Interesting item tucked away at the end of an article in the UK newspaper The Independent about Ellen MacArthur's decision to give up single-handed sailing, at least for a while.
Chay Blyth, who in 1971 became the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world, paid tribute to Dame Ellen but also commented: "It's not that unusual to give up single-handed sailing. [It] is actually illegal and it is only a matter of time before the authorities come down on it."
Illegal? I didn't know that. Presumably he is referring to the requirement in the International Collision Regulations to keep a proper lookout by sight and hearing at all times -- which is impossible on a long single-handed voyage. But is there really a likelihood that the "authorities" will eventually ban single-handed voyages?
1 comment:
I doubt that they will crack down on people sailing single-handed, unless the size of the boats they are doing it on continues to increase in size. One argument for not cracking down on it that I've read is that most single-handers are on small enough boats that they have little chance of doing much damage. Obviously, a boat like Ellen's or Dee's would be a different story.
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