Whether you’re out for a gentle afternoon cruise or racing in a highly competitive regatta, as skipper you need to keep track of all the other vessels approaching yours. And when racing, you probably won’t be able to do that adequately yourself. So you’ll need to appoint one or more lookouts, who relay to you information about the direction or angle of approach and distance off.
Ideally, the lookout is positioned with a clear view of boats approaching on starboard. But, if not, how long between looks?
In S80 Racy Lady’s case, it was too long. In a recent race run by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia she was on port and unaware of the approach of Vanguard, who was on starboard, two-sail reaching, until called by them.
But the rules say that both boats have a responsibility to avoid a collision.
Aboard Vanguard, lookouts had been posted on both sides of the yacht, but crew admitted that Racy Lady must have been in the blind spot, shielded by the genoa.
When called, Racy Lady didn’t have time to take evasive action. Her mast came down on impact and the yacht sank within five minutes of the collision, with crew able to grab only their wallets.
We’ve blogged before about maintaining a proper lookout but it’s worth re-reading.
Skippers are responsible for ensuring a proper watch is kept, and for using all available means to stay out of the way of collision. With technology advancing so rapidly, I wonder if perhaps racing skippers will turn to technology to further minimize the risk of collision, and what forms that technology might take? Of course, there already are simple forms of technology for racers, such as clear windows sewn into the foot of a low-lying genoa, though this can fail in many instances because of its limited size, bad light conditions, UV damage and salt residues, etc.