Comments from mariners who studied this question.
AP
APGauvin
· Feb 12, 2015
Umm I'm pretty sure that white over red is a vessel engaged in pilotage duties. If it's a side view of a power driven vessel, wouldn't the red sidelight be forward of the masthead light, not right below it?
jk
jksharp2
· Apr 11, 2015
i agree. white over red = pilot ahead. needs to have a slant with the sidelight forward of the range. This diagram and question could be very easily challenged and won.
ma
mattyh4
· Apr 28, 2015
hey not fair!
Kr
Kruser41
· Jun 4, 2015
Can't be a piloting vessel because you would be seeing sidelights or stern light as well. However, I agree the red sidelight should be offset.
need to remove this question. someone behind a desk and no real experience at sea wrote it. USCG, pay the right folks to do this job, we in the military are paying someone to do their job correctly.
White over Red is indeed Pilot, but you would never see ONLY White over Red if it were a Pilot. Rule 29 (a) (ii) notes a Pilot Vessel "WHEN UNDERWAY, in addition, sidelights and a strernlight"... note the lack of any mention about "making way". So a Pilot Vessel shows sidelights and a streetlight at all times when underway, regardless if it is making way. Therefore, a Pilot Vessel engaged in Pilotage Duty will always have White over Red WITH additional lights, either an anchored light or sidelights and strernlight. So, if you see ONLY White over Red in a line, it can't be a Pilot and by narrowing it down, must be a PDV Underway.
mo
moonakis monk
· Feb 21, 2016
agree....
it could conceivably be either, and reasonable caution would mandate so...
jim
mo
monadyne
· Mar 27, 2016
As often happens, a ~careful~ reading of the question will explain the answer. The question states, "...a vessel displaying ONLY the lights shown..." with "ONLY" being capitalized. That signifies why the lights are those of a power-driven vessel underway. While the seems like a trick question, it's important that a future captain will be able to know the difference between a power-driven vessel underway ahead and a pilot boat going about her pilotage business.
sc
schmidtcarps
· Aug 13, 2018
There will frequently be an aspect where the masthead light will appear directly over the sidelight, so it does not need to appear offset to be a PDV underway. And by the rules, pilot vessels never turn off the sidelights and sternlight when on pilot duty, so the question is fair. And good!
sc
schmidtcarps
· Aug 13, 2018
It does not need to be offset; there will frequently if not always be an aspect where the masthead light will appear directly over the sidelight. This is a good question.
wp
wpaanet
· Dec 21, 2018
Its a fair question that tests pilot lighting knowledge
la
laremias
· Apr 24, 2019
I agree with moonakis monk
dr
drewtmoore
· Aug 13, 2019
The thing that makes this a bad question is not the word "ONLY", but rather the word "displaying". A power driven vessel would also be displaying a green side light and a stern light, you just wouldn't be able to see them.
po
poopface11
· Feb 29, 2020
under way = special lights
rule 29(ii) when underway = nav lights
this cannot be a pilot boat exclusively
