Safe Underway Operations in PWS
Navigating Prince William Sound requires high situational awareness and a respect for other watercraft. With powerboats, personal watercraft, commercial fishing vessels, ferries, and sea kayaks sharing the same waterways, observing safe underway practices is essential.
1. Power Boating Underway Guidelines
Powerboat operators are responsible for their vessel’s path and the waves they produce.
- Keep a Sharp Lookout: Enlist passengers to help scan the water ahead. Watch for:
- Submerged logs, drift wood, and floating trees.
- Glacier ice, growlers, and shallow moraine sills.
- Kayakers, skiffs, and other small vessels.
- Marine life, including whales and sea otters.
- Vigilance in Low Visibility: Take extra care when navigating around sharp points, through narrow channels like Esther Passage, or when facing direct glare, rain, or fog.
- Wake Responsibility: Reduce speed to minimize your wake when passing close to kayakers, small skiffs, anchored boats, or shore landings. A large wake can swamp a small boat or wash a parked kayak off a gravel beach.
- Prevent Fatigue: The motion of a boat in chop combined with cold air and engine noise causes fatigue. Take regular breaks in sheltered coves and rotate helm duties among your crew.
2. Coastal Paddling Underway Guidelines
Sea kayakers are difficult to see in waves and chop and do not show up on marine radar.
- Travel as a Group: Stay close together in a compact group (a “pod”). If a larger vessel approaches, wave paddles overhead to increase your group’s visibility.
- Wear High-Visibility Colors: Choose bright clothing, PFDs, and kayak hulls (yellow, red, or orange). Avoid dark or green gear that blends into the water and forest background.
- Follow the Shoreline: Keep close to the coast when transiting. When you must cross open channels, choose the shortest route between points of land. Avoid attempting open water crossings when weather conditions are questionable.
- Avoid Traffic Channels: Keep clear of ferry routes, shipping lanes, and busy harbor channels.
- Secure Beach Landings: When landing on shore, haul your kayak well past the high-water line and tie it to a secure anchor point (such as a tree or large rock). This prevents your kayak from floating away due to rising tides or wakes from passing vessels.
3. Personal Watercraft (PWC) Underway Guidelines
PWCs are fast and agile, which means operators must exercise care to avoid sudden emergencies.
- Look Behind Before Turning: Collisions are a primary cause of PWC accidents. Avoid tunnel vision by scanning the water on all sides, and always check behind you before making sharp turns.
- Respect Anchorages: Do not operate your PWC inside quiet wilderness bays, State Marine Parks, or close to campers on shore.
- Respect Speed Limits: Obey harbor speed limits and “No Wake” zones.
- Train Guest Operators: Do not allow inexperienced guests to operate your PWC without proper instruction on marine navigation rules and handling characteristics.