Re: [Paddlewise] crossing ship channels safely?

In a message dated 6/25/00 11:16:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
klagjf_at_worldnet.att.net writes:

<< Duane,
 What are safety considerations on crossing shipping channels?  How do you
 know when you are in the channel?  How can you tell if a large ship is going
 to cross in front or behind?  Do you VHF to large ships that you see to
 inform them of your presence?  What do you do if it is foggy, just trust to
 luck that no ship is bearing down on you?  In your night crossing, do you
 think that a large ship would see your lights and avoid you?
 Jerry
  >>

Jerry,

I know where the shipping lanes are by finding them on a chart.  On the water 
I estimate where the lanes are, but I always keep a look out for ships and 
boats where ever I am at.  I don't bother to use my GPS to know exactly where 
the lanes are.  I once saw a ship out of a shipping lane anyway.

Avoiding a collision with a ship is easy.  All you do is watch where it is 
going, and maneuver to avoid it.  I think it would take an idiot to get hit 
by a ship.  They are not hard to avoid.  The trick is to be aware of them so 
you can avoid them.

In the fog, I have relied on ships blasting the fog horn every two minutes.  
If the direction of the horn remains the same and is getting louder, the ship 
is heading right to you.  Obviously, the fog does make things more dangerous.

I carry a VHF, but I don't bother to contact ships, because avoiding them 
isn't hard.

At night, as in the day, I act as if the ships don't see me, and I avoid them.

I think small power boats are much more dangerous to kayakers than ships, 
because the course of small power boats change more often and are harder to 
predict.

Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation by David Burch has excellent info on 
kayaking in shipping areas.

Duane
http://hometown.aol.com/pirateseakayaker/cat2.html
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