NYCkayaker Kayak safety meeting with NY Waterway

[Fischbein, Mike S (US SSA)]

I haven't been back kayaking in the city for a couple of years, but I
can appreciate the issue from both perspectives:  as a formerly fairly
active kayaker out of the DTBH, and as a former Navy officer operating
large ocean-going vessels.  Hey, from a Nimitz-class bridge, the NY
Waterways ferries are speed bumps.

But I'd like to emphasize the big difference, mentioned in the excerpt
below.  Watchstanders on the Navy vessels, large commercial vessels,
ferries, etc. have a reasonable expectation that they can predict what
other professional traffic will do.  They know how to communicate
exceptions and can pretty much accommodate each other.  They don't have
those expectations (based on personal experience) when dealing with
small recreational craft -- and it doesn't get smaller or more
recreational than kayaks.  To operate our craft safely in the sometimes
crowded waterways of NYC Harbor, we must know the Rules of the Nautical
Road.  Most of the problems commercial skippers have with kayaks and
other small recreational boats stem from the operators not following the
right-of-way rules.  A small powerboat has the speed to simply get away
from a bad situation, even if they are the cause; a kayak does not and
must avoid the situation to begin with.

Learn the Rules and follow them.  They aren't hard, particularly if you
don't bother with lots of special cases (though if you go kayaking at
night, I urge you to get very familiar with the tug and tow lighting
patterns.  You don't want to cut between them).  That won't eliminate
all kayak - commercial traffic issues, but it will greatly reduce them.

Thanks,

mike

__
Mike Fischbein 

> -----Original Message-----
> >From: bonnie13 at earthlink.net
> >Sent: Jun 16, 2008 12:38 PM


> >Re the "speed bumps" thing - I can actually sympathize with that for
a
> couple of reasons. They're working, we're playing, the ferry folks are
> running on really tight schedules (and from the sound of it the
Waterways
> folks, at least, are also on a pretty short staff - that's why they
missed
> the first one) and we're making their jobs just that much harbor. I
mean
> harder. It's a pretty crusty milieu, too. Everybody's jostling for
space;
> the working craft didn't used to have to deal with so many
recreational
> craft. And let's face it, kayaks are small and slow and as TomBrooklyn
was
> pointing out, there's plenty of kayakers (and other recreational
craft)
> out there who don't know the rules of the road. I know plenty of good
> kayakers on this list who have funny and/or hair-raising stories about
> seeing people waltzing up the middle of the channel, taking out boats
that
> aren't really suited to the area,  & just generally not understanding
> what's what out there.
> >
> >Unfortunately, those are the ones that stand out when you're standing
> watch - the ones who know the rules don't draw near as much attention
to
> themselves. Have to keep those people in mind any time you're talking
> about "kayakers" in general - I'd bet that's what most of the pilots
are
> thinking of when they're joking about speedbumps.