RE: [Paddlewise] Boat visibility

From: Whyte, David <DHW_at_Mail.amsa.gov.au>
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 11:05:39 +1100
Joshua

I work for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority which co-ordinates all
the sea rescues in Australian waters. I spoke to our SAR operators a while
ago about colours for sea rescues and these were their comments

Forget white its the worst colour for spotting at sea.
The best colour is Flourescent orange. I believe there is an international
standard for this and a lot of life rafts etc are coloured this way.
Red would be the next best colour.
I had heard about tests done on Blue but none of our SAR operators knew
about it. I suspect the blue works best on dull grey days so would not be
suited to Australian conditions (lots of blue sky and water).
I would guess green would not be a great colour unless its that bright
fluescent green (the same as on my bicycle jacket)

During the day a signalling mirror is easy to spot. A blank CD works good
During the night a small strobe light can show up a very long distance.

David
Australia


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Received on Thu Nov 30 2000 - 16:09:44 PST

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