A simple case of poor seamanship

Ahoy.

I’m off this morning on another voyage to Ensenada, Mexico, but I

promised to tell you about my uphill voyage last week from Ensenada

to Marina del Rey.

What an adventure! It starts with trying to get down to Ensenada

by public transportation, using just about every mode of

transportation from car to train to trolley and, finally, a bus.

We left the dock just before sunrise, and the seas were at least 5

feet pounding the boat as we punched out of Bahia de Todos Santos --

translated the Bay of All Saints -- to round Punta San Miguel. This

boat is capable of cruising at 30 knots that I was hoping to reach,

however I was making only 17 knots.

We were only a few miles off the coast when we hit fog, but I

could see enough to maintain speed while watching the radar. The fog

did burn off a couple of hours after sunrise and, at times, I could

throttle up to 22 knots when we were in between the swell sets. Then,

about 16 nautical miles south of San Diego in the lee of the Coronado

Islands, I spotted off the port bow three sailors franticly waving

their arms over their heads aboard a dilapidated-looking sailboat.

As I deactivated the autopilot and turned toward the boat, my

first thought was that we were still in Mexican waters, so I should

watch out for pirates. Therefore, I did a fly by to evaluate the

situation and look for anything out of the ordinary.

Still not taking any chances, I backed down to the vessel so I was

positioned to throttle up and dash away. No reason for me to take any

chances. I had the owner aboard my boat go to the stern to find out

what they needed. (Hey, the bonus of being the captain.)

It turned out this was a classic example of Goofy-Goes-Sailing.

The people asked us to radio the Coast Guard for help because they

had no communications, radio or cell phone, their engine was broken,

one person had a previous neck injury, and for some reason could not

sail anymore.

I pulled a little distance away to make comms with San Diego Coast

Guard Activities, relaying the information, including our latitude

and longitude, as if taking a chapter out of my VHF Marine Radio

book. We were delayed for about 45 minutes as the Coast Guard decided

the best course of action for the sailboat.

We were notified and released from scene when the Mexican Navy was

launching from Rosarita Beach to monitor the situation and Vessel

Assist Shelter Island was responding to tow the sailboat to San

Diego.

Why anyone would venture out in those sea conditions aboard a

vessel that did not look seaworthy and without any means of

communication defies logic. I do not mind helping a boater in need,

but poor seamanship is no excuse. We were only able to help because

we had the proper equipment.

The next stop was U.S. Customs in San Diego, and the check took

less than an hour, which was faster than I experience when walking

across the border.

For those boaters needing to clear customs in the near future,

here is a new procedure. You still dock at San Diego Police dock and

then walk up to the top of the gangway and dial *82 on the outside

payphone, a free call to notify customs.

An officer will be dispatched to come down to the docks. The

officer mentioned that, in the near future, a call-in program like

that at the Canadian border might be operational. This will save at

least a couple of hours, especially if you do not need to enter the

harbor to fuel, as you could call from a cell phone while off Point

Loma.

The remaining five hours to the vessel’s home port were

uneventful, and I was only able to push up the throttles when we were

in the lee of Catalina Island.

The announcement of the week is that I am seeking an account

executive for radio commercial sales. My boating radio show is

arranging to air on KFMB 760. You can read more information on my Web

site.

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

BoathouseTV.com.