Find anchored yacht in dark.

[Chiara’s slave]

You guys need to run a more distinctive boat. We never have trouble finding ours. A gloss white mast helps a lot, plus the pre bend and diamonds, and the er, different shape on the water.

 

[14K478]

The wildly over the top solution:

We have a Davey cone burner paraffin lamp which began life as a ship’s NUC light. My sister rescued it from an antique shop. I took the red shade out. The difference in colour of a paraffin flame compared to electric light makes it really easy to spot. The Board of Trade requirements were that it could be seen from two miles with the red shade in; it’s certainly good for three, now.

 

[Roberto]

There's a story there.....

yep it was a few years ago, waters from Trinidad to Grenada, near Venezuela, it's an overnight passage there had been a few assaults against leisure boats, the general idea was to sail at night in the most discrete way: leaving from an anchorage rather than the marina so fewer people could know, no navigation or accomodations lights, no AIS; I did it all in complete darkness, just a few very short flashes from time to time as fishermen in less developed waters often just use that to signal their presence to others. The following morning at sunrise I saw another boat approaching Grenada from the south, they had been stealth as well all night, so stealth I had not even detected them on radar.

 

[Leslie frank]

If you use anchorpro on a phone and leave it onboard you can get an exact location on another phone using telegram to communicate. It's primarily there to tell you if you are dragging but it works in a thick fog to find the boat... been there got the t shirt etc

 

[Irish Rover]

using telegram to communicate.

How does that work? Do both phones need separate data connections? I assume you mean the Telegram messaging app? I've never used it.

 

[Leslie frank]

Yes. You need the anchorpro app on the phone aboard (my phone). Then that phone and my wife's phone have the telegram app. We take her phone ashore and can request a status update from the app on board when we like

 

[Leslie frank]

From memory this only works with anchor Pro... not the free version but it's quite cheap

 

[ghostlymoron2]

Most unseamanlike I know, but I put a couple of small flashing bicycle lights on the rails, one on the bow and one on the stern. Particularly useful when anchored among other boats. As per #3 I also use Navionics on my phone if I have to anchor out of sight of where I'm going ashore, but that's something I try to avoid especially in the dark.

You'll be confused for a hovercraft if you do that.

 

[Irish Rover]

From memory this only works with anchor Pro... not the free version but it's quite cheap

I have AnchorPro on my tablet on board. I don't have a separate data connection for it. I hot spot from my phone. So do I need 2 separate data sources when I'm ashore.

 

[vyv_cox]

Our anchor light from the fabulous Pavlou brothers at Poros Pavlou Bros - Poros Chandler - Visit Poros Pavlou Bros - Poros Chandler - Visit Poros never fails to be the brightest in any anchorage. Fully autonomous and self sufficient, we turn it on in April and off in October. I believe their original intention is to top scaffolding poles but Messrs Pavlou keep any further information to themselves.

 

[fredrussell]

Tie a piece of string to the yacht and pay it out as you row ashore.

Good system this. With an empty yoghurt pot at each end you also have an excellent ship to shore communication that will never run out of batteries.

 

[Roberto]

Install a remote control and have the boat come and pick you up while you wait on the restaurant pontoon.

 

[billskip]

First I have to find the dinghy......

 

[Poignard]

Ask a jet-skier to find it your boat . .

 

[Poignard]

The wildly over the top solution:

We have a Davey cone burner paraffin lamp which began life as a ship’s NUC light. My sister rescued it from an antique shop. I took the red shade out. The difference in colour of a paraffin flame compared to electric light makes it really easy to spot. The Board of Trade requirements were that it could be seen from two miles with the red shade in; it’s certainly good for three, now.

and mine:

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Leaving a cabin light on, or similarly distinctive lighting is good. I also like the ideas mentioned of some retro-reflective patches. Placed a few meters up the mast means you can aim high, so your torch isn't shining into other's cabins. You can also use a distinctive pattern (e.g. white-red-white or some such).

And yes, any decent nav app will let you drop waypoints and navigate to them.

In a dinghy in a rolling sea with wind, it is not the appropriate time to get phone out and check direction on app. At best one might drop it in the sea, at worst one might lose control due to distraction and get tipped out of dinghy.

Anchor light or cockpit light will do the job, as you say. We had a nasty experience coming back from Marisco Tavern on Lundy. The dinghy half swamped on launch as the slop slopped over the slipway, then we headed about 400m out to sea in pitch black and found a mast and saw it was a ketch only to get nearer and discover it was not our ketch. As the tides just beyond there go 4kts I was troubled to put it mildly. So its now anchor light on and or blue cockpit light, and I carry my VHF whenever in dinghy in open water

 

[Fr J Hackett]

and mine:

View attachment 209517

Is it for sale?

 

[Roberto]

So its now anchor light on and or blue cockpit light, and I carry my VHF whenever in dinghy in open water

With a portable DSC one could send a position query to the boat then press GO TO. (I sometimes do the opposite, query where is the dinghy from the boat).
There could be an additional advantage: leaving the onboard VHF switched on, one might send some sort of DSC alert, the alarm volume increases and increases until all the rest of the anchorage cannot bear it any more and they all sail away. Only one's boat left, not too difficult to locate it, alone again

 

[Poignard]

Is it for sale?

Everything I have is for sale but I'm afraid you're too late, that went last year

 

[14K478]

Is it for sale?

There are usually a bunch of oil anchor lights and Not Under Command lights on ebay but be very careful - the genuine cone burner type are rare, if intact.

Davey & Co. Ltd patented the design and other makers used ordinary oil lamp glasses which are probably fine up to F7.

People have often bought the copper ones as knickknacks, polished them to death and thrown out the nasty smelly oil burners.

Here’s a thread from 2003, featuring the late Ian Wright and I:

H

Thread 'Anchor Light/Chandlers'

3 Jun 2003

Can anyone advise me of a good WEBsite to purchase a more traditional parrafin riding light from (not the pressed and dipped variety which 'jump' around alarmingly before rusting up)

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