Joe Coons
Late last year I wrote about "attitudes," telling the stories of those very experienced Cruising Club of America guys who were so undisturbed by the little annoyances of any long trip on a modern, multisystem boat. I like retelling that story, because I think it's a valuable lesson, and also because I like to think that good boaters are never operating "on the edge"—they are too safety-conscious for that!
Well, a couple of months ago I got a call for a day charter from a group of fellows who wanted me to take them out while they examined some greater Puget Sound territory preparing to take the Puget Sound Pilots' examination, a test they said was give only once every four or five years! One of the requirements is that they be familiar with all the major features of the navigable waters and harbors of the Sound, and have been in some areas many times, others a few times before taking the test, and they had to be in a boat that, when measured by the Coast Guard's rather arcane rules, displaced more than 30 gross tons, which my boat does: thus the charter.
Well, it turned out these were six licensed masters, all working for our Washington State Ferry System. And I learned some interesting trivia, such as, "No ferry has a depth sounder." Why not? Because the routes are prescribed in deep enough waters, and if they got into the shallows, it is unlikely they could stop in time!
Another tidbit: No matter what license they hold from the Coast Guard, seniority dictates their particular task aboard ship. If they are an "ordinary seaman" for the day, lowest in seniority, they clean heads. If they are an "able bodied seaman," they work the car decks directing traffic. If they are next higher, they'll be mate, and if highest aboard, they'll be captain. But usually it's 15 or 20 years in the job before they regularly rank high enough to skipper the boat, at least on a desirable shift on a decent size boat. Sounds just like the airlines!
But now as for the Puget Sound Pilots' Exam: After the oral exam, whatever the panel wants to give you, you are handed a sheet of paper with a land outline on it, nothing else. You then have to identify the body of water, all its features including a depth sounding at least every three inches in every direction, and every aid to navigation and its light, sound, and physical characteristics‹and all from memory! Are you ready to do that? Neither am I! I would suggest that could really separate the amateurs from the pros, wouldn't you?
And one last note: While these fellows were at the helm of my boat, their courses were steady and they never, ever took their eyes off the water ahead for more than a few seconds at a time. Even though the boat was smaller by a factor of a hundred times, they still treated it and the sea with respect. A good example to us all, I suspect.
And as for the trip, in seas that got rougher and rougher, we spent the day going back and forth from Blaine to Point Roberts to Alden Bank to Point Roberts to Alden Bank and so on, through Hale Pass several times, as they made keen observations of shore-side and water marks and features. I can tell you, I felt we were pretty safe that day, and I almost wished the Coast Guard had boarded us: There was a total of more than 140 years of sea-time among the seven of us!
Have a great time on the water . . . and a safe one, too.
All rights reserved. For permission to copy, contact Joe Coons.
<>Back to BYC Home Page | Boating Tips List | Last Month | Next Month
Last updated 6/17/98 by SCR