Something happened to me two years ago that is still bothering me. Here is the background. The trip from Lake Washington through the Ballard Locks was uneventful. We enjoyed a good day on the Sound. However coming back home I managed to ruin the day for myself. What bothers me is I still don’t understand why it happened. Lake Washington is above sea level. The locks drop you down from lake level to Puget Sound headed out to sea. On the way home the locks lift you up to the lake level.
Here is the short version. I had gone through the locks and was motoring home. I needed to pass under 7 bridges (I think). The lowest bridge is the Freemont Bridge. In the morning we went the same route (only route available) and passed under all the Bridges without incident. As I am approaching the Freemont Bridge the Bridge operator sounds the emergency 5 blast warning. Immediately we come to a dead stop and I hail him on the
VHF frequency. He TELLS me that my mast won’t clear. Now when the bridge operator tells you your mast won’t clear a smart person will listen and wait for him to raise the bridge. But not me, no, I had to tell him that we passed under the bridge a few hours earlier without incident. So he said that if my mast was less than a certain length I would be ok. Fortunately I had come to a dead stop for this conversation. We powered up moved forward and promptly ran the top 6” of the mast smack into the bridge, destroying the wind speed indicator.
This really bothers me on several levels. First of all I consider myself a very conscientious individual yet this is the second time I have smacked the top of my mast on a bridge. The first time I chalk it up to inexperience and confusion over the written instructions the previous owner provided in relationship to bridge clearance. But now I have done it twice. This was the second time I am having a hard time living with myself over the incident. To be real honest it bothers me enough that I really haven’t enjoyed sailing as much since the incident. I drive heavy complex machinery for a living yet I run my sailboat into bridges at an alarming rate. Immediately after the incident I asked the bridge operator why we could clear in the AM but not a few hours later. He didn’t know. We hadn’t changed the load on the boat so we were not riding any higher in the water.
I still don’t know how or why it happened. Why is it I can pass under the bridge in the morning without incident, yet smash the top of my mast on the same bridge a few hours later? I passed under the highest point of the bridge both times. Lake Washington doesn’t have a significant tide. I know any body of water is affected by the gravitational pull of the moon but the ‘tide’ in Lake Washington isn’t significant enough to account.
It’s possible that the Freemont Bridge was actually up in the morning when we passed through and I just don’t remember it being up therefore assumed we cleared it, when in fact we wouldn’t have if it had been down. But I honestly don’t remember it being up, and seem to remember going under it without incident in the morning.
Some people make things happen, other people watch things happen, and some people are always wondering what happened. Unfortunately I find myself in the third category on this ugly/embarrassing event in my life. Any help would be appreciated….
Standing by for incoming…………….. but would really appreciate being educated in addition to the well deserved ridicule……….
Guilty of bonehead boating
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