HK Coxswain Grade 3 common mistakes
HK Coxswain Grade 3 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea as if they were road rules and applying 'might is right' - expecting the larger or commercial vessel to give way, and holding course when the candidate's craft is the give-way vessel.
Many candidates learn the rules from watching traffic in the harbour rather than from the text. In busy Hong Kong waters, small craft often do keep clear of ferries and cargo ships as a matter of habit, so candidates assume the rule places the duty on the big vessel. They also confuse the crossing rule with the narrow channel rule, and forget that a vessel constrained by her draught, a vessel not under command, or a vessel engaged in fishing may change the ordinary give-way/stand-on allocation.
What to do instead
Work through the rules by situation, not by vessel size. For each of the four situations - head-on, crossing, overtaking, and narrow channel - write out who gives way, who stands on, and what each must do. Then practise with a set of short scenario cards (e.g. 'you are a 6 m open boat on a crossing course with a ferry on your starboard side') and state the required action aloud until it is automatic. Remember that the stand-on vessel must still take action if a collision cannot be avoided by the give-way vessel alone.
Plotting a position on the chart and then transferring it to the echo sounder or GPS without checking that the chart datum, the charted depths and the position format all match - leading to groundings on shoals the candidate believed were clear.
Candidates memorise 'read the depth, compare to the chart' but never learn that charted depths are reduced to Chart Datum (approximately Lowest Astronomical Tide) and that the echo sounder reads depth below the transducer, not below the keel or the waterline. They also mix up degrees-minutes-seconds with decimal minutes, and forget that Hong Kong charts use a local horizontal datum and a specific chart datum, so a GPS position in WGS 84 needs care.
What to do instead
Build a fixed routine: convert the sounder reading to 'depth under keel' by subtracting the transducer offset and any heel/trim error; add the predicted height of tide for the time of passage to get charted depth; compare against the charted depth plus a safety margin. Practise converting positions between formats and confirming the datum on the chart's title block. Do one worked passage plan on a Hong Kong chart with a real tide table so the arithmetic becomes habitual.
Assuming Hong Kong weather is uniform and that a forecast for 'Hong Kong waters' applies unchanged to the candidate's actual area - ignoring the difference between the harbour, the exposed eastern approaches, and the sheltered western waters, and ignoring the effect of the summer monsoon and typhoon signals.
Candidates revise the definitions of the typhoon signals and the monsoon but never link the forecast to local topography. Hong Kong's weather is dominated by the winter northeast monsoon and the summer southwest monsoon, by tropical cyclones, and by strong funnelling through the harbour and around the islands. Squalls and thunderstorms in summer can arrive with little warning, and the sea state in the eastern approaches can be far worse than in the harbour.
What to do instead
Learn the forecast sources and their update times, and read the forecast for the specific area rather than the general statement. Study the local wind climatology: the northeast monsoon in winter, the southwest monsoon in summer, the effect of the terrain on wind direction and strength, and the sea-state difference between exposed and sheltered waters. Practise interpreting a real forecast and deciding whether to go, where to shelter, and when to turn back.
Reciting distress signals from memory without knowing which signals are actually valid, when they may be used, and what to do on hearing one - for example, treating a 'pan-pan' as a distress call, or failing to know the correct radio channel and procedure for a 'mayday'.
Candidates learn a list of signals for the written paper but never practise the radio procedure. They confuse urgency and distress, do not know the difference between a mayday and a pan-pan, and do not know the correct VHF channel or the format of a distress message. They also do not know the obligation to keep silence on the distress frequency and to render assistance.
What to do instead
Learn the mayday and pan-pan formats word for word and practise transmitting them aloud with a timer. Learn the distress signals in the regulations and the additional signals used locally, and be able to say which are approved for a small craft. Know the VHF channels used for distress, safety and working, and the obligation to assist. Run a short drill: 'you see a red flare - what do you do, in what order?'
Treating firefighting as a matter of pointing an extinguisher at flames - not knowing the fire triangle, the classes of fire, which extinguisher is appropriate, and why water must never be used on a fuel fire.
Candidates revise the names of extinguisher types but not the reasoning behind them, so they cannot choose correctly under pressure. Small craft carry limited extinguishers and have fuel, gas and electrical sources close together, so the wrong choice can spread a fire or cause an explosion. Candidates also forget to close fuel valves, switch off electrical supplies and ventilate after extinguishing.
What to do instead
Learn the fire triangle and the fire classes, then match each extinguisher type to the classes it is suitable for and the classes it must not be used on. Learn the order of actions: raise the alarm, stop the vessel, shut off fuel and gas, switch off electrical supplies, attack the fire from upwind with the correct extinguisher, and prepare to abandon ship if it cannot be controlled. Practise the sequence as a spoken drill.
Planning a passage by drawing a straight line on the chart and following it, without checking for charted hazards, traffic separation schemes, prohibited areas, anchorages, or the effect of tide and leeway on the actual track made good.
Candidates treat passage planning as drawing a line and reading off a distance and course. They do not allow for the set and drift of the tide, for leeway in a crosswind, or for the fact that a small craft cannot always hold a straight track. They also do not check for local restrictions such as prohibited areas, firing ranges, or designated anchorages and fairways.
What to do instead
Follow a written passage plan: study the chart for hazards and restrictions, mark waypoints clear of dangers, calculate the course to steer allowing for tide and leeway, note the expected speed and ETA, identify safe havens and abort points, and brief the plan. On passage, fix the position at regular intervals and compare the actual track with the planned track, adjusting the course to steer as needed.
Handling the craft as if it were a car - approaching a berth or a mooring at speed and relying on the engine to stop, without allowing for wind, tide, prop walk, or the fact that a small craft has little momentum but also little reserve of power.
Candidates learn manoeuvring from driving and from watching others, not from the physics of a hull in water. They do not appreciate that a displacement hull carries way, that a planing hull behaves differently at speed, that prop walk and prop wash affect low-speed handling, and that wind and tide can dominate a light craft. They also forget to prepare lines and fenders before approaching.
What to do instead
Learn the effects of prop walk, prop wash, rudder angle, wind and tide on the hull, and practise slow-speed handling in open water with a reference buoy. Adopt a standard approach routine: prepare lines and fenders, check wind and tide, approach at a controlled speed, use short engine bursts, and be ready to go around again rather than force a bad approach. Learn to use a spring line and to ferry-glide where appropriate.
Assuming that because the craft is small, pollution rules do not really apply - discharging oily bilge water, garbage or sewage over the side, or refuelling without precautions.
Candidates see pollution regulations as aimed at ships and assume small craft are exempt or that small discharges are harmless. They do not know the local rules on garbage, sewage and oil, the requirement to use reception facilities, or the precautions for refuelling. They also do not know the penalties and the reporting obligations.
What to do instead
Learn the categories of garbage and where each may be discharged, the rules on oily water and sewage, and the refuelling precautions (no smoking, secure the nozzle, absorbent materials ready, avoid overfilling). Know the requirement to report pollution incidents and the local reception facilities. Treat the rules as applying to the candidate's own craft, not just to ships.
Learning the local regulations as a list of names and numbers without knowing which apply to the candidate's own craft, what documents and equipment must be carried, and what the penalties are for non-compliance.
Candidates memorise the titles of ordinances and the names of certificates but cannot connect them to a real vessel. They do not know which classes of craft require what, the requirements for registration and licensing, the equipment carriage requirements, or the local rules on speed, wake, and restricted areas. They also confuse the roles of the Marine Department and other authorities.
What to do instead
Build a one-page matrix: for the candidate's own craft type, list the required certificate of competency, registration and licence, the required safety equipment, the operating limits, and the relevant local rules on speed and restricted areas. Learn the penalties for the main offences. Check each item against the actual ordinance or the Marine Department's published guidance rather than a secondary summary.
Treating abandon-ship and man-overboard drills as paperwork - not knowing the order of actions, the location and use of life-saving appliances, or how to launch and board a liferaft, and not knowing the local emergency reporting procedure.
Candidates read the drill requirements but never walk through them on a real craft. They do not know where the lifejackets, liferaft, flares and first-aid kit are stowed, how to don a lifejacket correctly, how to right a liferaft, or how to raise the alarm and report the emergency to the local authorities. In a real emergency this costs time that is not available.
What to do instead
Walk through the drill on the actual craft: locate every item, don a lifejacket, simulate launching the liferaft, and practise the man-overboard sequence (shout, throw a float, keep the person in sight, approach from downwind, recover). Learn the local distress and reporting channels and the information to pass. Repeat the drill until the sequence is automatic.