Port / Starboard conundrum

Select to expand quote

Rus13b said..
There are rules for the water & they will apply in court, if u end up there. So ppl should go lern them before taking a hero attitude to the water. U need a licence to operate a boat faster than 8kts. Ppl should also know all the markers in water, they are the same as road signs, in a court of law. Dumbass's be aware

There are also spelling and grammar rules. Obviously these do not apply to you. I think that attitude on the road and water is what causes most of the grief.

I may not have perfect grammer or spelling but shore as shiot know the rules for operating
a sailing craft. if u have right of way & the dumbass sailing at you duz'nt know he is in the
wrong, of course I will change my course to avoid a crash. then they will b told about the
right of way rules. knowing what you are doing on the water adds to every bodies enjoyment
& safety.

Select to expand quote

lotofwind said..
I don't think anyone at our local knows, or use the out dated sail boat rules, even all the windsurfers that now kite, cause we don't sail slow turning big vessels that take minutes to turn/change direction etc.
But Im yet to ever see anyone have a direct collision in 10 years???
The boat sailors rules don't work in the surf, cause sail boats don't surf ,most of us here, well virtually all of us come from a surfing back ground and use the surf rules that work cause most are surfing waves, not cruising in a straight line wearing a sailors cap yelling PORT PORT STARBOARD at each other lol.

You need to try sailing in a more congested area then. Somewhere where people do short tacks and congest a small part. You will see heaps of crashes even when they are experienced kiters.

Just the other day I had someone creep upwind in front of me from downwind of me, when we were both on a starboard tack, and then he just decides to change direction, and yes, they do change direction fast, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't look first. I saw this happening and threw the kite downwind, but it would've been a direct impact if I hadn't.

The rules aren't outdated and still apply. The fact that almost no one knows them doesn't change that.