Double Wide, You’re in a Pickle

Lat 27 57 North
Long 91 43 West
4/3/12 4:00 PM

“Sailing Vessel Double Wide, this is guard vessel Bunny Bordelon and you’ve got yourself in a real pickle. The vessels around you are part of a seismic research group and you’ve sailed within the boundary limits…”

As the captain of the Bunny Bordelon was telling me what I pickle I was in, I was thinking, “I’m not in a pickle at all. You’re the one that let me sail within your boundaries!”

I installed a new AIS transceiver this winter that allows me to not only see other ships at sea, but now they can see me as well. It’s kind of like having an airline transceiver aboard. We (the commercial vessel and I) can “see” each other on a computer screen from between 5 and 20 miles away. Not only can they see my boat name, but they can also see my heading, speed, and closest point of approach. This is GREAT information to have when you’re at sea and trying to stay clear of those huge tankers — or moderately sized research vessels.

“Turn south to 200 degrees and we’ll let you know when you can return to your course.” Simple as that, my “pickle” was reduced to a mere inconvenience.