from the discussion we can see ( feel free to add /amend) :
1 that the bigger the ship, the greater the chance of a kayaker surviving a collision
2 keep away from the last 3rd of the the ship , that is where it becomes turbulent ( althou jet skier survived this too )
3 finally thrusters can affect a kayaker up to a range of 100yards.
thx
Ships in channels are always a concern, but not nearly as much as a tug pushing a barge(s). A ships bow wake should, I repeat should, push a kayak clear. A flat faced barge being pushed will submerge you under the moving barge. Be safe and give either danger lots of space to clear the area b4 you pass astern. The law of gross tonnage always wins.
Too many years ago to count, my Dad was doing a bird count on the mostly man made spoil area in Charleston harbor. There was a huge Navy presence in the area. He had his 15â runabout boat beached on the island.
When we got back to it, a destroyer had been by. His boat was several feet further up the shore and full to the gunnels.
Draining it wasnât too bad, but pushing it off wasnât fun.
The destroyer apparently didnât believe in no wake in the harbor.
If you get a chance to paddle there, Charleston Harbor is a good spot.
Fort Sumter, the Battery, Shem Creek(seafood) , Pinckney Island, the Morris Island light house.
We have spots up here along the Hudson where the channel markers sit right along the shoreline and there is no easy place to be in a kayak if a barge comes by pushing a lot of water. With or w/o the tug, though most up this way are still using tugs. Being in a spot to avoid getting run over does zero to prevent being caught by a large wake near shore if you happen upon the right scenario coming around a turn. No way there is enough time to cross over. When on a local club paddle I typically tell any newbies to point their bow towards the wake. It seems that most people who are hesitant are better off taking it on the bow than on the side.
Sound is a tricky thing. If the barge is headed in the opposite direction you are paddling, so the tug is in back, if there moderate wind you wonât hear the engine sound until it is quite close. Again with the bends in the channel, it is unwise to try and do a crossing without a long sight line north and south. There are plenty of places where that is not present.
As said above by a few, once a large craft is in motion on the water it has extremely limited ability to turn or slow down. That limitation has to be respected.
Did you see Cozumel? Ships running into ships so do you think a kayak has a chance?
Was that those cruise ships? Somebody had to be asleep at the wheel, big-time.
Those are cruise ships not ocean liners. They have shallow draft to get into the shallow Caribbean ports and tons of windage and depend on stabilizers and thrusters to maneuver. Looks like the wind overpowered thrusters or a thruster failureâŚ
Per the reports, one ship was moored to its pier. The other was coming in when a very heavy gust hit, pushing it into the other ship. Cruise company claims damage was not severe and the ships will continue with their scheduled cruises.
Not so sure the injured passengers look at it so lightly.
While it wasnât mentioned as a factor, Cozumel has really strong currents. Iâve been there a few times scuba diving - been right under that cruise ship pier - and the currents absolutely rip.
Itâs fun drift diving with them but no so much if you need to go against them!