California Harbors and Navigation Code 773.5 – The operator of a charter boat, or the operator’s employee or agent, …
The operator of a charter boat, or the operator’s employee or agent, shall require each passenger to don a life preserver under any of the following conditions:
(a) When conditions of rough weather or heavy seas pose a threat to the vessel or its passengers.
Terms Used In California Harbors and Navigation Code 773.5
- Boat: means any vessel that is any of the following:
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- Charter boat: means a for-hire vessel operating on navigable water of the state in the coastal zone, as defined in §. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 773.2
- Life preserver: means a life preserver approved and certified by the Coast Guard and capable of providing at least 90 percent of factory-rated flotation capacity. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 773.2
- Operator: means a person owning, controlling, operating, or managing a for-hire vessel. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 773.2
- Passenger: means every person carried on board a vessel other than any of the following:
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- Vessel: includes every description of a watercraft or other artificial contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except either of the following:
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(b) When there is a casualty to the vessel including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Loss of watertight integrity.
(2) Loss of propulsion or steering in close proximity to a shoal or shore.
(3) Fire at sea.
(4) When under tow.
(c) When crossing or navigating the bar or shoal at or near the entrance of any California harbor where weather conditions, surface current, breaking seas, or severely reduced visibility, cause an increase in the possibility of a sudden emergency that might prevent passengers from donning life preservers before entering the water.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) “An increase in the possibility” means a decrease in the certainty of a reasonably prudent operator that normal operation of the charter boat would avoid any sudden mishap.
(2) “Normal operation” means operation without resort to emergency procedures or other extraordinary measures to maintain course.
(Added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1049, Sec. 1. Effective September 26, 1983.)