This is exactly to what I am referring as I also paddle on the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers that have tow boat (barge) traffic. a recent near miss with a barge which brings out several of the points I have found tow boat (barge) river pilots are very nice and professional. With LED red and green running lights on the bow, and the Scotty white all around light on the stern, I can easily been seen by all boaters, including tow boats. We can communicate via VHF radio They can easily determine my heading. There is no panic or near misses. The river captains appear to appreciate this. Again, this is above the required Coast Guard rules. I can tell them what I am and we each know where the other is heading. Or if I decide to go to shore, I can tell them. They can watch me head to shore with my green and red running lights. Everyone on the water, except us paddlers, is use to the red/green and white all around. The small, waterproof red and green LED lights and the Scotty white LED all around light (all use a single AA battery) make this doable for boats without electric power. My night vision is not impaired by these lights either. And paying attention to the nuns and cans also helps as the tow boats do not leave the channel, at least in my area - upper Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. However, the lights do attract bugs . . . and a kayaker can move too slow when paddling against the current or upstream . . . *************************************************************************** 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 is all fine but of course on a large river with barge traffic after dark a tow operator should never have to worry about determining your position and direction of travel. They often can not and certainly should not ever be expected to adjust course in order to accommodate your position. You should stay out of the main channel and if your are in a portion of the river where the channel is marked from shore to shore you should stay clear of the area within the channel required by the tow operator to maintain his course. It is clearly your responsibility to be aware of and stay well out of the path of a commercial vessel on the river. This is true day or night. I am also unclear as to what VHF communication would be necessary between a kayaker and a tow boat operator trying to do his job in tricky conditions. It would also be wise to apply the same principles to motorized recreational vessels of any type. While these are far more manueverable and some hold on to the fantasy expectation for them to always operate safely around our position it is insane to assume the individual operator in question is going to do so. Rules of the road should never be counted on by a kayaker. Should something not go as "written" it is reasonable to assume it will be your surviving family members and not you taking any legal action. I prefer to not be continuously marked at night. If anything it can draw attention to you as any lighted markings on a kayak can appear unusual. I prefer to stay out of the path of any motorized traffic and make any necessary changes needed to assure I keep a safe distance. Per the rules I carry a high intensity light to signal if necessary as well as a strobe light and flares to back that up. It has never been necessary to use ANY of those items and I have extensive experience paddling in the dark. I also personally suggest people not use red or green glowsticks or other lights in a position OTHER then the traditional bow positions. Hanging green and red glow sticks on boats or PFD's may give someone the impression they are actually seeing a navigation light and that your heading is different then what it actually is. This of course is all just my opinion but I operate under the principal that no matter what my rights or what some rule book says I have a great deal of respect for vessels that can kill me without even leaving a mark on there bow. I do not make the mistake of believing that the operator of any vessel is necessarily competent, alert, aware, educated, sober, etc. at any given time. We are not the same and do not have equal rights. In closing with a final obscure thought, while we can claim to be the top of the food chain when the gun jams the polar bear eats. Aaron On 25 Oct 2002 at 8:03, Bemis, Scott E. wrote: > With LED red and green running lights on the bow, and the Scotty white all > around light on the stern, I can easily been seen by all boaters, including > tow boats. We can communicate via VHF radio They can easily determine my > heading. There is no panic or near misses. The river captains appear to > appreciate this. Again, this is above the required Coast Guard rules. I > can tell them what I am and we each know where the other is heading. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
As a frequent night paddler on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, I agree completely with Aaron's writing. Fixed constant lighting is most useful, perhaps,to keep track of a large group of paddlers at night. I'd be loathe to take such a group paddling about the Mississippi, amongst commercial traffic at night. Larry Koenig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Aaron White" <aaronwhite_at_mn.rr.com> > This is all fine but of course on a large river with barge traffic after > dark a tow operator should never have to worry about determining > your position and direction of travel. They often can not and > certainly should not ever be expected to adjust course in order to > accommodate your position. You should stay out of the main > channel and if your are in a portion of the river where the channel > is marked from shore to shore you should stay clear of the area > within the channel required by the tow operator to maintain his > course. It is clearly your responsibility to be aware of and stay well > out of the path of a commercial vessel on the river. This is true > day or night. I am also unclear as to what VHF communication > would be necessary between a kayaker and a tow boat operator > trying to do his job in tricky conditions. > > It would also be wise to apply the same principles to motorized > recreational vessels of any type. While these are far more > manueverable and some hold on to the fantasy expectation for > them to always operate safely around our position it is insane to > assume the individual operator in question is going to do so. Rules > of the road should never be counted on by a kayaker. Should > something not go as "written" it is reasonable to assume it will be > your surviving family members and not you taking any legal action. > > I prefer to not be continuously marked at night. If anything it can > draw attention to you as any lighted markings on a kayak can > appear unusual. I prefer to stay out of the path of any motorized > traffic and make any necessary changes needed to assure I keep a > safe distance. Per the rules I carry a high intensity light to signal if > necessary as well as a strobe light and flares to back that up. It > has never been necessary to use ANY of those items and I have > extensive experience paddling in the dark. I also personally > suggest people not use red or green glowsticks or other lights in a > position OTHER then the traditional bow positions. Hanging green > and red glow sticks on boats or PFD's may give someone the > impression they are actually seeing a navigation light and that your > heading is different then what it actually is. > > This of course is all just my opinion but I operate under the > principal that no matter what my rights or what some rule book says > I have a great deal of respect for vessels that can kill me without > even leaving a mark on there bow. I do not make the mistake of > believing that the operator of any vessel is necessarily competent, > alert, aware, educated, sober, etc. at any given time. We are not > the same and do not have equal rights. In closing with a final > obscure thought, while we can claim to be the top of the food chain > when the gun jams the polar bear eats. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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