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So I was on the ICW this weekend with all the other boaters in south Florida when I came near the turning basin at Port Everglades and had the following exchange:

A Port Security Boat approached me, I was travelling parallel and with all the other boat traffic, but for some reason he singled me out.

Port Security Officer: “Captain, are you under power?”
Aquarius Actual: “No sir, I am not.”
Port Security Officer: “Are you allowed to be underway using only sail?”
Aquarius Actual: “Yes sir, I am.”
Port Security Officer: “I don’t think you are allowed to be underway in a marked waterway under sail. You need to use your engine and leave, these cruise ships are preparing to get underway.”
Aquarius Actual: (rolling my eyes) “Yes sir.”

So I furled my genoa, fired up the iron genny, and within 60 seconds I was gone from the "Bully".

Has anyone found places where this is applicable? I always thought sailing is permitted anywhere that recreational boating is permitted, and I was in fact in the recreational area, with everyone else, moving parallel to everyone else, nowhere near the closest cruise ship, and certainly no closer to the cruise ships than many other boats in the area at that moment. Unless there has been some sort of law banning sailing on the ICW that I haven’t heard of, I thought I was well within my rights to sail there. Granted, at that moment I did not see any other boats sailing in the vicinity.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar occurrences? Was I the victim of an ignorant Bully? Was I in the wrong? Is there a way to determining local indinances when sailing in areas you don't go to very often? I hadn't been to this part of the ICW in years, but I did see other boats sailing around the vicinity throughout the day, just not at the time I had the above exchange.

If the officer (who obviously knows little to nothing of sailing) wanted me to go elsewhere out of concern for my safety, that is a legitimate concern that I would have been happy to respect (no questions asked), but that was not how he approached me. He felt that I wasnt allowed to be sailing there at all.

I found it curious that he asked me if I was allowed to be sailing there.....that gave me the impression that he himself had no idea. His bit about "I don’t think you are allowed to be underway in a marked waterway under sail." also made me think he had no idea.

I would appreciate your thoughts, who knows, I may be in the wrong. Always enjoy the wisdom I find here.

Thanks all.

I would seek some local knowledge here. Maybe contact your local Coast Guard office.

The chart for that area http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11470.shtml
See Note A
"Information concerning the regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander, 7th Coast Guard District in Miami, FL"
Indicates a "Security Zone 165.761"
Which brings you to an even more complicated set of rules.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CFR-20 ... sec165-761

My guess is that security around these cruise ships is tight and they were chasing you away more than concerned about you being under sail alone.

I was on a cruise ship in February several miles offshore heading into Key West and were greeted by these fine folks. They escorted us into the harbor and to the pier. The guy on the bow gun never let go the whole time.
Later I watched as some private boats were heading towards the ship. Soon, the boats were intercepted by these guys and drove them off.
I don't know if this is normal or DHS is at some heightened level of security.

I will say that these massive ships can move a lot of water. I would stay very clear of them.

Here's a huge wave it makes on the shore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2-CKXLLHDs

Pretty normal. I’ve seen them up here from time to time. One evening heading down the coast to the next town we watched as two them escorted a cruise ship south for a half hour or so. It was heavier seas and they were jumping waves and wake, getting the twin 250’s clean out of the water. When we arrived at our destination they had just re-fueled and were heading back out. As we passed I told the gunners they looked like they were having far too much fun out there, and they just grinned even bigger as they left port.

*Edit* Pretty normal seeing the armed escort not the no sail zone.

That cruise ship wasn't even going that fast. Up here in the narrow fjords the wakes bouce off the sides for quite awhile and creat "haystacks" - a wave that has no direction just pops straight up like a haystack

yukonbob wrote:That cruise ship wasn't even going that fast. Up here in the narrow fjords the wakes bouce off the sides for quite awhile and creat "haystacks" - a wave that has no direction just pops straight up like a haystack

It has a 31' draft, so you figure that's a lot of displacement. The water has to go somewhere. It's amazing how these 1200' ships can turn in their own space using bow thrusters and azipods. That's a lot of water to push. 31' x 1200'

I've been next to tankers moving relatively slow and the wake can sneak up on you. Not like pleasure boat wakes these are slow mountains that appear in places you don't expect.

When they get 15nm or so south of Skagway they speed up close to 20 knts. On a calm day its fun going through the rollers and when it's nasty you can sneak in behind them as they make an excellent wind / wave block at least until they get too far ahead.

I have heard the same thing (no sail in the ICW) over here on the west coast of FL, but have never seen regulations to that effect. If it was a marked seaway, then that means no sailing into channels and under bridges and other such marked areas I would think...
It will be something to look up!

I have run into a no-sail zone when going into Victoria Harbor, BC. Clearly marked on the charts:

No Sailing:
Sailing is prohibited in the MIDDLE, INNER and UPPER HARBOUR.
All sails must be lowered even when under power.

I assumed it to be to allow greater maneuverability and visibility in a crowded channel.

~Rich

A lot of planes take-off & land in Victoria Harbour Channel "look up a mac Kite "

I imagine its going to be a lot worse after what just happened In Washington Navy Yrd & now this in the Norfolk Navy Base ,

J

I imagine its going to be a lot worse after what just happened In Washington Navy Yrd & now this in the Norfolk Navy Base ,

J

Do you mean the shooting this morning, or the Police officers that flipped over a new $279,000 boat jumping their own wake while still inside the harbor last Friday?

For some reason that one seemed to be hushed up



http://wavy.com/2014/03/21/police-boat- ... 2-injured/

There are some restricted maneuvering zones that disallow barges, sailing, etc. in the USCG navigation rules. Should be clearly spelled out on your chart's notes for the restricted maneuvering zone.

We sailed a good portion of the ICW between Mobile Ala and Key West , then the Atlantic side with no hassle .

We did encounter the Coast Guard In The Port of Mobile when we got to close to the Carnival Turd Ship . You know the one that the sewage overflowed , after a fire .

They were turning it around and we got in the ' zone '
We had the jib up and the motor on . There was no mention of the sail but it was strongly suggested we get away from the ship .

I am surprised to read of the large wakes that some posting have mentioned.

Sailing on the Delaware River, I have often encountered large freighters. Because of that funny looking bulbous extension below water at the bow, there is the most minimum of water disturbance created. The tugs alongside had killer wakes, but the freighters were a pleasure. Bow thrusters are another story, but just speaking of forward movement, there really isn't any wakes with the freighters I have encountered.

Ray

Thank you all for the responses!

Special thanks to Russ MT for the links. I especially enjoyed reading through the CFR and I read into the meaning of the "security zones" listed on the chart. I also found the U.S. Pilot Volume 4 (also referenced in the chart) online and highly recommend anyone who enjoys piloting to read it, since it had great information.

The chart had no indication of there being any "no sail" zone, the security zones indicated on the chart had to do with maximum speeds and closest allowable distances to the cruise ships, whether moored or underway. There was no mention in any of the chart literature or references about any restriction on sailing in the vicinity where I was. I wasnt in violation of any of the security zones, and was well clear of all cruise ships, as was everyone else in the area. The chart also had nothing regarding a "restricted manuevering zone".

The only thing left for me to do is contact the Coast Guard in District 7, but I doubt they will find anything. The port security boat that chased me away was not with the Coast Guard or with the Florida Marine Patrol. (I used to be in the Coast Guard 20 years ago). It was black and gray, and only said "Fort Lauderdale" on it, and didn't have any other markings. The officer wore a uniform. For all I know it was a rent-a-cop for the Port. At any rate, my suspicion is that he was uncomfortable with me sailing in the area since a cruise ship was about to depart, and chased me away. (Maybe he saw too many you-tube videos of sailboats being run down by ferries, who knows?) Like I mentioned earlier, if he had simply told me it wasnt safe I wouldn't have had an issue, but he approached me as if I wasnt supposed to be sailing there at all. The old "sea lawyer" in me just had to know if I had violated any of the rules, and I haven't been able to find any evidence of violation.

I feel that this mystery has been resolved to my satisfaction. Woohoo!

In regards to cruise ships underway, the Bar Cut at Port Everglades is commonly shared simultaneously by recreational craft as well as cruise ships. Like NiceAft mentioned, they don't generate a huge wave due to the bulbous bow. It's actually all the smaller craft and the Coast Guard patrol boats escorting the cruise ships that generate all the waves. Everyone seems to understand the importance of giving the cruise ships a wide berth, and I havent ever heard of there being any issues. Naturally, in a contest of wills (not to mention inertia), the cruise ship will always win, so extreme care is essential when anywhere near these bohemoths.

As always, I would welcome feedback if anyone finds anything to indicate that such a no-sail zone exists in the area of Port Everglades. I sure couldn't find it myself.

Happy Sailing folks!