WE'RE RACING!!!!!!

[pete c]

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

This was the situation. We were just putting along on a starboard tack with about half the jib out, enjoying one of the last nice days on LI sound of the year. On a pretty much collision course was what I soon found out, was a racing sailboat....on a port tack.

I was taught that with a pair of sailboats under sail in such a situation, the rules are pretty clear. The starboard tack boat has the right of way. It is the port tack boat who is obliged to alter course.

As we got within earshot, we could hear the other boat yelling something. My buddy yelled back "STARBOARD TACK". The other skipper then eased off the wind a bit to our lee side and yelled "WE'RE RACING" as he passed.

Good for you *******. Sorry, I did not get the memo.

Now I do realize that the rules are not carved in granite and there is a such thing as common courtesy. If you look ahead and see a group of sailboats who are obviously in the heat of battle, the right thing to do is put your starboard tack privilege card back in your pocket and do your best to not interrupt a race.

But it was in no way apparent that this guy was in a race. He wasn't flying a large "we're racing" pennant. He was just another boat out there in a fairly busy area, just outside the entrance to Milford Harbor.

Perhaps if I was a bit more observant I might have observed a boat under full canvas with all its rail meat doing what it could to squeeze out another tenth of a knot, but like I said, there's all sorts of traffic out there and the wind was being a little fickle, varying what seemed to be 15-20 degrees regularly. It had just varied a bit when this guy was maybe a quarter mile away, so I did make a slight course adjustment. So maybe he took that as me being a clueless douchebag.

I'll plead guilty to a level of cluelessness, but not the douchebaggery charge....well, not in this instance.

So, did I do something wrong? Does my "racing detector" need fine tuning?

I can understand someone being frustrated in such a situation, but do the right thing and just mumble a few obscenities under your breath. Don't yell at the boat who had the right of way.

[Galumay]

I would have yelled back, WE ARE NOT!

[Dave_S]

Just a misunderstanding, I wouldn't worry about it, most people would do the same as you. If you knew he was racing you'd have given him room, he altered course, problem gone.

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 ?

[pete c]

That is a good point. I suppose it was possible that all his lines and rudder were jammed.

[fxykty]

You do realise there’s no such thing as “right of way”? You were in no way the privileged boat that didn’t have to change course - your requirement under the COLREGS is to maintain your course while the other boat is required to alter course to avoid collision. If the other boat wasn’t doing enough to avoid collision then it would have been your responsibility to alter course to avoid the collision. No right of way there at all - language matters. None of this is to say that you didn’t do the correct thing in your situation.

Regarding courtesy, sure, if you want to. But if it’s not obvious that a boat is racing then you become the idiot not following the COLREGs. I like best the response posted above: “We’re not!”

[Knotical]

We were out on the water the whole day yesterday, in Western LIS, lots of local races this weekend and we would just keep an eye out for a racing fleet which is obvious most of the time, even if it’s not and the give-way vessel is not changing her course we just move out of the way quite early to avoid creating any confusion. Heck, we are just having fun, no good in getting into a yelling match with another boat.

[Benz]

You were right to stand on--racers have to follow the same rules as everyone else, and if they think they should be given special privileges because they're racing, they're just vainglorious idiots who need to figure life out.
As a professional schooner captain operating on the busy, busy Narraganssett Bay, I avoided obvious racing fleets just because they usually behave pretty erratically, but if I found myself among a race, the racers learned early on that I was going to follow the Colregs and expected them to do the same. There was no need for yelling--I was equipped with a pretty loud horn.

[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

[Adelie]

Make a call on ch-16 for “Race Committee”. After moving to another channel indicate where your were, what time it was and were in a collision situation with boat of whatever color and name of approximate length. Indicate that you were on starboard, they on port and apparently were aware of you. When it became apparent that they were not going to give way before the collision you did so. You yelled at them and they replied “WE’RE RACING”.

Ask the racing committee if they are going to deal with this or if you should call the USCG.

Ask them the sponsoring YC’s contact info.

If there is no response on 16 initially call for the USCG on 16 or 22.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by Knotical

We were out on the water the whole day yesterday, in Western LIS, lots of local races this weekend and we would just keep an eye out for a racing fleet which is obvious most of the time, even if it’s not and the give-way vessel is not changing her course we just move out of the way quite early to avoid creating any confusion. Heck, we are just having fun, no good in getting into a yelling match with another boat.

I am a newb at this sailing thing, so I am still learning. Hell, even old salts that are honest will likely admit even they're still learning.

Anyhoo, I am going to chock this up as a learning moment. I already knew that giving way to racers, early if possible is just the decent thing to do. They had a good reason to hold a course and I was just out wandering. And this being the case, the right thing to do is to assess any approaching vessel and ask yourself "is he racing?". If he's under full canvas in fairly decent winds, 15-20, I would guess. And all the meat is hanging over the rail, do the decent thing and alter course as soon as you realize the situation.

Simply looking ahead and deciding, F that dude, I'm starboard is not good seamanship.

[Knotical]

I am not surprised by all the I-am-in-the-right stance of this crowd, most COLREG threads on CF are where the OP is supposedly in the right trying to get a confirmation of his beliefs. Two different vessels, two different objectives, one is slowly cruising with half a jib out, another is trying to gain 1/10th of a mile over his nearest competitor, a little change by the cruising boat wouldn’t have been unfair.

I can tell on numerous occasions where a small power boat is drifting in the middle of sound with no anchor, engine off and fishing lines out, technically they are underway and give-away vessels however I let them enjoy their fishing and beer drinking, pass them by at a comfortable distance and receive a friendly wave.

To the last poster who suggested to file a complaint with the YC and the USCG - right, thanks for taking the fun out of being on the water, likewise, it’s no wonder that there a just a lot more angry drivers on the road these days.

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by pete c

Simply looking ahead and deciding, F that dude, I'm starboard is not good seamanship.

I really appreciate this comment of yours, I have come across a lot of sailboats who don’t know what they are doing as well as powerboats who are very considerate of us sailboaters. The sound near us is very narrow and converges towards the East river bringing a lot of commercial and recreational traffic pretty close to each other, with shifty winds a calm situation between 2-3 boats can get pretty hairy pretty fast, the only recourse to avoid escalating things further is for the boater who can to take early action and help diffuse the situation.

[goboatingnow]

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

[ChrisJHC]

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 agree, however in this situation there was nothing that definitively said that the other boat was racing.
And this “accommodating racers” is a courtesy, not a requirement under COLREGS.

I also note Part 2 of the Racing Rules of Sailing that state:
“When a boat sailing under these rules meets a vessel that is not, she shall comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCAS) or government right-of-way rules.”

It reminds me of a situation I had a few weeks ago where I was skipper on an 80 nm offshore race.
I was downstairs doing the log when I overheard the helmsman and another crew debating whether we were the stand-on boat or not to another vessel.
I gave them the direction to make the 5 degree variation to our course to avoid the other boat, no matter who was give way or stand on.

When I got back on deck I saw that the other vessel was a single-hander (not racing) who was struggling to get his spinnaker doused and probably hadn’t seen us and may not have been able to get out of the way anyway.

Situation resolved with no more interaction except a wave as we went 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?