Derek wrote: > What is the typical travel speed for these tankers? I know speeds are > posted on some charts, but they don't necessarily follow the posted > limits. Derek, that's a good question. I bet it depends heavily on the nature of the waterway. The narrow channels referred to in earlier posts probably have tighter speed restrictions than those on the Columbia River (which is all I know well). Here, 15 knots is not unusual, but frequently the vessels slow way down when meeting opposing tankers or freighters, or when turning, or when going over shallower areas. Then, they are often traveling at only a few knots, relative to the water. A minimum of 4-5 knots, I imagine. One added complication is that we often have river/tidal currents of three knots or so; when a freighter is traveling with the current, to maintain steerageway, they still have to hold several knots of hull speed, so they may close on you pretty fast when the speed of the current is added on. They are so huge, a paddler does not appreciate how fast they are moving until they are on him/her. I've not had any close calls, but others have. For us, the wakes are mostly fun to play in, and not a safety issue at all. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Mar 11 2007 - 18:16:34 PDT
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