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Travels With Roland (Tug Restless)

01/19/2007 — General Maritime

  

 After watching TV programs like Miami Vice, you probably concluded that such nautical antics on the Intracoastal were pure Hollywood. The fact is; this is pretty much a slice of a normal day on the waterway. Spend any kind of time in this locale, and you’ll probably come to the conclusion, that the meaning of courtesy afloat has a different meaning here, and perhaps many of the operators running boats, have been in the sun too long.
     Power boats in this location of the country, all seem to have undergone a retrofit, by having their throttles removed in favor of a switch marked with only two positions: “Standby,” and  “Warp Nine.” Either they run wide open, or are stopped. Moderation is rarely exhibited. The need to secure ones boat for sea, while transiting the Intracoastal or chugging thru the backwaters of Florida is nearly the same as battling your way around Cape Horn. Be prepared for the worst the sea has to offer.
      Recently, near Titusville Florida, I over heard a radio transmission on channel #16 from a pleasure boat that apparently had been put on her beam ends, after being overtaken by a large cruiser. Hailing the boat by name, the skipper voiced his concern regarding the high speed, close aboard overtake, while having children aboard, and “Asked” that he be a bit more considerate in the future. The reply that followed came in the form of a “Cat Call.”
      My own experience with such lack of consideration afloat, occurred midway between Ft. Meyers and Lake Okeechobee on the Caloosahatchee Canal. In a section of the waterway, but 300 feet wide, I was startled to suddenly find myself being overtaken by a 55-foot Sport Fishermen, 20 feet off my starboard beam, running in a plow attitude, and generating a massive wake. With no options available, other than to take the punishment which was about to be delivered, I put a death grip on a hand hold bolted to the bulkhead, while all that had not been secured for a voyage thru the Strait of Magellan crashed to the deck. To state that I was a bit annoyed by this action would be claiming that I am far more charitable of an individual than I am truly known to be. As a further insult, I found it incredulous that the operator was so oblivious to his actions, that he actually smiled and waved to me in passing.  My return gesture required only one hand as well, to express my feelings of goodwill.
      Leaving Tarpon Springs December 16th, I had not even joined the ICW before the jet jockey like close aboard overtakes began. Let me emphasize; “There is plenty of surface water in this region, but very little beneath it,” and the area of operations is severely limited to that which has either a propeller or keel in the water. Although the change in depth is not as significant as the North Channel or Georgian Bay, where you can go from 3 inches to 300 feet in the length of your boat, the boundary between being afloat and hard aground is normally a line drawn between markers depicting its boundaries. In many areas, the ICW is really nothing more than a ditch dredged thru a coastal area, and with constant shoaling in some locations, markers can be deceptive unless you are running the centerline of the channel. This can be difficult in some locations do to the distance between markers requiring not only those ahead for alignment, but those astern as well. Having “Ops Tested” the results of being caught along the edge, I can speak with some authority on the subject.
     While transiting some areas of the ICW at low water, I’ve found it extremely uncomfortable to be steaming along with nearly 40,000 pounds of inertia, at 8 knots and a five foot draft; observing a constant two and a half feet water unreeling beneath the keel. With frequent exposure to such an environment, one tends to become less concerned, yet if you consider that a crab pot (of which there are many within this region) discarded in the ICW, that should land on its side is sufficient to present an obstruction.
       The traffic within the ICW in many respects is like a marine freeway in a large city at rush hour, that has become a Catch 22. As a result of speed restrictions that read: “Manatee Area 30 MPH in Channel, Slow Minimum Wake Outside ICW,” everything that is propelled by power or having any sort of draft, is fighting for sea room. Scarabs, Donzi’s, Off Shore Racers, Large Motor Yachts, Sailboats, even Swamp Buggies, and of course, Tugs, all share the same narrow waterway. (To be continued )      

Capt Bob |11:02 EST |Comments (0)

 

 

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