"otnmbrd" wrote in message ink.net...

With a fog signal, it would be very hard to locate the bearing of the
signal this closely .... something you still fail to understand. It will
take a good deal of time, just using the sound, to get an actual feel
for direction of movement of the other vessel, unless they are traveling
at a good rate of speed, and even then it will take awhile .... hence
the reason for slowing to bare steerage or stopping.



I disagree. Perhaps it's easier to pinpoint a fog signal from the
cockpit of a small, quiet sailboat than a huge, noisy metal ship
from which the sound bounces off the structure. But, that's
your cross to bear and not mine.

I'll sail along at my normal speed which is always a safe speed
because my greatest possibly speed is still slow enough to be
a safe speed while it is incumbent upon motor vessels that rarely
travel at a safe speed to slow down. What you motor boaters
seem to never realize no matter how many times you have it
explained to you is that slowing down to a safe speed is only
necessary if you are going at an unsafe speed to begin with.

I can be going at hull speed which is a safe speed for me -
all of seven knots and turn 360 degrees and stop my sail boat
in its own length. I have that much maneuverability. If turning
and stopping in one boatlength is not safe then nothing is.

So, in real life, I don't have to slow down to a safe speed
because I'm already proceeding at a safe speed. This is NOT
the case with motor boats traveling at some of the outrageous
speeds they can attain. The Rule stating to slow down to a safe
speed applies only to them and not to a small sailboat that cannot
possibly go faster than a safe speed.

The bottom line is I stand on because it is safe for me to stand on
while a motor vessel slows down (gives way) which makes the
motor vessel the give way vessel whether or not he wishes to
believe it because of some sordid sense of pride that he is 'better'
than some mere rag-bagger.

This is how life works. Get over your false pride and live
with the facts of life. You'll be much happier and things will
be much safer for sailboaters everywhere.

S.Simon - a Captain who takes sailing seriously