Section 4: The Collision regulations
Or to give them their full name - The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. This is an important subject which features strongly in RYA exams. Not only that, but you do not want to be colliding with a commercial ship - you will definitely come off worst!
There are several parts to this - the give way rules, who gives way to whom; the lights and shapes, a clever system whereby you can tell by night, and also sometimes by day, what type of vessel you are seeing and which way it
is going, and the sound and light signals, used to make your intentions
clear, or in fog to indicate your presence to other vessels.
Also you must know the internationally recognised signals of distress
which are included in an annex to the collision regulations.
This section comprises the following:
Part A: general introduction and definitions
Part B: the steering and sailing rules
Part C: the lights and shapes
Part D : the sound and light signals
Annex IV: the internationally recognised signals of distress
Quiz on the give way rules and the lights and shapes sections