Sailboat gets in the way of Great Lakes freighter

[pauldw]

I was in our patrol boat 4 miles downstream when this incident occurred. We raced up there and found out that the guy was trying to maneuver for 5 minutes and the current took steerage away from him. He had issues getting his motor started.

Thanks. It was obvious there were those first issues, but I was wondering why he didn’t just motor away when the freighter turned toward him.

 

[Wookie]

Thanks. It was obvious there were those first issues, but I was wondering why he didn’t just motor away when the freighter turned toward him.

Turn it into a power boat?

 

[pauldw]

Turn it into a power boat?

Very funny!

 

[gstrek]

Thanks. It was obvious there were those first issues, but I was wondering why he didn’t just motor away when the freighter turned toward him.

Motor issues and couldn't get it started or too small of a motor for the conditions. I read elsewhere that they had an engine failure and had notified the USCG but cannot say how verifiable the source. Jared0425 who was on patrol says it was a motor issue of some sort. Couldn't turn it into a power boat if they wanted to.

 

[Wookie]

Couldn't turn it into a power boat if they wanted to.

If only there were a backup or primary method of propulsion for those rag boats.

 

[Gone for diving]

It's a bit like stalling your standard car in the middle of an intersection...

 

[Jared0425]

To add to this story. The sailboat in question was trying to tack into Sarnia yacht club. This was a rare day where we had a decent breeze out of the east instead of the prevalent westerly winds. As he entered the river and passed Pt. Edward/ Bluewater, his weigted keel got caught by the 2.5 knot current. Worse he went right into the eddy. Still not truly aware of the Cuyahoga heading up, he thought he would just try and keep tacking towards the Canadian shoreline. However his rudder and was not responding and neither was his Jib. It was then he realized that the Cuyahoga was blasting her whistle at him and he tried to start his engine. The engine did not catch and kept cranking until it killed his battery. At the last moment he turned the rudder to go starboard instead of port. That's what saved him from being run down as both the current and wind pushed him west across her bows. The forward wake pushed the sailboat further away from the Cuyahoga where he radioed for assistance. By time we (the sheriff department) arrived, the sailboat was under tow back towards Sarnia. This story came from the Coast Guard captain who responded. I heard 4 maydays being called in by different vessels for the sailboat while this unfolded over 3 minutes or so.