Vin Pica discusses THE RULES, and the basics of preventing collisions on the water...
Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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Photo © Andrew Canepari / Nautical Sites Media |
Every boater has (hopefully) heard of the rule of "
red, right, return"
meaning to keep the red buoys on your right when returning from sea.
What
many don’t realize is that this old chestnut is one of many that represent
the embedded knowledge of centuries of seafaring known formally as the "International Regulations for the Prevention of Collision at Sea" and the
largely parallel United States Inland Rules. Sometimes referred to by the
old salts as the "COLREGS" or simply
The Rules, it has been estimated that
less than 10% of today’s boaters are familiar with them…
And the IMO
(International Maritime Organization, global governing body) estimates that
80% of all collisions at sea are due to "pilot error"...
So, this column continues a series of articles on
The Rules that have one simple goal:
Safety of Life at Sea
...