PaddleWise by thread

From: Peter Osman <PeterO_at_ambri.com.au>
subject: [Paddlewise] Boat Visibility
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 08:00:29 +1100
Joshua Teitelbaum wrote: -
> Which boat colors are the most visible, night and day?


G'Day,

While its important to try and be visible and appropriate boat colors are
helpful I believe its equally important to assume you are invisible,
especially to bigger boats. 

A yachtsman once told me how how hard it was to see kayaks coming out of the
sun, so now I try to be aware of my position with respect to the sun and
other boats.

Once on a busy harbour a friend in a passing yacht told us the only part of
us he could see was the flag on my partners radio mast (two meters above
water) so now I sometimes use a vertical paddle to signal my position to
oncoming boats when necessary but mostly I stay well clear of them.

Several people have commented they could see the back of my lifejacket,
which is bright yellow, more easily than my white kayak 

Last Sunday I was with a couple of kayakers who needed some help and noone
else was in sight for about fifteen minutes. A few blasts on a storm whistle
and within five minutes three of my friends in colored kayaks were at our
side having paddled through a strong current and quite choppy water - as far
as I know most whistles can't be heard for more than a few hundred meters.
So much for visibility or maybe I need glasses!

All the best, PeterO

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:19 PDT