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Follow-the-leaderJune, 1979. Pre-GPS, so navigation was done by traditional means. Beth and I were cruising the outside coast of Southeast Alaska on our Rawson 30 Rainbird, in company with her previous owners on their Cal 39 Flicker. We had taken some navigation courses but were still pretty new at this stuff, having owned Rainbird for only a year. Steve and Elaine were old hands, having been boaters in this area for probably 30 years. We'd carefully picked our way into the rocky Hokateen anchorage on the west coast of Yakobi Island. Hokateen is a really nice sheltered spot behind a bunch of big, granite rocks. You have to be careful entering and leaving because of offlying reefs, but it's a beautiful, and most of the rocks are marked by kelp and breakers so they're reasonably easy to spot. We spent a pleasant night or two with Flicker, and followed them as they picked their way out through the reefs of a shortcut in/out of Hoktaheen. They were on autopilot and we could see Steve in the cockpit, practicing his harmonica as we motored out on a beautiful Alaskan morning. We'd previously planned our route out, and noticed that Flicker seemed to be on a course leading over a reef (hard to believe because Steve was a meticulous navigator). But, we rechecked things and convinced ourselves he'd goofed. So, we called him on the VHF and warned him. Steve: "Naw, I've been here lots of times before, I'm on the right course. But hang on a minute and I'll check..." 30 seconds later, Flicker made an abrupt 90 degree course change. "Thanks for the heads-up, I guess I goofed..." said Steve over the VHF. Don't blindly follow-the-leader, always do your own navigation; even experienced people make mistakes |
