Yesterday about 8.30pm while exiting metro with my 14 yr old at the helm I noticed an opportunity to teach my daughter common courtesy while passing a sailboat. It is a lesson she will not forget any time soon, but I hope by posting this others will learn as well as myself. I was told by someone who sails (something I have never had the opportunity to do) that when exiting a channel into a lake, you should wait until the sailboat has hoisted a sail and got some wind on it. I was told this gives the vessel stability.(help me out here sailors) By passing the vessel with out a sail up making a wake, the passengers and the boat get rocked violently. We were still in the no wake zone observing the sailboat and other boats ahead of us. I explained to my daughter that we should would wait until we were far enough away from the sailboat before creating a wake was just common courtesy, Just then a 35+ foot powerboat goes on plane passes the 20-25 foot sail boat and made a huge wake, the caption had to make a immediate 90% turn into the wake and the passengers still got hammered. Now his sailboat is sideways in the channel. This pissed off the next powerboat behind him. I guess it was because he had to shift into neutral. The sailboat lost its power from the wake of the first powerboat. (An outboard motor) The captain quickly goes to the motor and attempts to start it. The second power boat-a very large cruiser yells something and passes the sail boat under full power
Almost capsizing the sailboat. The wake came directly over the sides of the boat into the passenger area. Yes, i am saying the wake came over the sides of the boat and got all the passengers wet. My daughter I was shocked. I took the helm of my boat and got close (he kind of freaked out) to the sailboat and offered the caption help. He was still attempting to start his engine and told me he thought he would be ok. I informed him that I was going to block the channel from two other large cruisers coming in on plane to give him some relief from the wake. All of this happened before the first green buoy. The incoming boats probably got pissed but the caption and his passengers were ever so grateful. He got his boat started and went on his way. Now maybe this was a inexperienced sailor putting himself and his passengers in harms way, but if folks in powerboats cannot wait a extra minuet or two to go up on plane to be courteous to others-stealing a line from gomer pyle-shame shame shame
Almost capsizing the sailboat. The wake came directly over the sides of the boat into the passenger area. Yes, i am saying the wake came over the sides of the boat and got all the passengers wet. My daughter I was shocked. I took the helm of my boat and got close (he kind of freaked out) to the sailboat and offered the caption help. He was still attempting to start his engine and told me he thought he would be ok. I informed him that I was going to block the channel from two other large cruisers coming in on plane to give him some relief from the wake. All of this happened before the first green buoy. The incoming boats probably got pissed but the caption and his passengers were ever so grateful. He got his boat started and went on his way. Now maybe this was a inexperienced sailor putting himself and his passengers in harms way, but if folks in powerboats cannot wait a extra minuet or two to go up on plane to be courteous to others-stealing a line from gomer pyle-shame shame shame
![](http://www.lakestclair.net/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="<_<)
