COLREGS - Sailing in an Anchorage or Mooring Field

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Originally Posted by valhalla360

Of course, if you assert your rights by busting thru a race, you will be lucky if you aren't lynched but god forbid you mess with thier rights when you are just trying to get in and out of the harbor and they are asserting thier rights.

This is where I (and I suspect a lot of other boaters) get annoyed with racers. When it's in thier interest, they jump up and down and point to the col-regs but go busting thru thier race and it's a different attitude.

Yeah, the col-regs ultimately win out but it's mostly ego issue.

I have raced just about everywhere on the eastern seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico, and california. I can only think of two or three racers who would meet your description.

However last regatta I ran I had to call out the USCG to remove a spectator boat from our race course. The guy was pissed making much the same arguments that you are about racers not having special privlages.

However at least while on a racing course (as opposed to a distance race) every sailboat race in US territorial waters should be permitted by the USCG. Which means if you sail thru my race course not only have you interfered with the racers, you have also, just by being there, violated COLREGS. Now usually racers don't care that much, and usually non-racers are polite enough to remove themselves from a course once the recognize it as such.



So every time you sail thru a race course and can't understand why racers are pissed its likely because not only are you being rude, you are also in violation of the COLREGS. Feel free to read the weekly notice to mariners that will detail the racing areas you are required to stay out of before yelling at racers who you are bothering.