USCG __ Wild and Crazy Guys

[Jim_n_Naples]

Cont.

13. Freestyle
Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 162
"Night cruising always scares me. Losing an engine always scares me. Random stuff in the surf at night scares me. Weather scares me."
*and why were you crossing the stream after midnight? oh and you forgot your radar scares you.

14. Pascal
Member Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,303

thks for the advice about cruising... i rarely stay at the dock more than a few days in a row...

these guys know that they're doing, they're not going to put themself in a position where you could have hit them... they have far more equipement on board than you and probably more training as well.

what i called irresponsible was the comment about sending the coastie looking thru night vision to sick bay...

funny how the bad guys can run without lights, overloaded, overcrowded vessels but some feel the USCG can't use he same tactics to protect us...

I've encountered one of they big Ribs running in the dark around here... the big one with the alum cabin... frankly, I was happy too. indeed out tax dollars at work doing what they are supposed to be doing instead of being ambushed by a no wake sign or conducting random boarding.
* exactly



ok I think that is enough....I will return to lurking status with my running lights out

 

[Jim_n_Naples]

oh wait it gets better,,,

#21 Yesterday, 11:17 PM
neosin
Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 102


Your right... At the very least they shouldn't of been sitting in a lane..
*they have yet to put the dotted lines in the gulfstream


#23 Yesterday, 11:27 PM
krush
Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 161

with each passing day I become more and more fed up with the government...and I'm only 23 and just dealing with nothing building inspectors lol Guess I just have a slight problem with people telling me what to do all the time....maybe I have more in common than I thought with the founding fathers (besides being blessed by being born a Virginian).
*this is better left no comment

#34 Today, 08:55 PM
Genesis
PoohBah Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,799
"I am in FULL support of our military, which happens to include the USCG.
However, that support does NOT extend to illegal and blatently unsafe acts. Intentionally placing your vessel across the bow of another vessel at reasonably close range WHILE BLACKED OUT AT NIGHT is both illegal AND blatently unsafe."
*pick up a copy of Chapmans and read it

in conclusion....you should get a new radar

 

[J's Dream]

oh wait it gets better,,,

#34 Today, 08:55 PM
Genesis
PoohBah Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 3,799
"I am in FULL support of our military, which happens to include the USCG.
However, that support does NOT extend to illegal and blatently unsafe acts. Intentionally placing your vessel across the bow of another vessel at reasonably close range WHILE BLACKED OUT AT NIGHT is both illegal AND blatently unsafe."
*pick up a copy of Chapmans and read it

in conclusion....you should get a new radar

Ya know,

I've been reading this quietly and decided that it's time to comment.

I have read Chapmans, and to create imminent danger of collision puts BOTH vessels at fault... This makes what the USCG was doing completely ILLEGAL.

So, Bruce, you were EXACTLY right in doing everything you did. I probably would have done the same thing (with a loaded firearm next to me, especially not knowing what I was looking at/for). You avoided a serious offshore collision, which could have resulted in property damage, injuries, or even death.

Jim in Naples...Please pick up a copy of Chapman's for yourself. Or better yet, read that copy of the Navigation Rules you have on board. You do have that on board, don't you?

 

[krush]

4. There was no "kid" sent to sick bay (should read American Soldier) from your Q-beam(s). "Infra red" is a thermal imaging device used to detect temperature differential. Your Q-beam(s) will just read a different color on the scope.

Since you seem to be such an expert, I'm going to assume you just forgot that there are night vision goggles AND there is infrared vision; they are not the same. You obviously know the difference.

 

[Avenger]

No night vision scope has the power to do your eyesight any harm. When they're overpowered the image just washes out. The light itself would be brighter than the image in the scope. Freestyle was being facetious, let's move along.

BTW, I seem to remember a story about a navy captain sitting dead in the water in front of another vessel. Apparently his transmissions wouldn't engage fast enough for him to get out of the way of the Japanese destroyer that cut the PT-109 in half.

Legal, illegal or whatever it's an unsafe thing to do.

 

[Freestyle]

I will address the ones aimed at me:

1. Why would you leave West End with only a single engine for an overnight passage? West End to Lauderdale is about 70 nautical miles and we have over 13 hours of daylight right now. With a speed of 5 knots over ground that trip is about 14 hours add another hour or 2 with gulfstream. Palm Beach is only 55 miles.

-- The trip originated in Green Turtle at dawn with the plan being to take advantage of flat seas at night across the stream. Lost the port raw water pump after clearing Indian Cay at dusk. Old Bahama Bay was booked full when I called from Green Turtle to see if we could stop there. There aren't many other options -- and none that I was sure of the navigation for. WPB is closer but not by much and I have a place to stay in FLL, know how to get in here at night, and have the ability to get stuff repaired here.


2. Why would you leave for an overnight passage with radar that is blind to the stern? Many container ships with a cruise speed much greater than 5 knots are out in that very busy area. I think you should purchase a new radar.

--43 DCMY's have the radar mounted forward of the flybridge which leaves a blind spot aft. I can't have an arch and keep it in my covered slip.

3. I think you should purchase a new radar if you did not see a very large contact less than 2 miles dead ahead of you. 300 yards=.14nautical/.17statute(approx) @ 5 knots the 300 yards would be closed in under 2 minutes, had it been a containership (most have dark or black hulls) you would be thanking that same cutter for pulling your @$$ out of the water.

--43 DCMY's have tinted glass at the lower helm. I prefer to drive from the flybridge where I can see stuff in the water ahead of me with the radar on standby below (no repeater on flybridge). He really ran up the port side and slid across my bow. A repeater on the flybridge might help but I am not sure I want to transmit from a radar mounted at crotch level four feet from the helm.

4. There was no "kid" sent to sick bay (should read American Soldier) from your Q-beam(s). "Infra red" is a thermal imaging device used to detect temperature differential. Your Q-beam(s) will just read a different color on the scope.

--It was a joke but not a very good one given the reactions to it.

5. "I tracked a few targets on either side of my bow but had this strange feeling something trailed me which at 5 knots means you will see them"
*I have no idea what you are talking about and are unable to comment

--And yet you sort of did anyway.

From my standpoint, the good news is the generator will have a new heat exchanger today, the port engine gets a new raw water pump, and the inverter gets new batteries. I get the bill but I also have another two weeks of cruising the Keys and the Gulf Coast until the kids get back from camp, school starts, and I have to fiugre out how to pay for all of it.

Bruce
Freestyle
1976 43 DCMY
Tampa

 

[Marquesa]

Good reply Bruce.
I think you all ought to get off Bruce's neck on this. I indeed would have been irate as well.
Also, I wouldn't have wanted to face those blue elephants that appear in the daytime in the Stream with only 5 kts of headway, not to mention the famous 2pm storms. And if you haven't done any night running, don't knock it; it's another world. I'd much rather land in daylight than dodge Mother Earth and a multitude of other fixed and moving objects inshore at night, not to mention run an inlet in the dark. Ragboaters do it all the time for these same reasons.
As for the CG, hats off to them. At the same time they are just human and certainly capable of making mistakes. Their job is to serve and protect; I don't think intimidation like this is in their job description.

 

[Rickysa]

Bruce,

First class response! Enjoy the rest of your vacation....I'm jealous!

 

[thoward]

Bruce, glad to see you made it ok. I checked with a CG guy I know and here is his quote:
(This is a quick pm between him and I so you will have to forgive the spelling)

"You are required the proper lights for your size vessel.. They are required at night and in times of reduced vis. As far as the coast guard, rember we are home land security, while people my think vsl X is of no intrest we may have different intel. We can also run black out or with mis leading lights. Just think of it as the vice squad posing as "Johns". We are by know means above the law. We do more then most people think we do, think of a local or even state policeman, they may have 20 square miles to cover, we have 1000 times the area and 10x less people and resources. Police can have back up within mins, depending where we are at it can take a 3-4 hours."

I guess it is just best for us all to know they are out there working for our safety and they may surprise you like it of not.

Just as an interesting side story, he told me they would stage in small RIBs and aproach fishing boats at night. 1 person would board and go directly to the pilothouse and KNOCK. He said it was usually a lower mate on night watch so they would ask him to wake the capt. and do their inspection. That has got to be unnerving to hear someone beat on the door in the middle of the night. I guess it would be worse if you are running solo......

 

[Jim_n_Naples]

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/...ss.gpo.gov/cfr_2006/julqtr/pdf/32cfr706.1.pdf

top right section (c)

Bruce,
6 of one half a dozen of another. Fact is they do not need running lights, maybe they should have responded to the hail, maybe you should have been watching and plotting the contact on the radar more closely. Anyway you had a great time in the Abacos a wonderful night crossing (one of my favorite things to do with proper equipment and watch schedule) and something to break up the evening and get the heart pumping. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
(flying into Marsh Thursday to fish back to lucaya on the south side of Hole)