Upbound Meeting at a River Bend
You are master of an 85-ft passenger vessel upbound on a river with a following current of 2.5 kts. Your speed through the water is 9.0 kts, giving 6.5 kts over ground. A downbound tow pushing six barges reports by VHF at a bend; it is making 8.0 kts over ground. The two vessels are 2.0 nm apart. Channel width is about 600 ft. The downbound tow sounds one short blast and proposes passing port to port. A 16-ft outboard boat then crosses from your starboard side toward port about 0.3 nm ahead.
1. Compute the closing speed and time to meeting. What does one short blast mean?
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Closing speed = 6.5 + 8.0 = 14.5 kts. Time = 2.0 ÷ 14.5 = 0.138 h, or about 8.3 minutes.
One short blast means 'I intend to leave you on my port side' - an alteration to starboard. In a meeting, answering with one short agrees to a port-to-port passing. On Inland waters, the downbound vessel with a following current has the right of way in a narrow channel, but both vessels still keep to their starboard side.
2. If the downbound tow instead proposes starboard-to-starboard, what do you do?
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Do not agree automatically. Starboard-to-starboard at a bend may put your vessel on the wrong side of the channel and close to the outside of the bend. If you are in doubt or the proposal is unsafe, sound five short blasts and propose port-to-port. The doubt signal and the narrow-channel rule require a clear, agreed passage. If no agreement is possible, reduce speed and hold clear.
3. What is your responsibility toward the outboard boat?
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The small boat must not impede your passage in a narrow channel, but you cannot rely on it to give way. Reduce speed, sound a warning, and be ready to stop or back. Your obligation is to avoid collision under the ordinary practice of seamen, even when the other vessel is at fault. Do not make a large alteration that puts you into the tow or the bank.