Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Chapter 12: Rules of the Marine Road
pull back to dead slow. If a collision looks like a possibility, sound your horn with five
short blasts, signaling danger.
There are two things to remember in this situation:
1. You are supposed to use horn signals to tell the other boat what you are going to do.
2. Very few people do!
The vast majority of recreational boaters simply don’t use their horns as signals, except in
the same way they use them as signals ashore—to indicate displeasure. However, to be
legally correct, you should know the sound signals and use them any time there’s danger
that an approaching boater may not understand your intentions.
Many skippers use VHF radio (which I’ll cover in Chapter 14, “Nautical Radio Gear and
Procedures and Your First Longer Cruise”) to inform other boats of their intentions. This
is really a better approach than sound signals because you can convey more information.
However, some small boats don’t have VHF, and the situation may not allow you enough
time to make a connection by radio, so it’s important to know and use sound signals.
The correct ways to signal with your horn on inland and coastal waters are as follows:
◆ One short blast: I am turning to starboard and will leave you to my port side.
◆ Two short blasts: I am turning to port and will leave you to my starboard side.
◆ Three short blasts: I am reversing engines.
◆ One long blast: I am getting underway (used when leaving a dock).
◆ One long blast followed by one short blast: Please open the drawbridge.
◆ Five short blasts: Danger—get out of the way, or don’t do what your signal says
you intend to do.
The other vessel (or the bridge tender) should repeat with his horn what he heard from
your horn to confirm. If the other vessel does not repeat your signal, he either didn’t hear
it or doesn’t understand horn signaling. If he does not repeat your signal but issues five
short blasts, he is telling you that your intended action is dangerous. In either case, it’s
prudent to slow to idle and review the situation before proceeding.
Just remember, if you do use horn signals when approaching a small boat, there’s about a
95 percent chance the other skipper won’t have any idea what these signals mean, so keep
a very close eye on the situation and maneuver to avoid the other boat. Or better yet,
make contact on your VHF radio and find out his or her intentions.
177