Beware of the tug!

Everybody loves a tug boat, but love can turn to hate and real danger if you come too close to a big one on passage. Large, seagoing tugs have short waterlines and the heftiest engines in the galaxy. When not towing, they often cruise at speeds which inevitably drag a disproportionate wash. At night, especially in confined waters like the Solent, it’s easy for us to be caught napping. If there’s any reason to suspect that a vessel converging with you showing a single steaming light may be a tug not towing, give him a very wide berth indeed. At close quarters, the wash can sink an open boat. It will fill a yacht’s cockpit without blinking an eye.