More boaters are expected, more to learn

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

“Last year proved to be a good one for the boating industry, and

2005 promises to be a big one as well,” Thom Dammrich, president of

the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said in his annual

state of the industry address at the Miami International Boat Show.

This was reported in the Soundings Trade Only Today, a publication

and a daily e-mail news update for the marine industry that you can

find online at https://www.trade onlytoday.com.

The indicators are pointing to an increasing interest in

recreational boating as new boaters are untying their dock lines to

cruise the waters.

The article said that new registrations are increasing annually,

and the number of recreational boats has been on a gradual incline

since 1996.

“Even more significant for the boating industry,” Dammrich said,

“is the fact that the recreational vehicle industry reported a 14%

increase in shipments in 2004.”

You can see this on any sunny weekend, when our harbor is alive

with boating activities, and the challenge is for everyone to share

to the same water space. What other harbors are realizing, and

Newport is severely lagging behind in, is the infrastructure of

public boating amenities.

I still pose the question: Where in Newport is a public dock where

I can dock a 50-foot yacht for an hour or two? However, we still have

to decide the fate of Marinapark.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This week’s question comes from a boater who does not want me to

mention his name. “While I was sailing down the harbor, the skipper

of Balboa Island Ferry honked his horn at me and then stopped the

ferry in the middle of the bay.”

Well, first, every boater should be required to read the United

States Coast Guard’s book entitled “International- Inland Navigation

Rules.” You will not only learn the navigation rules but also the

sound signals. This book is required to be aboard all commercial

vessels, regardless of size, and every recreational boat over 12

meters, or 39.4-feet.

Instead of waving at the captain with only one finger raised, you

should first pick up the copy of the book aboard your boat to look up

the meaning of that whistle signal. Page 112 states that “whistle

means any sound signaling appliance capable of producing the

prescribed blasts and which complies with the specifications in Annex

III to these regulations.”

Since I did not hear the signal, I would guess that the ferryboat

captain was simply being courteous on the water and sending you a

sound signal. Most likely you heard three short blasts -- a short

blast being a sound lasting about one second.

Three short blasts signal that “I am operating astern propulsion.”

In other words, I am reversing my engines to stop, slow down or back

down. This is a common signal in a crossing situation to let the

other boater know that I am attempting to let you go in front of me.

Remember, just because you heard 3 short blasts does not

immediately mean that the other boat will be going backward. There is

that little word called momentum. You might recall that from the last

time you tied to the dock?

You will hear many charter boats in the harbor giving sound

signals while underway, and most, if not all, charter boat operators

give the incorrect whistles when backing out of their slip. You

usually hear one prolonged blast (lasting four to six seconds),

immediately followed by three short blasts. Technically, there should

be a minimum of 10 seconds between signals as they are actually

meaning to give one prolonged signal and then a signal of three

shorts blast. I know this because the signal of one prolonged and

three short is not what they are doing.

Who knows what one prolonged blast means? Additionally, does

anyone know what the signal of one prolonged and three short blasts

mean?

Let’s all be courteous on the water.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation, “Capt.

Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.” It airs every Saturday from

noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell and

Eric Hovland by calling the listener line at (888) 344-1170.

Safe voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the

Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send him your

harbor and marine-related thoughts and story

suggestions by e-mail to [email protected] or visit

https://www.boathousetv.com.