Too Close for Comfort
In June, the 85-foot pilot schooner Elbe No. 5, known to many of us as California’s ex-Wander Bird, collided with the 462-foot container ship Astrosprinter on the Elbe River near Hamburg, Germany. The schooner was 136 years old and had just completed a $1.7 million restoration. She had 43 people on board, all of them rescued by five response boats that were nearby for another accident. The historic schooner sank shortly after being towed to a shallow area.
Her demise is a sobering opportunity to review some fundamentals about avoiding ships in narrow channels and rivers. Because of draft and limited maneuverability, ships in those types of waterways often cannot deviate from their
