Quote:
Originally Posted by Barney Bear
The message suggested in my above post [#25] did not mention a legal passing distance. The boat pilots could have altered their course to pass at a greater distance, or altered their speed to reduce the effect of their wake on the boat being passed.
|
I agree, but my point was that the wake difference between 80 feet away and 150 feet away is negligible. I don't think the 150' law was meant to reduce wakes, it's more of a safety measure to prevent collisions.
FWIW, if I was in control of the overtaking boat, I would have done so at 300+ feet (if possible) and if passing outside of 300 feet was not possible, I would have sped up (if possible) to reduce my wake size and passed outside of 150 feet. I use 300 feet because that's the scale I prefer on my chart plotter and I am quite experienced at judging it. The scale on my plotter is right next to my boat icon, so I routinely see what 300 feet from shore or other "landmarks" looks like.