|
I BOAT NY HARBOR - BOAT HANDLING Home NO BOATING Areas Boat Handling Wakes Emergencies Weather Currents & Tides Arrivals & Departures Marinas & Launches Fuel & Pumpout Events Fishing Classifieds Other Resources FAQs Feedback Op-Ed About Us
NY Harbor is a commercial/recreational mixed-use harbor and your boat handling will differ from your boat handling in your normal cruising grounds:
Primary Use of VHF Channel 13 You should add VHF channel 13, the bridge-to-bridge channel used by commercial vessels in the harbor, to your VHF radio's channel scan or watch. If a commercial vessel (liner, tanker, freighter, tug/barge, ferry, etc.)is trying to communicate with you, channels 13 and/or 16 will be used.
Commercial Vessels Approaching You Head On ["Boating with Mad" cartoon showing small vessel claiming right of way over commercial vessel]
You're cruising down the Hudson gabbing with your family opposite Chelsea Piers when you look up and see a northbound large commercial vessel headed for you and your family:
from globalsecurity.org You remember that the pilot may not be able to see you as you approach:
from http://www.boatingsafety.com/watchout.htm You also remember that the vessel may take a half-mile to a mile to slow to a stop and that the vessel may be slow in changing direction. What do you do?
Give way and make your change in direction drastic enough so that the pilot or helmsman of the large commercial vessel understands that you've gotten out of his way. The GOLDEN RULE in NY Harbor: Assume a commercial vessel is restricted in its ability to maneuver and YOU GIVE WAY EARLY.
Same situation, except you didn't give way soon enough and you hear one short horn blast or two short horn blasts from the vessel. What do you do?
from http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/images/navrl1.gif
Same situation, except you hear 5 short horn blasts from the vessel. What do you do?
This is a danger signal or the vessel's pilot or helmsman does not understand your intentions. Get out of the way ASAP and contact the vessel on VHF 13 if necessary.
Commercial vessels overtaking you
from http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/images/navrl3.gif
Ferries crossing your course
For those ferries running their routes by the Stevens Institute guidelines, you'll generally have a perpendicular crossing with a slow-moving ferry and the standard Rules of the Road crossing applies:
from http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/images/navrl2.gif However, most ferries still run their routes fast point-to-point (contrary to NYS law prohibiting speed greater than 5MPH within 100' of a pier and NJS law requiring slow speed within 200' of a pier) and you'd be wise to have a lookout, have all persons off the foredeck and be ready to communicate on VHF Channel 13.
Larger wakes from more traffic and reflective bulkheads
Avoid Zephyr - one of the largest wakes in the Harbor
There are approximately 1200 wakes-producing trips in NY Harbor on a typical weekday. These wakes reinforce each other and the reflective bulkheads of NY Harbor, a "wide canal", further reinforce the wakes. About 800 wakes daily are from commuter ferries:
from http://www.worldshipny.com/nycferries2.htm
and you should try to avoid the area extending between the Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn Bridge, known as the Manhattan Maelstrom, during ferry rush hours:
Following are tips for crossing wakes:
from http://www.boatoregon.com/Library/WatchWake.pdf
from http://www.geocities.com/palmbeachboating/wakes.html from http://www.boatingandfishing.com/stories.cfm?NewsFile=/NewsArchive/062906/wl6.htm
Vessels passing W. 79th St Boat Basin - June, 2006
HUMAN-POWERED VESSELS In NY Harbor there are kayaks, canoes, rowboats, outriggers and dragon boats either running singly or in small flotillas. These HPVs run off the pier heads but you should be alert for river crossings and heavy activity around the launches shown on the Wakes page. At night, some kayaks display confusing "identifying" lights of various combinations, e.g., a green light on the bow and a red light on the stern, rather than regulation-required lights.
Home NO BOATING Areas Boat Handling Wakes Emergencies Weather Currents & Tides Arrivals & Departures Marinas & Launches Fuel & Pumpout Events Fishing Classifieds Other Resources FAQs Feedback Op-Ed About Us SLOW
|