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PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:10 pm 
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Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 5:44 pm
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Location: Oshkosh, WI
http://gcaptain.com/idiot-month-sailboa ... sted?28932

A guy, who appears to be winning his race cuts it too close to a tanker, who promptly destroys his sails, mast, and not only shredded his sails, but his pride too..

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:58 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:38 pm
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Location: Roswell, GA - USA
I have always heard this referred to as "The Law of Gross Tonnage". The bigger boat always wins, especially this size.

What an idiot.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:47 pm 
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Location: Clearwater, FL
It looks like at the 24 second mark on the video that someone jumps off the the stern of the sailboat just before it gets hit. I wonder what happened to him?

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:26 am 
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It's unlikely the captain and crew tried to take on the tanker but instead were not paying attention to what was on the other side of the sails.


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:24 pm 
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Yeah, those 1/4 mile long ships can be tricky devils to see.

My guess its all about being impatient. He thought he could make it, and couldn't.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 10:00 am 
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Well, I didn't say they didn't see the tanker, but like you wrote, probably didn't think it was moving as fast as it was (they move faster than you think) and/or simply weren't paying attention to their positions. Whatever the reason the captain in the sailboat is at fault since large boats in the shipping channel have the right of way, or might makes right in this case, and add a whole new dimension to racing.

The 16 in the photo was not far behind me in a race on San Francisco Bay when we needed to gybe in high winds and cross the shipping channel to make the downwind mark when the tanker was about three miles away. I suggested waiting five minutes for the boat to pass but my crew had confidence we would make the gybe, and we did, but the 16 didn't. The scuttlebutt ashore was the tanker was able to change course in time while the safety boats towed the 16 as best they could.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:29 pm 
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Location: Metuchen NJ
I see guys take these chances quite often. where we sail on Raritan Bay there is a significant amount of 'heavy metal' traffic and the Wednesday nighters risk it all for an advantage. so much so the Coast Guard has banned racing in the shipping channels.

if you're hearing 5 blasts on the ship's horn you'd better get out of the way quick.

those damn fools are lucky they didn't wind up under the ship, I've seen THAT happen too, not a pretty sight.

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