WE'RE RACING!!!!!!

[pete c]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

My view is if I can change course ,to accommodate racers I do. It’s little skin of my nose

I think most everyone agrees with this.

Going forward, I will be more aware of the possibility that the other guy might be racing by looking more closely at the boat's crew (are they hiked on the windward rail?) and scanning the area for other boats on the same course. If these other boats also have their crews on the rail, it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to realize you might have a race going on.

If it turns out they aren't racing, so what? I lost nothing.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by pete c

That was the cry from the sailboat we had an encounter with this afternoon.

I had an encounter with one of those guys once. I never figured out who he was racing with as it was just the 2 of us in the area. As we passed and he yelled "we are racing here" I yelled back "we are cruising here".

[danstanford]

Originally Posted by Benz

I'm a little surprised how many people here think that a possibly shorthanded cruising boat going about its business on a starboard tack would be decent to change course for highly maneuverable, fully crewed racing boats who pride themselves on how well they can turn and wheel, and who are burdened by the rules governing safety at sea to give way.
If enough people act this way, it perpetuates the racing idiot's sense of privilege, and their outrage when someone sharing the same water follows the rules. What's the point of COLREGS if no one follows them?

I can imagine that most of us would steer away from an obvious race if we could see it long before Colregs became relevant. The answer to your question is that every foot through the water is relevant to the result of the race and if one of the boats needs to put in an unwanted tack they are at a disadvantage to those who did not.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

I guess in hindsight if someone is the give way vessel and is not doing so but is yelling something he may have an issue that needs you to give way ?

Actually, he shouldn't be yelling but sounding the horn signals or radio-ing to agree to a crossing if he would like to deviate from a standard crossing.

When a 1/4 mile apart, a simple, "hey there vessel XYZ, any chance I could have you bear off 20 deg. I realize, under normal circumstances I should but I'm racing and it would help me out not having to."

Done in a kind voice, I'm betting 99.9% of boats would oblige and the feelings toward sailboat racing would be much more positive.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

My view is if I can change course ,to accommodate racers I do. It’s little skin of my nose

Sure, but often as not, a race fleet will be tacking back and forth across a channel, so if I bear off to avoid one boat, I'm turning into another. Best would be if they kept races away from busy channels but it seems to be a favorite for race committees.

But this appears to a boat well isolated from the pack and not readily apparent that he was racing, so the burden is on the race boat to follow the colregs or contact the cruising boat and agree to an alternate crossing.

[thomm225]

Best to avoid the racers if possible especially if you are just cruising or day sailing.

Most racers are so fired up they will do anything to win or to just be at the starting line on time.

At the annual VA Beach to Cape Charles race which is about 20 miles (first leg) or so the pilots on the ships had to call the VA Beach Police boat to have the racers stop crossing the bows of ships so close.

Race started North of the Thimble Shoal Shipping Channel for a race where the first leg was on a Northerly heading.

Race Committee thinking this would keep the racers out of the way of ships but this is like 6 miles offshore so some of the boats were cutting it close and thought it was necessary to play chicken with the tankers and container ships to be on time for the start (or their start).

I was heaved too watching the scene.

https://chesapeakebaymagazine.com/so...e-charles-cup/

Same with beach cat racing except we didn't have radios to hear the complains of tug captains when some of us would cross the bow of the barge they were pushing by a few feet.

Beach cats at speed of 15-25 knots barge at 5-6 knots but still one mistake and it could kill you

At night it's even worse on beach cats because some have light sticks (green and red tied to rigging or flashlights and some do not

[admiralslater]

I have say “ would you mind we are racing “ and it has worked just fine . I have also had people bellow at me , that did not go as well.
Mostly I am on the lookout for well trimmed boats .

[gonesail]

sounds like aggressive piloting to me .. and I bet there is a lot of it out there. we're racing? right

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I'm reminded of an event that took place in SF Bay around 45 years ago...

In SFB there are often multiple races held by different clubs running at the same time, and they often will utilize the same ATONs as course markers. One such is the buoy off of Pt Blunt on Angel Island. We were approaching it on starboard at the same time as a larger and faster boat which was in a different race and was on port. The crossing was going to be close and so I shouted the usual "STARBOARD" to assert my rights. The skipper of the other boat (and I remember her name to this day: Moonshadow) replied "We're racing, you a-hole!!!". We were getting pretty close by then, but I replied "Well, we are too, and we're on starboard". He grudgingly gave way, but as we passed close by he added "but you're still an a-hole".

I nearly fell overboard laughing, but I still remember the day all these years later as an example of bad manners accompanying the observation of the racing rules.

Jim

Moonshadow? The Deerfoot 62? That would have been George Backus, doesn't sound like him.

One problem we have on race boats is crew members who seem to think they are free to speak out to other boats. I don't know why people think they can do this.

That drives me nuts on my boat and I make it real clear that I am the only person to talk to or give a signal to another boat unless I ask someone specifically to do that.

This could have been the problem in OP's situation.

[leboyd]

I'm no COLREGS expert by a long, long shot, but isn't "right of way" really just a suggestion? I seemed to recall reading several CF threads where the captain of XYZ boat (or even ships) were skinned and tarred for running into or being hit by another boat because, well, there's only one real "right of way" rule and that is the other boat always has the "right of way" because all "rules" go out the window and you have the responsibility to avoid any collision - full stop.

Is that correct (serious question, as I'm not an expert)?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by leboyd

I'm no COLREGS expert by a long, long shot, but isn't "right of way" really just a suggestion? I seemed to recall reading several CF threads where the captain of XYZ boat (or even ships) were skinned and tarred for running into or being hit by another boat because, well, there's only one real "right of way" rule and that is the other boat always has the "right of way" because all "rules" go out the window and you have the responsibility to avoid any collision - full stop.

Is that correct (serious question, as I'm not an expert)?

Officially ROW is not in the colregs. Some people like to really harp on the subject.

Really only relevant when "stand on" boats continue past the point where the colregs require them to take any reasonable action to avoid a collision. Otherwise, it's shorthand for "stand on" vessel.

[thomm225]

Another rule of thumb for right away is tonnage.

To me tonnage always has the right of way ........ especially now that I'm older and not racing anymore!

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Another rule of thumb for right away is tonnage.

To me tonnage always has the right of way ........ especially now that I'm older and not racing anymore!

No no no no no. The COLREGS provide the priority order for who is stand on vs give way. Size and weight do not factor in at all. There are times where it absolutely makes sense to give to a bigger, less maneuverable vessel (without being required to by some other COLREGS factor), but this should either be done so early that they wouldn't be preparing to maneuver for you yet, or you should be in contact with them and offer to deviate so they don't have to.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

No no no no no. The COLREGS provide the priority order for who is stand on vs give way. Size and weight do not factor in at all. There are times where it absolutely makes sense to give to a bigger, less maneuverable vessel (without being required to by some other COLREGS factor), but this should either be done so early that they wouldn't be preparing to maneuver for you yet, or you should be in contact with them and offer to deviate so they don't have to.

Contact?

What with hand signals?

Most of us had no instruments or radios on our beach cats although a few carried hand helds but kinda hard to operate from the trapeze as you are already handling the mainsheet, traveler, downhull, mast rotator, etc

Many times when I was racing we were in tight when meeting traffic. Offshore a few miles at speeds between 10 - 25 knots other vessels are easy to avoid but inside in the sound or small bays there's no time usually so it's up to the Skipper whether or not he will cross the bow of a barge being pushed by a tug or not.

If you go behind the tug too close you can feel the shift from your boards of his prop wash. It's makes the boat move in strange ways and sometimes closer to the tug.

It doesn't take much to move a beach cat that weighs between 165-300 lbs

[Jim Cate]

Moonshadow? The Deerfoot 62? That would have been George Backus, doesn't sound like him.

No Fred, it wasn't THAT Moonshadow. I was sailing my Yankee 30 and the offending Moonshadow was perhaps 35 feet in length... bigger than us but not WAY bigger. It was a long time ago and the details are fuzzy.

Jim