My recollection is the same but I can't find it written down anywhere.

I suspect that there are various state, federal, and maybe local rules
and regulations that apply. There are similar restrictions on some
waterways like the C&D Canal between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays;
I think that restriction is an Army Corp of Engineers regulation.

I do know there are exceptions and room for common sense. I did find
an incomplete citation that specified "sailboats equipped with an
engine shall not sail through an open drawbridge." I've never seen any
indication of a restriction on sailing under fixed bridges. For a 65 -
70' clearance bridge with only a limited span I'll pinch up as much as
I can or motor-sail to avoid tacking through the channel. Whatever the
regulations I think that is just polite and good seamanship. We should
not need rules to do the right thing. Under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
or the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on the other hand I'll just be holding
my course.

With plenty of coordination over the VHF with the bridge tender and
other traffic I've sailed through a couple of open bridges due to
engine trouble.

sail fast and eat well, dave
Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious

With bridges, if a sailboat's mast becomes fouled in the lifted span and
does not release it may well sink the boat in any kind of current. The lever
arm created by the mast easily tips the hull as the current carries the boat
downstream. Once it tips far enough it fills with water...  With the many
lift bridges in the Central California Delta, if you see a few feet of mast
sticking out of the water, you know what happened. This is also more of a
possibility  under sail and heeled over as passing through the structure of
a bridge may adjust the aspect of the wind putting the mast-top into a
supporting structure on the side.

With power boats almost any kind of mast will just break. But sailboats are
all about making the mast fast to the hull which will sink the boat before
they give way. As far as having to use your engine, I suspect it may be a
"if you've got it you have to use it" kind of rule... like the one for
radar. For sure, that the one the insurance company is going to go by...

Capt. Jim
MISS EM
Santa Cruz

-----Original Message-----
From: Trawlers-and-Trawlering [mailto:trawlers-bounces@lists.trawlering.com]
On Behalf Of Dave Skolnick (S/V Auspicious)
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 3:26 AM
To: trawlers
Subject: Re: T&T: Sailing through Bridges

bridge.

regulation?

My recollection is the same but I can't find it written down anywhere.

I suspect that there are various state, federal, and maybe local rules and
regulations that apply. There are similar restrictions on some waterways
like the C&D Canal between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays; I think that
restriction is an Army Corp of Engineers regulation.

I do know there are exceptions and room for common sense. I did find an
incomplete citation that specified "sailboats equipped with an engine shall
not sail through an open drawbridge." I've never seen any indication of a
restriction on sailing under fixed bridges. For a 65 - 70' clearance bridge
with only a limited span I'll pinch up as much as I can or motor-sail to
avoid tacking through the channel. Whatever the regulations I think that is
just polite and good seamanship. We should not need rules to do the right
thing. Under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on
the other hand I'll just be holding my course.

With plenty of coordination over the VHF with the bridge tender and other
traffic I've sailed through a couple of open bridges due to engine trouble.

sail fast and eat well, dave
Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious

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Speaking of the strength of a sailboat's mast compared to a power
vessel's, a couple of years ago one of the smallish sailboats (26 feet)
in our marina's Christmas boat parade had the misfortune of motoring
under a bascule bridge following another sailboat. The bridge operator
thought everyone was clear after the first boat transited, and started
to lower the bridge. The top of the mast and rigging on the sailboat
contacted the lowering bridge and became entangled. The bridge operator
realized what was happening and started to raise the bridge but not
before the entangling event. It lifted the sailboat right out of the
water to the point where the bottom of its keel (probably 3.5 feet
draft) was exposed.

Somehow or other they got the boat free, but it was totaled by the
insurance company. As I understand the situation the mast was pushed
down further into the deck (not sure if it was a thru-deck or a
tabernacle) with some resulting compression before it was lifted by the
then rising bridge and chain plates loosened in their fittings while
being raised. No stays/shrouds parted during the event.

<><><><><><><><><><><><>Mozilla Thunderbird<><><><><><><><><><>
Bob McLeran and Judy Young          Cruising the Atlantic Coast
MV Sanderling                                Defever 41 Trawler
Blog: http://mvsanderling.net/Blog
Web: http://cruising.mvsanderling.net/
Currently: Eastbound on the Gulf ICW

On 3/6/2014 1:08 PM, Jim Fuller wrote: