But I Already Know the Navigation Rules...

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But I Already Know the Navigation Rules...
By Peter F. Prowant

Editor's Note: Peter F. Prowant is a member of the chart department of Bluewater Books & Charts. Besides aiding boaters and mariners with charts and nautical publications, Peter stays current with the requirements set forth by the USCG and the MCA for professional mariner licensing and shipboard publication requirements.

Peter has been a delivery and charter captain for the past five years, delivering sailboats on the eastern seaboard of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

He began sailing over twenty years ago, everything from Sunfish and Lasers, to gaff-rigged schooners and America’s Cup class boats.

Since the 1840s, seafaring nations have adopted rules and regulations defining the duties of a captain for any vessel encountering another in international or domestic waters. Now called the "Navigation Rules," they have continuously evolved, as steam replaced sail, as ships became larger and more varied and as boating became a common recreational activity.

The Navigation Rules, International — Inland are promulgated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and break down as follows:

• Part A contains General Rules
• Part B explains Steering and Sailing Rules for vessels meeting
• Part C illustrates and describes Lights and Shapes displayed by vessels during the day and at night
• Part D explains Sound and Light Signals exchanged between vessels in meeting situations
• Part E contains five annexes concerning technical specifications of lights and shapes, distress signals, pilot rules and additional signals for fishing vessels fishing in close proximity.

Navigation Rules are analogous to traffic laws for automobiles and trucks, both in terms of operation and equipment required; except the Navigation Rules apply to ships, boats, and even seaplanes when they are underway or anchored in the water.

Professional mariners are required to demonstrate, through testing, knowledge and understanding of these rules. While no requirement presently exists in the United States for recreational boaters to do the same, it is extremely important that they know and understand the rules, as well. Why is this so?

Under maritime law the captain of a vessel (including the operator of a recreational craft) is responsible for the safe and prudent operation of his or her vessel. Captains who ignore or violate right-of-way rules and are found liable are fined substantially and can risk both criminal penalties and seizure of their vessel if found to have operated a boat negligently. Furthermore, under maritime law, insurance companies can deny coverage in situations they may not be able to do for a land based automobile accident where negligence is involved.

The consequences and penalties for recreational boaters found to be at fault in a collision or another violation of the rules are exactly the same for the professional and recreational boater. But most importantly, understanding and following the navigation rules can save your life.

Recreational boaters frequently have only a vague knowledge of the rules; such as the mistaken belief by many sail boaters that they always have the right-of-way over all other vessels.

As an example, the crew of a sailboat makes her way across the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas and notices lights on the horizon; a red side light, two masthead lights with a red, white and red light below the masthead lights. The skipper is not concerned about the lights, he knows that sailboats always have the right-of-way over power driven vessels.

A few minutes pass, the skipper of the sailboat looks back at the lights and notices the courses of the two vessels seem to be converging. No worries, the skipper thinks — the other vessel must have seen us and besides, sailboats always have the right of way, the other vessel will move out of the way.

Eventually, the sailboat skipper decides the other vessel does not know sailboats always have the right of way because the other vessel now appears to be converging on the sailboat’s course alarmingly quickly. Now the sailboat skipper realizes the other vessel is much larger than his, starts his engine and steers hard to starboard.

The other vessel, an oceangoing tug, passes the sailboat’s port side by less than one-hundred yards; so close, the crew of the sailboat can hear the engines of the tug. Now, looking aft of the tug, a huge barge, loaded with containers appears a quarter mile from the stern of the tug.

These two vessels were nearly involved in a collision; one which would undoubtedly have sunk the sailboat, probably with a loss of life. And had a collision occurred, the sailboat’s skipper would have been at fault. In this instance the sailboat did not have the right-of-way. The tug was properly displaying the lights of a vessel towing and restricted in her ability to maneuver and, therefore, had the right-of-way over the sailboat in this crossing situation. (Rules 18 and 27)

Collisions are the most common accidents reported to the United States Coast Guard, and besides fire, potentially the most dangerous type of accident. Unfortunately, most collisions that do occur are found to be the result of an "improper lookout," and second most commonly, "other vessel or operator at fault."

Another common misconception that recreational boaters perpetuate is that a boat moving in a narrow channel with the current has the right-of-way over a boat moving against the current. This is a misinterpretation of Rule 9 of the Inland Navigation Rules which specifically states that a "power-driven vessel operating in narrow channels or fairways on the Great Lakes, Western Rivers, or waters specified by the Secretary (of Transportation), and proceeding downbound with a following current shall have the right-of-way over an upbound vessel…" Notice the rule only applies to specific waterways.

While, as a matter of courtesy, the captain of a vessel moving against the current will routinely give leeway to a vessel moving with the current, except as noted by Rule 9 of the Inland Navigation Rules, there is no special provision for vessels moving with a current. In a collision with another vessel on the Intracoastal Waterway of the United States, for example, a vessel losing steerage as a result of running with a strong tidal current could conceivably be at fault, because the captain should have known of the effect of the tidal current on the maneuverability of his vessel at the time of the collision.

Vessels less than 50 meters (164 feet), are required to exhibit a black ball during the day, "where it can best be seen," when at anchor, unless specifically exempted by the Navigation Rules. If a 42 foot sailboat anchored off the beach during the day and not displaying an anchor ball is hit by a vessel underway, the captain or operator of that sailboat could be held partially or fully liable for the collision, depending on the circumstances. (Rule 30)

A cursory knowledge of the Navigation Rules, as the preceding examples illustrate, is no better than complete ignorance. Although the Navigation Rules, may seem complex and intimidating, they are, in fact, surprisingly clear and based on common sense. With a little patience and practice, any boater can learn the Navigation Rules, as well as the professional mariner. What is the best way to learn the Navigation Rules? A number of methods are available to the boater and what works best for you depends on how you like to learn.

If you are computer oriented, several excellent programs such as Wheelhouse Companion or Chapman’s Powerboating are available to aid in learning. These programs contain the Navigation Rules, illustrative examples, and tests that allow you monitor your progress. And using the programs is fun.

Another method is using flip cards, a favorite method used by many professional maritime schools. These cards are set up with the rule or illustration on one side and the answer on the other. Rules of the Road (Steerage Rules), Lights and Shapes, and Sound Signals are available. Flip cards have the advantage of small size, thus they can be carried anywhere. These are great for people who have a few spare moments during their busy schedules.

Creating a summary sheet until you can make one from memory is another excellent method of learning the Navigation Rules. Bluewater carries a navigation rules card printed on heavy gage plastic. Once you have used it to learn the Navigation Rules by copying it until you can do so from memory, it makes a handy reference to keep on your boat. Or create your own summary sheet by copying the lights and shapes from the Navigation Rules book in a row at the top of a blank piece of paper and then summarizing the right-of-way rules, steerage rules, anchoring rules and sound signals on the rest of the page. Be creative, there is no set format.

Reference books are also available, Navigation Rules, International — Inland along with other professional books.

All the above methods are used by professional mariners to learn and maintain their knowledge of the Rules. And if you are held to the same standard of knowledge and understanding of the Navigation Rules as the professional mariner, why would you not want to learn these rules through the same methods professionals use?

By learning the Navigation Rules thoroughly, your boating outings will be more fun and safer. And isn’t having fun why we love boating? Good luck.