COLREGs "right-of-way"
- Thread starter charliegrau
- Start date
Radio is an integral part of this passing. You ID the vessel, determine your status , make a plan and get on the radio to confirm. Especially at night. Why do people not want to use the radio?
To be clear fishing is often misunderstood. There have been cases here in Maine where lobstermen were adamant they were "engaged in fishing" when in fact they did not meet the rule. You must be restricted in maneuverability such as physically connected to the bottom with a dragging net etc.. Lobster traps have not stood up as fishing and no pleasure fishing boat meets this rule either...
(d) The term “vessel engaged in fishing” means any vessel fishing with nets, lines, trawls or other fishing apparatus which restrict maneuverability, but does not include a vessel fishing with trolling lines or other fishing apparatus which do not restrict maneuverability.
My favorite technology is AIS. I always keep an eye for vessels and call them when necessary and usually by name if their AIS is programed correctly. This is especially true at night in NY harbor or around Norfolk Virginia. There is a lot of traffic and the big boys really appreciate KNOWING that you're paying attention to traffic.
Maine sail is correct however....
Right of way doesn't apply cars either. It's the rules of the road....a right of way, is a place where you may go...kind of like beach access points. Those are right of ways.
The rules of the road are written so we have consistent behavior that doesn't catch someone by surprise. You don't need the radio, you show your intent by what part of the boat you are showing them. If you intend to go behind the boat, then point your boat at their stern or after. If you intend to cross, use your horn. If they blow their horn 5 times you can bet they don't know what you are doing and you need to make it clear.
Right of way doesn't apply cars either. It's the rules of the road....a right of way, is a place where you may go...kind of like beach access points. Those are right of ways.
The rules of the road are written so we have consistent behavior that doesn't catch someone by surprise. You don't need the radio, you show your intent by what part of the boat you are showing them. If you intend to go behind the boat, then point your boat at their stern or after. If you intend to cross, use your horn. If they blow their horn 5 times you can bet they don't know what you are doing and you need to make it clear.
At night, in the ocean and in an encounter with a commercial tow-vessel you don't rely on a horn. You can bet the commercial pilot is talking about him on the radio. So you might as well turn the newfangled contraption on!
Despite it being federal law to monitor VHF 16 I suspect many of the same folks who think they have right of way also have the right to not monitor VHF 16...:cussing: Sadly the same dolts who don't monitor VHF 16 are also the ones likely doing illegal radio checks on 16, then turning it back off, yet annoying others to the point that they simply turn off the useless garbage that VHF 16 has become.......
In clear visibility it is marginally rude, but we get real FOG up here and knuckleheads still don't monitor VHF 16...... D'oh.....Yes we still monitor VHF 16, and yes I do want to get hostile with the knuckle-heads who think it is Twitter, Facebook or radio check central...
I always have a scan between 16 and 13. The local SeaTow sponsored channel in the LIS by Stamford CT. is 24 I believe. It echo's your call so you can hear how you sound. I think the CG should crack down on much of the hailing channel chatter. They have the technology, it's called rescue 21 and it can calculate your position via your VHF transmission. Radar is my second favorite technology but in fog like you get in Maine AIS blows it away.
You have to be kidding........??????
And yes I have both and no AIS does not blow radar away. AIS fails in far to many areas to even be considered a primary fog tool. AIS is a perfect complimentary tool to radar but is a major long shot from better.... There is currently no replacement for radar in the fog...
And how do you see all the boats that do not TX AIS....?
At this point perhaps 97% of the boats in Maine do not TX AIS..... When they do the updates are often far to slow for thick fog work, especially without radar...
This is where you might think this boat is with only AIS and without radar......
But it is really here....
It's not about it being perfect, it's that it is undersubscribed. You don't see anything or anyone that isn't on the AIS system and that's a whole lot. Someone said 97%? Maybe by weight, but by the each? It's probably closer to 99.9%.
NO.
The point of "stand-on" is that you hold your course so that IS can avoid you. The LAST thing I want is for you to get out of my way in an unpredictable manner. The other point is to do whatever you are going to do early, and then stay with it.
There may be some misunderstanding as to the meaning of "monitor." If your VHF is turned on below but you're in the cockpit w/ the diesel running--are you monitoring? Perhaps not--obviously, if you cannot hear a hail or other traffic on Ch 16 then you have not been "monitoring." How many have a cockpit-mounted external mic that can be heard at all times? Is it required to carry a hand-held in the cockpit if the vessel's VHF is mounted below? I've called many times w/o reply friends who told me later that they did not hear my hail although the VHF was switched on (below), etc. Of course, if the DSC distress alarm goes off--everyone hears that anywhere on the boat!!Despite it being federal law to monitor VHF 16 I suspect many of the same folks who think they have right of way also have the right to not monitor VHF 16...:cussing: Sadly the same dolts who don't monitor VHF 16 are also the ones likely doing illegal radio checks on 16, then turning it back off, yet annoying others to the point that they simply turn off the useless garbage that VHF 16 has become.......
Yes we still monitor VHF 16, and yes I do want to get hostile with the knuckle-heads who think it is Twitter, Facebook or radio check central...
I have a pretty standard procedure when getting the boat ready to leave the dock. I stow all the loose crap in the saloon, go into the aft cabin, lift the sole hatch and open the aft head seacock and the engine seacock, grabbing the ignition key that is hung on the seacock handle. Go back into the saloon and put on the fpd, flip on the Nav/Autopilot, water pressure, and radio switches, and grab the remote mic for the VHF. The remote mic is always plugged in when we are away from our home dock. And unless we are safely tied up or have satisfied ourselves that the anchor is set, it is turned on.
I may have told the story about how in August the only two boats to respond via VHF to a Pan Pan call by the CG about a boat on fire was another sailboat and us. My impression just from the sailors that I know in this area, is that they always monitor 16 when they are out. We certainly do other stupid stuff, but that doesn't seem to be one of them in this region.
Good story. I spend a lot of time in the lower Chesapeake Bay and the Elizabeth River....lots of commercial traffic, and the guys on those boats almost always call each other on the radio (Ch 13) whenever there is a meeting, overtaking, or crossing situation and discuss how they will handle it. They do not seem to call recreational vessels so much unless there is a problem developing, but they usually respond to me when I call...esp if I use Ch 13. It is usually appreciated when I let them know my intentions, or when I ask them theirs. With several channels and berths, you don't know when people are planning on turning or slowing unless you ask. The Tug skipper might have saved a little time and fuel if he had called you before he maneuvered contrary to the rules. Based on his wrong assumption about your knowledge, he did the prudent thing and maneuvered early. There have been several folks in various forums that express as their normal practice...assume ignorance on the part of the other boater and manouver.
Appreciate your input. I have seen lots of COLREGS posts, that's one of the reasons why I opened this "can of worm". I did a word search of the COLREGs for "right" and "rights" and those words don't appear very often. The real message is that what we have is responsibilities, and discussions of rule compliance should be from that perspective. What is the skipper's responsibility in a given situation.
So last year I was crossing the Chesapeake Bay shipping channel (we do this pretty much every trip out). A 900ft freighter was making way up the bay at 18kts and I could see it on my AIS. He was the Stand On. My instruments indicated that our crossing was good. As a courtesy I called the Bridge Pilot (Ch.13) and asked him what he thought. He said he couldn't see me, I was not on his AIS. So we exchanged visuals and cleared the passing. The next week my technical guys determined that my AIS antennae had an internal failure that rendered it useless for transmitting. I had no idea, there was no failure indicator. So yes, AIS is an amazing technology, but it is no substitute for a radio. I carry 3, one fixed with masthead antennae and two handhelds. A working unit is ALWAYS at the helm and on the RP (Me).