It usually goes something like this.... "Ft. Pierce North Bridge, Ft. Pierce North Bridge, sailing vessel Senara, over." "This is Ft. Pierce North Bridge, go ahead." "Ft Pierce North, I am a southbound sailing vessel coming into your view - requesting a bridge opening, over." "No problem captain, bring her up close and I will commence an opening." And voila, the bridge horn sounds, the barriers start dropping, the lights start flashing and the cars start stopping. If it is a bascule bridge, the roadway seems to split in half as each side angles up, pointing skyward. My job is to open the throttle and get through quick, with the mast splitting the middle - where I can see sky instead of bridge. I have learned that the correct etiquette is to get back on the radio as soon as we are clear of the bridge and say something like "Ft. Pierce North, Senara is clear, have a Merry Christmas!" Sure enough the bridge tender will chirp back with "Merry Christmas to you - y'all have a safe trip, over." I look back and see cars stacked up across the bridge and wonder how many people are sitting there cursing their luck for hitting the bridge just when it is opening. Then I remember how many time I sat in my car and thought the same thing. A different perspective changes everything. 
I have come to enjoy the bridge openings. A surprising number of these bridges will simply open upon request. Today there were two other sailboats within sight behind me. I requested a bridge opening, and I said "I can wait for the following boats if needed, over." But the tender said he would open the bridge for me, and the next one, and the next one. So I went through and watched behind me as he closed the bridge, then opened and closed it twice more within an hour. I think he was just having fun. Sometimes we do have to wait a while, as some bridges will only open on the hour. That's when a gang of boats get bunched up, all of us waiting together like horses ready to break out of the gate. It really gets interesting when the current is ripping through the channel under the bridge as it often does. Sailboats are notorious for poor handling in reverse. If there is a 2 or 3 knot following current and six sailboats are trying to keep from crashing their masts into the bridge by reversing their engines, it can look like a weird ballet of slow motion bumper cars trying to avoid each other while staying in the channel. I know for a fact the bridge tenders are entertained by this. I actually heard one of them hooting at us over the radio.
Some days we will have no bridge openings, but most days at least one. I think our record is four bridge openings in one day. I figure we must have been through no less than 30 bridge openings so far since we started the southbound leg of this trip. Each bridge tender has a distinct personality and they are all characters. I guess you get that way after years of talking to faceless skippers on the radio and pushing the "open" and "close" button all day. I always try to envision the person behind the voice on the radio (channel 9 in Florida). We have had the good ol' boys - I picture them up in the bridge tower wearing a cowboy hat and drinking Pabst - they will say "Sure 'nuff, come on up here and we'll see if we can't get you through" or something like that. We have had the girl that sounds like she might be 15 years old - "Ummmm, OK, um, OK, I will open in 10 minutes, no, maybe 15 minutes, OK?" We had one snarky bridge tender that sounded like she was shouting at the radio from 10 feet away, then got upset at every boat that asked her to please repeat her instructions. But my favorite was a very nice, and sometimes emotional, older gentleman. We anchored near the bridge, and we left the VHF radio on, so we could hear him coaching every boat through the procedure. He would say things like "bring her on captain, bring her on" or "come to starboard some more, bring her on." To one of the boats he said, "I am almost 70 years old and I am retiring at the end of the year, and I just want to say that you sailboaters are about the nicest bunch of people I have ever had the pleasure to come in contact with" as he started to choke up. Several of us got on the radio and thanked him for opening the bridge when we needed it and wished him merry Christmas and good luck in the future. If only the people sitting up there in their cars could hear.
Worst nightmare. A friend of a friend had their boat dismasted in North Carolina because the bridge tender closed the bridge on them while they were coming through. I can't imagine. Thanks John for the picture and the reminder to be alert around the bridges.
I have come to enjoy the bridge openings. A surprising number of these bridges will simply open upon request. Today there were two other sailboats within sight behind me. I requested a bridge opening, and I said "I can wait for the following boats if needed, over." But the tender said he would open the bridge for me, and the next one, and the next one. So I went through and watched behind me as he closed the bridge, then opened and closed it twice more within an hour. I think he was just having fun. Sometimes we do have to wait a while, as some bridges will only open on the hour. That's when a gang of boats get bunched up, all of us waiting together like horses ready to break out of the gate. It really gets interesting when the current is ripping through the channel under the bridge as it often does. Sailboats are notorious for poor handling in reverse. If there is a 2 or 3 knot following current and six sailboats are trying to keep from crashing their masts into the bridge by reversing their engines, it can look like a weird ballet of slow motion bumper cars trying to avoid each other while staying in the channel. I know for a fact the bridge tenders are entertained by this. I actually heard one of them hooting at us over the radio.
Some days we will have no bridge openings, but most days at least one. I think our record is four bridge openings in one day. I figure we must have been through no less than 30 bridge openings so far since we started the southbound leg of this trip. Each bridge tender has a distinct personality and they are all characters. I guess you get that way after years of talking to faceless skippers on the radio and pushing the "open" and "close" button all day. I always try to envision the person behind the voice on the radio (channel 9 in Florida). We have had the good ol' boys - I picture them up in the bridge tower wearing a cowboy hat and drinking Pabst - they will say "Sure 'nuff, come on up here and we'll see if we can't get you through" or something like that. We have had the girl that sounds like she might be 15 years old - "Ummmm, OK, um, OK, I will open in 10 minutes, no, maybe 15 minutes, OK?" We had one snarky bridge tender that sounded like she was shouting at the radio from 10 feet away, then got upset at every boat that asked her to please repeat her instructions. But my favorite was a very nice, and sometimes emotional, older gentleman. We anchored near the bridge, and we left the VHF radio on, so we could hear him coaching every boat through the procedure. He would say things like "bring her on captain, bring her on" or "come to starboard some more, bring her on." To one of the boats he said, "I am almost 70 years old and I am retiring at the end of the year, and I just want to say that you sailboaters are about the nicest bunch of people I have ever had the pleasure to come in contact with" as he started to choke up. Several of us got on the radio and thanked him for opening the bridge when we needed it and wished him merry Christmas and good luck in the future. If only the people sitting up there in their cars could hear.
Worst nightmare. A friend of a friend had their boat dismasted in North Carolina because the bridge tender closed the bridge on them while they were coming through. I can't imagine. Thanks John for the picture and the reminder to be alert around the bridges.
2 comments:
that was soooo interesting!!! thank you! :)
I miss being with you - keep the descriptions long and detailed so I won't be so 'boatsick'! Dad sends his best and is healing well! - K
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