the ones with the brains take extra precautions to make sure that everyone is to made as safe as possible. Great story & glad you came through it safely.
Sad statement on lack of respect for others…
I have been through that pass and feel your pain!
I had a similar situation a few years back in a narrow pass.
Copied from another post:
Vessel “BIG FISH”
Please read this!
Yesterday it was an early start to time “hole in the wall” rapids and channel. We were ‘just’ through the narrows where it begins to widen a bit when we witnessed the most inconsiderate, rude, dangerous and outright illegal show of seamanship I have seen in a very long time.
A large, guessing in the 80-100ft range, modern looking, private vessel named “BIG FISH” passed us without warning about 50ft or less off our port beam!
We were cruising about 7.5 knots with the current and guess BIG FISH was travelling about 11-12 knots. To say their wake was huge would be an understatement! With no VHF warning, it was “right there” before I had any time to prepare or react. Emma B was tossed valiantly about! It was about 7:30am and our coffee cups were thrown onto the sole, one breaking and one leaving a substantial dent in the Teak and Holley floor. Claudia got off her seat to try and stop things from falling all over and she was knocked into the dinette table with the next violent roll, bruising a rib. With the wake that large and waves so close together it was all I could do to prevent a broach! Had a broach occurred, this could have ended much worst!!
As I said, one of the rudest, most inconsiderate, outright dangerous and illegal displays I have witnessed in a very long time!
It utterly shocks me that a vessel the size of “BIG FISH” would be captained by someone like that! So utterly irresponsible, he was totally unworthy of being in control of such a large vessel!
If BIG FISH is reading this, the proper procedure for passing so close in a narrow channel would have been:
1-Hale me on VHF 16, my boats name was clearly displayed on the stern
2-switch to another channel to communicate
3-announce your intention to pass close to my port side and request that I slow down, thereby allowing you a very slow, wake free pass
4- once I had slowed down, pass just slightly faster than I am going, producing absolute minimal wake in that close proximity
5- once clear and well in front, return to your desired cruising speed.
The entire exercise above would have taken BIG FISH an extra 2-3 minutes at most.
If you know the owner or captain of BIG FISH, please pass this message along.
Certainly the rudest, most inconsiderate and unprofessional captain I have witnessed!
I case he is unaware, marine law states you are responsible for damage caused by your wake.
Sad when huge boats have incompetent captains!
There's just no substitute for intelligence and courtesy.. that helmsman must be well down the bottom 50% of boaters. A fool ..
...and his boat SHOULD be parted!
Chilling story! That kind of dangerous behavior is all to common today. Thank you for the vivid account.
Here's a less chilling one of mine: https://dick-dowdell.medium.com/messing-about-in-boats-9f2da20b99a2?source=friends_link&sk=50b0f34d278790f9dcc6aba8a6f40e46
Since Happy Island is the name of an island in the San Juans, maybe that was the boat's home port...