One Brave Mac Owner

[gianpaolo]

Just happy I own one of those toys, although I would never do such a thing.

[Catigale]

I have actually pushed up worse...the lower Niagara River...seeing how close I could get to the famous 'wall of water' (standing wave of about 3-4 feet near the power station before I lost steerage. I couldnt get close at all with my puny 50 HP....there is a constriction in the river just south of Lewiston and the 8-12 knots of current runs up to GKW....

Its tough to get a 50 HP Mac through that spot...tried it 3x.....

[magnetic]

The guy seemed to know what he was doing and appeared fairly relaxed about it all; it looked fairly nasty at first, and the nose was wandering all over the place at displacement speeds, but once he got it up and running he seemed fairly in control of the situation

[Highlander]

I'd say he has done that one before he knew how to line up to the eddies & hit the power before hitting the rapids . But that said & done he should of had the crew down below to lower the center of gavity so as the boat would of heeled on him less & would of had alot more control , not sure why he did not have both rudders down though !! . Also that boom was swinging all over the place it should have been tied down
One would have to guess as to why he would take that on with family on board , but if your doing it often the whole family may have a low fear factor

J

[seahouse]

I think he was a smart guy! The boom was left swinging to make sure that everyone kept low in the boat (kinda' like a windshield wiper) . One rudder was up to reduce drag and still allow good handling. He knew what he was doing, and the guys who made the video certainly didn't!

[Hamin' X]

6-8 kn current and 4-5 kn boat speed. He could easily be exceeding board down speed.

~Rich

[Mac26Mpaul]

He'd have to be a complete bloody fool to have just rocked up and gone through there like that so no doubt he has done it before, probably grew up in the area and has been doing it in fishing boats since he was knee high to a grasshopper, but with the family on board, in that current, close to those rocks!
No matter how many times he's done it before, its still a bit dumb

[Catigale]

With that current, if his engine completely failed, he could probably pretty easily have the current spit him out back into the ocean. He looked like he knew the area well, certainly.

I shot Woods Hole against full tide, and passed a nice 20 footish Hereshoff close hauled going through the Hole making about 1 knot against the tide. If he even lost his main for a minute, he would have lost way, then been in big trouble. I went from admiration to contemplation of his judgement.

[Ixneigh]

Id have tried it and attempted it just like he did. Hang that up in a regular boat.

Ixneigh

[Cedarsailor]

Several years ago I crewed on a big classic yacht run by a former tow boater. We successfully negotiated a couple of passes on the coast running against the current by taking advantage of the back eddies. It does take some nerve as unexpected upwellings or whirlpools can push you up against an unforgiving shore. I watched a small sailboat (not a Mac) do the same thing in Dodd's Narrows (the second highest current on the the BC Coast). No way he was going to buck against a big ebb tide. But he hugged the back eddy along Mudge Island and made it through. Can't say the same for the big power boys who were trying to punch their way up the centre of the pass.

[pokerrick1]

He did that one other time previously

Rick

[Retcoastie]

I know he did!!! I saw him do it twice today....

[NiceAft]

Meshuga

Ray

[Catigale]

Maczeltoff

[Don T]

I've shot through a spot like that before but not with the boards down. You can see how the current throws him off course and makes the boat tip pushing on the centerboard. With the boards up it is easier. I could see the bottom when I went through so of course the boards had to be up. There is also a narrow "S" channel between Roche Harbor and Garrison Bay that can be pretty hairy at times. You are either fighting against the current at full throttle or because of it, have no steerage when going with it. Having no control is the scary part to me. Imagine if that guy was going out into the Georgia strait instead.