Drive da boat on the left or right?

Notice the fact that USA and Scotland drive on two different sides...

 

Hilarious. I can see the virtual beer bottle flying. There's a great passage in "Ship and Aircraft Fairing and Development" by S.S Rabl. The beginning of chapter 9 where it describes Loftsmen and Fitters getting into bloody fist fights in Joe Reagan's saloon in Baltimore over who thought they knew the "best way"... The better part of a century goes by and we're doing the same old thing....

 

Aye maybe your not as daft as I implied (sorry ) BUT try telling that to Port control after youve ignored their traffic seperation! In reality most busy ports, ie most of Europe. impose strict sep schemes and you will always pass port to port regardless whether you're a cornish crabber or an Aegis missile cruiser . Theres no giveway in a channel port approach which is where you'll be sweating and closely watching your port side.


Looking at comments from some here it's apparent that they do not understand or have never learned the INTERNATIONAL rules.

As for ignoring rules don't get me started, I have caught one motorboat who tried passing over our nets (he started off on my 'Burdened' side too and stood on only to pass angrily astern at the last minute). Seemed he'd never read colregs either and was confused by my lights and subsequent signals. His vessel sat in bond on the hard for a year while my insurance company tried to get his insurance company to pay for my damaged gear. (all fun in the North sea)

Jim Cooper

 

Jim, I think the difference between this side and that side of the pond is a matter of scale. I've lived in Scotland (Gourock, in a house that you could fish the Clyde from the windows) and in Italy (La Maddalena, just down the coast from Porto Cervo) and traveled around most of Europe. Nowhere, even during summer holiday, have I seen even 1/10th the number of recreactional powerboats that come out on any good weekend near any moderate sized city here in the states. Europe has lots of small rowing and sailing craft, lots of small commerical craft, but as far as I've seen, not near as many small motorcraft, and that includes the Lido, the Riviera, or Costa del Sol mid week in August.

Another thing is the sheer size of nagivatable waters over here compared to the commerical traffic. Yes there are traffic seperation schemes, but the channels (even in the rivers) are miles wide because they can be. It is not the compressed seas like the North or Irish. And in this vast expanse of water are lots of small boats, traveling at high speeds, prohibited from the narrow channels that the commerical vessels use, each traveling it's own course to it's own destenation.

Finally, there is the American attitude that it is a right to be able to go where we want, when we want, how we want. Anyone with the cash can buy a 40+kt powerboat and, in most states without any training, go out and kill themselves and others...and many do. And when they do the Lawyers step in and assign blame (because if something bad happens it has to be someone elses fault). That's why I perfer to conn from starboard...if I run someone down to port.... he didn't keep clear .

 

Don't really matter how many idiots you got one is enough to kill you - drive a bigger boat from the middle with your eyes shut might help, staying at home is safer!

 

To add to what Jehardiman said in #34.... in a lot of the channels and lakes in Ontario where I travel, it is quite common to have a channel suddenly narrow to a couple of boat widths from miles. Usually there's a lot of granite bedrock around. Add a few miles for waves to build up and drop about 30 boats in, ranging from 12' jonboats to 40' yachts. Suddenly good visibility all around becomes really important.

Remember that in Canada all boat operators have a pleasure-craft operator licence (or will have one soon), although few actually remember any of what they learned to get it. If you like your boat intact, you soon learn evasive actions on both sides. COLREGS are not much use when only 1 in 4 boaters actually follows them. It's not at all like controlled European channels. It's chaotic every-man-for-himself. And it works perfectly; I have not once seen or heard of a multi-vessel crash (except for alcohol-related offences). Everyone's always on the lookout and so when the idiot shows up, we all just avoid him and let him run up on the rocks, then fish him out and radio the cops.