This should get you lot going...

Neraida

Neraida

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www.neraida.org.uk
Ok then,
Picture the scene. You're sailing along nicely, blue skies, 10knots of breeze, it's fantastically warm, you're in just in pair of shorts and a floppy hat, sailing your pride and joy with a huge smile on your face because this IS what its all about...
About 5 miles away, there's another boat, doing exactly the same, only he/she's on port and you're on stbd.. It looks like you might converge..

Do you..

A) Bear away a couple of points (keeping watch that he doesnt do the same thing, but you're quite a way away anyway, plenty of time yet) and enjoy the extra knot and the peace of mind that you haven't upset his/her iced tea...

Or

B) Stand on. The rules say I have to maintain my course to avoid any confusion, so that I must do. Anything else is poor seamanship. I don't want to endager either of us by doing the unexpected...


For the duration of this exercise, you assume that there are no other vessels, and it's a pure port vs stbd risk. The other boat has made no action to avoid you yet. You're not in a hurry either (why go sailing if you're in a hurry!?). "A" is intending to dip under the stern of the boat on port tack with plenty of sea room, whereas "B" continues regardless (unless taking action necc. to avoid a collision, as we're all obliged to do)

Seconds out.... *DING*
 
B), keep a good lookout, and carry on enjoying the sail. 5 miles will be bout 1/2 hr away on a reciptocal course at the speed I'd be doing in those conditions.
 
You must have very good eyesight / binoculars, if you can see that he is on port tack while still 5 miles away......
Sounds like the sort of sailing that we do all the time here, re shorts and floppy hats, so no surprises there.....
 
[ QUOTE ]
You must have very good eyesight / binoculars, if you can see that he is on port tack while still 5 miles away

[/ QUOTE ]

My first thought too!
 
Wait and see if a danger of collision develops. If it does, assess the situation and decide on appropriate action, if any.

As the regulations only apply in a situation where the danger of collision exists, issues like "maintain course and speed" are irrelevant to the scenario you describe.
 
Go below, get another gin. why worry yet!

also collect the catapult and new potatoes, just in case they do get within range!
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
When I was last forced to sail on the Solent, if I had counted the number of sailing boats, ferries, tankers, naval patrol vessels within a five mile radius I would quickly have run out of fingers and toes.

I wouldn't do anything until... oh.. you could throw something at the yacht with a reasonable chance of hitting it.
 
If only the nearest boat WAS usually 5 miles away <sigh>

Doubt if I would even notice it, or bother about it until about 300yds range, by which time you will know whether he is sailing properly and likely to do the correct thing.

Heavens, if I started worrying about a boat 5 miles way in the Solent (and alright, I do end up in shorts and sunglasses one or two days a year!), then I would be nervous wreck before I was even out of Chi harbour.

More realistic scenario:

Shorts, shades, 10kts breeze etc as above:

Heading down the deep water channel in a strictly slow motion long keeler which needs both depth and sea room to make a serious course change.

Approaching from Stbd is the X fleet, on a collision course with you, doing at least double your speed.

At the same time a fleet of 505s is racing up on your port quarter on a converging course, again double your speed.

On the starboard bow is a fleet of mirror dinghies manned by hooligans - er youngsters - from a certain sailing club not a million miles from Chi Harbour office, who think everything gives way to Mirrors . Also on a converging course. A fleet of Lasers is heading in your direction on a reciprocal course.

Three large refugees from the Peters debacle are powering away from the Receivers and coming up astern of you.

2 Scumsails with crews of very dubious experience are beating up the channel ahead of you, and making unpredictable course changes.

Over to port a fleet of RS400s is hurtling around at about 5 times the wind speed, and looking to be heading to join the melee.

The local sailing school has its latest batch of recruits out and their safety boats are doing figure of eights across the channel ahead of you.

Ditto another Sailing school.

Mum, dad and the kids are out for the day in the dinghy and enjoying the scenery while Dad tries to remember whether Port is left, right or a drink. Repeat about 5 times.

The local Angling club is having a fishing competition, and are drifting down the middle of the fairway with a nest of lines out that would grace the WI knitting circle!

3 RIBS are crossing the channel at various angles.

All this is happening within 250 yards of you.

At this point taking up Golf is NOT an option.

So who is worrying about someone pratting about 5 miles away?
 
At "5 miles" I would hope that with binoculars, I would be able to tell "roughly" what direction he's going in, and using a bit of my limited knowledge, I may be able to assume what tack he might be on...
I carefully ommitted what craft you are sailing... 10knots of breeze in an Extreme 40 can produce quite some clip. You may not have 1/2 an hour...

Distance to target and velocity are not the point.

Likewise, a five mile radius on a summer saturday in the solent say, early august, would in practice probably give you a few hundred (maybe even thousand /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)"targets"

This, my dears, is not my question... as you well know.
 
B) Stand on and keep a watching brief whilst congratulating yourself on the quality of your eyesight - being able to spot a small vessel at 5 miles distance with all that
heat-haze.
 
Simple. You are the stand on vessel, so stand on. But keep an eye on him the whole time to make sure he is paying attention and has seen you and is prepared to alter course.

Even if you are the stand on vessel you should apply common sense (is there such a thing?). If he doesn't look like he's going to get out of the way, you are not going to just let him hit you (or you hit him?) are you? You are going to get out of his way in plenty of time if it doesn't look like he is paying attention. Keep a good lookout... avoid risk of collision... etc...
 
[ QUOTE ]

I carefully ommitted what craft you are sailing... 10knots of breeze in an Extreme 40 can produce quite some clip. You may not have 1/2 an hour...

[/ QUOTE ]

Think I would still go for a kip first.
 
It could be an inland lake and the IRPCS don't apply. At 5 miles I have difficulty in telling which way a 10,000 ton ship is heading with just a glance, never mind a "pride and joy".
Oh, I know! Sail straight for him and offer him a beer when he's close enough.
 
Oi that's a trick question. It's not a colregs question at all, it's about weather and clothing. The correct answer is to sail straight at the other boat so as to get as close as possible for a good view of the sunbathing beauties on the foredeck.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Distance to target and velocity are not the point.

Likewise, a five mile radius on a summer saturday in the solent say, early august, would in practice probably give you a few hundred (maybe even thousand /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)"targets"

This, my dears, is not my question... as you well know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a load of b*llocks to me!

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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