Collision Avoidance at Sea
January 8, 2025 · 4 min · 1K views
What this video covers
Jerome Rand, sailing solo on Into Oblivion, encounters a cruise ship with an AIS Closest Point of Approach (CPA) fluctuating between zero and two miles on an open-ocean passage in good conditions.Watch He walks through his real-time decision process: monitor the ship's course over ground, reassess at five miles, and avoid overreacting early, since premature course changes confuse other vessels.0:16 AIS gives a CPA readout, but Rand emphasizes two lower-tech backups as more reliable.1:10 A hand-bearing compass lets him take bearings every few minutes to check for a constant bearing, which indicates a collision course.2:20 Binoculars reveal the ship's silhouette — he first sees its starboard side, then its bow, then its port side, confirming he will cross well ahead.2:50 He notes that a sailboat's irregular course makes CPA estimates less precise than for a powered vessel.0:42 The ship passes with roughly 1.5 miles to spare. The core rule for solo sailors: never leave the deck while another vessel is in range, and keep monitoring until the threat is fully clear.3:42
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