Are Some Boaters Bored or Just Crazy ?

[lorenzo b]

Here's the deal. I'm out in the middle of a large body of water like the Chesapeake or Long Island Sound with no other boats in sight except this little white dot 5 miles off. I'm big, slow, and lazy so I'm on autopilot at a constant rpm for hours at a time. At least half a dozen times now that little white dot ends up crossing directly in front of me by just a few feet. The chances of that happening at random are like a zillion to one so I know this idiot is aiming at me. Why would someone sailing solo in a gorgeous 50 ft 3 million dollar boat want to be playing chicken with 70 tons of rusting Louisiana scrap metal on autopilot? Why not just go to a feed store, score some hog syringes and a bottle of ketamine and go astral traveling for a few hours and leave me out of the loop?

[Tempest245]

Ha....Funny how that works isn't it!

My Brother and I used to go to a fishing camp in Maine. We were out before sunrise once on this very large lake enjoying the peace and quiet when just at dawn 5 boats came cruising up the lake. Upon spotting us they all changed course and headed right for us and surrounded us like circled wagons, making more noise than a class of 1st graders. Herd Mentality? They were all from NYC.. maybe they were lonely without 9 million people surrounding them

[maytrix]

Maybe its not that they are bored OR crazy, but crazy AND Bored.. a very scary combination!

[diogenes726]

How much Ketamine? IV or IM?

[SurferShane]

Sounds a bit like the guy who had to put the throttle down on his million dollar cruiser while passing my classic low freeboard steel yacht on a restricted speed water way up the "bling city" Gold Coast QLD. The generally accepted reason is that the same persons probably drive a red sports car? If it was not for certain professional obligations I would really like to find out where some of these idiots moor their toys.

Then for just plain crazy check out the following thread I posted a while back. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...our-44589.html Just a real pity the skipper caused his elderly crew serious injuries.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

At least half a dozen times now that little white dot ends up crossing directly in front of me by just a few feet. The chances of that happening at random are like a zillion to one so I know this idiot is aiming at me.

I've noticed this the other way. I finally get out in the open away from the coastral crowd. Get on course to where I'm ging so that I dont need to change course for hours. Look up and see that the only "dot" in view is converging with me (and normally its a power boat). Boats appear to be magnetic to each other and if left to themselves they try to get together. I feel the same about lobster trap floats!

[sabray]

Lorenzo your a red boat. They probably think you a navigation aid. Look honey I see the red one right there.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by sabray

Lorenzo your a red boat. They probably think you a navigation aid. Look honey I see the red one right there.

Either that or they figure you know where the fish are.

[osirissail]

I'll with Tempest245's idea of herd mentality. More than once have have anchored off a deserted beach with a mile or more on each side of me of also good anchoring. A sailboat friend will arrive and anchor one or two hundred yards away, usually offset a little fore or aft to take into account any light breezes turning us every which way.
- - Along comes 1, 2, or 3 power yachts and they anchor closely in front and beside us, then fire up the generator, turn on the acid rock music and proceed to party hardy. I get quite upset except occasionally the power yacht has several young ladies with mono-kinis and then I keep my mouth shut.

[boatman61]

Over on this side of the 'Pond' sailboat baiting is a national sport for the fishing fleets of Spain and Portugal.... especially at night...
"Hey guys... there's a sailboat... lets go get him stressed out...."
Great fun... a bit like chess....lmao

[maytrix]

Originally Posted by osirissail

I'll with Tempest245's idea of herd mentality. More than once have have anchored off a deserted beach with a mile or more on each side of me of also good anchoring. A sailboat friend will arrive and anchor one or two hundred yards away, usually offset a little fore or aft to take into account any light breezes turning us every which way.
- - Along comes 1, 2, or 3 power yachts and they anchor closely in front and beside us, then fire up the generator, turn on the acid rock music and proceed to party hardy. I get quite upset except occasionally the power yacht has several young ladies with mono-kinis and then I keep my mouth shut.

Now the thread about bringing a shotgun to the bahamas makes sense

[Liam Wald]

In 1914 there were two motor vehicles registered in the state of Illinois...

They were invoved in an accident!

[senormechanico]

A few weeks before he died, a millionaire neighbor of mine who owned a 70' custom gin palace asked,

"Why do sailboaters get upset when I cross in front of them? I really want to know!"

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Over on this side of the 'Pond' sailboat baiting is a national sport for the fishing fleets of Spain and Portugal.... especially at night...
"Hey guys... there's a sailboat... lets go get him stressed out...."
Great fun... a bit like chess....lmao

Finally the REAL reason admited!

[Sandero]

One thing I've noticed with MOST power boats - of all sizes is that they actively choose to pass in front of me - a sailboat, whether motoring, motor sailing or sailing... they literally change coarse a bit to pass in front, rather than slow a bit to pass astern or even speed up and pass astern. Of course this gives us a nasty wake roll depending on the size of their own wake. But it never ceases to amaze me and I think these captains get some sort of perverse pleasure in doing this - both the wake and the overtaking.

The other thing is that in the harbor where we are presently moored vessels are required to go slow and leave no wake. Sailboats leave little or no wake, but the power boats of all sized and forms including dinks can kick up a nasty wake and it can make an anchorage unpleasant. We're moored at the most seaward side of a large mooring field with a huge marine at the end with a few clubs and so forth deeper in the harbor. So essentially every vessel that enters of leaves passes us and since we are at the edge of the mooring field, yet way past the slow down notice... we get constantly rolled by motor boats returning or stepping on it on the way down the channel once past the moored boats. And we are almost 18,000 pounds loaded.

Occasionally there is a police boat to prevent this lawlessness. But it makes an otherwise lovely location quite unpleasant. This is very much like driving through a puddle and splashing pedestrians on the sidewalk. It's so rude and inconsiderate and so common.

And I haven't even gotten started on the noise from some of these monsters.