Crusing boats vs racing fleets: What are the rules?

 

Last fall I posted an entry regarding sailing while the racing fleets are sailing. You can find the original story HERE. After it posted I got an email question about the actual relationship between a cruising boat and one racing, with particular regard to Right of Way.  Its a complex answer, with a purely technical side, and a practical one as well.

The Technical:
Racing boats and their right of way is governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS). It mandates right of way for all racing boats on all points of sail on the course. Any non-racing boat however, is NOT covered by RRS, nor is it's Right of Way relationship with racing craft. So, when a non-racing boat meets a racing boat on a Minnesota lake, its back to the pure Inland Navigation Rules (INR) right of way. In other words, no special rights to the racers.

The Practical:
Blasting thru a racing fleet on a starboard tack and yelling for right-of-way will make you no friends at all. History and tradition has always pointed toward trying to stay clear of the racing fleets. I recommend that you do the same. The racers would clearly follow the INR to avoid a collision, but are going to expect (OK, maybe hope) that you stay clear.

All that being said, as a non-racer you still have access to the lake while the racing is going on. The Minneapolis lakes are small, and we all need to share the water. Try to avoid the fleet and cross their course when they are on another leg. Be smart and courteous, and you'll be fine.

BTW, You can find the USCG Inland Navigation Rules HERE.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    I am new to living in Minneapolis, and I'm very excited about getting a mooring bouy on beautiful Lake Harriet. Can someone help a newbie with info on the Minneapolis Parks and Rec system? Is there ANY chance that I will get a bouy on Harriet this year? Thanks for your help and advice!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DNR map of Lake Harriet

Image
The Minnesota DNR publishes a bottom contour map of Lake Harriet. Although not really intended for ship navigation, it shows good anchorage locations and is handy to have on-board. It also shows that unlike Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet is uniformly deep, and that means that is is mostly free of the nasty Milfoil that plagues its sister lake. The full-size map in PDF format is HERE . FYI, a map of Lake Calhoun is  HERE .  If you own a Garmin handheld GPS and are interested in a FREE depth chart of the lakes, be sure to see this post HERE .
Read more

Keeping an eye on swimmers

Image
Maybe it's just me, but it seems there are a LOT more people free-swimming across the lakes. I'm sure it is people training for the triathlons, and I didn't give it much thought until last night, when we almost ran over one. We were reaching at about 5 knots, sitting on the low side to induce some heel when we quickly slipped by a swimmer. We didn't see him, and he didn't hear us. I don't know who was more surprised, but I DO know who was in more danger. There was over 20 boats on the lake last evening. Under these conditions, swimming in the open water is just dangerous. I knew the MPRB was thinking about setting up open swim areas, but was pretty sure they had not done so. I called them, and they confirmed that open swimming was illegal, and pointed me to THIS page on their site. In addition, that told me I should call 911 to report swimmers. I'm not sure that I'll do that, but I would really hate to hit one, or even come close. I don't know ...
Read more

Motors - Electric only!

Image
One of the biggest challenges faced by cruisers on Lake Harriet is the prohibition of Outboards. Because gas motors are NOT allowed by the city, you have to use an electric trolling motor. In almost any sense this is a compromise, as a typical 50-lb thrust motor generates the equivalent of about 0.75HP. For anyone used to having their boat pushed around with a 8HP motor, this can be daunting. In practice, however, it is rare when it becomes a problem on Lake Harriet, as we all go back to mooring buoys, which we can sail to. The size of the lake allows getting to the lee side in a strong blow. The biggest challenge is power management. The motor will be the biggest draw on your boat's 12V system, and a dead battery means either no way to get home, or no lights for the evening sail. You have for factor in how you plan to keep it charged. See this related article on power management HERE. . Regarding size, choose a 50-LB thrust as a minimum, and look at 24v as opposed to less effici...
Read more