If you grew up sailing small boats, the basic rules about “when yachts meet” are now part of your DNA. Upwind, a boat on port tack must give way to a starboard tacker. A boat to leeward may stand-on while a windward boat must give way. An overtaking boat in a commercial or cruising setting must remain clear of a boat being overtaken.
So much for the basics. But there are enough interesting variations on the theme that regular refreshment and review never hurts and might be vital. If you’ve been operating under the erroneous assumption a sailboat always has the right of way, allow us to introduce you to the online nautical training courses offered by NauticEd.
Inspired, written and produced by NauticEd founder Grant Headifen, NauticEd has delivered over 300,000 courses to more than 120,000 sailors since 2008. Today, NauticEd offers 24 online courses and five on-the-water practical certificates, all training to the highest international standards.
In addition to the free navigation rules course, NauticEd offers a free sail trim course, a free E-Log Book and a free resume builder—useful when logging sea time for advanced certifications. With courses and instructors in 23 countries, NauticEd has become the first stop for people who want to get cleared for a bareboat charter.
Latest Tech Makes Learning Interesting
Unlike other training programs relying on ink and paper, NauticEd’s numerous courses (for powerboaters too) are offered entirely online, which means NauticEd can take advantage of the latest interactive content types and animations. The interactive Rules of the Road course I just took relied heavily on 3D, which added a dose of realism to my two-dimensional laptop.
We asked NauticEd Chief of Marketing Merrill Charette what makes NauticEd courses unique: “Our free Navigation Rules course covers the latest International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) with real-world clarity, using photos, 3D animations, and real sailing scenarios—not just dry diagrams. Many seasoned sailors, including Navy veterans and licensed mariners, have praised it for cutting through legal jargon and making tricky situations easy to understand.”
Bottom Line
The NauticEd Rules of the Road course stresses the primacy of collision avoidance and the overriding necessity of sound seamanship—even if you think you’re in the right.
Also, the course stresses proper actions during those instances when a sailboat must give way: when encountering a commercial fishing vessel fishing, for instance, or when a sailboat must avoid any commercial vessel that might be restricted in its ability to maneuver or constrained by its draft. Do you know when a sailboat must give way to a powerboat? When she’s the overtaking boat, or when a sailboat with engine engaged becomes a powerboat and has another powerboat on its forward starboard quadrant.
There are no guardrails or white lines out on the water. The only safe way to go about our business is to follow the rules.
Resources
If you want to learn more, head over to NauticEd.org and tour their extensive website. Hit this link for their free rules of the road course: https://www.nauticed.org/sailing-courses/view/navigation-rules?utm_medium=news&utm_source=practicalsailor
I will squeeze in the free sail trim course this week: https://www.nauticed.org/sailing-courses/view/basic-sail-trim?utm_medium=news&utm_source=practicalsailor
