Safety information6Way vessels). Both you and the meetingvessel must alter course to avoid each other.MeetingIf you are meeting another power vesselhead on, and are close enough to run the riskof collision, neither of you has the right-of-way Both of you should alter course to avoidan accident. You should keep the other ves-sel on your port (left) side. This rule doesn’tapply if both of you will clear one another ifyou continue on your set course and speed.CrossingWhen two power driven vessels are crossingeach other’s path close enough to run therisk of collision, the vessel which has the oth-er on the starboard (right) side must keep outof the way of the other. If the other vessel ison your right, you must keep out of its way;you are the Give-Way vessel. If the othervessel is on your port (left) side, rememberthat you should maintain course and direc-tion, provided the other vessel gives you theright-of-way as it should.OvertakingIf you are passing another vessel, you arethe “Give-Way” vessel. This means that theother vessel is expected to maintain itscourse and speed. You must stay out of itsway until you are clear of it. Likewise, if an-other vessel is passing you, you shouldmaintain your speed and direction so that theother vessel can steer itself around you.EMU25531Other special situationsThere are three other rules you should beaware of when driving your boat around oth-er vessels.Narrow channels and bendsWhen navigating in narrow channels, youshould keep to the right when it is safe andpractical to do so. If the operator of a power-driven vessel is preparing to go around abend that may obstruct the view of other wa-ter vessels, the operator should sound a pro-longed blast on the whistle (4 to 6 seconds).If another vessel is around the bend, it tooshould sound the whistle. Even if no reply isheard, however, the vessel should still pro-ceed around the bend with caution. If younavigate such waters with your boat, you willneed to carry a portable air horn, availablefrom local marine supply stores.