Wake Chase

[Sea Rider]

Windy, choppy, wavy sea conditions at off shore distances from coast line gives a very uncomfy & bumpy water ride specially if outing with inflatables while seating on tubes or on deck.

You've seen lots of different vessels cruising on those uncomfy conditions. Any sib/rib can take advantage sheltering and speeding behind most comon larger vessels. Pick the one travelling at less than your top speed so you don't get stranded in the event he doesn't like your back presence and throttles to leave you behind.

Chasing slow vessels as sailboats while engine powered are not that great fun, probably you won't be able to plane your boat behing them so will need to follow at just slow or fast displacement endless time boring speeds. Pick one that could be fun to follow at plane and speed, will get to your destination faster. If tucking in behind any vessel do it at a prudent safe distance, it's the way to go.

Speedboats are not good, could leave you stranded on those mentioned conditions you wanted to avoid. Slow big vessels with powerfull engines produces a large high back wave in middle wake, don't try to surf it donwards, could dig the bow and flip the boat, that's bad musique, just stay at rear or surf the wave hump if you are skilled enough Captain and know what you are doing.

To get out of the wake, simply let go the vessel far enough, when side wake is very small and near flattened out just exit diagonally and slowly or you can get really swamped if outing faster.

If chasing vessels in USA is illegal, Coast Guard will call your attention or even fine you, it's other story...
















Happy Boating

 

[fbpooler]

Very good post.

 

[ronaldj]

Not only is chasing boats illegal in North America , but doing so in certain areas will not only cause your vessel to be boarded. It will also cause you death or jail time. In the areas where I boat there is a zero tolerance policy on doing that. It is seen as an act of terrorism. The only warning comes over the radio and you better have one. The Coast Guard Zodiacs are armed. Under no circumstances do you want to be boarded by the Coast Guard. There are also water police to deal with. In fact once a boat gets to a certain length it has to be piloted by a Bay Pilot. For a large boat you have to have a Captains license. ALL powered boats are required to have registration numbers.

 

[ronaldj]

Not only is chasing boats illegal in North America , but doing so in certain areas will not only cause your vessel to be boarded. It will also cause you death or jail time. In the areas where I boat there is a zero tolerance policy on doing that. It is seen as an act of terrorism. The only warning comes over the radio and you better have one. The Coast Guard Zodiacs are armed. Under no circumstances do you want to be boarded by the Coast Guard. There are also water police to deal with. In fact once a boat gets to a certain length it has to be piloted by a Bay Pilot. For a large boat you have to have a Captains license. ALL powered boats are required to have registration numbers.

 

[Sea Rider]

OK, good to know, is it possible to ride on someone else's wake way far behind then ? Literally you are not chasing nobody as a cho-cho train to feel intimidated, just taking advantage riding on some one else's wake to take you home faster. In UK there are many boaters that does so.

Happy Boating

 

[redneck joe]

what if you are with a group of friends? Is it ok then? Who/how to determine?

 

[fbpooler]

Interesting comments about chasing, but I have never seen a rule like that. You have such things as a jet ski running up behind boats to jump wakes which is negligent operation and is regulated, but following a wake to help handle rough water has been common practice for many years. Running behind a military craft can get you in hot water fast, as there is a limit as to how close you can approach such a craft. That can get you a quick visit by the military and probably a stiff fine.

Can anyone give me a reference to the actual regulation as it pertains to private vessels?

 

[mrdrh99]

We rented an 18' fiberglass to cruise the icw last weekend and I was following some.... A good 30 yds behind them and was also followed a bit myself. Passed both a game warden and the local sheriff's Dept boats with no trouble.

 

[fbpooler]

I am going to take a wild guess here and say that there is no regulation regarding following another boat as long as it is done in a manner which does not endanger either boat. There are procedures for overtaking another craft which must be followed, but the rule is based on plain old common sense.

You do have to have a horn or whistle on board to be used for signaling which some people are unaware of. That even affects kayaks and canoes.
but a life jacket whistle complies with that regulation.

As far as a license to operate a boat, as long as it is a private craft not carrying passengers for hire, you do not need one unless some states have passed a state law.

A Bar Pilot is only required for ships for pete's sake.

Radios are recommended, but you do not have to have one on board a private craft unless it is much larger than the boats fitting anything normally covered on this site. A 26 ft inflatable would be one large sucker

As far as being boarded by the Coast Guard, I have had that pleasure. All they are concerned with is proper safety equipment and boat registration. It is no concern at all in a small inflatable unless you are a drug runner.

Fire extinguishers are required on any boat having enclosed compartments which could contain gas fumes.

 

[coolbri70]

this happens every time it gets busy at the river, as there is only 1 course to take, either upriver or downriver

 

[ronaldj]

Did anybody bother to READ the part that says Depending on where you boat? The governing document is actually the Patriot Act. There are several other documents and I posted the rules once before, but the long and short of it is. If you are in a target area the rules are different ( national monuments, federal facilities, nuclear facilities etc). It is no different than the security at airports. Some airports have a minor police presence. Others have a very strong Tactical presence. For those that fly GA there are no fly zones. Other parts of the country have state police permanently guarding approach roads to the facility. If none of this happens where you live then you are lucky and I wish I lived there. Unfortunately the Delmarva area is not like that. We have a strong somewhat over the top presence. Just last Sunday while we were out near Fort Mchenry the coast guard blared a warning telling a boat to slow down and back away. The warning went out on ch69 and the cg channel. Btw The rules are also responsible for how outboards are labeled. In some places you are not allowed to have a 10hp on a lake or other areas. They gave us 9.9hp In some areas they had to change them to 8hp. Some states say radio, some don't care. It's a lot like the gun laws. They are different every state you go to.

 

[fbpooler]

In other words those rules do not apply except in certain zoned areas which would be marked by signage or charts. The majority of waters do not have those restrictions, so that is why the published Coast Guard regulations do not state them. That is different than stating that it covers North America and is actually an exception to normal boating regulations.

You concerned me that a major change to boating regulations may have been authorized. Security zones are special areas.

 

[pgnyc]

hi,
at my last boating alone , as i was going back to the dock ( 100 yards) the NYPD boat told me to stay in to the channel.
I was at the world fair marina ramp / la guardia airport .

Pascal

 

[fbpooler]

One more reason I would never consider living in the Northeast anywhere near NY, NJ or other states in the area.

The defense guys forget common sense. They turn off the lights on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay to prevent a terror attack. Of course, the lights on the road leading up to the bridge on both sides are lit up pointing out that the bridge is the dark place inline with all the lights. Guess no one told them the bad guys could buy a GPS and go right to the bridge.

Saw one poor guy who had anchored to fish alongside the bridge one day who had official boats and a helicopter giving him the third degree. Guess it was a case of show me your hands and the fish or we shoot

 

[ronaldj]

One more reason I would never consider living in the Northeast anywhere near NY, NJ or other states in the area. The defense guys forget common sense. They turn off the lights on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay to prevent a terror attack. Of course, the lights on the road leading up to the bridge on both sides are lit up pointing out that the bridge is the dark place inline with all the lights. Guess no one told them the bad guys could buy a GPS and go right to the bridge. Saw one poor guy who had anchored to fish alongside the bridge one day who had official boats and a helicopter giving him the third degree. Guess it was a case of show me your hands and the fish or we shoot

Trust and believe. If you lived in a target area you would not mind the extra layer of security. In fact compared to what a boat owner goes through in other parts of the world (mainly the EU), we have it very easy

 

[fbpooler]

We have a military air base basically inside the city limits and a very large military base close by plus a major port, so we are certainly on the target list. The truth of the matter is that if someone wanted to hit us, there is very little that could be done.

After 9-11, we have gone through much more security, but the baddies are going to walk right through it if they come.

You would love the boating in our area, as there are miles and miles of very little used waterways for times you want to get away from it all, two fresh water rivers, the ocean and much water in the tidal zone rivers and creeks. The only downside is that seas run 3 ft on a normal good day and ramps are few.

 

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