How good is your memory? Do you remember all the basics, and the nuances, of the rules of the road from your Power Squadrons or Coast Guard boating courses a few years ago? Now that the spring boating season is here, it never hurts to brush up, to give all those brain cells a refresher course. Here are some questions about basic boating safety from the U.S. Coast Guard. See how you do. (You’ll have to click below for the answers.)
1.You’ve left the dock well before dawn on an offshore trip to fish the canyons. It’s still dark, but your radar is working properly. How fast can you go?
2.To get to your favorite bay, you must run a lengthy, well-marked channel. As you do, another boat approaches, rapidly, from the opposite direction. How do you proceed?
3.Sharking at night, anchored, you see a larger vessel making way, approaching well off your port side. You clearly see a red all-around light on top, a lower white light in a vertical line, another white light on one side, sidelights and a stern light. What kind of boat is it?
4.While kingfishing in the Gulf of Mexico near several oil rigs, you spot a commercial boat, barely moving. Does it have what the rules consider “restricted maneuverability” (and thus require you to give way)?
5.During a sailfish tournament, you are trolling off Miami’s Government Cut shipping canal when a commercial freighter comes into view, heading toward your boat on an apparent collision course. Who gives way?
6.One of the engines on your twin-outboard center console has overheated, and now you’re idling back to the marina. As you transit the narrow channel of a coastal river a commercial vessel comes up behind you and sounds two prolonged blasts of its horn, followed by two short blasts. What is it telling you?
7.Running to your favorite redfish hole involves crossing a congested bay lined by several marinas. An unmanned freighter is at anchor, and a sailboat is underway. What are your responsibilities? Read more:
