RE: [Paddlewise] crossing ship channels safely?

Tamia,

Very interesting .... in Portuguese we would say 'touche' or
'para bems' ..... I scanned the Rules of The Road, a simple
program I have on my computer .... on Inland Rules ..... I
didn't go into detail as far as researching the COLREGS and
all of the notations.

My point was simply ... professional mariners the world over
.. don't always abide by the rules as written ... espcially
in these days and times of economizing on crew allotments.
In the marine business, it is a known fact that that the
American (especially) Merchant Marine is rapidly becoming
extinct as 'owners' find it not economically feasible to
'abide' by the rules.  So they move their ships into 'flags
of convenience' to circumvent these rules.

This conversation is getting deep when we start trying to
think about all of the reasons behind the 'truth' ....

Rules are written by bureaucrats ... not seamen.

In real life and real situations, such as a small kayak or
row boat, or primative sailboat (or even one with so called
modern lighting systems) ... on one side we have a so-called
professional crew navigating a huge tanker in a restricted
waterway from the comfort of an air conditioned wheeel
house.  The coffee pot is on .... the music playing on the
radio in the back ground ... a wheelman that is probably
just getting over a good drunk in port last night ... an
officer that is chatting with the pilot, if one is on board
.... and on the other side, we have a small, probably unlit
boat directly in his path trying to cross the channel
paddling his boat or kayak (or under sail).

On 'terra' we call this 'defensive driving' .... the small
boat should try to respect the fact that things are not in
his favor.

First, 'right away' does not come into play ... considering
everything, the 'big guy', even if somehow he was to see the
little guy could never stop in time, nor change his course
to avoid an accident.

A strobe is one option ... if I was in the little boat I
would at least like to make the big guy aware I was there
... however I did it.

Believe me ... I am not arguing for the case of the ship ...

The rules say that a lookout should be posted at all times
.... 'forget it' .. not true ... it doesn't happen.  Many
times the crew .. who have been up and working all day ...
go to bed as soon as the ship leaves the dock.  Many times I
have been in the wheelhouse by myself, no wheelman, no
lookout, no extra pilot.

An the guy or person in the little kayak, when he sees me
coming down on him ... is not going to get out his 'rule
book' and try to see what is the 'legal' thing for me to do
now .... turn on the strobe, try the VHF, shoot a flare ...
anything to get their attention.  Think 'defensive' ...

Donald





> ----- Original Message -----
> From:	Tamia Nelson [SMTP:tamia_at_paddling.net]
> Sent:	Tuesday, June 27, 2000, 9:06:12
> To:	dreid_at_andetur.com
> Subject:	Re: [Paddlewise] crossing ship channels safely?
>
> I found your earlier letter on this subject extremely
> interesting and
> very helpful, Donald. It's good to know that my own
> practices are the
> same as those advocated by a professional mariner.
>
>
> With regard to your most recent note, however, you should
> be aware
> that there is one mention of strobe lights in the 72
> COLREGS (the
> International Rules, as later amended): Rule 36 (Signals
> to Attract
> Action) _proscribes_ the "use of high intensity or
> revolving lights,
> such as strobe lights."
>
> In their commentary on this rule, Llana and Wisnesky
> (_Handbook of the
> Nautical Rules of the Road_, 2d ed) suggest that, although
> "these
> lights have often been used by commercial fishing vessels
> and some
> recreational vessels to warn other vessels away[, s]uch
> use is not
> legal on International Rules waters except under Rule 2
> when a need to
> avoid _immediate_ danger would justify a departure from
> Rule 36."
>
> They also note that even under the Inland Navigational
> Rules Act, Rule
> 36, while not "distinctly prohibit[ing] strobe lights,"
> proscribes any
> light having the "flash characteristic described for
> distress in Rule
> 37, that is, fifty to seventy flashes per minute." (Annex
> IV to the
> Inland Rules identifies "a high intensity _white_ light
> flashing at
> regular intervals from 50 to 70 times per minute" as a
> signal
> "indicat[ive] of distress and need of assistance."
> [emphasis added])
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Tamia Nelson
> Contributing Editor and Columnist, www.Paddling.net
> tamia_at_paddling.net
>
> _In the Same Boat_ <http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/>
>
> ---------------------[Original Message
> Follows]---------------------
>
> Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] FW: crossing ship channels
> safely?
> Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 22:24:53 -0500
> From: "Donald R. Reid" <dreid_at_andetur.com>
> Reply-To: <dreid_at_andetur.com>
> CC: <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>
>
>
> Mike, at sea ... according to all the 'rules and regs' ...
a
> strobe, per sie, has no meaning ...
>
> A 'red strobe' might be interpreted as a distress signal
...
> but .. a white strobe will certainly 'catch their
> attentions' and that is the whole objective of the deal.
>
> ...
>
> I do have the inland rules on my computer ... and I find
> nothing about strobes as 'distress' signals....
>
> Donald
>
> -----------------------[End Original
> Message]-----------------------
>
> ----- End Of Original Message -----



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