The Rules of the Road

Understanding and Applying the COLREGs · Second Edition

A guide for the officer meeting the Rules properly for the first time as an Officer of the Watch. It covers where the Rules came from, how the instrument is constructed, why it is written in legal language, what its words mean, and what it expects of you in the gaps it deliberately leaves.

Start with How to Read This Guide, or go straight to Chapter 1: The Simple Idea.