NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: English Channel Crossings
From: Nigel Gardner
Date: 2001 Jul 12, 1:22 AM
From: Nigel Gardner
Date: 2001 Jul 12, 1:22 AM
Herbert, You asked what the regulations demand of you and they are no different here, the traffic separation schemes are recommended but are bounded by Rule 10, if you are a sailing vessel under 20m you can indeed do what the hell you like PROVIDED you comply with IRPCS, particularly 10j and 2. I found that students did not always appreciate the meaning of 'impeded' and that if a small sailing vessel did stumble into the path of a supertanker following a TS lane the supertanker was obliged to give way. A friend of mine who used to be a master on supertankers told me that from passing the Lizard to getting parked in Rotterdam used to be a constant nightmare. There have been some protracted discussions about making traffic separation schemes mandatory (as with airfield control zones) which raises such questions as division of responsibility between controller, master and pilot (particularly who gets flung in the slammer when it goes wrong), use of transponders for vessel ident. and would it include pleasure rowing boats off Folkestone beach. NG
