Do I need underwater lights to cross the channel

[volvopaul]

Lights would be great when the boat capsizes in bad weather, at least you will be able to see where your going safely not running into anything!

 

[Firefly625]

Dunno, but check with MapisM on this

that lends us to another thread altogether...

"Do I need to video myself crossing the Channel"

 

[vas]

that lends us to another thread altogether...

"Do I need to video myself crossing the Channel"

that's dead easy FF,

Only if you're crossing the channel swimming

V

 

[Firefly625]

that's dead easy FF,

Only if you're crossing the channel swimming

V

...and the water is clear and resembles a tropical fish tank....errr not the channel then!

 

[Spi D]

Underwater lights definately handy for finding the tunnel entrance

 

[MapisM]

errr not the channel then!

Yep, I'm afraid I'll decline the invitation to film an u/w Channel crossing!
Actually, I just bought the GoPro Hero2 thingie, and I'd be curious to give it a try it, but I'll resist for the moment... Roll on summer!

Back to your original question (and jokes aside!), yep, I can definitely recommend the scuba torch.
Of course, even a powerful one is nowhere near the lumishore brightness, BUT:
1) nowadays also good ones are not anymore as expensive as they used to be - and cheap as chips compared to u/w lights, anyway;
2) it's always useful to keep a torch onboard, also aside from u/w lighting - and scuba torches are obviously the best in a marine environment;
3) you don't actually need to tie SWMBO to the swim platform holding the torch. Just attach it to a line, together with a small weight, and throw it overboard;
4) for night swimming, in one respect the torch is actually even better than u/w lights - namely, it's more flexible: depending on how you ballast it, you can make it point downward, illuminating the bottom, or upward, illuminating the hull. And imho, either ways are nicer than the horizontal direction which is inherent with transom u/w lights, because while swimming you never have the lights pointing at your eyes, hence temporarily reducing your vision. Which, needless to say, is something important while swimming surrounded by bare naked young ladies!

 

[vas]

And imho, either ways are nicer than the horizontal direction which is inherent with transom u/w lights, because while swimming you never have the lights pointing at your eyes, hence temporarily reducing your vision. Which, needless to say, is something important while swimming surrounded by bare naked young ladies!

hm, up till now I knew of thread or fred drifting, now we see a demonstration of thread (or fred again) stitching...
Well done MM

And to make a usefull addition to the thread, are there any mains (whatever mainly 24V) torches for use around the deck, swim platform using a spiral cable around 5-6m?
I mean your suggestion is fine, but with two small kids and their friends onboard, I'll need a dozen D size batteries per evening and once you add this up for the summer, you go and buy lumishores and fix them on a modified trimtab mechanism to point them downwards at will
I wonder if I should TM that then

V.

 

[MapisM]

Well, the most professional/powerful scuba torches are already built with separate rechargeable batteries, to which they're connected with spiral cables, so I suppose it's possible to just make those cables longer...
But actually, what I'm using is a less extreme torch, though still rather powerful, and its internal batteries are also rechargeable.
So, no worries, you won't miss any naked ladies.
We all know that you mentioned the kids and their friend just as an excuse...

 

[BartW]

Yep, I'm afraid I'll decline the invitation to film an u/w Channel crossing!
Actually, I just bought the GoPro Hero2 thingie, and I'd be curious to give it a try it, but I'll resist for the moment... Roll on summer!

Back to your original question (and jokes aside!), yep, I can definitely recommend the scuba torch.
Of course, even a powerful one is nowhere near the lumishore brightness, BUT:
1) nowadays also good ones are not anymore as expensive as they used to be - and cheap as chips compared to u/w lights, anyway;
2) it's always useful to keep a torch onboard, also aside from u/w lighting - and scuba torches are obviously the best in a marine environment;
3) you don't actually need to tie SWMBO to the swim platform holding the torch. Just attach it to a line, together with a small weight, and throw it overboard;
4) for night swimming, in one respect the torch is actually even better than u/w lights - namely, it's more flexible: depending on how you ballast it, you can make it point downward, illuminating the bottom, or upward, illuminating the hull. And imho, either ways are nicer than the horizontal direction which is inherent with transom u/w lights, because while swimming you never have the lights pointing at your eyes, hence temporarily reducing your vision. Which, needless to say, is something important while swimming surrounded by bare naked young ladies!

on a more serious note,
shouldn't we get back to our discussion about what horn we have then ?

 

[BartW]

And to make a usefull addition to the thread, are there any mains (whatever mainly 24V) torches for use around the deck, swim platform using a spiral cable around 5-6m?
I mean your suggestion is fine, but with two small kids and their friends onboard, I'll need a dozen D size batteries per evening and once you add this up for the summer, .

Vas,

as MapisM pointed out there are many rechargeable dive lights with a cable available, (battery separate from the light), but all these are much too expensive imho, even for sport diving.

for on deck usage, there are many types of splash water proove lights with rechargeable battery's on the market,