Re: [Paddlewise] crossing ship channels safely?

Captain Reid wrote;
>
>An the guy or person in the little kayak, when he sees me
>coming down on him ... is not going to get out his 'rule
>book' and try to see what is the 'legal' thing for me to do
>now .... turn on the strobe, try the VHF, shoot a flare ...
>anything to get their attention.  Think 'defensive' ...
>


Captain Reid's post have been great.   The key word that he so properly
install at the end of his latest post, "defensive", puts it in a nut shell.
Being someone that's been on the open seas in a kayak with the "big boys"
can appreciate the Captain's post.  During the crossing of the Gulf I had
numerous flares, smoke and dye units.  Not to mention white lights, VHF,
ARGOS system,  strobe, Auto SOS light, 406 EPIRB.
On my numerous encounters with the "big boys" (up to 13 large vessels in a
24 hour period) I never once even thought of deploying any signaling device.
Defense, defense, defense.  Of course playing defense 24 hours a day is why
I never slept much for 20 days.
  With the ships I seen at a distance their travel was determined by several
ways which has already been mentioned in these post on this subject.  I
guess the only other means I determined there travel at night was through
their range lights (if the range lights were mention I must have missed it).
With the four mountains of steel  that did sneak through my defense I did
not have time to deploy any type of signaling devices (would not have served
any purpose any way), I just concentrated on getting da hell out of dodge
and staying upright.
So all that said I'm with the Captain.  "Think defensive"
Arthur Hebert

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