>Anyone else tried to surf tugboat propwash? >--Karl Coplan The best I've had was running up Tory Channel one afternoon, returning from a visit to the abandoned whaling station at the entrance. We noted one of the ferries approaching from behind us and sprinted to clear the point we were rounding and to give us some sea room to surf in. As it is a narrow channel we were moderately close, hard to tell how close to a 200(?) foot vessel (car/train ferry). The double took off nicely and Andy in an Arluk 3 did even better. The next day (still in Tory Channel) our group were discussing whether it would be possible to run down the middle of the fast ferry, a catamaran (we were joking weren't we?) when it appeared round the point in the distance. As we were to pass down the starboard side, the appearance, as it turned, of the port side, had us changing course a bit to port (OK we should have been on the other side of the channel to be "correct"). As the ferry approached she swung for the next bend in the channel and passed us probably a good 100 metres or more away. The wake which has been a great concern to residents due to the damage it has been causing for the last few years, rolled towards us as a long lazy swell, totally unsuitable for surfing on. It should be noted that at all times we were well clear of commercial traffic. Also just recently there has a been a bylaw passed which restricts fast ferries to a maximum of 18 knots in the Marlborough Sounds. Once clear and in Cook Strait speed is unlimited. The wake from the catamaran ferries does more damage than a normal single hulled ferries, possibly because there's a low/deeper "pressure" wave which, once it hits the shore causes havoc. Alex *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Nov 08 2000 - 21:55:24 PST
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