Module 5 - COLREGs
Rule 5 — Look-out
Rule 5 requires every vessel at all times to maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions. The purpose is a full appraisal of both the situation and risk of collision, not merely noticing a vessel once.
On a small yacht, the watch should deliberately scan the full horizon, check blind sectors around sails, sprayhood and structures, listen outside the cabin, and reassess after course, visibility or traffic changes. Radar must be used properly when fitted and operational. AIS can help identify and track some contacts, but craft may be absent, switched off or transmitting wrong data, so it remains supplementary.
Autopilot can hold a heading but cannot keep lookout or decide safe speed. At night, in restricted visibility, near traffic concentrations or when the helm cannot maintain a full appraisal, post or call an additional lookout and remove avoidable distractions. The skipper must still match the watch arrangement to the actual conditions rather than treating one crew pattern as universally sufficient.
- Maintain the lookout continuously by sight, hearing and appropriate available means
- Scan blind sectors and rebuild the picture after any material change
- Use operational radar properly; treat AIS as supplementary information
- Add people or reduce distractions when one watchkeeper cannot make a full appraisal
Optional quick check
Section 2 of 9
Which watch arrangement best meets Rule 5 on a busy night approach?
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