No.2 Marker in Sausalito Hit

[wholybee]

A couple weeks ago I heard chatter on VHF about the no. 2 marker in Sausalito being hit, and that USCG was installing a temporary floating mark. And that what was left of the mark was an underwater hazard. Latitude 38 published a picture of the boat today. Ouch.

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic...richardson-bay

For reference, this is what the mark used to look like:

[JPA Cate]

Seems like a huge failure to keep watch, from far away and with no real knowledge of why this happened at this time. So, I wonder how it actually happened. Not surprised at the damage, though, because boats need to avoid the hard bits, and because they are not sentient, that means the "nut behind the wheel" was the cause.

Ann

[NorthCoastJoe]

A few years ago a ferry hit one going into Oyster Point. How is that for being on watch.

The San Rafael Chanel had one hit last year and the floating replacement is very difficult to see unless conditions are clear.

[psk125]

The light marking the Ambrose Channel into New York Harbor is smaller than Sausalito's #2. Ships put the lat/lon coordinates of the mark into their GPS-guided autopilots and guess what happens? The Coast Guard obviously found that it was too expensive to replace a big mark every time someone ran it over so now it's tiny. Maybe they also move it about 100' from the coordinates given on the chart so it lasts longer.

[DEAN2140]

I saw a photo in Latitude 38 of the boat that hit the marker. I believe it was a Sabre power boat and the bow was demolished, attesting to its speed when it hit the market at night.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by DEAN2140

I saw a photo in Latitude 38 of the boat that hit the marker. I believe it was a Sabre power boat and the bow was demolished, attesting to its speed when it hit the market at night.

I'll volunteer a cynical post here. Sometimes I think power boaters have something else going on than safe navigating at night...or in the daytime. There are daytime incidents of power boats running over sailing boats with loss of life. Now, that makes me really angry.

Ann

[boatpoker]

As a (slow) power boater currently cruising south on the ICW I agree. Many of them in the US also have a beer in hand.

[rslifkin]

Another power boater here. I absolutely agree that far too many just aren't aware enough of what's around them. And every time I see someone buzzing along on plane in the dark, I cringe. I don't care what boat I'm running (even the dinghy), I'm keeping to a nice, relaxed pace at or below hull speed when it's dark. Eventually there's bound to be a piece of debris hiding in the dark and I'm only willing to hit it so hard...