Navigating at night

[Steve Clayton]

Jan 2005 issue of PBO has an article where it states:

"Owners of small powerboats rarely go to sea at night; so they often lack experience....."

Discuss please

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[hlb]

Of course not. We're all in the pub. Only raggies sail all day and all night!!

<hr width=100% size=1> No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.

Haydn

 

[LeytonC]

i boat for pleasure, not pain so running during the day is my prefered option...

BUT

I do try to do a couple of night runs to keep my hand in, in fact on a clear night its a pleasure to see the leading lights that take you down from sharpness to avonmouth, also i have radar and i found that very good at night, infact on 1 trip it tracked a rain storm about 1.5 miles to my stern moving from left to right (it was dry were i was!)

<hr width=100% size=1>Thanks

Leyton

EXTAR Software - Software that works for you
Phone : 07803 139 736

 

[Nat]

I go out night fishing all the time but im the only english boat in my marina that does. Dont see what the problem is I carry a small battery hand held gps unit as backup to my plotter. Most nights the meds flat calm anyhow & when the skys clear visibilitys very good.Lots of spanish boats out fishing at night/early morning also. but with due respect I would not just go out for a spin at night dont see the point.

<hr width=100% size=1>2655 ! You can tell me, I'm a Docter !

 

[whisper]

I often arrive back in Salcombe as or just after it gets dark and continue up to Kingsbridge in the dark.
I don't particularly enjoy sailing at night due to the proliferation of lobster pots in our part of the world. I feel as if I should slow down to displacement speed which I find tiresome when out at sea.
I also find that reading the waves is also a lot more difficult unless there is a moon shining - doesn't matter if the sea is flat but surprise, surprise it often isn't down here.

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[Planty]

We particularly enjoy being out at night, certainly heightens the senses, not sure how happy I would be if didn't have SWMBO and 2 lads along to keep careful lookout though. As mentioned here earlier Lobster Pots / Flotsam biggest worry, as Plotter/Radar/Vhf all work equally well at night but pretty usless for thes things.. Very advisable to know exactly how to use all electronic kit (and have spare bits) as some optical messages appear "different" at night. Eg. I always think marker lights on large marker bouys make them appear much further away than they actually are, I suppose its to do with assumption of lights being at ground level but really 3mtrs+ in the air thus angle affects perceived distance etc. Disconcerting none the less at times.

My view is that night passages are terrific "practice" for fine tuning those skills required when things may just get suddenly stressful, Fog, Mist, unexpected Lumpy seas etc.

The one time night passages are a pain IMHO, and only to be executed very carefully, is leaving Cowes after the last night Fireworks, if that ain't stress I don't know what is!! Worse than the Arc de Triumph at rush hour!!
Paul

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[kindredspirit]

Hi Steve,

How are they all in Denia?

I wouldn't normally travel at night unless I was going on a long expedition and needed to be at a certain point at a certain time. Generally, there's no pleasure in travelling at night. Salmon nets, lobster pots and the chance of hitting debris make me nervous, well not nervous but extra careful really.

Kevin.




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[ArthurWood]

I avoid travelling at night on the Gulf of Mexico simply because there are so many crab pots around at certain times of the year and then a few forgotten ones after the crabbing season is over.

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[tcm]

yep, as others say, planing along the coast is a bit daft if you can't actualy see a thing. But offshore, i have done this from time to time on long runs etc. I would try and stay 10miles+ offshore at night, really. Not many yotties go out very much at night either, really. We humans aren't nocturnal, you know.

"small" powerboats i spose wouldn't really have range to need to go out at night, except on purpose, really?

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[jfm]

I love sailing at night so often leave an anchorage late at night, to return back to berth at night. As others say, best to swing out offshore to avoid pots etc, and reading waves is hard unless moonlight etc. I like the extra risk/effort, as sailing a well-known run by daylight can be a bit boring. Obviously need the right kit esp radar

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[Mahi]

Definitely would not want to sail at night without a good radar. Obviously coastal sailing has more traffic and more potential problems with fishing boats and buoys etc - but a good set of eyes and a good radar do help, but it is harder to avoid the smaller buoys or logs/flotsam & jetsom/whales.... etc etc.


If you do make a night passage make sure you have a good radar reflector hoisted as high as poss so that you have more chance of being seen. Definitely if you are wooden or fibreglass, but helps for steel and alloy too when the vessel is low in the water (typical small powerboat) . But you need to hoist radar reflector as high as poss, to be seen at greater range.

At night at times, I have got scarily close to small vessels only to see them pitching in the trough of a wave a few 100 m away, unseen on radar and only seen because of good look-outs scanning horizon. There are many vessels which do not keep a good look-out.

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[MapisM]

Not too much to comment really.
The statement as such is absolutely correct - exceptions are just, ...ahem... exceptions.
What's your reason for asking, do you disagree maybe?

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[BrendanS]

>>exceptions are just, ...ahem... exceptions<<

Exactly, the comment on PBO is correct. I'm a member of the club that PBO did the night exercise with. I'm an exception, along with a few other club members in doing it fairly frequently - going down to the boat of a summer mid week evening and popping over to Cowes or somewhere similar is quite nice, and coming home in the dark quite fun, but most small motorboat owners don't do this.

Many more venture out for Cowes fireworks or the like, but not something they do very often.

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[tcm]

Re: drawing the line ?

where do you, in both senses?

What's "small"

and

Do you have a radar?

I suppose i wd limit myself to emrgency stuff or knownish areas without radar, fwiw.

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[BrendanS]

Re: drawing the line ?

Well Solent is full of peeps doing night trips, though obviously less than daylight, and even daylight evenings are blissfully free of boats.

Small in terms of PBO article and club in particular is probably under 23' as an average, though there are many bigger boats in the club.

Why'd you need a radar for a night trip? It's not foggy when we go out. PC nambypamyishness I suspect.

I've been back in thunder and lightning from Studland, as described in posts of the time, which was entertaining to say the least, but at no time dangerous.

Seems a common theme of these forums is to jump on anything that people haven't generally done, and brand it dangerous or barmy (bar me)?

Would I own up to some of the trips I've done? NO. Used to be a time on here when peeps were entertained by tales of trips, but these days you just get jumped on for being irresponsible, mainly by people who used to be quite sane before they got into selling training courses

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[Mahi]

Re: drawing the line ?

Quoting BrendonS:"Why'd you need a radar for a night trip? It's not foggy when we go out. PC nambypamyishness I suspect."...end quote from BrendonS.

A strange statement, reflecting more than anything a lack of seagoing experience. There are no pc rules that require a radar set; it is simply a bl**dy useful navigational aid!






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[hlb]

Re: drawing the line ?

Now I am very well aware that Brendan is a bit daft. But that does not mean he lacks experience.

<hr width=100% size=1> No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.

Haydn

 

[BrendanS]

Re: drawing the line ?

Me? Daft? /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[Mahi]

Re: drawing the line ?

I know lots of very nice experienced dafties/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[hlb]

Re: drawing the line ?

Sorry, what I think I meant wos. Your very experienced in being daft../forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1> No one can force me to come here. I'm a volunteer!!.

Haydn