Each week, Bateaux.com offers you a question on the boating licence . You can add to your knowledge or increase your skills in the very broad field of boating. This week, we will cover a topic on Rules of the Road and Helm (RIPAM).
What is the catch-up rule?
This is rule n°13 of the RIPAM, which defines that "any vessel overtaking another vessel must deviate from the latter's course". This means that the overtaken vessel is given preference over the overtaking vessel.
A catching vessel is one that is in the "catching sector" which is the sector of visibility of the stern light, i.e. 135° astern of the vessel. The official RIPAM definition states that a vessel "shall be considered to be overtaking if it is in a sector 22.5° astern of the vessel being overtaken".
The vessel considered to be overtaking must move out of the way of the overtaken vessel "until it is fully trimmed and clear". In practice, the overtaken vessel will be considered to remain in the preferred position until it is in the sector of the overtaking vessel.
In the case mentioned above, the picture shows that the catching vessel is still abeam. It has not yet overtaken us by a large margin. I am therefore privileged and he has to change his course if I decide to maneuver to port (which we will do, of course, with a lot of caution and anticipation to avoid a collision with this boat).
Exceptions to the catch-up rule
The two most common exceptions to the catch-up rule are for sailboats under sail and for sailing in narrow channels and passages.
- A vessel that sails alone, which is normally preferred over motor vessels, loses its privilege when it overtakes a motor vessel . This situation is obviously not very frequent, but it can happen, for example, with ocean racing yachts, whose speeds reach or even exceed those of many pleasure boats at low cost
- In narrow channels and passages, vessels over 20 meters are given preference over smaller vessels, whether they are motor vessels, sailing vessels or vessels in fishing action. This rule also applies if the vessel over 20 meters is catching up.
The cargo below is catching up in a channel and therefore privileged
