Zorro v. Dirona at Bell Harbor Entrance

The entrance to Bell Harbor Marina is narrow and requires a tight turn of more than 90 degrees. Boats entering the marina must execute an approximate 120-degree turn to port, while boats exiting the marina must execute an identical turn to starboard. In tight quarters and for larger power boats, these turns are like pivots.

Late yesterday afternoon, we saw M/V Zorro, a Nordhavn 68 trawler, approaching the marina entrance just as M/V Dirona, a Nordhavn 52 moored at Bell Harbor, was making its exit. Because the tide was nearing its low for the day (+1.3 ft @ 6:11 PM, according to Ports & Passes), visibility was restricted. At high water, it's relatively easy to see boats on the other side of the marina entrance, whether one is entering or exiting; but at low water, the pier on the port side of the entrance as one enters the marina blocks the view of both oncoming and outgoing boats. As we watched the situation unfold, we speculated that neither Zorro nor Dirona was able to see the other.

So what happened next?

Dirona rounded the sharp corner just as Zorro was about to enter the narrow waterway. We don't know whether the pilots spoke with each other by VHF radio, but what we do know is that as soon as they saw each other, both boats stopped their forward progress. Zorro then reversed its engine, allowing Dirona to exit the marina. The photograph below was taken just as Zorro was giving way. Turbulence from either the engine or a thruster can be seen beneath its bow.

The vessels passed each other starboard-to-starboard.

What caused Zorro to give way, while Dirona continued outbound from the marina? One of the general rules of navigation is that a power-driven vessel must give way to any vessel restricted in its ability to maneuver. In this case, it was probably clear to the pilots of both Zorro and Dirona that Dirona had limited maneuvering room and that, accordingly, Zorro should give way. It would have been awkward for Dirona to reverse its course and back stern-first into the marina, but Zorro had plenty of room to back out into Elliott Bay and allow Dirona to exit. At least, that's how we saw it.

Channel 14, Seattle Traffic has referenced Dirona numerous times in the past. By coincidence, M/VDirona.com, the thoroughly entertaining blog published by its owners, James and Jennifer Hamilton, currently displays a photograph of Zorro taken immediately following the encounter at the entrance to Bell Harbor.

We haven't seen Zorro previously, but we're confident she has visited Elliott Bay in the past. There is a lengthy article about Zorro in the 2010 issue of Circumnavigator, the passagemaking magazine sponsored by Nordhavn, that includes a photograph of Zorro along the Seattle waterfront.

Today, Zorro is tied up at the end of C dock at Bell Harbor Marina. In the background, HMCS Regina (FFH 334), a Halifax-class frigate of the Royal Canadian Navy visiting Elliott Bay for the weekend, is tied up at Pier 66.