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Blue water sailing
is not a stroll in the park. Interwoven with the beautiful sunrises,
sunsets, exotic ports and dolphins at play are real hazzards. The
weather is always there to challenge your plans, as are treacherous
navigational problems. The one that makes my adrenalin flow boot up
is the possibility of a collision at sea.
Captains account:
07-14-01
On Friday
the 13th of July at 11:00 P.M. the radar showed a freighter dead
astern 4 miles and closing. We had left Syracuse on the island of
Sicily that morning bound for the south coast of Sardinia, a distance
of 380 miles. The wind was 30 degrees off our port bow and we were
motor sailing at six knots. The wind is usually on your nose when
you are sailing in the Med. Saundra and I were alone aboard, she
was below asleep and I was at the helm.
I continued
to watch the freighter on radar to confirm its direction and whether
its course and ours would intersect. There were many boats and ships
in this area, usually two to four at any time within six miles,
but this one was definitely coming straight up on our stern unless
one of us changed course. At 2 miles I called on VHF channel 16
to the westbound freighter and advised that I was a westbound sailing
vessel 2 miles off his bow and requested his intentions. No response!
I called again that I was the westbound sailing vessel, Sea Gem
1 ½ miles off his bow and would like to know his intentions.
At 1 mile I called again and a ship answered saying there was a
boat 3.8 miles off his port bow and asked my position. I gave him
my lat/lon and heard nothing more. I assumed he determined as did
I that his was not the ship bearing down on us. I called again at
½ mile but no answer so I advised that I was changing course
30 degrees to starboard to avoid collision. Incredibly the freighter
turned to starboard tracking me right up my stern and closing fast.
At less than 1/4 mile I called and advised I was changing course
90 degrees to port to avoid collision, made the turn and pushed
the throttle to 3000 rpm. The freighter continued straight ahead
and missed us by less than a tenth of a mile. He never answered
my radio call. Was no one was at the helm ? Was their radio and
their radar turned off? Could the captain not understand English?
In any of these events my final radio message to the captain wouldn't
matter. I advised the captain that I hope I didn't disturb his sleep
and wished him a good day. As I reviewed the incident I recalled
being told at Suez that freighters show up at the canal with sailboat
wreckage on the bulb of their bow and the captain never knew he
hit anything.
In thinking
back on this little adventure, I believe that the turn to port that
the ship executed was a computer programed waypoint because we had
just cleared a cape off the south of Sicily and his new direction,
from which he did not vary after his turn to port, was the same
course we took up to continue our route to Sardinia. I'm sure similar
close calls have been experienced by other blue water sailors. It
was not our first on this round the world odyssey but I hope it
was our last.
About ten minutes after the narrow miss a strong searchlight flooded
Sea Gem from a power boat. The light was so strong I couldn't make
out the boat behind it. The boat had not shown up on radar. After
it had looked Sea Gem over, without a word it took off in the direction
of my friendly freighter and passed out of sight. Could this have
been an Italian government boat? The search light was fixed high
up on the boat so I doubt it was a pleasure boat. Could the Italian
Coast Guard have overheard my radio calls to the freighter and come
to check if Sea Gem was still afloat? Did the Coast Guard catch
up with the freighter to discuss proper protocol in such situations?
We kept on sailing and I am sure we will never know. I was happy
when midnight rolled around. It was now Saturday the 14th.
Saundra was
glad, I think, that she missed the excitement. She asked me to record
he night's events for our log.
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