Keep in mind that these are the "colreg" rules. Once in a nation's waters, there may, and will, be other rules and regulations. For instance, in the Netherlands we've a notion of "big" vs "small" ship, requiring you to give way to large vessels, even when under sail. And don't forget the TSS ;). Excellent video, love the chart!
I'm not sure that that is entirely accurate. There are however national exceptions to the Colregs in every country and it is one's responsibility to know those exceptions. For example in Canada vessels under 12m are not required to show a ball dayshape at anchor and sailing vessels are not required to show the cone day shape while motor sailing, also vessels constrained by draft does not apply in Canadian waters. There certainly are big vs small ship rules, even in the colregs, but these are not universal. They apply to specific locations. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for your comment.
@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine tx four your reply, I'm binge watching your series :). I teach sailing myself, but only a few times a year, and I love how you explain things. The Dutch rule is taught as "small gives way to big", and applies to ships of less than 20m in size. I've had many discussions in open international water because of this, as the colregs are quite different. We also have "fast ships give way to small ships", where fast is defined as 40kmh, I believe. I live in NL and passed my exam a while ago, these rules are real ;). It's sometimes confusing in open water, and to be fair, I have respect for oil tankers and the like (though most of the time they follow the rules and give way, it seems).
@@Misteribel I'm delighted to hear that you are enjoying my videos. Yes it can be quite confusing. For us here in Canada the term is Colregs with Canadian Modifications. I do believe in following the rules as best I can but I also do try to respect commercial shipping even if I am the stand on vessel. The way I see it is they are out there trying to make a living and have to deal with potentially hundreds of incompetent recreational boaters (at least here in my waters) so why not give them a break. I usually try to reach out to them on VHF and let them know or I make my course alterations very early and very obviously to avoid confusion.
Well Done. Please don't forget to tell the sailors that they must also give way to NUC, Restricted by draft or maneuverability and Fishing. I see it all the time in Toronto - sailboats getting in the way of ships entering and leaving the port.
Marco, Been watching your videos for awhile as a refresher to stuff that might’ve slipped out of the old noggin. Love the vids by the way… keep up the good work!! I often hear people around my sailing club say that “power must always give way to sail” which has led to some unfortunate events on the river here where the commercial traffic is severely draft limited and recreational boats are not. The acronym NRCFSPS comes to mind… Not Under Command, Restricted in Ability to Maneuver, Constrained by draft, etc etc. I was wondering if that’s country specific or defined in COLREGS? Thanks and keep up the good work!
Thank you Ian. Much appreciated. There is another mnemonic that I've always used: Old Navigators Rarely Finish Second Place... Overtaken, NUC, RAM, Fishing, Sailing, Power. The order that you mention as well as the one I mention here are COLREGS specific. There are some exceptions, for example Canada does not recognize Constrained by Draft. In each country's version of the COLREGS there is a section on that country's modifications.
