I just have a question as to the escort boat's responsibilities regarding incoming/outgoing traffic. Specifically, I paddle for a club in the Hui Wa'a association, and when we have regattas at Haleiwa beach park, there is sometimes lots of incoming/outogoing traffic in and out of the harbor. The race course does run perpendicular to the mouth of the harbor, so any incoming or outgoing traffic must pass through the race course. Usually, the traffic doesn't interfere with our races, and the escort boats wait for the traffic to go through the course before starting a race. But this season, there were many shark tour boats and other craft that came through the course RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of races, causing near collisions and LOTS of wake. Everyone that I've asked has told me that it is the escort boats' job to hold such traffic during races. But in some cases, it seems as though the escort boats either didn't see them entering into the course or just seemed not to attempt to stop them (i'm inclined to believe the first option, but sometimes it seems the escort boats just...let them through)
So, am I to assume that these boats that have been interrupting our races just ignored the escort boats? In which case, is it the escort boat's job to BLOCK them from entering??? Just pondering this issue, as at one point a sailboat almost caused multiple collisions at our first regatta in Haleiwa this season.
Submitted by pokamura09 on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 11:04pm
I just have a question as to the escort boat's responsibilities regarding incoming/outgoing traffic. Specifically, I paddle for a club in the Hui Wa'a association, and when we have regattas at Haleiwa beach park, there is sometimes lots of incoming/outogoing traffic in and out of the harbor. The race course does run perpendicular to the mouth of the harbor, so any incoming or outgoing traffic must pass through the race course. Usually, the traffic doesn't interfere with our races, and the escort boats wait for the traffic to go through the course before starting a race. But this season, there were many shark tour boats and other craft that came through the course RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of races, causing near collisions and LOTS of wake. Everyone that I've asked has told me that it is the escort boats' job to hold such traffic during races. But in some cases, it seems as though the escort boats either didn't see them entering into the course or just seemed not to attempt to stop them (i'm inclined to believe the first option, but sometimes it seems the escort boats just...let them through)
So, am I to assume that these boats that have been interrupting our races just ignored the escort boats? In which case, is it the escort boat's job to BLOCK them from entering??? Just pondering this issue, as at one point a sailboat almost caused multiple collisions at our first regatta in Haleiwa this season.
Submitted by pokamura09 on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 11:04pm