Masthead anchor light colreg is meaningless for yachts

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LadyJessie

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For a long time, I have thought that the colreg of having an anchor light visible at 2 miles is meaningless for yachts, The colregs are clearly written for commercial shipping where this requirement is very reasonable; big ships need this distance to react and change course. But a yacht very seldom (if ever) anchor close to shipping lanes where this requirement could have any meaningful effect. I also believe that the colregs are written with the understanding that you must also use your common sense. Time to apply that.

Hence, I think that the present practice of placing anchor lights at the masthead is very dumb and dangerous. Yachts typically moor in small secluded coves and bays where a visibility of 2 miles off is totally meaningless. What you need for a yacht is an anchor light that is visible 20-100 meters away to other yachts trying to anchor in the same cove. Most of the time, a masthead light is very inefficient or even invisible for this task. A dangerous practice.

This fact was dramatically drawn home to me yesterday when I was anchored in a bay on Symi island in Greece. This bay is known for its very fierce gusts around sundown. That is usually not a problem, this fact is very clearly pointed out in the pilot books of this area and if you have ensured that your anchor is dug in it is just a windy experience but something you ride out easily. Just before sunset, I got a charter mobo dropping his anchor in front of me. When the normal gusts came up, it quickly was obvious that he hadn't dug his anchor in so he was wrapped around my bow. Adding to this problem, he turned out to be an i***t who had no idea what to do. Instead of reversing off my chain, he went forward and managed to wrap his chain around mine. When finally understanding that he needed to retrieve his chain; he also pulled up mine. My personal opinion is that public flogging is a much too lenient punishment for this sort of offence.

So; I had to re-anchor in 30 kts of wind gusts in the dark in a crowded anchorage. This is the Med so as in all other warm weather areas you normally have cockpit bimini covers and sometimes even extended cockpit covers. It had been a hot day so I had both. This means that as you move around the anchorage, you cannot see lights 15-30 meters up in the air; you are looking at cockpit level at short distance. While trying to line my anchor up into the wind in the dark, I did notice that I narrowly missed two yachts that was only visible to me at about 5 meters off when I saw their white hull reflecting off other lights in the bay (but they had their colreg masthead lights on so I would have seen them 2 miles off, doh...). The next morning I was chocked to notice that I had anchored close to a third yacht that I hadn't even noticed (again with the regulation masthead light on).

In summary; I have found that the practice of having a running light hanging over you boom or even a garden light type solar light mounted on the transom is significantly more efficient in avoiding collisions while anchoring in normal small yacht places than the traditional tall mast head lights.

Imho, colregs anchor light rules make sense for commercial shipping, but could be dangerous to apply for yachts in small anchorages. Is it time for an update?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Or is it time for you to purchase a decent torch.?

[/ QUOTE ]I don't think that was a very helpful comment. I believe the colregs are written with the intent of making yourself as visible and clear in your intent to others as possible. It is not assumed that you should have to guess the intent of other ships. Hence, when anchoring you should not assume that others have to find you; you have to make yourself as visible as you can.

I do have a good torch, but I don't think that could be the solution.
 
As is frequently the case some common sense could be applied - but in general I would agree on your point.

In the vast majority of areas where a yacht is likely to lie at anchor an LCD garden light on the boom is likely to be much more obvious than a compliant light 40 feet overhead.

(But of course its not going to stop braindead a******s from dropping their hook across your chain)
 
Read your colregs more carefully. There is no requirement for a masthead anchor light.

Rule 30, lights for vessels at anchor: quote "(b) A vessel of less than 50 meters in length may exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen instead of the lights prescribed in paragraph (a) of this Rule."

The all round white light has to be of an intensity that can be seen from 2nm. Height is not mentioned.

For whatever reason, many yotties choose to use masthead lights. I agree your objection to this silly habit. Train the yotties. Don't change the rules.
 
Thanks Jim, good point.I do understand that there is no height requirement. It remains though that the colregs requires a 2 nm visibility which in my mind is nonsense in a yachting environment. You are absolutely correct that the fact that this rule has been translated into a masthead practice is arbitrary.

That does not take away my main point that the requirement for a 2 nm anchor light on a yacht is nonsensical in most circumstances. No matter how high (or low) you place that light. The 2 nm requirement distorts the real need of yachties in an anchoring situation.
 
I agree. Rule 30(b) is the answer. Put the light where it can best be seen by the boats that need to see it.
An anchor light lower down illuminates the rigging and spars and other deck structures making a boat very much more visible from the deck of a boat approaching, or operating in, the anchorage.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I can see no objection to the requirement.

[/ QUOTE ]I can: because of this rule the yacht builders install masthead lights that can most easily adhere to the rule. That is why we now how this standard that fulfils a rule but not the real need for sailors in an anchoring situation. It is a classic case of follow the rule instead of solving the problem. If this 2 nm rule was not there for yachts; I am sure every yacht builder would put solar garden lights on the transom of every yacht they would build instead of mast head lights; both cheaper and a lot more more useful.
 
I've never sailed in the Med so I don't know what common practice is there, over and above a masthead anchor light, but I always hung additional white led lamps bow and stern.

Where I have sailed it's common practice for fear that a single white masthead light is mistaken for a star or a light on land if near a town.

I recently had to anchor in the middle of the Bahamas banks at night and chose to do so off a reef on the assumption that if something else was coming across it would give it a wide berth. Fortunately just before bed I had a final look around and saw some bright lights coming towards me fast. I started the engine, put the radar on and the deck lights and got the binoculars out and saw port and starboard lights and a lot of white getting bigger very quickly. I called on the radio and got a response from him at the third attempt and told him he was headed directly at an anchored yacht. It was a small container ship. He turned to port and missed me by about 50 metres.

Just before his turn he asked if I had any lights on because he couldn't see me when I now have three lights on the masts and two bright led lamps! Maybe this is standard practice for them in case of a claim as I had put out a radio message that he was about to run me down.

So either he didn't see me because he wasn't looking, or maybe the masthead lights look like a star, or maybe he can't see any white lights because his decks are covered in bright white lights. He certainly wasn't watching his radar because I know I'm visible on that. I have two reflectors and I've asked passing ships if they can see me and apparently I stand out well on radar.

So, colregs and yachts? I don't know what more to say except I'm now considering leaving the led lamps on flashing red, which would probably be frowned upon, but at least it might catch the attention a bit more than a white light in the sky.

The next night at the other end of the banks I noticed an anchored ketch who had about five led lamps around his decks and the masthead light was on with the tricolour. You wouldn't have known the tricolour was on too unless you looked through binoculars because of the bright white anchor light. I thought that was interesting and made a mental note to ask if others did this because all it seemed to do was make the masthead light look big, which seems a good idea although wrong as far as colregs of course.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the masthead light was on with the tricolour

[/ QUOTE ] Hmmm. Motor vessel under way? A great way to create confusion.

Colreg lights do have one great characteristic. They are consistent. Whenever you can see a single (or two) white lights, and no colour lights, if you're under way, you have to keep clear. Since you're either looking at a stern light, or anchor lights, or a small vessel under oar . . .

The criticism which opened this discussion was that mast head white lights are not always easy to see. True. But there are many other situations when all round lights are not easy to see. Or for that matter, when lights of any type are can't be differentiated . . . just think of street light backdrops.

So, the brighter the all round light, the better. And just because a manufacturer provides a mast head white, does not mean that it has to be used. Educate yotties into the shortcomings of this light by all means, and persuade them to use a bright lower light (not a dim one - visibility is all).

By all means add flood lighting, deck lighting. No colour lights though . . . unless you're prepared to be seen as 'under way', or you've got a string of red lights shouting 'aground' or 'not under command'.
 
I agree with your opinion but Im concerned about the stance that might be taken by the insurance companies if another vessel bumped into you in the anchorage at night and you didnt have the 2nm light on show? We all know how slippery they can be
 
Having had a very similar experience to Ladyjessie 2 weeks ago ...in Greece...(9 Germans on a charter boat with a rubber chicken flying from the shrouds) we reckoned that our masthead light was not sufficiently visible from close up,and bought a solar garden light from the supermarket next day. We hoist it up to the first spreaders and it makes a big difference...it illuminates the mast,boom and bits of the deck,and makes the boat very visible at night.Best of all,it does not take any juice from the batteries.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Or is it time for you to purchase a decent torch.?

[/ QUOTE ]I don't think that was a very helpful comment. I believe the colregs are written with the intent of making yourself as visible and clear in your intent to others as possible. I do have a good torch, but I don't think that could be the solution.

[/ QUOTE ]
In your earlier post you admit that at greater ranges ithe high anchor light can be seen, but up close because you have battened down the bimini etc you cannot see upwards.

Sometimes, particularly when there is a lot of light from the shore, the high anchor light is easier to see than the low one.

In close quarters situation, I agree that the anchor light on top of the mast is a real pita, but you cannot blame colregs for that

Colregs were written to stop vessels getting into close quarters situations and then colliding.


Thus you need to use some other method of being aware of what you are doing in such close quarters. I do understand what you are talking about - you should try the rugby scrum after the fireworks at Cowes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That other method is at the very least once you have anchored is to have a quick look round to see how close you are to other boats using a means that allows you to see them, either a night sight , night binoculars, or a powerfull torch. ut it would have been better to have someone get out from under all your canvas and see as you were getting into position to anchor.

Whilst I agree in many ways that the anchor light on top of the mast is far from ideal, it does at least provide 360 deg covrage. Personally I prefer a powerfull led cluster about 3 metres off the deck, thus illuminating the superstructure (and also providing enough light for the anchor recovery! But before I gpo to bed I always have a quick look round me with the torch to ensure somebody else has not anchored in a position to give me concern. Thus me suggestion was not entirely meant as a joke.
 
I agree with you 100%. I find that lights at the top of the mast , not only eat up the amps, but are out of site of a manouvering yatcht.

I have a low powered anchor light which hangs over the boom, and uses about .5 amp. I can see it clearly at a reasonable distance.
 
Please Jessie.
Do not promote wider use of the low glow LED garden lamps on the assumption they will be seen when hung low.
Hang em forward and they can't be seen aft, hang em aft and the can't be seen forward. Get bad weather and they can hardly be seen at all.
We've pulled into crowded bays in downpouring rain and almost run into several yachts fitted with two or more of these devices.
With respect - had they a adequate all round LED or regular globe at masthead or even part way up - I would have seen them much earlier.
JOHN
 
I have to agree with you 100%. I enter small harbours, anchorages regularly in a small boat at night, the masthead light is comletely unacceptable, it is obscured by the many shorelights, the mashead appears as a star! you need a light at boom level to be seen clearly by a vessel approaching at sea level. when you approach from the open sea at night the masthead lights are far above the view you see of land, street lights tavernas etc, and are obscured, and unless you know the approaches very well, it is all to easy arriving from a tiring passage to be confused.
 
I've just spent 7 months anchoring in the Caribbean and could not agree with Ladie Jessie more. I stopped using my masthead light very quickly, it sucks up amps and is not that visible. Instead I put up a much less powerful lower light on a penant one third way up my topping lift. The light cost me $25 US and includes a sensor to turn it off in daylight. It saves me power, can easily be seen at two miles, does not need me to go the masthead to change the bulb and as it is unique to my boat means I can find the damn thing when its dark and I've been in the beach bar too long!!
I checked the colregs before I did it and I believe meets all the requirments.

HOWEVER I sometimes wonder why I bother, nearly every Sunsail/Switch FR/Moorings charter boat does something different ranging from not turning anything on at all to making every switch on the boat, so they look like a Christmas tree (underway, making way at anchor sailing and under power all at the same time). And as they rarely drop it in a sensible place let alone set it or check it, I often feel like the only lunatic in the asylum. Then of course there is the odd Yank who for some reason thinks a blue light or a strobe is a good idea. The Colreg police would have a field day - that is until I saw a Martinique coastguard cutter anchor next to us for 6 hours with all his running lights on!!! SWMBO and I used to get cross, now we just laugh and try to make sure we are not going to be the first to get hit when someone comes in, in the dark
 
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