First night passage...

slawosz

slawosz

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Hi,
last season I made my first longer cruise - Osea Island to Felixstowe and back. Turned out to be quite an easy trip so I wonder about new goal - first night cruise. I am thinking about Lowesoft - Ramsgate and I wonder if it could be complicated in the sense of hard to spot traffic etc? For sure I will prepare myself well, just thinking if this involves some dangers that are not obvious.
 
I find night passages both exhilarating and reassuring.
As long as you are confident in your nav and planning skills its quite doable though as a first night trip for a relative beginner perhaps more ambitious than some would reccommend. Personally if I were you I'd just do Lowestoft - Orwell first time (that's a whole summer night and then some) and don't be worried about arriving there in the dark, its so well marked. (Don't do that at Ramsgit first time!) I'd keep Ramsgate for the next/another night when you'll know whether you're happy with the more complex and busier Thames estuaryand shoalwater leg.
Given good visibility you will be confidently spotting and identifying all nearby navigation bouys at ranges impossible in daytime. Traffic is generally easier to see as long as not lost in background shorelights but they have to be extensive and close-by to really do that. Towns /coastal features are usually pretty clearly identifiable by their shorelights but thats more for reassurance than nav as you won't be using them for that purpose.
Nightime removes most of the visual clutter of daylight vision and reduces it to only the bits you need - pinpoints of light on a black background. You will learn to read these like a book in fairly short order as long as you know your idents. Things look reassuringly like they do in the colregs book. A spot on the horizon is no longer "is that green or red?" - it's unmistakable. A cardinal tells you what it is five miles off- no peering and squinting until you get close enough to see the detail. You'll very quickly feel you're reading the sea like a book, that's the exhilarating bit.
I usually feel disappointed as dawn arrives with the feeling that we're back to struggling to see so clearly again.

BUT. As you said, homework and planning will be your big help, plan a straightforward ie not complex route nav-wise. Maintain a paper plot even if it's taken off the GPS.

You'll love it, its one of the best parts of sailiing!

ps. I'd add that good moonlight adds another dimension of true visibility while in addition to the advantages of lights being so visible, and the things that you might like to see in the dark but can't are overfalls (so route around them), pots flags which whizz by a couple of metres away and make you jump and in a confused sea you can't anticipate which way the boat is going to move next which can range from annoying to bloody uncomfortable depending on the severity.

If darkness overtakes you en route do make sure you know - not think you know - in advance how to to switch on and control the brightness of all your instruments! There's nothing worse than being dazzled by an instrument you can't dim and it's destroying your night vision when you really need it. Ensure dimmable light available in cabin and nav desk too.
Finally, if you do much night sailing I am of the view that white flares/rockets are far more likely to save your ass than red ones will.
 
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Slowboat35 said:
I find night passages both exhilarating and reassuring.
As long as you are confident in your nav and planning skills its quite doable though as a first night trip for a relative beginner perhaps more ambitious than some would reccommend. Personally if I were you I'd just do Lowestoft - Orwell first time (that's a whole summer night and then some) and don't be worried about arriving there in the dark, its so well marked. (Don't do that at Ramsgit first time!) I'd keep Ramsgate for the next/another night when you'll know whether you're happy with the more complex and busier Thames estuaryand shoalwater leg.
Given good visibility you will be confidently spotting and identifying all nearby navigation bouys at ranges impossible in daytime. Traffic is generally easier to see as long as not lost in background shorelights but they have to be extensive and close-by to really do that. Towns /coastal features are usually pretty clearly identifiable by their shorelights but thats more for reassurance than nav as you won't be using them for that purpose.
Nightime removes most of the visual clutter of daylight vision and reduces it to only the bits you need - pinpoints of light on a black background. You will learn to read these like a book in fairly short order as long as you know your idents. Things look reassuringly like they do in the colregs book. A spot on the horizon is no longer "is that green or red?" - it's unmistakable. A cardinal tells you what it is five miles off- no peering and squinting until you get close enough to see the detail. You'll very quickly feel you're reading the sea like a book, that's the exhilarating bit.
I usually feel disappointed as dawn arrives with the feeling that we're back to struggling to see so clearly again.

BUT. As you said, homework and planning will be your big help, plan a straightforward ie not complex route nav-wise. Maintain a paper plot even if it's taken off the GPS.

You'll love it, its one of the best parts of sailiing!
Click to expand...
Top post.
 
I did the reverse trip a few summers ago. Single handed, left Ramsgate about 10pm, straight out east to a waypoint due south of lowestoft, getting there as the tide turned and taking it due north. In fact my profile photo is the dawn that day. Nothing much to avoid on the way but its a good stretch of about 70 miles IIRC. I say go for it! Totally agree about lights, so much easier to see if a ship is turning towards you or away from you at night.

My Thames analogy: The guy in black is all the myriad routes across the Thames estuary which Indi was going to spend days puzzling over with tide vectors, but then Indi realises he can take the outside route :sneaky:(y)


The only tricky thing about Ramsgate is there is usually a strong tidal flow across the entrance, but as long as you are aware of that you just ferry glide in.
 
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Read the pilotage for Ramsgate before you set off and plan your arrival cleverly.

Or resign yourself to going to Dover. The tide flow is to be respected and exploited.

Fill the Thermos too!

My first big solo night sail was Caernarvon to Fishguard.
 
We did our first night passage in familiar waters, the Wallet, in order to see what problems might arise before going further. In the event it turn out to be fairly easy, but you need to know where things like a handy torch or your hot drink are to be found. In many ways, night sailing is easier than day sailing. If anything, I find it easier to judge ships' movements from their lights. Today, with GPS, much of the stress of navigation is taken care of but there may still be the question of unfamiliarity.

Sailing at night is one of the joys of sailing and certainly to be recommended. There are no special tricks, so long as one is prepared, such as checking the lights before setting out, so just relax and enjoy it.
 
One tip to make it more enjoyable and safer: get to know your night vision. Switch off all lights and screens, except your nav lights and a dimmed compass light. After 15 minutes or so, all the buoys and traffic will be very clear, you will be able to see stars and phosphoresence previously unknown, and your facial muscles will be more relaxed making you happier!
You don't need to keep checking your GPS / plotter all the time, just try switching it off, it's such a relief.
You should organise your HBC, biscuits, etc so you can find them without a torch.
If the off-watch crew need a torch to use the heads or whatever, make sure the hatch is shut so the helmsperson doesn't get a flash, it doesn't take much to destroy their night vision for a few minutes.
 
It will make a world of difference if there is a moon up, even if there are clouds. I love sailing at night (in favourable weather!) if there's some moonlight. I find it a bit unnerving thrashing along into complete darkness ahead, even after doing it many times.

Check in advance how much (if any) moon will be out when, and for which hours (at full moon it will be light all night), when planning your trip. e.g. linky -https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/uk/lowestoft

I agree with Slowboat's suggestion of a shorter trip for a first night voyage (I suspect you might find it a bit tiring first time), and with his highlighting the importance of visibility (avoid fog!).

Note you can get surprisingly cold at night after a few hours at sea, even in summer. Have plenty of layers, a warm hat, gloves and a hot drink available.
 
The only thing that I can add to these excellent posts is the traditional wisdom that one should plan to arrive somewhere just before dawn - while it is still dark so that you can identify the shore lights but with dawn coming up so that you can see your way in in daylight.

My most memorable arrival after a night passage was a very modest one - entering the Colne after sailing down from Harwich - but it was absolutely magical because it was a beautiful morning, we (Frank Holden of these pages and I) were sailing my pre-War gaff cutter and we were going there so that a German friend (sound asleep below) could photograph the Colne Smack and Barge Match, so as we sailed gently into Pyefleet we could see all the oil riding lights hoisted by the competitors lying at anchor in the river and in Pyefleet; their hulls and spars became visible as the light grew, but we could see no electric lights, no GRP, and no alloy Bermudian rigs at all. We had been transported back a century.?
 
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Kukri said:
The only thing that I can add to these excellent posts is the traditional wisdom that one should plan to arrive somewhere just before dawn - while it is still dark so that you can identify the shore lights but with dawn coming up so that you can see your way in in daylight.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more! A mate and I returned from Ireland via Scilly some years back. It was gorgeous weather, gentle breezes, clear skies, and a full moon... But... Moon set was about 4 a.m. and we came through the Western Rocks into Grimsby Sound in the PITCH BLACK..; Very buttock clenching...
 
Gladys said:
I couldn't agree more! A mate and I returned from Ireland via Scilly some years back. It was gorgeous weather, gentle breezes, clear skies, and a full moon... But... Moon set was about 4 a.m. and we came through the Western Rocks into Grimsby Sound in the PITCH BLACK..; Very buttock clenching...
Click to expand...
Moon set is all very well but there is nothing as alarming to a brain befuddled by lack of sleep as the sight of what looks like the remains of a nuclear blast somewhere to the east which only slowly reveals itself to be nothing worse than the Moon.
 
Kukri said:
The only thing that I can add to these excellent posts is the traditional wisdom that one should plan to arrive somewhere just before dawn - while it is still dark so that you can identify the shore lights but with dawn coming up so that you can see your way in in daylight.
Click to expand...
That's a sensible plan if you'd otherwise be making a night landfall after a long ocean passage but I'm not sure it's more than an idealised and probably impractical situation on a shorter coastal trip on which you arrive when the en-route tides dictate. If I was approaching Bermuda at night I'd time my arrival that way but beggared if I'd hang around for a couple of hours in the Thames estuary to do the same at Ramsgit.
Avoiding a landfall at dawn on an easterly heading is good sense though.
Avoiding any arrival, coatal trip or otherwise in half-light is probably best avoided, better it's either dark or daylight, don't you think?

Oh, and a bit of RAF wisdom (they do posess some, I've gathered) visibilty esp. in haze is better down sun but up moon and vv.
 
Slowboat35 said:
That's a sensible plan if you'd otherwise be making a night landfall after a long ocean passage but I'm not sure it's more than an idealised and probably impractical situation on a shorter coastal trip on which you arrive when the en-route tides dictate. If I was approaching Bermuda at night I'd time my arrival that way but beggared if I'd hang around for a couple of hours in the Thames estuary to do the same at Ramsgit.
Avoiding a landfall at dawn on an easterly heading is good sense though.
Avoiding any arrival, coatal trip or otherwise in half-light is probably best avoided, better it's either dark or daylight, don't you think?

Oh, and a bit of RAF wisdom (they do posess some, I've gathered) visibilty esp. in haze is better down sun but up moon and vv.
Click to expand...
Re the RAF wisdom: Where does the 'vv' come in, how can it be both?
 
Having thought further, I'd say a passage across the Thames Estuary is not the best first night sail. A bit too taxing and hazardous, in my view.

You have to know where you are. There may be be big ships thrashing up and down a deep water channel very close by, but a dangerous shoal sandbank between you and them. It's easy to get confused as to which lit port and starboard hand buoys are in which of the closely parallel-ish channels. Knowing what the tide is up to and when it's changing is important, and at various times in the trip you'll have it with you, against you, and across your path.

The estuary used to be a very dark and mysterious place, in my experience, but now there are a plethora of lights on wind farms and much else. It's difficult in the dark to judge the relative distance of these various lights when some are vastly brighter than others. If it's dark enough (e.g. no moon) not to be able to see the horizon, it gets even more challenging.

Of course, GPS & plotters makes it much easier to make sense of it all these days, but I'd say a more straightforward and less hazardous trip (e.g. Lowestoft to Orwell as someone suggested above) would be a more appropriate (and fun) first night trip.

If you want to get Lowestoft to Ramsgate, perhaps make it a two night trip: Lowestoft to Orwell one night, rest for the day, then Orwell to Ramsgate the next night.
 
Thanks! It won't be my first night at the sea, but first as a skipper and on challenging waters like Thames Estuary. I will read through @LittleSister post as it's discouraging which will help me decide if this is something too risky. Truth is, my boat is quite small (24 ft) but very capable at the same time. I think Lowestoft-Ramsgate because it will give me some room in case I will have an engine issue (outboard). Do you think it's worth investing in radio with an AIS display? I need to buy new radio (currently I own only a handheld) and wonder if this would be useful.
 
slawosz said:
Thanks! It won't be my first night at the sea, but first as a skipper and on challenging waters like Thames Estuary. I will read through @LittleSister post as it's discouraging which will help me decide if this is something too risky. Truth is, my boat is quite small (24 ft) but very capable at the same time. I think Lowestoft-Ramsgate because it will give me some room in case I will have an engine issue (outboard). Do you think it's worth investing in radio with an AIS display? I need to buy new radio (currently I own only a handheld) and wonder if this would be useful.
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I think that only you can answer that. Possibly AIS is a bit of overkill for a small boat, and the screen may be a distraction from keeping watch on other things. Marvellous though AIS can be, it is perfectly possible to sail safely without it. In the end it comes down to how you want to spend your money. The wind tends to be light during the night, and an extended period of motoring is quite likely.
 
Just to offer a counter view - we used to scrub our clothes on a stone down by the river. These days we use a washing machine. Technology can make life easier, safer, less stressful in other words.
Whilst johnalison is of course right to say it's possible to sail safely without AIS - I'm not sure why the size of the boat matters. If I had a choice; night time passage across the Estuary with AIS or wthout AIS - I choose *with* every time.
 
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