According to Navigation Rule 3(k, or j of Inland) “vessels shall be deemed to be in sight of one another only when one can be observed visually from the other.” If you can see the other vessel only on radar or AIS, it is not in sight. Many of the Navigation Rules apply specifically to when vessels are in sight of each other. The text of Rule 3 is available at www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=navRulesContent.
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It’s a simple and important definition: a vessel is underway when it is NOT at anchor, aground, or made fast to the shore. Dragging anchor or drifting is underway; engine on or off doesn’t matter. When a vessel is underway the Navigation Rules apply. As soon as you lift the anchor out of the seabed (or it drags), or the boat starts floating after being aground, or you cast off the mooring or dock lines your boat is underway. Lots can happen before the boat is moving under control – you’re still bringing up the anchor, you need to turn hard to one side as the boat floats free from a shoal, you have to turn sharply as you leave a dock – the Navigation Rules apply if there is another vessel near you so that risk of collision may exist. Analyze the situation and vessel traffic near you before getting underway.
Welcome! If you operate only outside U.S. waters you haven’t had the pleasure of learning the Inland Navigation Rules. In some areas U.S. coastal waters switch from Inland to International in a short distance – the changes are indicated by demarcation lines on the charts. If you operate in U.S. waters you need to know the Inland rules, so get an electronic or paper copy of the U.S. Coast Guard publication Navigation Rules: International and Inland. An electronic version, with explanatory notes, is available online atwww.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=navRulesContent. It’s not a PDF document, but the differences between the Inland and International Rules are laid out side by side (there are not too many, but some are significant). The paper book is a better choice for study and reference.
The Navigation Rules apply to all vessels on the high seas “and in all waters connected to the high seas that are navigable by seagoing vessels.” All vessels that are propelled by machinery, such as personal watercraft, small outboard-powered boats, a canoe with an electric trolling motor, etc. must observe the rules for power-driven vessels. Sailing vessels under sail alone must observe the rules for encountering other sailing vessels. If a sailboat under sail overtakes a power-driven vessel, it must stay out of the way of the power-driven vessel. When a sailboat turns on its outboard motor or engine, even with the sails up, it becomes a power-driven vessel. These are just a few of the rules which all boaters who operate on the waters where the rules apply must learn. There’s a lot to study: first learn Rules 12-18, Conduct of Vessels in Sight of One Another, and Rule 34, Sound Signals for Vessels in Sight of One Another. When you’ve mastered these rules, move on to required lights and dayshapes (Rules 23-31), and then study Rule 35 for sound signals in restricted visibility. Keep a plastic reference card with lights, dayshapes, and sound signals near the helm to help you remember. The text of the rules is available at www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=navRulesContent.
What do these dayshapes mean? A few of them may be displayed occasionally by recreational vessels, but if you operate where there are commercial vessels you’ll see dayshapes more frequently. You need to know what they mean. See the Mariner’s Guide p. 129 or the Navigation Rules 24 through 30. The text of the rules is available at www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=navRulesContent |
AuthorPriscilla Travis spends more than 110 days each year on the water, takes photos, and writes about nautical topics. Archives
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