Red, right, returning ... remember !

[Sven]

Really sad,

On Saturday afternoon our friend Jorge in the shipyard told us that a boat was lost just outside the entrance to Mission Bay and he would be hauling it a bit later. Sure enough, we listened to the salvage operation as they dove and attached flotation bags during the evening. Only 10 feet of the mast was initially above water.

The pictures below are from the arrival at the yard. It was a truly sad sight. After I'd taken the pictures I found out that the sad looking guy with the poodle was the skipper/owner. I don't see how it could be the whole story but he told Jorge that he wasn't familiar with the area so he didn't know that he should keep the big red can to starboard when entering the bay.

The boat was a 30' Yamaha named Shogun and it had a slip locally. The hull is only about 1/4" where the main hole is. The keel is loose, the prop shaft is bent, the rudder is a mess and the boat is basically a total loss.

Really sad.


-Sven

 

[Sven]

And the rest of the pictures ...

 

[Shadowfax]

What did he hit? Looks like rocks.

 

[Sven]

What did he hit? Looks like rocks.

Yes, there is a pile of submerged rocks at the end of the jetty. You can usually tell that it is there during the day because the swells bunch up and often break over the shoaling. When we came back from Catalina at 2 AM a couple of weeks ago that pile had me double-triple and quadruple checking the red buoy light to make sure I wasn't looking at some other red light on shore.

Something still doesn't add up as the boat was local and that big red can is right there where it should be. At least nobody was hurt as far as we know and both the skipper and his wife (?) and their dogs made it to shore. I have noticed that powerboats often cut across where the pile is so maybe the skipper had seen that often enough to think there was no danger.


-Sven

 

[Emerald]

[snip] he wasn't familiar with the area so he didn't know that he should keep the big red can to starboard when entering the bay.

Good that it is only property damage, but can't imagine the comment about not knowing to keep the big red thing to starboard on return. If really not familiar with the most basic navigation, e.g. red/right/returning, this is a scary example of why never to let one's guard down about what the other vessel is doing. This makes me think of a conversation with a friend with an accomplished boating history and we were talking about right of way and the need to be aware that the other vessel might have no idea of who is supposed to do what. In Tony's words, "don't forget that being dead right can get you right dead".

 

[Sven]

In Tony's words, "don't forget that being dead right can get you right dead".

That is why we always have the horn at the helm. The responsibility to "stand on" and be utterly predictable ends after the 5 short blasts as warning and after that we'll take whatever evasive action is safest if the other party doesn't do what is needed. Without the warning blast the other party could argue that your evasive action contributed to or even caused an accident.

But when possible, just keep away from others.



-Sven

 

[Mikebat]

Or you could just shout "Learn the rules of the road, Sinbad!" on VHF channel 16, like someone did yesterday around Angel's Gate.

And in some places it's not Red-Right-Returning, it's the other way. Finland, for instance.

 

[Sven]

And in some places it's not Red-Right-Returning, it's the other way. Finland, for instance.

Yup, quite a few places actually, but this was over there in the US and I was being parochial



-Sven

 

[Annapolis E-27]

Not always red right

Remember that south of the Florida Keys it is red right but once you pass through any channel north you are in the intercoastal and you are no longer red right returning. Be careful...sailing in the Keys inherently involves rum.

 

[treilley]

Be careful...sailing in the Keys inherently involves rum.

Yup, that's why it is backwards

 

[gareth harris]

I once came too close for comfort to hitting those same rocks, when I was single handing into Mission Bay at night. There was a very light breeze, and I was under sail due to the weed around Pt. Loma, holding both sheets in my hands trying to feel the breeze and cut the shortest path possible. I initially did not see the outermost lights, and I was heading straight for the rocks when I picked the lights out well outside the route I was travelling.

I then did run aground in Mission Bay itself, as the anchorage was crowded and I tried to skirt around it looking for space - should have gone through the middle. It was only on sand, but the tide had just started to ebb so I spent the night sleeping on the side of the hull in the V berth waiting to float off. That was a great anchorage on later trips - no need to worry about how to get home after some beer when you have brought your home with you.

So I won't prejudge what happened to that poor guy. Just good to see he made it out in one piece.

I read somewhere that during the revolutionary war a colonial moved a red marker in Boston harbour to confuse incoming warships, which resulted in north America being opposite to most of the rest of the world wrt red and green markers ever since. If there is a simple way to figure out whether a buoy marks the intracoastal or not I never figured out, other than reading the numbers or flash pattern and applying it to the chart, which can be hard to do in a hurry. If anyone has any better techniques I am all ears.

Gareth
Freyja E35 241 1972

 

[FullTilt E28]

Not always red right return

We double handed / chartered in the Agean Sea -- they marked things better than we do here in the US but they also didn't follow the Red right return rule. Bummer never nice seeing someones boat go down.