quote:
Originally posted by Gestalt
i don't think the rule makers were really giving any consideration to people wanting to jump and or wave rides. right of way rules come from international sail craft rules. when applied to wavesailors it was more about the boat leaving port, being in shallow water and being underpowered. well that's what i was taught anyways.
G'Day Gestalt, (bit off topic, how's that board of yours coming along???)
If that's the case it's not a very good correlation, leaving port = going out thru waves?
*Edit-- Think I see what you mean now, if waves are considered a hazard to be negotiated enroute because they are unavoidable, then OK, for sailboats that would make sense. But wavesailors aren't going anywhere else, the waves are the detination and riding them the purpose.
If the DTL wave is across a marked chanel then I guess the wave sailors have to obey standard rules. But most of the time there's a much safer way out than going thru the middle of the break, so that shouldn't apply. *-----end edit
The other thing with wavesailing down the line is that it requires most if not all your attention, most of the time you're not looking towards the beach at all but along the wave, you'll see somebody underpowered going out with enough time to do something about it. But if somebody's coming at you full tilt from the side, you may not see them till it's too late to react.
Where if you're coming out, you're looking almost straight at the wave rider, you're attention should be focussed on the passage out and take the wave rider into account.
But you do see rules quoted, that say, standard sailing rules unless there's waves.
The underpowered bit is fine and makes sense, underpowered (non planning) sailors have much less maneuverability than somebody planning, so this should be part of the universal rules.
quote:
i really had no idea that in WA normal sailing rules don't apply. so this thread has been good for highlighting that.
That was my main aim, there are some arrogant people around that will flout any rules/ettiquete, but I've realised that there are an even larger number that aren't aware that our wave locations are different. Unfortunately it's not just jumping/wave riding either, there's also who's wave it is, and this does vary location to location, (Margarets you "stack", first in the queue gets the wave and pity the persistent queue jumper, other places it's whoever gybe's on the wave first,) but it's not such a dangerous issue.
quote:
as a serious question, who has right of way in WA if the conditions aren't DTL?
That's another good question, and I can't really answer it, I don't sail many bump and jump places, apart from Corro near Geraldton, I don't consider that to be DTL, but there is a sign there that says wave riders have right of way.
And Greenroom thinks the same about scaborough,
Guess it's a case of having to suss it out when you're there
