Walt wrote:
Ellen MacArthur wrote:

A little sailboat with no motor is on the starboard tack catching
up with another
little sailboat with no motor on the starboard tack. The one catching
up is going
on a course of 180 degrees. The one getting caught is going 208 degrees.

Which one has to change course if it looks like they're going to
hit each other?

Your questions are meaningless unles you specify whether the boats are
racing or not. The Racing Rules of Sailing often give quite different
answers than ColRegs et. al.

I wouldn't expect boats to be racing unless it is so stated. There
are lots of unstated possibilities here - you could just as easily
claim its meaningless if it isn't stated whether there is limited
visibility. In the US there is lots of sailing where Colregs and even
the Inland rules don't apply.

Of course, it would be easier if the quiz started with "In waters
where Colregs apply, in good visibility, ..."



Basically, unless you're racing, there is no reason to ever get that
close to another boat and any collision is most likely the result of
*both* skippers being incompetent.

This is a pretty lame way of looking at the rules. Are you really
claiming that Colregs should be ignored because anyone who gets close
enough to another boat to need them is incompetent?

The question only implied that without a course change "it looks like
they're going to hit." This situation happens to me many times every
time I leave the dock. If I'm the give-way boat, I give-way. If I'm
stand-on, I usually stand-on, though I keep my eye on the other boat
to make sure their understanding of the situation is the same as mine.