Our last Carefree Boat Club training blog covered How To Calculate Fuel Consumption. As a follow up, this week’s #TrainingThursday will cover How To Safely Overtake Another Boat. We will cover the different methods for safely passing another passenger or boater in the water.
Overtaking Another Boat
When two boats are in open water, passing or “overtaking” another boat is no big deal as long as it is done respectfully. Really all it comes down to is passing the other boat’s stern wake as early as 
possible, leave plenty of room, don’t make too much of a wake and give a friendly wave.
If you are approaching each other head on, each boat must alter their course to the right. If you both are heading the same direction on a narrow channel the difference in speed will determine who is passing or overtaking whom. The system for passing another boater in the water is very similar to passing another passenger in a car, however, depending on where you are there may be rules to follow. For instance, canals, some lakes and most rivers require you to follow the rules according to the United State’s Coast Guard (North American Inland Rules). However, offshore waters should follow International Rules. Differences mainly lie in the signals used to communicate to one another.
“If you are overtaking a vessel under sail, if possible, overtake them well to leeward or pass astern in a crossing situation, so as not to block their wind.” *BoatSafe.com
WaterSports
There are rare instances where you may be approaching a boat with a person in the water (water skiing, wake boarding, water tubing, etc.) In this instance, you would try to give-way by more than 100 feet (30 m).
PWC (Personal Watercraft)
Also, there may be an instance where you approach jet skiers or PWCs in the water. (See #TrainingThursday blog on Operating A Personal Watercraft). In this case the PWC should give-way to the larger vessel as they are better able to maneuver and will most likely have better visibility of the larger vessel as well.
Additional Resources:
Video Training from BoatOnCourse.com:
Tune in to our next training blog!
(Images and lessons sourced from Boating Magazine, BoatUS.org, *BoatSafe.com)
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