Thanksgiving Freighter Wake

[LG111]

On our way to Seattle, crossing Elliot Bay we crossed a freighters wake. The freighter was already two miles south of us but we could see the wall of water well in the distance. Once we approached it we dropped our speed to idle. It’s all on video but here are three screen shots of the wall of water that went over the arch! All ended well and one for the books!
Happy Thanksgiving
Mark

 

[Blueone]

We have been through a few wakes in the Great Lakes from freighters... They can be pretty big.
It's amazing how much water they displace

 

[Ezsteps]

LG I've hit a lot of freighter wakes here in the Great Lakes especially on the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, but nothing like that. Glad it all turned out well.

 

[mquiet]

Wow. I would like to see the video on that. One heck of a salt water wash.

 

[sbw1]

They do not amount to much when you hit them 30 miles off shore in shipping lanes where the water is hundreds of feet deep. It's in shallow water where they rebound off the bottom that they are the roughest.

 

[Captn TJ]

Up bound and down bound channel of the Detroit river can be interesting when they pass by.

 

[DWABoat]

I hope your rivets held on that ride.
In my day job, I operate a 45-foot boat on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The tank and container ships traveling to Exxon and other places make us look and feel tiny. They are pushing, then pulling, so much water we have to keep away from the bank. The bank suction is impressive and dangerous, as Captn TJ mentions.

Going down river the ships must move very fast to maintain steerage going with the current.
Running within 75 yards of a 700-ft plus tank ship pushing 10-knots is a humbling experience. Those commercial ship crews are the pinnacle of maritime expertise.

 

[M Prod]

We have been through a few wakes in the Great Lakes from freighters... They can be pretty big.
It's amazing how much water they displace

Wow ..that’s like a mini tsunami! Same exact behavior.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I had to chuckle when I read your first post because it reminded me of a similar thing that happened in August, 1990. We were in Victoria, Canada on a chartered Bayliner 4588, just coming out of the harbor.

We heard a Notice to Mariners broadcast on CH 16 about a US Navy ship that would be steaming out of Bremerton (Navy shipyard) at high speed coming out the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We were going to cross the Strait but decided to wait and let the Navy ship pass. Good plan on our part.

While we idled around waiting for the ship, we finally could see it, then watched as it got closer and closer, and then it passed our location. This was no little Navy boat, this was a SHIP.

Little did we know that there was a HUGE wake coming behind it. We rode up and over the first wave and settled into the trough, then up and over the second wave which was a lot bigger than the first. When we started down the backside of that wave and looked at wave #3, we all just about died.

The bow punched its way into the leading edge of #3 and we took water up and over the venturi screen. That water that came over the venturi was deep enough and strong enough that it washed EVERYTHING off the fly bridge. Magazines, books, charts, everything went off the stern with the water.

I was a bit afraid that the boat would keep on going down into the face of that wave #3 but it shuddered to a stop then popped back out of it.

Scared the crap out of all of us.

I almost forgot to tell you the best part--that was the first invasion of Kuwait and that's where that ship was headed.

 

[sbw1]

I had to chuckle when I read your first post because it reminded me of a similar thing that happened in August, 1990. We were in Victoria, Canada on a chartered Bayliner 4588, just coming out of the harbor.

We heard a Notice to Mariners broadcast on CH 16 about a US Navy ship that would be steaming out of Bremerton (Navy shipyard) at high speed coming out the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We were going to cross the Strait but decided to wait and let the Navy ship pass. Good plan on our part.

While we idled around waiting for the ship, we finally could see it, then watched as it got closer and closer, and then it passed our location. This was no little Navy boat, this was a SHIP.

Little did we know that there was a HUGE wake coming behind it. We rode up and over the first wave and settled into the trough, then up and over the second wave which was a lot bigger than the first. When we started down the backside of that wave and looked at wave #3, we all just about died.

The bow punched its way into the leading edge of #3 and we took water up and over the venturi screen. That water that came over the venturi was deep enough and strong enough that it washed EVERYTHING off the fly bridge. Magazines, books, charts, everything went off the stern with the water.

I was a bit afraid that the boat would keep on going down into the face of that wave #3 but it shuddered to a stop then popped back out of it.

Scared the crap out of all of us.

I almost forgot to tell you the best part--that was the first invasion of Kuwait and that's where that ship was headed.

Interesting story. I understand that boating near submarine bases can be interesting as well. They are hard to see even when surfaced and run pretty fast.

 

[Gofirstclass]

I've never encountered a sub while cruising but one day about 10 years ago I encountered a concrete encased reactor core from a nuclear submarine.

Rather than post the pics on here, I'll start a new thread and post some photos there.

 

[LG111]

Wow. I would like to see the video on that. One heck of a salt water wash.

I posted it on SeaRay Owners forum on FB.

 

[Gofirstclass]

LG, for those of us who gave up FB many years ago, would you mind reposting it here?