40 years ago I am leaving the dock with my soon to be father in law. We're on his 65 head boat the Keena Dale, in the canal leading out to the Delaware Bay. I'm actually going to ask him for his daughters hand in marriage while out on the fishing charter. He has be take the helm in this narrow canal while he goes back to the chart table to check something. As we round a bend I tell him there's a sail boat in the channel what do I do. he tells me we're bigger, constrained by draft and hold your course. I tell him were going to hit the sailboat. He says don't you dare run my boat aground, that's his problem. The sides of our vessel and the sailboat hit a few times as we passed. no harm done other than some paint. I think of that often as we now boat in the Chesapeake - staying well clear of larger vessels.
