As BR56 says, it''s not your fault. People with more money than brains can buy all the powerboat they want. A few years back a CT lawyer bought a big one and took friends on a trip to Long Island. On the way back that night, he got lost (I think an engine cut out on him, too) and he radioed an approaching tug to ask directions. He failed to notice the three
lights vertically on the tug''s mast as they circled the tug in the dark, and the thirty-some foot flybridge cruiser snagged the towline and was plowed under by the barge. Many powerboaters have little idea of how to handle their own boats, except in ideal conditions. They don''t know how to adjust their handling for tight, crowded channels like Pt.Jeff, and do not understand sailboats at all. Sailors (as in wind-users) generally have to know how to handle their own boats, or they wouldn''t be able to leave the dock. They know NOT to buy a boat bigger than they can handle. They also are likely to have at least a concept of how powerboats work, since many sailboats have auxiliary engines. Getting in and out of Pt. Jeff can be hazardous with combining wakes and wave-trains and the swift current. I usually use my engine so I can swerve to avoid some klutz who''s looking down to see what his rpm''s are; with a 6''8" draft I need to be in the channel. In a smaller boat, you may be forced to wait for a lull in the traffic (they seem to come in swarms, like lemmings) or be able to sneak along the edges (it does drop off pretty quickly, though you may catch a fishing
line or two from surfcasters.) Patience IS a virtue -- otherwise we''d all be on jetskis, no?