Enunciating the doctrine of the freedom of the high seas, Queen Elizabeth said ‘… the use of the sea is common to all, neither may any title to the ocean belong to any people or private man…’. It might have been more appropriately phrased if she had said—the sea is a free-forall, because until comparatively recently the common interpretation of the freedom of the sea has been the right for all to sail as and how they please, unhindered and unrestricted except for some internationally agreed rules for preventing collision and the demands of prudent seamanship to avoid stranding. Indeed masters and owners alike considered it their unquestioned right to use the waters of their choice and, in close quarter situations, it was often the man with the strongest nerves who won the day.