Right of Way at a Bar Crossing with a Broken Radio
You are approaching a coastal river entrance in a 6.5 m boat with three people aboard. The bar has a narrow trained channel with a strong outgoing tide and a 1.5 m swell breaking across the entrance. Your VHF radio has failed and your phone has no signal. As you line up for the run in, you see a larger vessel coming out through the entrance, showing both sidelights and a masthead light, on a course that will cross yours near the channel mouth. A third small boat is hovering near the northern wall. The tide is running out at about 3 knots and the channel is only about 40 m wide.
1. Who has right of way between you and the outbound vessel, and how does the bar change the normal rules?
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On the lights, the outbound vessel is showing both sidelights and a masthead light, so it is coming roughly head-on. The ordinary rule is that both alter to starboard and pass port-to-port. But a bar crossing with a strong outgoing tide and breaking swell is a special circumstance: the vessel with the tide and sea behind it (the outbound one) has less ability to stop or manoeuvre, and the inbound vessel running against the outgoing tide has more control. The practical judgement is to give the outbound vessel room, hold back or slow, and let it clear the narrow channel before you commit. The rules do not override seamanship - the safest call is to avoid a close-quarters situation in a 40 m channel with a breaking bar.
2. With no radio and no phone, what should you do before committing to the crossing?
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Without radio or phone you cannot call the bar or other vessels, so you must rely on visual signals and timing. Before committing: slow down and hold off the entrance until the outbound vessel and the small boat are clear; watch a set or two of swell to judge the breaking pattern; confirm everyone is in lifejackets and gear is secured; and identify your abort point - if a set breaks across the channel, turn back rather than press on. If you need to attract attention, use hand signals and sound signals (one short blast to indicate altering to starboard, etc.). The lack of communication is a reason to be more patient, not to rush the bar.
3. The small boat near the northern wall starts moving toward the channel as you enter. How do you manage that risk?
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Treat it as an unknown: it may not have seen you, may not know the channel, and may not be able to hold position in the tide. Slow down, keep to your side of the channel, and make your intentions obvious early with a clear course and, if needed, sound signals. Do not assume right of way - in a narrow channel with a strong tide, the vessel that can safely give way should. If the small boat blocks the channel, hold off rather than squeeze past, because a collision or a swamping in the entrance is far worse than a delay. Keep watching it until you are both clear of the bar.