Good post!


On Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:04:57 -0400, Terry Spragg
wrote:

Beat me to it! I hate to join a choir late, but...

Bill McKee wrote:

Much snipped.


And your motor is not propelling machinery?



Only if it is engaged and capable of overcoming the power of the wind.

So my "power boat" is not a power boat for rules when the motor is turned
off and I am drifting?

That's right. You become a vessel not under command, I believe. To
the outside world, you could be injured, ill, asleep, or having
fallen off miles before your boat ran out of gas, a pedestrian. You
will be given every consideration and possibly a tow home, a coffee,
and a chance to use the head, even a warm berth along with a warm
blankey, even a medicinal dose of brandy, splints for your broken
bones, even the "breath of life", provided the tanker can get
stopped before mashing you. Unfortunately, sailboats probably do not
carry enough fuel to replenish your tanks sufficiently to get you
home, else you might get some of it, too.

At sea, Billy, pedestrians have the absolute, inarguable right of way;-)

To run over one, even in the dark, is manslaughter if he dies, even
if he does make an unexpected turn in front of you. Negligent
manslaughter, if you were not keeping an adequate lookout, or were
running at excessive speed under the circumstances, which is
almost the same as murder.

The regulations govern men, not boats.

Those who can manouver best have the most responsibility to avoid
hazards. It makes sense, if you think about it, and if you read the
rules carefully and with an open mind you will see it plain.

You are right, sailing vessels cannot turn whenever they want. Nor
can they always prevent turns whenever they want, thanks to the wind
and other obstacles.

Surely your position is not that sailors do not have the same right
to enjoy the water as do power boaters? It is said among sailors
that essentially we ignore power boats simply because we have no
choise, being at their mercey.

We sailors cannot outrun, avoid, or catch high powered boats except
possibly double reefed in a steady gale where you might be puking up
your guts amidst the rollers, unable to maintain any speed at all
whilst struggling to survive in your fair weather speedboat.

Circumstances rule boats. Men do what they can.

The rest is common sense. The colregs are common sense, written by
lawyers, maritime lawyers at that, and are therefore unintelligible
to most mere mortal landlubbers. Don't feel bad. Furthermore, the
regs have been argued by better men than us, for hundreds of years,
and reflect the findings of numerous lawsuits, trials, boards of
inquiry, courts martial, et al. They must be read with painful
attention to the merest comma. You must realize too, that power boat
regulations are somewhat junior to those governing sail, which I
gather you could never understand, since you do not appreciate the
realities of sail, nor probably of power for that matter. Your jet
boat is a dangerous toy.

You must understand that sailboats, even with their engines engaged,
try as they might, may not actually be being propelled under control
of the engine, but may well be in the teeth of the unco-operative
wind and may be struggling with control. It is a part of sailing,
like rocks awash.

Even if they were after you, you could always stay out of reach, eh?

Terry K

--
John H

"It's *not* a baby kicking, bride of mine, it's just a fetus!"

A Famous Hypocrite