Are you saying "Nope - the rules DON'T apply in waters connected with the high seas" or
"Nope - the local authorities can do whatever they damn well please" ?

In my rather brief survey of several states I found that the special rules on "human
powered vessels" only apply in specific inland lakes and rivers. However, there are a
variety of special rules that imply a state might be able to do this. Some apply to
jetskis, other apply to how close you can go to swimmers or divers. I could imagine a reg
that says you can't get too close to a rowboat.

A reason why I've always wondered about this is that I've done a lot of sailing, since
1957, in the Charles River Basin that is shared with a number of collegiate and public
rowing clubs - Harvard, MIT, BU, Northeastern, etc. All of the sailing clubs in the basin
have and still tell their members that rowboats have absolute right-of-way. While this is
probably a good idea, I was surprised to find it was not actually true under the law.



"Gerard Weatherby" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 5 Aug 2003 14:19:56 -0400, "Jeff Morris" jeffmo@NoSpam-sv-lokiDOTcom
wrote:

But these rules do not apply
(as far as I know) in the waters covered by ColRegs.

Nope. Rule 1(b) says:
"(b) Nothing in these Rules shall interfere with the operation of spe-cial
rules made by an appropriate authority for roadsteads, harbors,
rivers, lakes or inland waterways connected with the high seas and
navigable by seagoing vessels. Such special rules shall conform as
closely as possible to these Rules."

S/V Cat's Meow
http://www.catsmeow.org