Re: [Paddlewise] Rules of the Road?

A difference should be noted between legal rules of the road, vs 
practical, and how they effect one another.

Legally, a paddled craft has right of way over just about everything 
except commercial and deep draft vessels moving in a channel.  
What this means is that you are responsible for not doing anything 
unpredictable.  You should also be vigilant to avoid inconveniencing 
other vessels.  Try to maintain a consistent distance between you 
and the shore, cruise on the right hand side of the channel, just 
like when you are driving.  When crossing a channel, sprint.  Put 
every last dribble of power you have into it.   BE SEEN.  BE 
PREDICTABLE.  

On the other end of the legal spectrum, a recreational power boat 
has right of way over just about nothing, but the operator is often 
intoxicated and has never studied the coast guard rules of the road. 
So if he hits you, its his fault, but that won't make your head feel 
any better.  He goes to jail, you go to the hospital, bad trade.  So 
again, BE PREDICTABLE.   BE SEEN.  The drunk idiot in the 
powerboat doesn't (usually) want to hit you, so if you make it easy 
to avoid being hit, you'll (usually) be ok.

Now in Texas, our Sheriffs and TPWD wardens have figured out 
there is ticket money to be made fining drunk or dangerous 
boaters.  And they have bought themselves cool, go-fast boats, 
and lots of ticket books.  So hopefully, people will get tired of 
paying big fines, and the percentage of drunken operators will 
decrease.   Our laws have also recently been improved to make the 
bagging of jetskiers much easier.   All the warden has to do is see 
one operated at speed within 50 ft of any other vessel, and its 
ticket time.

All that said, I rarely hear of a power/sail or power/canoe collision 
and fatality, but power/power fatalities are a dime a dozen.  Again, 
predictability.  The sail or canoe is predictable usually.  The JetSki 
on the other hand is not, and when two unpredictable craft 
approach at 30mph, there just isn't much hope for a happy 
outcome.

There is also the difference in attitude between a decked sea 
kayak looking for wakes to play in; and an open, recreational family 
canoe.  I rarely see a recreational power boat with enough draft to 
throw a wake that is even worth noticing; but if I were paddling a 2 
person canoe with my wife in the bow, my attitude might be 
different.   If this is the case for Mr. Holman; he may have to adjust 
the places that he chooses to canoe.



Richard Walker
Houston, TX
http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html
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