Hi all, There seems to be very little criticism of the tug. Was he doing it right? My opinion on boater licensing is garbage in garbage out. However, you should know the rules of the road. And use common sence. I can assure you that tug operators can be exempt from common sence as well as the recreational boater. Two weeks ago in the California Delta during the day, I saw a tug pushing a barge loaded with gravel. He was going downstream from the Stockton Deep Water Ship channel (which is narrow about 200 to 300 yards wide) to the San Joaquin River. The operator of the tug was on top of his tug, but could not see over the top of the gravel piles on the barge. As far as I could tell, there was no TV camera forward on the barge to cover his substantial blind spot. Neither was anybody forward on the barge. I estimate his blind spot forward to be about 30 degrees. I believe here that business interest rather than common sence rulled. I had as a guest on board my boat a person who consults with the NTSB. He is going to discuss this with the Coast Guard. We also have appropriate pictures. Bob Rapasky