🔍 Key Concepts
• Think about leeway: which vessel is drifting downwind faster, and how that affects relative motion between the two hulls.
• Consider which side of the disabled vessel is windward and which is leeward, given that the wind is from her starboard beam.
• For running towing lines, you generally want to avoid being set down onto the disabled vessel. Position where wind and drift help keep you clear rather than push you into her.
đź’ Think About
• If your vessel is making more leeway, will you tend to move toward the windward side of the disabled vessel or toward her leeward side over time? Sketch the relative drift.
• Looking at positions A, B, C, and D, which one places you so that, as you drift more downwind, you either stay parallel/clear or open the distance, instead of being pushed into her side?
• Which position gives you a safe angle to pass lines forward or aft without your stern or bow being blown into the other vessel?
âś… Before You Answer
• Identify clearly which side of the disabled vessel is starboard and therefore where the wind is coming from on the diagram.
• Mark on your sketch which direction is downwind (leeward) and which way each vessel will drift.
• Before choosing, verify: from that lettered position, does your greater leeway make you close in dangerously or slide away safely while you’re passing the towline?