Near-collision with a bass boat

LaRea

//rant mode on

I narrowly avoided a high-speed collision last Sunday - gotta get this off my chest. 

I was cruising at 35 mph in a wide part of the Potomac, and the Admiral told me I had a bass boat approaching from astern on the port side.  Like most bass boats, this one was in a huge effing hurry to get to his next fishing hole.  He was at wide-open throttle, with his wife clinging desperately to her seat.  

He was probably going 55, so his closing speed on me was 20 mph, and he was headed straight towards me.  Classic case of constant-bearing-decreasing-range, headed for a collision.  He was coming from 30 degrees off my stern on the port side.  Since he was clearly the Give Way vessel, and I was clearly the Stand On vessel, I maintained course and speed. 

Did he alter course?  Heck no, he didn't alter course.  The shortest distance to his next fishing hole was a straight line.  And he sure as heck wasn't going to pass me astern, because he'd have to slow down to cross my wake.  COLREGS, what COLREGS?  

I cannot effing BELIEVE how close this jackwagon came to hitting me.  When he was abeam on my port side, he was so close that I literally could not see his boat.  A few seconds later, when he passed directly in front of me, he was probably 20 feet from my anchor.  And remember, he was going 55 mph and I was going 35!  

The Admiral and I were speechless.  I was so stunned, I didn't even have the presence of mind to lay into the horn.  I mean, come on.  If he hits a wake and his wife falls overboard, she's dead.  If I swerve to avoid a crab pot, they're both dead.  If ANYTHING goes wrong, somebody dies.  

OR -- since he was the Give Way vessel, MAYBE he could just have passed astern, and arrived at his fishing hole 15 seconds later.  But no.  And it's not the first time I've seen this sort of idiotic behavior from go-fast bass boats.  Is it ignorance, hubris, what?  

Thanks for listening.

rant mode off//

Dream_Inn

That is extremely close and had to really get your heart thumping!  I've not had those close calls, but I get those smaller boats that see me going 30mph and speed up quickly to go in front of me all the time.  Really annoying!

Handymans342

Well if you guys could go faster maybe it wouldnt be an issue! LOL

Michael T

@LaRea I have lived on the water for 30 years 60 counting family cottages. I can't tell you how many times the a-holes in bass boats have had/caused accidents. I used to look at their wives/girlfriends and wonder how much fun they were having.

Once one of them came real close to me. I caught him easily with my Rinker 190 with 383/390HP.

He started shooting his mouth off until he saw me stand-up. I was 35 years old, 6'6" 235 and could press my weight all day. I asked him how he wanted his day to end.

I looked at his wife and said "You're married to this idiot, he's going to kill you!". She replied .....and this one's for you @La Rea ...."Not for long".

LaRea

Ha!  Now that's funny!

NavyCTRC

It's not only bass boats, rich elitist a-holes in a three quarters of a million dollar boat aren't any better.  I almost had a major problem two weeks ago in Destin.  One of those outer limits or similar cats with twin hulls and about 2500 horse power came with 18 inches of my swim platform while I was going about 27 and he was pushing 60 in an extremely crowded throughway, I had to evade HARD to port or his boat would have been in my cockpit.  He passed me on the starboard side, he never even turned around, even though I hit the horn long and loud.  The driver of the next boat to pass me (another 150mph death machine) looked over and gave me the "crazy in the head" signal and pointed forward to the idiot that nearly hit me.  I had a slow moving pontoon to avoid heading the same direction and a sailboat coming the other direction.  The channel is pretty narrow right there on the east side of the Ft Walton bridge.  Maybe five boats wide total, with inches in between. 

That was the closest call I have had on the water, ever. 

Michael T

@NavyCTRC...it never ceases to amaze me that people can walk right into a dealership and purchase one of those boats with nothing but a rudimentary boating course card (in most jurisdictions). I know Fountain Powerboats used to insist on a driver orientation course with one of their professional drivers but that is rare! Those high HP boats are very dangerous.

NavyCTRC

pfft...in FL, if you were born before 1989, you don't even need a boating course.

holscher2438

I feel your pain w/ the bass boats on the Potomac.  I've had a few close calls like that.  They also like to buzz by you while you're on the hook (especially in Mattawoman).  I keep telling my wife that I'm bringing a paintball gun w/ me to get those bass boat bastards...She thinks its a bad idea

raybo3

holscher2438 said:

I feel your pain w/ the bass boats on the Potomac.  I've had a few close calls like that.  They also like to buzz by you while you're on the hook (especially in Mattawoman).  I keep telling my wife that I'm bringing a paintball gun w/ me to get those bass boat bastards...She thinks its a bad idea

What if they have a real gun?????? Just say'n.....

LaRea

The thing is, there was absolutely no reason for him to get that close.  If he had altered his course by even a couple degrees, he would have passed well in front of me.  Idiot.  I'm just glad we saw him when we did.  There were crab pots all over the place, and I was dodging them right and left.  

212rowboat

Michael T said:

@NavyCTRC...it never ceases to amaze me that people can walk right into a dealership and purchase one of those boats with nothing but a rudimentary boating course card (in most jurisdictions). I know Fountain Powerboats used to insist on a driver orientation course with one of their professional drivers but that is rare! Those high HP boats are very dangerous.

ain't that the TRUFE. 

I helped a friend rebuild his boat earlier this year... it's a 19' (can't recall the make) bowrider with a 280hp v8 (it's now easily over 300)... the whole time we were working on it i discussed (purposely) rules and courtesies... apparently on deaf ears... the first thing he did leaving the ramp was WOT... mind you he'd never even driven a boat before.  

as luck has it, he also ignored my points about loading... he broke his skeg clean off the bell picking it up, to which i thought "good... one less clown on the water"... 

last season I approached a dredge with a USCG escort and trail- running a bit over (estimated) 60yards off his port (narrow channel) at around 30mph, some clown cut between the follow USCG and the dredge, and then between the lead USCG and the dredge- like he was running a slalom or something!!  to make matters worse, he had a boat behind him doing the same thing!!! we're talking within 25~30' from either the dredge or the USCG vessel, not to mention the danger they presented to me (as I had no clue what to expect from them or what direction they were going until they took it)... 

the USCG didn't blink..... they gave no chase... they didn't even hit their lights or sirens... just kept on keeping on.  

a fellow was directly behind me who followed me to the sand bar- and came directly over to me and asked what was THAT all about?  How did those two get by with that right under the USCG nose?  I didn't have a response but to tell him to be careful.  

honestly, gents, here in the protected sounds and on the ICW, i dread weekends... it's not boating, at all- I love it... but if you really want to enjoy the water it's best done during the week when there aren't weekend warriors without a clue everywhere.  it's truly dangerous.  and to the point i just won't go out after taking one look at either the ramp (parked trailers- indication of traffic), or at the sound itself.  

LaRea

Glad to hear I'm not alone with this sort of nonsense.  I wish there was something that normal sane boaters could do to avoid getting tangled up with those idiots.

Michael T

@LaRea all we can do is what you did and @212rowboat did....stay alert and calm. protect our boats and crew!

 I took a video once that the Marine Police used to get a guy to plead guilty. They allowed him to plead down from reckless driving to inattentive driving but - he still paid $350 in fines and lost 3 demerit points on his licence for his marine idiocy!

raybo3

LaRea said:

Glad to hear I'm not alone with this sort of nonsense.  I wish there was something that normal sane boaters could do to avoid getting tangled up with those idiots.

LR they are everywhere. Some people have no clue. I am willing to bet this creep that your talking about does not even realize he did anything wrong. Also I am convinced that people do not even know what "No Wake" means. It should be mandatory that to operate a boat you must take a boating course....... Just say'n....

212rowboat

BUI as opposed to DUI, is only a misdemeanor here... $300 fine... get one the next weekend? $300 again... it wasn't until this july first that it's a felony- but only in the case of an accident involving injuries.... seriously, if a drunken boater hit me and my family and nobody was hurt?  All the sudden "MY NECK!!!- OH MY NECK!!!"... "and... My BACK!!! OH MY MY BACK.... AND MY NECK!!! and my TOE!!!- OH MY BACK MY NECK AND MY DANG TOE!!!"

Michael T

@212rowboat....serious but how true.....sue the h*ll out of the idiot.

Trashman

@LaRea. We had an incident here in nj yesterday and they were a hit and run if you could even believe
http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2016/09/police_hunt_hit-and-run_boat_that_left_two_men_in_critical_condition.html

Michael T

@LaRea, that was awful. Hope they catch that criminal!

06Rinker270

If you look closer at the Bayliner in @Trashmans article you can see blood on the left and right.  I really hope they get caught.

LaRea

Yeesh.  That's an ugly wreck.  When they catch him, he's going to end up wearing an orange jumpsuit for a long, long time.

Michael T

@LaRea...sure hope so. I hope neither of those men die. They are probably veterans and men who have served The United States of America and Canada and made it this far in life only to be badly injured while boating -  by an idiot....orange would be fine!

212rowboat

there's blood on both sides.... 

LaRea

Here's a relevant stat:  In 71% of fatal boating accidents, the operator had no boating education.  

( http://www.uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2015.pdf )

Trashman

earlier this year I posted a link on a boat accident.  Sadly the gentleman died in this hit and run accident.  Here is the article.  
http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2016/10/man_who_survived_hit-and-run_boat_crash_dies_during_recovery.html

LaRea

That sucks.  I hope they find out who did it.

Stodge

We don't have that as often, but we do get fishing boats that like to sit in the channels.  Lake St. Clair has an average depth of 11 feet.  Some areas have marked channels to provide safe passage for anything that drafts more than 36 inches.  

Michael T

@Stodge, I love Lake St. Claire. I took a used 2011 Rinker EC 360 with 496s out on it for a test drive. The water was a beautiful color and the Admiral remarked it might be a great lake to anchor on.

Stodge

MT we do just that.  1/3 of the lake is US water but there is still lots of places to go given that it's 23 miles across and 23 miles tall.  And it's connected to Lake Huron and Lake Erie so longer trips are easy.  We're on a canal (as of this May) that is about a 10 minute ride to the lake.  There are few lakes like LSC.