I’m a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. When you graduate from there, you get a reserve commission and go straight into the Navy Reserve. One summer, I did my “two weeks” (actually 3 and change) teaching at Annapolis’ summer cruise for the midshipment aboard their 100 foot or so Yard Patrol craft (YPs). The boats left Annapolis with each a contingent of newly minted third classmen (sophomores), a few seniors, a couple of commissioned officer instructors and the boat’s actual enlisted crew.
The cruise was a lot of fun, teaching the mids how to navigate, dock, tie up the boat, etc. They were mostly very intelligent, but common sense is not something that was drilled into them at Annapolis.
While steaming in New York harbor the midshipman in charge of my watch wanted to turn into the side of unladen oil barge because “that is where the trackline said to turn”. When I heard the “left standard rudder command”. I ran to the helm, grabbed it pointed at the wall of steel on our port side and mentioned that turning into it probably wasn’t the best of ideas.
The boat behind me, with it’s own Surface Warfare qualified officer/instructor DID turn into the barge and only didn’t collide by a matter of feet.
There are other instances from the very same trip, but I don’t feel like typing for half an hour. Some very smart people had a hard time looking out the window and using their brains.
I guess we can expect similar results here on land as more and more people start using GPS units in their cars, right?
“Turn Right.... HERE!”
SCREEEEECH... CRASH!!!!!!
There’s just no substitute for time spent on the water...especially lots of time spent in small boats that operate in a major shipping lane, surrounded by mega-ships.
I spent a number of years fishing (recreationally) in the Chesapeake Bay (much of it right outside of Annapolis, as it happens). I’d wager that 99% of the folks I ever shared a cockpit with had more boat-sense than the average Middie.