How fast would this ship be traveling at the time it was approaching you? --- On Wed, 4/22/09, Duane Strosaker <strosaker_at_yahoo.com> wrote: > From: Duane Strosaker <strosaker_at_yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Shipping Lane Traffic > To: "paddlewise" <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net>, "Jerry F" <gfoodma_at_earthlink.net> > Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 5:06 PM > Jerry, > > Cargo ships aren't that wide, and they don't turn very > fast. Even if one is coming straight at you from a few > hundred yards away, a kayak should be able to get out of the > way. I'd much rather be in that situation with a cargo ship > than a meandering pleasure boat. > > I think the biggest factor in handling the shipping lanes > is psychological. The size of the cargo ships is *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Derek wrote: > How fast would this ship be traveling at the time it was approaching you? Probably 15 knots, depending. We also dodge freighters, but near the shipping channel on the Columbia River, which is almost always clearly delineated by markers, ranges, and buoys, so that it is easy to figure out what the likely course of the ship will be, and get to one side or the other, even in poor visibility (dense fog is another story). Conditions like the ones Duane and others have, with separation zones defined by lat/lon and/or azimuths/bearings in _open_ water are much trickier, because there are no handy fixed references to indicate the safe water and the unsafe water. You have to watch the ship and judge its course in those conditions. It helps to remember that these ships are at most 200-250 feet wide, and that a kayaker traveling at 3 knots (about 3.3 mph) can cover that distance in about 40 - 50 seconds. During that time the ship will advance about 1000 - 1250 feet, so that if you spy the ship bearing down on you at half a mile away (about 2500 feet), you have ample time to scoot to one side or the other. These ships are so massive that in clear conditions you will see them many miles away. In fog, you will hear them easily, every 2 minutes, and can judge their course aurally, more or less. However, though the risk is low, crossing a major shipping lane in dense fog is still an unwise move. As others have emphasized, it is the wayward, highly maneuverable power boater, who can scoot along at 30 knots and turn unpredictably, who is the true hazard, fog or no fog. -- 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/ ***************************************************************************
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