This was NOT me. I copied this off the SENSA email program. I repeat This was not me.



The "captain" in questions story..
left pt Judith around 4 am. fog was real bad. of course my gps unit went bad on me. we went by our compass at about 240 degrees. about 45 minutes in we started to get worried that we might miss the island. then we saw a charter boat behind us. we turned and flashed, and waved him down. to no luck the boat named the PROWLER out of pt Judith went right by without a care for other people, and the help we might need. The mate (I assume) gave a half harted try to talk to us (as the captain kept full speed going by) with a hand on his ear, to say he could not hear us. Thank god we did not have someone really hurt on board. I guess other peoples problems, and fears, and lives do not concern the captain of the PROWLER. I only hope to see him soon, as I work in pt Judith. I will look for his boat. Anyway about an hour later the fog lifted enough the we could see block. thank god. The fishing was very rough. hi seas, and wind. We managed a couple of nice bass on the se side with of course plenty of blues for everyone.

MORON

the prowler is capt. Al Anderson. a well respected capt who i have fished with on two occasions.
i'm sure he would not strand someone in dire need of assistance.

as for bieng lost out there in the fog w/out a backup gps, or the knowledge to get home using a chart, and basic plotting skills.
foolish.
:smash:

And I guess their radio must have broken as well or they could have called Al on the radio and simply told him what they wanted, instead of waving and shouting. The mate was probably trying to tell them that he couldn't hear them over the noise of his engines. They expect him to stop just because some boatload of googins waves at him? Maybe next time they won't go out without radar in the fog.

MORON

This was my reply on the SNESA e-mail list:
***
This is trolling isn’t it? But in case it’s not, I’ll respond.

First of all, 240 deg magnetic out of the West gap brings you to Montauk, so you might want to take a boating course and learn how to plot a course.

Second, it is foolhardy to set out in “real bad” fog if you do not have the means of avoiding a collision with another vessel (like a tug towing a barge) via an effective lookout or radar. Since 4 AM is still dark, a lookout in fog would not be effective.

Third, I’m not sure what you mean by “we … flashed, and waved him down,” but if you were not calling Mayday, on the radio or shooting flares, he had no reason to believe you were in imminent danger (which you weren’t). Instead, your vessel was under power and you were trying to chat with his mate.

Fourth, the wording of your post seems to indicate that you think others are responsible for your comfort and enjoyment while out on the water. You need to take responsibility for your situation and not blame others.


FWIW, a more appropriate course of action would have been to hail the captain on the radio, explain that your gps has malfunctioned, and ask for the bearing to navigate to Block Island. He still would not owe you a response, but at least it would be a more professional way to ask for non critical help. Absent that, you could have headed back at 60 deg, assuming your compass is properly adjusted.

I'd like to hear any replies this idiot comes up with.

Also the name of the boat so i can wire it to the pier with 1x19 1/2" cable so he dosen't endanger other people's lives.

I have had a 1/2 dozen boats follow me to the Block in foggy conditions. The just wait outside the West Wall and get on my wake. There usually make it as long as they can cruise at 32 knots like I do. If they make it fine if not...well I hope you brought some sandwiches and some water, it can be a long wait. :p

Funny, the one who voted that this guy is a victim has not weighed in with a response.

Moron... its bad enough to actually go, but to assume someone else is responsible to bail you out and you don't even contact them properly... definitely not a victim.

I'm an inshore boater, so I'm never far from land. All I need is my compass and although I have a handheld gps, I don't rely on it much for navigation. I don't want to.

In other words, I know my limitations. I think that's the key.

If you're not chart and instrument capable, you shouldn't head offshore in thick fog. That's pretty much common sense. And like was said, hail the guy, let him know your intentions or what you need.

In fog, I'll carefully make my way out to the islands in and just outside boston harbor using a couple of routes on my gps, but for me, if my gps fails, I know the compass headings as well and I'm very close to shore. I also have alot of navigational aids to work with.

If its so bad that I can't see marker to marker or the shorelines, I just fish right outside the river where I launch. Its not ideal, but there's some decent water there and I can wait till things clear a bit. No need to risk life and property.

I don't know, first he's complaining about fog, than wind and rough seas... I have to ask why he needed to be out there? For a couple fish?

I'll never forget back in the early 70's I was with my dad and we were heading west down LIS, in a 28 ft. sailboat, around the Clinton area. It was pretty dense fog and light winds. He was teaching me about using the horn, using your EARS and dead reckoning/basic course plotting. Out of the grey I begin to hear the drone of a motor and mention it to my dad who tells me it is a power boat moving fast. Well out of the fog this power boat comes blasting along (viz was about 300 ft) they see us, knock it back and idle over. Holding a PLACEMAT CHART in his hand this yahoo says "Hey ! Which way to Block island ?" My dad says
" That way (pointing Se)" and before he can finish the guys yells thanks and blasts off into oblivion. I mean Block was like 50 miles away from where we were.

:laughs: :laughs:

The placemat chart. To this day all the two of us can do is shake our heads in disbelief.

don't know him personally...but I've heard that Al the the crew of the Prowler are very responsible and knowledable indivuduals.

Not sure where that is in Long Island Sound but wouldn't block island be roughly east north east, not southeast?

Wouldn't have made a difference likley for that guy anyway.

Clinton. West of Old Saybrook (mouth of Ct river).

Nope BI is SE.

it was ridiculous:af:

240 magnetic is probably Montauk. But 235 magnetic, next stop is probably Bermuda :D

32Kts in the fog?:eek:

radar:D

Not to be a jerk here or anything, because I hate when people preach on these discussion boards. I can see you are a licensed skipper, as I am too, but doesn't 32 kts in the fog sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

About ten years ago here on the Cape, a local skipper who I had mated for many times, was run over by another vessel in the fog. He was running a 36' BHM at that time, not exactly a little boat, fishing a rip in the fog with a charter of 6 people on board.

Out of the fog a 45' Hatteras loomed doing 30+ kts and before either skipper could do anything, the Hatteras rammed the BHM and went over it, causing it to sink and tossing its' crew into the water in dense fog. Talk about giving me nightmares.

How more people didn't die, still amazes me to this day.

One customer lost a leg, a second died several days later at a local hospital. The end result was the Hatteras skipper was found responsible for the collision and if memory serves me correctly, faced criminal charges in the death.

I always think about this when I am in the fog, which around here, is all summer. Not everything shows up on radar and at 32 kts, even a target a 1/2 mile out arrives on your bow awfully quick.

Just food for thought, Hooper

OKAY..OKAY. First you have a great point and I appreciate the lesson your are sharing with me. I only goose Surfrunner until the fog fills in the distance. Then I drop her down to 24 knots or what ever speed fits the density of the fog. I don't like playing pied piper to folks that have no right even heading for the Block or SouthWest Ledge. It has only happend to me twice this year now that I am in Newport..but to follow someone else..thats just stupid.

I getcha Duke, I am sure you are a safe, knoweldgeable, and an all around great skipper, I will leave my soapbox behind!!!!:D

I fully agree with you about being peid piper, if you electronics and shaky or not working, maybe you should FIX them and go another DAY?!?!?!?

:D Hooper