More from the Navigator Club Facebook page:
More COLREG lessons:
Don’t trust this Bible for seafarers.
This from the clip on distinctive lights. Is this right? I might have to check.
I might add that when sailing along at night, more than once I’ve had a VHF call asking what those funny lights meant. Once even from an OOW in a warship of my own navy. I later chatted to the captain, whom I knew, and he dealt with it … somehow.
In my younger days we were taught rhymes such as “White over red, pilot in bed”, or “Here I come, sounding one”. Or alternatively, “When in doubt, no room to turn, ease her, stop her, go astern” which has morphed into something like, “When in danger and in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout”.
Others were longer … and I’ve forgotten the words. So searched and found this,
“Meeting steamers, do not dread
When you see three lights ahead
Starboard wheel and show your red.
Green to green or red to red
Perfect safety, go ahead.
If to starboard red appear,
'Tis your duty to keep clear.
Act as judgement says is proper
Port or starboard, back or stop her.
When upon your port is seen
A steamer’s starboard light of green
There’s not so much for you to do
For green to port keeps clear of you.
Both in danger and in doubt
Always keep a good look out.
In danger with no room to turn
Ease her, stop her, go astern.”
Thomas Gray, Secretary to the Board of Trade, 1862
And the overriding rule,
"Here lies the body of Johnny O’Day
Who died preserving his Right of Way.
He was right, dead right, as he sailed along,
But he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong!”
“Red over green: sailing machine” is easy to remember as an addition to: “red over red: the captain is dead “ for NUC.
“Red over green”, sailing machine, YES! (COLREG 25) But how about “green over red”?, could not find it in COLREG
It’s not. The supposed bible for seafarers was simply wrong. Badly so.
“B-b-but it’s on FaceTokgram - it must be true!!”
Dip the ensign, fire a gun, and hoist the signal up: Well Done.
We had “Assume anything you see is running under autopilot and the entire crew is dead, watching porn, asleep, or some combination thereof unless contact is made”.
It is under section 7, subparagraph 1:
Things you see when the light installer is colorblind or drunk