European Impressions of Cruising the US

[JPA Cate]

The issue relative to insurance will vary from place to place, insurance company to company, and vessel to vessel, and one has to work one's way through it all. Now, we do use an anchor ball, but hadn't done so till the following episode.....

Jill Knight, a well known female singlehander in Australia, who owns a classic NZ timber gaff rigged cutter, had anchored in the Brisbane River, in Brisbane, Qld. She displayed both the day shape (anchor ball), and at night, her anchor lights: one in the forward part of the rigging, and another aft, over the cockpit, down low. Other cruisers had seen her there, and noted her practice.

One Friday evening, a couple of blokes ran into her anchored boat, and were killed. In the ensuing lawsuits, it was only the testimony from the other cruisers that kept Jill, who was blameless, out of jail. Really scary.

Yes, the decedents were drunk.

And that is why we have cultivated the anchor ball habit.

We have friends, with a CF presence, who are the only people we know who use a motoring cone.

Ann

[Lodesman]

Carsten, good write-up; it echoes much of our experience.

FWIW, we always hoisted an anchor ball - ketch in centre; small dot in fore-triangle.
PS, we also hoist a motoring cone.

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by cyan

It is indeed sad that you somehow feel unwelcome in America without actually coming here. Cryptically, you also mention that you DO expect a normal warm welcome from US citizens as usual. I'm sure this IS the case, in my area at least. The OP documented similar warm receptions along the ICW, which are probably much warmer in the smaller towns than in cities, BTW.

Hopefully your unwelcome feeling was merely formed by recent colorful news reports of colorful public figures. The truth is that America happily welcomes FAR more people every year than any other country in the world as permanent residents, in addition to visitors. (look it up) Frankly, I think we like it that way overall.

Ignore the bluster. Come on down and have a beer. We brew the real stuff these days.

Hey hey hey...what's with this..We brew the real stuff?? Everyone knows if you want a real beer you buy Canadian beer..American beer is really just too mild.

[TrentePieds]

Oh, Dear! Everyone knows that both the venerable Canadian brands, Molson's and Carling's are now owned by Anheusser-Busch, as is M&B, Watkins et al in England, not to mention both Carlsberg and Tuborg in Denmark as well as Beck's in Germany and Amstelbier in Holland.

That is why the appellation "Mid-Atlantic Piss" has evoleved for those brands :-)

The only salvation lies in brewing your own :-)!

TP

[goat]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

You know, I have some 1/4" "aircraft ply" lying aboot. How long would it take to make one - and a cone and a diamond to go with it :-)?

For all I'd ever have to use them, they'd last longer than I will :-)

TP

Here's a free business idea;
Take one of those fold flat radar reflectors, paint it black, run a strip of leds around each circle, mount small solar panels and a battery to the flat parts (ripped out of a luci-light?). Haul it up with your pennant halyard..... Presto chango, you've got a black anchor ball and solar anchor light in one package. Add a dawn to dusk sensor and you're set to lounge in the anchorage.

If someone really does this and gets rich, I'd like a free one and a dozen frosty beers for the idea.

Your welcome.

goat

[cyan]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Hey hey hey...what's with this..We brew the real stuff?? Everyone knows if you want a real beer you buy Canadian beer..American beer is really just too mild.

Haaa, your information is old! There are now more than 5000 CRAFT breweries in the USA, all of which brew real beer. Note: REAL beer is brewed with barley. Fake beer, including the dreaded category "American Pilsner" is brewed with lots of rice. (Miller, Bud, Coors)

Every major city in the US is PACKED with awesome local CRAFT beer brewers and consumers are finally rejecting the fake beer for the real thing. The country has only recently (1978) woken from it's beer slumber (since prohibition days), thanks to Jimmy Carter's crazy brother Billy. It has taken 40 years for the beer revolution to reach this level.

So yes, Robert. The real stuff. FINALLY.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I think that's a poor analogy to suggest that speeding is low risk.

I once lived on a country road. We could go for weeks without seeing a car on that road. I still taught my kids to look both ways.

Emotionally, you can feel that way. I set speed limits and study crash patterns for a living. I'll take the results based on fact.

But the cold hard truth is if traffic is averaging 60mph in a 55mph zone, staying down at 55mph or worse going slower, makes you a hazard. Obviously, the math doesn't work if everyone does it but the safest speed is about 5mph over the average speed of traffic.

The fact is the old slogan "speed kills" has zero basis in fact. "Differential Speed Kills" is the correct answer but that doesn't make a good slogan and you don' want people taking the bumper sticker put out by the local sheriff to the judge as justification.

None of this will get you out of a ticket but it's a perfect analogy.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

This American is shocked to hear about bears and wolves along the ICW. MAYBE at the northern end if the Hudson.

There are black bears in NC and the big ones are down on the coast. There was a great photograph taken a years ago of a black bear at the beach on the Outer Banks. The bear was at the edge of the dunes looking out over the ocean, and in the background, was the usual beach scene with people in the water, playing in the sand, sun bathing, etc. The people were completely oblivious about the black bear at the beach.

There is an island down east called Bear Island. Been there but did not see a bear.

There are wolves in eastern NC as well. The state has reintroduced Red Wolves to eastern NC in areas that are along the ICW. Having said that, almost certainly they did not see wolves but coyotes. NC is loaded with pesky coyotes. If they did see a Red Wolf, that would have been a real treat.

Glad the OP enjoyed the ICW so much. I just wish our rules for foreign boats were not so confusing and inconsistently enforced. It is embarrassing.

Later,
Dan

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

To the lawyers in the hypothetical case of an anchored boat being hit by a boat in motion: Surely the lack of day shape on the anchored boat would, at most, transfer some of the blame to the anchored boat. Seems to me it would not erase the legal liability or legal culpability from the moving boat.

Since the bottom line demand in the Colregs is that it is everyone’s responsibility, regardless of circumstance, to avoid collisions surely the moving vessel in this case will easily be shown to be the one at principle legal — and actual — fault.

So do you want to pay 5% of the judgement or 50% ?

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Emotionally, you can feel that way. I set speed limits and study crash patterns for a living. I'll take the results based on fact.

But the cold hard truth is if traffic is averaging 60mph in a 55mph zone, staying down at 55mph or worse going slower, makes you a hazard. Obviously, the math doesn't work if everyone does it but the safest speed is about 5mph over the average speed of traffic.

The fact is the old slogan "speed kills" has zero basis in fact. "Differential Speed Kills" is the correct answer but that doesn't make a good slogan and you don' want people taking the bumper sticker put out by the local sheriff to the judge as justification.

None of this will get you out of a ticket but it's a perfect analogy.

Stoopid kills regardless of speed on the road or on the water.
Odds are irrelevant if you are the one that gets smacked.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I was looking through my insurance policy the other day and found nothing that seemed a loop hole for them not paying out because of not following a rule. I also found nothing that would apply to things like rigging just because of age.

Do you people have car insurance that doesn't pay based on not ruling the rules??? Or because your wheels are old???

In my younger days my Mom owned an insurance adjustment agency and I worked with her and currently my son is an insurance adjuster. I never seen such a thing for cars. Are boaters really paying for policies that allow such things?

Just because you can't find it does not mean the underwriters law firm with 200 names on the letterhead can't.

[GARRYOWEN]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

This American is shocked to hear about bears and wolves along the ICW. MAYBE at the northern end if the Hudson.

Maybe coyotes? They can be quite large, but nothing as huge as a wolf can be. I've seen wolves...they are big!



carstenb....that was a well written account of your travels, thank you!


DK

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Emotionally, you can feel that way. I set speed limits and study crash patterns for a living. I'll take the results based on fact.

But the cold hard truth is if traffic is averaging 60mph in a 55mph zone, staying down at 55mph or worse going slower, makes you a hazard. Obviously, the math doesn't work if everyone does it but the safest speed is about 5mph over the average speed of traffic.

The fact is the old slogan "speed kills" has zero basis in fact. "Differential Speed Kills" is the correct answer but that doesn't make a good slogan and you don' want people taking the bumper sticker put out by the local sheriff to the judge as justification.

None of this will get you out of a ticket but it's a perfect analogy.

All the research I’ve read backs this up. Statistically speaking, it’s not speed that leads to accidents, it is erratic speed. Aggressive drivers, weaving and passing their way through traffic, pose the greatest risk for accidents.

Of course, greater speed does lead to worse outcomes when accidents do occur. And there is no “right” speed. Everyone driving at the posted speed limit would be best. And it’s easy to shape this behaviour. Just stick a speed camera on every road.

It’s amazing how quickly people respect the law when it is actually enforced. But few politicians have the guts to do this.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Some in-depth Internet research (ha ) reveals the truth is somewhere in-between. Seems to come down to intent, at least with the legal documents I found on the subject.

Insurance policies do cover people while they are technically doing illegal things, like driving while drunk, or like not showing the proper day shapes. But they likely wouldn’t cover damages caused if you were using your boat to transport drugs.
. . . .

.

My policy says this:

"It is a condition of this policy that anyone in control of the Vessel complies with any relevant laws, and ensures that the Vessel conforms with any applicable safety regulations"

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Stoopid kills regardless of speed on the road or on the water.
Odds are irrelevant if you are the one that gets smacked.

Gosh, then maybe we should put governors on cars that limit them to 5mph, because that that would be even safer...

To those coming to the USA, expect not to see many day shapes flown outside commercial operations (tows, dredges and the like). Most of us are smart enough not to run into your anchored boat even if you don't show the day shape...and those that will run into your anchored boat likely will even if the day shape is up. The lawyers can haggle over the technicalities.

On to more fun, lots of wildlife to see on the waterways as many of the marshy areas are difficult and undesirable to build on so you wind up with a lot of wild areas. One thing I didn't see mentioned is feral hogs. A real problem but also interesting to see. Just be careful around them as they can be dangerous.