sonjay
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Yes the keel would do it and another would be getting run down by a freighter. Dont know how close they were to shipping lanes
Those freighters are moving a lot faster than they look, especially when you're in a sailboat doing 4-6 knots.
No shipping lanes in that area, though. Tampa Bay is the major port on Florida's west coast, and they were well south of Tampa Bay. This area (Charlotte Harbor/Pine Island Sound) is pretty much all recreational boating & commercial fishing.
ETA: Well, I guess the coastal shipping lanes pass by this area. But the big ships don't go in and out of port here, and the sailboat would have to have been pushed pretty far out to be near the coastal shipping lanes. with the east wind, I guess it's possible they were that far out.