[Closed] Right of way at sea

I always thought it was the most agile who yielded.

When there is that kind of size differential the smaller boat yields.

Steam only gives way to sail if it is in open water. From what I understand the accident you refer to took place in a [not sure of the correct phrase] designated heavy shipping lane, and therefore it was up to the yacht to give way.

The term I remember when learning to sail was "vessels of limited steerage" (I think). Always fun to see Gin Palaces giving way. But a fog horn from a cruise liner sort of told you where to go 🙂

I've sailed there and the big ships are limited by their draft in a narrow shipping lane, they dont give way to anything as the yacht skipper found out! you are supposed to keep 500m clear fron the front if possible

officially "vessel with restriction in ability to manoeuvre"

or

unofficially "might has right"

it's always fun sailing on the broads trying to second guess drunken mancunians in charge of a 60ft cruiser.

I think I was taught that you give way to anything above you in this list:
Not Under Command (NUC)
Restricted in your Ability to Manoeuvre (RAM)
Engaged in Fishing
Sailing

Which would mean that the sail boat should have given way to the tanker if she was displaying the signs of RAM. It was many years ago that I learned this and am an engineer so not driven ships/boats in a long time...

I've done a couple of Cowes Weeks. The deepwater channel there is very narrow and allows little room for manouvre. A mile or so up from there is a sharp right turn in the channel into Southampton water, so large ships have to maintain at least 5 knots to allow them to turn. There is also a pilot boat that comes through 400m or more ahead of the tanker with sirens and megaphone blazing, so no excuses

The great thing about boats is that anyone can go and buy one and head off to sea with their (non paying) mates, without any sort of training, qualification or clue. That's why you get WAFIs trying it on with supertankers (close calls happen out in the lanes too), people trying to call HMCG using a mobile phone from the middle of the channel and folk using their hands to try to keep their shiny new speedboat alongside a quay because they haven't got any rope.

There's nowt like throwing in the odd acronym to show that you're more [s]insecure[/s] knowledgeable than the average Joe.

Whilst the big boats you obviously have to get out of the way of (they can't turn quickly anyway), one of the fun things about dinghy sailing round there is that the IOW catamarans do turn and get out of your way.

I've crossed the channel in a yacht, and even with radar and the knowledge that you're well safe of a collision, seeing those giganta-ships suddenly looming out of the fog is pretty scary. Can't imagine how stupid you'd have to be to sail that close to one.

Yacht at fault, in contravention of at least two of the "Rules of the road"

1.Small vessels or sailing vessels must not impede (larger) vessels which can navigate only within a narrow channel.
2. sailing vessel must give way to: a vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuver.

Its not as though the yacht couldn't see it!

Its the racing red mist I expect , wouldn't like to be the skipper today though! Who's boat was it?

Having sailed small boats out there (Lasers!) you've got to be an idiot to get that close to one of hte big beasts!

They deserve a wide berth...!

Now, gin palaces on the other hand - Always worth a shout at them! 🙂

2 guys in hospital and a hefty fine for the owner of the yacht. There's a bit about the 'precautionary area' at the bottom of this 'un:

[url= http://www.sailingalmanac.com/Almanac/Navigation/centralsolent.html ]null

Looks like a fairly simple common sense failure to me

"yeah, yeah we'll easily make it around the front of that steel monster heading our way ........... oh shit"

"yeah, yeah we'll easily make it around the front of that steel monster heading our way ........... oh shit"

They are [b]always[/b] travelling faster than they look.

Work from 'might is right' and argue about it afterwards. There's no point drowning knowing you were in the right.

''any commercial vessel over 150m LOA inside this Precautionary Area is enclosed by a Moving Prohibited Zone which extends 1000m ahead of the vessel and 100m on either beam. All small craft must remain outside this moving prohibitive zone''
wouldnt want to be filling in the insurance forms this morning..

The dinghy was on port tack anyway so had no rights at all 😉

If only the spinnaker hadnt caught on the anchor it might have been a slighly better outcome.

Did the tanker sink as well?

deadlydarcy - Member
Did the tanker sink as well?

No, but the treadmill it was on was severely damaged.

deadlydarcy - Member
Did the tanker sink as well?

Only in the yacht owner's estimation...

🙂