As Colgan said, even if the captain or pilot does see you, there's usually little he or she can do to avoid a collision. Many large ships must travel at least 12 knots just to maintain steerage. Vessels that slow and lose control risk being driven aground in high winds or strong currents. Even if the captain reverses the engines, it takes 2,000 to 4,000 feet (or 4 to 6 minutes) for a ship to come to a full stop, and there's often no place for a deep-draft vessel to go. Big ships also have very little control when they back.

There's also the idea that getting too close to a big ship can itself be dangerous. Bow waves, propeller wash or wakes can rock your boat severely, draw you into the ship or–worse yet–into the propellers.

HOW YOU SHOULD OPERATE

One major safety measure is to make sure your boat is visible. Carry a radar reflector if you can–as high on your boat as you can place it–to enlarge the blip that the big ship sees on its radar. It won't guarantee that you'll be spotted, but it certainly will improve the chances. If you're going to be on the water at night, be sure your running lights work and aren't hidden by sails or equipment such as dinghies.A pilot looks out over the bow of his ship, where visability is often limited for a quarter mile because of the vessel's design.

Also, do what you can to be aware of approaching ships. Navigation aids such as radar equipped with ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting Aid) or plotters equipped with AIS (automatic Identification System) can give you valuable information on approaching vessels, such as identity, course, speed and point of approach. At a minimum, you should maintain a constant lookout, especially at night, and make sure you look up and down the channel carefully to see whether big ships are coming. Even if it looks as though they're far away, they can be upon you in a matter of minutes.

Stay out of the shipping lanes unless you really need to cross them. If you have to follow the shipping channel, stay to the side and be aware of how much room you have outside the channel without running aground yourself. Also be aware of the tides. In some areas, large ships time arrivals and departures to tidal action, in order to facilitate the draft of their vessels.

It is up to recreational boaters to steer clear of large ships, not the other way around.When you do see a large ship coming your way, calculate how long it will take the vessel to reach your vicinity, and take action immediately to get out of its way–before you're in danger. If you can, head directly for the side of the shipping channel that's closest to you, even if it adds a few minutes to your trip. It may also help to learn the kinds of lights and whistle signals that an oceangoing vessel will have.

Be especially careful when you see a tugboat, particularly if it's towing a barge. Never try to cut between them. You will run into the towline and risk serious injury to you or your boat. The Coast Guard says collisions between recreational boats and barges are a major problem.

If you need to talk to the captain or pilot by radio, call on Channel 13, the frequency reserved for "bridge-to-bridge" communications, or conversations between you and the big ship's crew. There's less radio traffic there than on Channel 16, and large vessels are likely to be monitoring it more closely.