Re: [Paddlewise] Kayaks and Visibility

On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 6:43 PM, rebyl_kayak

The ColRegs are not just a guideline. They are supposed to be specific
navigational rules easily understood by mariners the world over. Rule 1 does
allow for some leeway inside harbors and on navigable rivers but other than
that they are supposed to be followed to the letter by the signatory
governments.
>
> Certainly it is an "ordinary practice of seamen-<kayakers>" to make a kayak
> visible for 360 degrees on the water at night in busy Sydney Harbour. Sadly
> some power boaters do not and we occasionally hear of terrible accidents
> leading to death and protracted court cases
>
Actually, I believe it is not "ordinary practice" of kayakers to make a
kayak visible for 360 degrees on the water at night.  There is a fair body
of evidence to show that many kayakers prefer to conform to the ColRegs
requirement of a decent flashlight. The prompt use of a good flashlight (and
there are lots of them available that are waterproof, bright, and sometimes
work by only shaking them) can be even better than a continuous light
because you can move it in patterns that will show an approaching vessel
that you are not a buoy or pier or something they might consider docking to.

The ordinary priactice is to use the ColRegs rules, I think.

> In any case when I read the rules I saw nothing that suggest that placing a
> light of reasonable luminance -- not sufficient to blind - on the front and
> rear of the kayak or on a masthead contravenes ColRegs. Thus ColRegs: -
>
The Rules try to specify what to use. They don't go into detail about what
NOT to use. If it's not listed then it should not be used. Otherwise we'd
have a plethora of individualized lights out there dependent only upon
someone's opinion. And no one from somewhere else would have a clue what is
going on. It's like saying that your driving laws specify driving on the
left but don't specifically say that driving in the middle is prohibited.
And then acting on it.

> While rule 25 is quite consistent with maritime pratise in NSW
>
How can Rule 25 be consistent with maritime practice in NSW when your local
rules specify two white lights (bow and stern)? There is no mention of this
light anywhere in the ColRegs and certainly not in Rule 25.

> there is a fundamental difference between a vessel under oars and a kayak
> in that a vessel under oars is usally not continuously able to look where it
> is going.
>
I think that trying to redefine a kayak as something else for the purposes
of lights because you look forward and not rearward is a stretch. After all,
you can row a boat facing forward; I've done it many times. It is much more
likely that a maritime court would assume that a paddle is simply a
double-ended oar.

> Perhaps rule 22 is more pertinent and again it is quite consistent with
> maritime practice in NSW.
>
Perhaps you mean Rule 23 (power driven vessels) and not Rule 22 (visibility
of lights). But again, no mention of two white lights (bow and stern) for
these either. How is that consistent?

> Likewise the issue of using a combination of flashing and steady light is a
> bit unusual but not prohibited in the ColRegs as far as I can see and not a
> mandatory requirement on the water in NSW. In fact I don't know anyone who
> uses this combination over here.
>
Again, the ColRegs do not tell you what you cannot use. They assume that if
they specify what the Rules are you can interpret them and use them
properly. Flashing lights are generally reserved for navigational markers or
emergencies. One of the other reasons for the ColRegs is to differentiate
types of vessels. A steady white light on a mast would normally indicate a
powerboat less than 12 meters in length. A flashing white light would
normally be on a buoy.

Rule 1 of the ColRegs does allow local governments to create localized rules
that would be applicable to only those areas. But if I read it right the NSW
rules are applicable to vessels operating over 200meters (or is it 300?)
from shore. This implies that the dual lights would be required in what
would be waters outside harbors, rivers, etc. that are covered under Rule 1.
Or does it only mean 200 meters away from the beach in Sydney Harbor?

In a harbor, where a Pilot must be carried on ships, a deck officer dosn't
need local knowledge so Rule 1 was written to allow authorities some freedom
to establish speed limits, etc. But it admonishes municipalities not to vary
too far from the literal Rules. This is because even though Pilotage is
required for large ships there are many other vessels that enter harbors as
part of an international voyage that would not be required to take a Pilot
aboard. There is certainly no safety in confusing those mariners with an
abundance of rules that they could not be expected to understand.

Paul's contention that the ColRegs are simply the basis for the rules and
local rules are layered onto them does not fit with a professional mariner's
view of the ColRegs. That practice (layering upon them) would create a
hodgepodge of localized rules that make sense only to locals. This is
exactly the situation the ColRegs were designed to eliminate. It's much
easier for everyone to simply use the ColRegs and create educational systems
that help everyone understand them. This way a deck officer steaming
coastwise along Australia or Chile or Brazil or wherever can have confidence
that (s)he understands what (s)he is seeing.

As far as I'm concerned, the biggest problem is the refusal of so many
boaters to reduce their speed when necessary (Rule 6 of the ColRegs) or to
keep a proper lookout (Rule 5). Enforce that and most problems simply go
away.

By the way, Rule 5 specifies that one must also be listening ("by sight and
hearing") which would preclude paddling while having one's ipod's earphones
plugged into one's ears. A navigational rule many paddlers ignore.

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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