Are boating or cruising accidents in the San Juans avoidable?
Yes, accidents don't just happen, acts of god happen. In boating, operator error is a major offender.
Common mistakes:
- poor decision-making due to inexperience
- inadequate knowledge of the area
- failing to understand currents and tides
- alcohol abuse
- operator inattention or distraction
Disaster narrowly avoided:
Crossing Rosario Strait and heading into
Thatcher Pass
We were all staring out the front and not paying attention to our sideways set (side drift) when out of the corner of my eye I caught a movement that turned out to be rocks coming at us fast. (full flood must have been 3+ knots) The current was forcing us sideways straight onto the rocks of tiny Pointer Island. I swung hard over and pushed her to full throttle, our outboard barely pulled us away with one hundred feet and two or three seconds to spare. I shuddered thinking of my family on board and almost quit boating right then and there.
While we’re talking currents, I am sure you know that your boat will be dragged sideways whilst you drive forward when crossing a channel or fast water.
It is very easy to not pay enough attention to the currents “set and drift” and what’s on the side of your boat.
Let’s put it simply, if you’re driving forward and looking forward, you will miss what you’re actually heading for sideways. It is easy when close to hazards to allow yourself to be dragged into them because you are looking where you want to go, and not watching where you are really going.
Disasters take only seconds to happen.
I have located Pointer Island in Rosario Strait below. The link will take you to it and show you where we would have been.
