Handle with Care – Following the Leader

Navigating unknown cruising waters and safety tips for traveling as a group.

By Dusty Miller

Some of my fondest memories involve cruising with a flotilla of boats through unfamiliar waterways, and anchoring in desolate har­bours. At night, I could look out one porthole and see a dense forest that stretched for miles. But it was always reassuring to look out the other side and see the anchor lights of the vessels traveling with us. 

Cruising with other boats adds adventure to a voyage while providing a measure of comfort and confidence. In the event of an emergency or malfunction, you know any one of the other boaters will lend a hand. It’s no wonder the trips organized by marinas attract as many as 25 boats with a course set to the North Channel or some other exciting destination.

Whether you’re traveling with two or 20, the leader is uaually the one who knows the route and area best. But no matter how confident you are in the lead vessel, many things can still go wrong. The lead ship can lose its bearings and direct the following boats to shallow water, or even worse, get every­body lost. So, it’s impor­tant to keep track of where you are, know your exact position on a chart and remain in control of your own vessel in case something goes awry.

I remember one summer when three boats were heading north in Georgian Bay, ON. Along this par­ticular route, there’s a long, well-marked channel stretching up from Potato Island. With the lines astern, each skipper had his eye on the transom of the lead boat. Unfortunately, this channel is particularly narrow and a steady wind often blows off the bay from the west. On this par­ticular day, the wind was very strong. While the first two cruisers passed through without a problem, the third kept the bow pointed at the boat in front of him. Without the boater realizing it, the wind had pushed him twenty feet to the east and he headed right into the rocks.

The fix is simple: All you have to do is make sure you’re on line between the last marker and the marker ahead of the boat. If you don’t double check the astern, the wind, or current, it can take you out of the channel.

Other dilemmas can hap­pen too. One early summer morning I was traveling east along the shore of Lake Ontario, following another vessel. Just off Oshawa, I looked up to see the ensign of the lead ship disappear into a fog bank. In seconds I had entered the same fog and could barely make out the pennant on the bow. The fog was so thick, I was drip­ping wet with condensation. Since I was following, and not watching my own course. I had no bearing on the shore or destination. 

I immediately slowed down and hoped the fog bank wasn’t very large. It wasn’t, but in the short time I traveled blind, I had come close enough to shore to see the boulders on the bottom and I was cruising in less than five feet of water. Fortunately, nothing bad happened but it could have been a different story. Frankly, it could have been pretty nasty. When warm humid air flows over cold water, a fog can condense in minutes, and you have to be prepared. 

Another aspect of trav­eling with a group is raft­ing. Tying boats together at an anchorage is fun. You can have dinners from boat to boat to boat, but it’s always a bit of a pre­carious situation. 

First of all here is a safety tip, do yourself a favour and make sure all fenders are properly placed to protect the vulnerable positions on your vessel. It may be calm when you tie your lines, but the wind may pick up later on. For that reason it’s a good idea to set more than one anchor. Keep in mind, though, you may have more than the wind to worry about. For some reason, a raft of cruisers is a magnet for other boats, throwing their wake into your comfort, and causing all boats to rock. So fenders have to be placed very well. 

Even when you anchor separately, particularly in a smalI basin or other confined areas, it’s a good idea to set an anchor fore and aft. There may be a breeze keeping you nicely spaced apart at the end of the anchor, but during the night, the breeze could die down, change directions, or become stronger, causing the boats to change posi­tion. There is nothing quite so disconcerting as a bump on your hull in the middle of the night that you suddenly realize is your neighbour. Believe me, you’d rather set a stern anchor during the day than in the dead of the night when you’ re half asleep, it’s pitch black and the deck is slick with dew. 

Traveling with other boaters is a wonderful experience. You can swap tales or tell lies, find out how to fix something that is wrong on your boat or help someone else with your expertise. Certainly follow the leader when you head away from home port, but also keep your eyes on your own boat and your position, just as you would if you were travel­ing alone.