On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 06:11:04 -0500, Ryk
wrote:

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:07:51 -0500, "Charles T. Low"
[withoutUN] wrote:

Thanks for fleshing that out.

Single or short-handed boating does, of course, require some compromises.

I don't find anything in the ColRegs which exempts any boater from keeping a
constant watch, and yet there are situations - such as sleeping while
anchored - in which the authorities seem to recognize implicitly that it's a
safe (enough) and accepted practise.

Has that policy ever given you any close calls?

No, I've never been in a near collision situation except on the race
course. Although I have occasionally been caught by surprise while
(supposedly) keeping a constant watch, usually by somebody overtaking,
or sneaking into the blind spot under the genoa. I think I may be more
concious of checking the full 360 when I know I've had my attention
elsewhere for a little while.

Same here. I cruise an elderly cruiser-racer, but crew with club
racers (good way to improve your all-around skills, IMO), and my
skipper of a few seasons back could visualize dynamically whether
boats would collide or scrape past. So he would look, calculate and
yell "Hold your course" when boats would cross on opposite tacks.
Other racers knew that in this respect, he was pretty good, and so
boats would frequently cross with three or less feet between them, and
with neither side correcting on the helm.

The vagaries of wind can create some odd scenes even while cruising,
however. This October, we cruised down Lake Ontario and saw
(predictably) fewer boats than fingers, so to speak. And yet I saw
sight of one fellow in a 26 foot sloop, miles off and (slowly)
closing. I kept taking bearings and remarked that 'this guy could hit
us...in 20 minutes or so". This was four or five miles offshore, with
ZERO traffic. Sure enough, my fellow frostbiter crossed my bow with
about one and a half boatlengths to spare, and the customary
non-chalant nod and lifting of a finger off the wheel in salute that
passes for a wave hear. He wasn't aiming for me, or changing his
course for a look-see, because I had been watching him for ages and
the wind and his helming were steady. We just happened to intersect
each others' proper course.

R.