How fast in the Dark

plotter is Raymarine 435i, it has about 6 levels of light, but not off!

The lowest level is generally fine, actually, no it's not, I am quite sensitive to light at night so it is too bright when you are away from land and there is only natural light available. But when entering a dark creek to anchor I do have to put the cover on, going into Dale in Milford was the time I noticed this more.

The plotter is at the helm. A red night running mode would be nice!

The light is software controlled, so I wrote to Raymarine requesting an off position update, I must go back and check Raymarine.com as their question and answer sessions have to be on line in the FAQ section, you do not seem to get personal answers to stuff.

I did try telephoning but was put through to the states, you are 42 in the queue, your call is importanclick!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I use red plastic on my instruments

[/ QUOTE ]

where did you get red plastic? Do you have a source for more I can fine many uses for red thin acetate type material.
 
Re: Solent Night Running!

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds like Dads Army on manoeuvres.

Or is it an attempt to emulate the red arrows.

[/ QUOTE ]

stupid boy!

you just have to improvise!

Talking about jetsam like telegraph poles, they don't like it up em, they DON'T LIKE IT UP EM!


[sad]Guess who is a mad fan of DA[/sad]
 
Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

ok.

This more general, and NOT regarding brendanS.

Think of yourself as wise judge of marine accident investion board. Everyone can do this. Like me, you weren't there when this accident happened.

Say three on board a boat (none called brendan) something in the water dodge oops and someone overthe side and injured. Hence the investigation into skippers actions. It was at night, and they were doing 30knots inshore, say in western solent. No other boat involved, they hit summink and the injured chap was son of a bigwig with life insurance hence wheels in motion and here we all are. Whatever.

The question immediately arises that "was this a safe speed" as per erm IRPCS rule 6 for starters and some other as well. Now if nowt happened - it was safe. But since something DID happen - was it a "safe speed"?

Presumably at some point the skipper was going at NOT a safe speed. Like I mean if he was testing a v whizzy boat at 200knots - that's (presumably?) beyond the envelope of a "safe" speed given the conditions of restricted viz. But what's that envelope? It's a matter of judgement, according to the rules - but once there's an accident then the judgement of the skipper is under external scrutiny So, do some judging! Or are their suitable MAIB reports?

I feel a vote coming on ...on a separate thread?
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

Agree with you, tcm. Its the same as Plod wizzing through 30mph limits at 80mph. They may be highly trained, have decades of experience, be superbly fit and highly focussed but it's still too fast and effing dangerous. In the same way, highly trained, experienced, fit and focussed RIB drivers (but obviously not Brendan) zooming around the Solent at night at 20-40knots is excessive if not dangerous, especially as its done for no good reason other than to give the drivers an adrenalin kick and I'm sure, in the event of an accident, the MCA or MAIB or whoever would s**t on them from a great height
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

It's not done for adrenaline kick at all, certainly not in my case, and not in the clubs case either, where the idea is to gain experience of night cruising. My summer evening trips are very relaxed affairs.
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

be fair, summer evenings aren't dark till 10 or 11 tho? I meant dark so you can't see shapes but can see lights. Quite dark and no moon. But flatish. Yeak ok so how did this crash happen, but it hit a bit of summink or maybe it was so flat that someone stoof near the back and then there was a swerve.

You (especialy) can duck this, no prob!
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

Interesting thread (Sorry, Haydn).

tcm's mention of MAIB leads me to wonder if they are holding an investigation into Broadstone Challenger's night time collision with an unspecified object in the Irish Sea during their first go at the Round Britain record run: "Well, there we were, running at 65 knots and using night vision goggles and the radar, when we collided with something. What? Oh, er, I dunno; nobody saw it. It felt bl**dy hard at the time, and then the steering packed up so we had to ease back to 50 and, erm................
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

O. Its OK, feel free to carry on. Must admit the thread has developed and become far more interesting, much improved since Dads Army got involved and Brendans insistance that 50 knot's is quite ok in pitch darkness and no radar, in the Solent. But only for experts like him!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: Night running, MAIB, colregs and NOT brendans

those are exactly the sorts of time I'll usually be heading back.

taking Cowes week fireworks as an example, heading home from that it will be pitch black, and that's August.

One of the reasons for holding club nite ex's late in year when it's cold, is that it's dark early.
 
Re: \"safe\" inshore speed

Afaik, the MAIB biffing level depends on what happened as a result. So if you were doing loads of knots, well then good job it was solo.

Also, offshore perhaps a different matter. I mean, rtw speed runs to south atlantic and so on 40 knots surfing down waves, it's a race innit? So no prob.

I wd really like some input from some Officialdom on this, anyone? What speed would they say jeez, wow. I take brendans's point about it being ok, and it was ok seversal times , and relaxed affairs etc. But this is just the same as someone (like police car) doing 60 in a 40 zone - we have dual carriageways where it is fine really at 80 but now cameras to 40. However, if someone had accident (say in paris with member of roayal family in the back) at 120mph, even i wd go well blimminek 120 sheesh. I wd then go to paris and try it and er well, 90 is shifting on that underpass...

Ahem. Anyway Brendan-wise - there's no boaty speed limit in open water at nite - EXCEPT for that "safe speed for the conditions" catchall in colregs. I wd just like to know at what level the Powers That Be wd see that level, and yep mite be different inshore than offshore, or not, dunno.
 
Re: \"safe\" inshore speed

Yes. Trouble with the Powers That Be ruling on a safe speed for the conditions is that they'd be doing it with the benefit of hindsight and along the lines of "Yes Mr Knotte-Brendan, but there was an accident, which seems to indicate that you were going too fast for the conditions. So, unless you can prove otherwise, we'll have to assume the worst". Catch-22.

I certainly think that confined inshore waters would be looked at rather differently from offshore. After all, socking big freighters go up and down the Channel in the dark at 20kts plus, and that's safe, isn't it? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: \"safe\" inshore speed

Not really safe but assumed to be safe.
Those ships have a lot of gear on board such as radar which tiny ribs do not have - on the other hand when they hit something they do really hit it, so the consequences are a tad worse.
 
Re: \"safe\" inshore speed

And apart from that they need to maintain speed to maintain steerage which is why they whizz around the Bramble Bank turn (Solent) at such a rate of knots otherwise they'd demolish Cowes
 
20knots : Yes but that the point innit?

all the *other* ships do about 20knots. So it would be failry easy to find loads of others in the industry to say to the MAIB "yep, we do 20knots up and down the channel, have done so for years, no prob" and hence it isn't out of the ordinary. hence not a really a factor if loads are doing that and have done so for yonks without incident. Other issues such as a nice stable radar pic and "keeping up with traffic" to minimise overtaking wd also justify about 20 knots.

Whereas over in Court no 2 where Deleted User is about to lock up the traffic cops and throw away the key, the local plod is having some trouble finding anyone else who does 80mph through Chalfont St Giles (or at least, anyone prepared to admit it)
 
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