Last month, I brought up the topic of the International Regulations for Prevention of Collisions at Sea (the ColRegs). I explained how these Rules govern the interaction between vessels by designating one vessel as “stand-on” (required to hold course and speed) and the other as “give-way” (required to maneuver around the stand-on vessel).
Photo by Joel Williams
By Captain Ray
Published: January, 2010
Last month, I brought up the topic of the International Regulations for Prevention of Collisions at Sea (the ColRegs). I explained how these Rules govern the interaction between vessels by designating one vessel as “stand-on” (required to hold course and speed) and the other as “give-way” (required to maneuver around the stand-on vessel). We also talked about the many exceptions to the general rule that sailboats stand on over powerboats.
This month, let’s talk about sailboats and how the Rules control their movement. Because sailboats are so dependant on the wind, which vessel is stand-on and which is give-way is usually determined by each vessel’s relationship the wind. In effect, the wind sets the rules. In order to understand this, a little historical background is essential.
According to the best anthropological evidence, humans have been sailing intentionally for about 7,000 years. We suspect there may have been unintentional voyages before that! Before we invented the rudder, vessels were steered with an oar or paddle hung over the side of the boat near the stern (the back of the boat). Because most humans are right-handed, this steering device went over the starboard (or right) side of the boat. When the wind came over the starboard side and the boat heeled (leaned) left (to port), that steering oar would not reach as deeply into the sea. Because of this, the boat was more difficult to control. In keeping with the overriding principle that right-of-way goes to the vessel needing it the most, the boat with the wind on the starboard side became the stand-on vessel, and the boat with the wind on the port side became the give-way vessel.
Another issue rooted deep in our sailing past has to do with the fact that for most of human sailing history, vessels were not able to sail upwind, or toward the direction the wind is coming from. They could sail downwind and, to some extent, across the wind; but not to windward. A great deal of effort has gone into making the “no-go zone,” the area into which a sailboat cannot go, smaller and smaller. About 3,000 years ago, we began to make progress. The Arabs (the lateen rig), the Chinese (the junk rig), and the Polynesians (crab-claw sails) were able to sail toward the wind. Europeans came late to the table, beginning to sail upwind only about 300 years ago. The expression “waiting for a fair wind” really did mean something when people were limited to mostly downwind sailing!
Because of the difficulty of sailing to windward, a shift in the wind’s direction could (and often did) trap vessels against a shoreline—this is called a “lee shore” in sailor speak. Vessels unable to make progress to windward would have to anchor or be blown onto the shore. Therefore, the right-of-way went to the vessel farther downwind (closer to the lee shore) because she was closer to the potential danger. That rule is still applicable today.
There is one exception to these wind-oriented rules, and that is when one vessel is overtaking (catching up from behind) another. Here the vessel that is being overtaken is stand-on and the vessel doing the overtaking is give-way. Which tack each vessel is on or who is upwind of whom doesn’t matter in this situation.
So there you have the three major rules that govern sailboats as regards other sailboats: overtaking, wind on opposite side, and windward/leeward position. With this information, as you’re riding a ferry across the bay or walking its shorelines, watch for sailboats approaching each other. See if you can anticipate how they will maneuver in relation to each other.
Ray Wichmann, is a US SAILING-certified Ocean Passagemaking Instructor, a US SAILING Instructor Trainer, and a member of US SAILING’s National Faculty. He holds a 100-Ton Master’s License, was a charter skipper in Hawai’i for 15 years, and has sailed on both coasts of the United States, in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greece. He is presently employed as the Master Instructor at OCSC Sailing in the Berkeley Marina.
