Whether a person is allowed to drink while sailing has now become an often asked question by many people. This is mostly because people are not familiar with the drinking and sailing laws which may vary from state to state, but generally, revolve within the same margins. This dilemma can be accessed from several different viewpoints, though the conclusion is the same in most of the cases.

Is Drinking Allowed on Ships and Boats?

While ships are considered a bigger transport vehicle, which may carry a lot of passengers, boats are quite smaller and it is against the law to be drunk while sailing. This applies at least to the person who’s in charge of it – the boatman.

It’s out of the question that the captain of a ship be even close to alcohol, as ships usually go on long traveling routes and he needs to stay sober. However, no drinking and sailing laws state that passengers of either boats or ships are forbidden to drink alcohol because they are not in charge of the vehicle.

The Process of Sailing

In order to sail you need to use some kind of a naval vehicle. Most of these vehicles – such as ships and boats, for example, are motor vehicles which transport either people or cargo. Therefore, it is illegal to sail if you’re under the effects of alcohol or drugs.

Drinking and Sailing Laws

Theoretically, you can bring alcohol with you on a boat or a ship, and you can drink it. That’s the one thing for sure. However, in order not to break the law, you are supposed to wait for the alcohol level in your blood to decrease down to 0.08% before you decide to sail back home. The same limit applies to driving a car and affects only the person who’s in charge of the vehicle. It seems like drinking and sailing laws are not so complicated, after all!

In addition to this, we should note that this does not refer only to alcohol, but to drugs as well. On the other hand, passengers seem to be free of any restrictions as long as they do not go near the rudder. However, it is not advisable to drink while on a boat, as too much alcohol can lead to loss of control, which may result in falling off the vehicle. If those around are drunk as well, this scenario is hard to end well.

Also, unless the person who’s in charge of the vehicle is sober, he or she might not be able to take the boat back to the port, and God knows what can happen, especially if this journey takes place during the colder seasons. The risk of wandering in unknown direction is also present, and this can very easily lead to a crash between your and another naval vehicle. This may endanger several lives – to the ones who drink on board and those on the other vehicle. Therefore, it is important not to violate the drinking and sailing laws, as they do serve a good purpose.