Rules of the Road
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, also know as ColRegs, are the laws the govern vessels at sea. The Basic rules for Power-driven vessels are the same as the rules we use on the highway. Rule 11 states "Rules in this section apply to vessels in sight of one another" Therefore if you are operating in restricted visibility, the following Rules do not apply. Rule 12 deals with sailing vessels and this rule will be covered in another post. Rule 13 "Overtaking Any vessel overtaking any other shall keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken." Notice the Rule says "any vessel". The word "shall" means "must". A case that many people mis-understand is where we have a sailing vessel overtaking a power vessel that is moving slowly, perhaps they are fishing and trolling for salmon at 2 knots. Because the sailing vessel is overtaking the power driven vessel, the sailboat must keep clear. Many people have be...