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FRIENDLY RIGHT-OF-WAY (22-5)
By Dusty Miller
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 Power
boaters and sailors have a friendly rivalry. Sailors
will talk about the long crossings they made and brag
about the little sips of fuel they used, while power
boaters will talk about speeding along on plane and
brag when a thunderstorm rears its cloudy head, they’ll
be safely moored in the marina. Often, the kind of wind
that keeps powerboats tied up will cause sailors to
fly toward the horizon with lee rails under. And when
light air keeps sailors ashore, the power boaters are
out skimming across the open water.
For many years I have been involved with sailing and
even admit the first boat I owned was a sailboat. My
dad bought me an eight-foot sailing pram we would sometimes
tow behind his cruiser. Once we anchored, I could sail
to my heart’s content. I could go anywhere as
long as the mast was visible from the boat. And during
many wonderful summers I did go everywhere. I’d
explore the 1000 Islands, make my way between the rocks
in Georgian Bay, and venture through the countless anchorages
up and down the Trent-Severn Canal. But what shifted
my interest from sailing to power boating was an incident
when I was out cavorting on the water with some of my
buddies, who by the way, had a couple of powerboats.
And like so many young boys on the water, we decided
to explore a river. Since the wind was wrong for me
to sail up the channel, my buddies decided to tow me.
So, there we were going merrily along until we went
under a low bridge, which eventually (and unfortunately)
took down my rigging. Upon learning about my accident,
my Dad replaced the sailboat (and my mast and boom)
with a little outboard motor, thus introducing me to
the world of boating.
The one area where the friendly rivalry between boaters
and sailors becomes a little more animated is when it
comes to understanding the right-of-way. We all know
that a boat powered by wind, oars, or paddles has right-of-way
over motorized vessels and that power boaters should
steer clear of sailboats, canoes, rowboats, and so on.
But, here’s where it gets tricky. Canoes, rowboats
and sailboats become motorized boats as soon as they
are propelled by an engine.
If the engine is running when the paddlers are paddling,
then the boat is considered a powerboat. On a sailboat,
if the sails are up and the engine is running, it’s
considered a powerboat. In fact, there are places where
sailboats must be powered by an engine. An area that
comes immediately to mind is in the Western Gap on Lake
Ontario between Toronto Island and the mainland, next
to Toronto City Centre Airport.
Just as there are power boaters who will skim by a sailboat
(under sail) with no heed for right-of -way, there are
sail boaters who will motor across in front of a powerboat,
firmly believing they have right-of-way. And when this
happens, each will often try to bruise the other by
hurling epithets. The only things they bruise are the
ears of people in other boats or on shore.
Just to make things perfectly clear, motorboats must
steer clear of sailboats under sail. But, when a sailboat
has an engine running, whether it’s a 9.9 hp kicker
or a little diesel, the sailboat becomes a powerboat
and must, therefore, follow the rules of right-of-way
that powerboats follow.
An unwritten rule, one that is not written down in regulations,
but still a good one to keep in mind is “Not everyone
knows the rules of right-of-way and not everyone who
knows the rules follows them.” For this reason,
I simply steer clear of canoes, rowboats and sailboats
while I am cruising – whether I think they’re
under power or not. The other consideration is that
a sailboat is not as easy to steer as a power boat and
since it’s generally easier for me to steer clear
of them, than for them to steer clear of me, I give
them the right of way whether they have it or not (and
steer around their sterns).
Each side has fair points and challenges. There’s
a lot of water out there to play on. And if we keep
the rivalry good-natured, everyone will have more fun.
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