Five helpful reminders to avoid a collision

Social media was awash this weekend with graphic images showing a 35-foot fishing charter boat that collided at high speed with a J/105 under sail near Chesapeake on the USA’s east coast.

Luckily for all, no one was injured, although the J/105, struck amidships on the starboard side, suffered major damage. According to the Chesapeake Yacht Club, which owns the sailboat, the J/105 crew attempted to hail the approaching boat prior to the collision, and even took action to avoid it.

The collision is a stark reminder that there are certain actions a boat operator must take to avoid an unexpected tangle on a waterway, and that strict, no-nonsense rules apply that dictate how this happens.

Here are boatsales.com.au’s five top memory jogs to make sure it never happens to you.

1. Keep a proper lookout
Boat operators are required to ensure they watch and listen for other boats on the water. Sound signals are especially important on winding river systems where line-of-sight visibility is limited. Maintaining watch is even more important when weather conditions or darkness restrict vision.

2. Make your intentions clear
Part of your responsibility on the water is avoiding a collision. One of the more proactive measures you can take is to give the approaching craft some sign that you intend to give it room to pass. How do you make your intentions clear? The most proactive is to take avoiding action, such as starting to bear away.

3. Always pass to starboard
One of the most basic rules of the water is the one that defines which side boats must pass on. The rules say approaching boats must maintain a starboard course relative to each other, which means the boats will pass each other to port (left side to left side). This is the opposite to how we drive on the road in Australia.

4. Always give way to starboard
What if boats are travelling at right angles to each other? In this case, the boat making ground to starboard has the right of way, and the one working to port must take evasive action, either by slowing down to let the other boat pass, or ducking in behind it. This is the opposite to how we drive on the road in Australia.

5. Always give way to boats under sail
This makes sense. Powerboats have much more manoeuvrability than a yacht under sail, so are more equipped to take evasive action when passing. However, a sailboat that has the sails down and the motor in the water has to follow the same rules as powerboats when passing other craft – including another boat with the sails up. An exception to this rule is when manoeuvring around large boats such as ferries or container ships, which even sailboats on the wind must avoid.