Right of way Crissy Field

[bob1]

[isobars]

[isobars]

[tpray]

Dear Yancek

I understand your feelings about getting, apparently, intentionally intimidated by a larger vessel which may have been captained by a jerk.

However, please consider that there is a large Coast Guard concern about windsurfers at Crissy. There are multiple rescues each weekend in-season and concerns expressed by the large freighter traffic about the dangers of allowing windsurf traffic to mix with shipping. Our use could be restricted if we are not extremely careful. I will ask the SFBA to weigh in on this issue which now arises every season.

Also, consider that the tourist boat captain has less ability to maneuver than do you. Furthermore, he might be in a position to offer a rescue to someone who is truly in trouble. I once broke a boom and drifted out past land's end in the ebb at sunset. A good samaritan operating a "tourist" boat u-turned and brought me in--saving me from a certain night's stay in the potato patch.

Regards
John Pray

[isobars]

[pthorner]

A few things to consider at Crissy or any place like it:

(1) Large ships at Crissy are considered confined to a channel and have right of way hands down. If you ever are going to get in trouble for a right of way violation, it will be for getting in front of a large ship that is usually being guided by a harbor pilot on board.

(2) When boats and ferries move east-west past Crissy, they may be looking at dozens of windsurfers and kitesurfers crossing their intended path. If they change course or speed to accommodate one windsurfer, they may be cutting off another. The safest thing for them to do is maintain a steady course at a reasonable speed so that their course is predictable and let us sail around them.

(3) Sail boats and power boats that have the bridge/controls low down to the water can have limited visibility forward. Sail boats are steered from the back and have sails in the way. Power boats can ride bow high at higher speeds and spray on the windscreen can obstruct views. If you insist on right of way, there is a risk that you will not be seen in time and they won't yield.

(4) The ferry boats at Crissy carry scores of people including kids and elderly people. These riders are often standing up. If a ferry has to slow or stop suddenly, it is very possible for people to be knocked down on the deck. I frequently see windsurfers cut so close in front of a ferry that the captain will have lost sight of them behind the bow and would not know if they fell down in front of the ferry or not.

(5) While the commercial captains must have a license, there is no license or certification required to operate a recreational boat and many boat operators have very little knowledge or understanding of right of way. Work to have a safety margin so that you don't surrender all control over your safety to someone else that you know nothing about.

The case described falls outside the bounds if the boat operator actually turned at a windsurfer who was barely moving. The spirit of the right of way rules revolves around mobility and the ability it offers you to avoid conflicts. If you are off a plane, you do not have the ability to move off the path of another boat. They should avoid you, but they may not understand that you can't just turn on the gas and get out of the way. On the other hand, the ultimate rule of ROW is avoid a collision, so they should stop or turn before impact even if they think they have ROW.

When you are powered up and able to maneuver, you should use that mobility to create safety margin by giving a wider berth to those less maneuverable, whether it be a slower boat or a beginner windsurfer who has less control.

[isobars]

Excellent advice, pthorner. I'm often almost alone as they pass through, in which case I'll go out of my way to very obviously let Gorge boat traffic know I see them. I'll turn my body, board, and sail so they can see ME looking right at them as I wave to acknowledge them so they worry much less about me. On a crowded day there's not much point in that.

Mike \m/

[swchandler]

"As soon as I see a few -- hundred -- similar blasts at [several expletives deleted] like Steve Chandler, Jim McGrath, and the other [see … not even any acronyms] “people” I’ve had to killfile, I’ll worry more about sugar-coating my earnest, topical, carefully-considered responses to posted requests for my earnest, topical, carefully-considered responses. And as soon as I see even one word of criticism leveled at the stream of spelled-out George Carlin words we see in this forum, I’ll worry more about my selective handful of well-earned acronyms."

I guess that's his excuse to be an insulting jerk. Does anyone really perceive him the be the poor undeserving victim here?

What concerns me most about this character is comment above in the above statement.

"...“people” I’ve had to killfile, ..."

So much for freedom of speech in isobars' world. If you don't fit within his prescription and boundaries, and you call him enough on it, he claims to have removed you from what he sees on his computer, so you're no longer saying anything here.

The thing that's so laughable, is that he's the only person here that doesn't see the full picture that all others can see.

With my above comments, I'll let it rest on this thread.

[seablind]

From Yancek's description, it is hard to tell if he was near Anita Rock, but it sure sounds like a typical run-in with the Lovely Martha or Bass Tub. Give them a wide berth if you can.

How many times have Crissy sailors had this happen to them?: slogging in with no wind near Anita Rock, and along comes one of those 2 boats, and then you pray you don't get knocked off balance in that no-wind zone when they deliberately head for you (which could start another whole thread on the safety/self-rescue benefits of learning to uphaul a shortboard and/or really nailing those light-wind waterstarts).

What follows these run-ins is usually an overwhelming desire to swear loudly and flip off the captain, but I keep that to the internal dialogue, and instead I SMILE and wave at the darn tourists. They are good for our local economy, and most of them have no idea those captains are such jerks.

Maybe we can get proactive here and persuade a windsurfer's non-windsurfing significant other to get out that digital video recorder and document these run-ins.

[tsokat]

Peter, that was a really informative and well written post regarding Crissy. It would be useful to have it or an edited version of it as part of the local info section on Crissy of this site.