[Paddlewise] Lights

Paddlewisers,

Maybe it is just a carryover from my frequent night training as a
paratrooper, but I actually prefer to paddle at night without utilizing
lights. Some nights are so dark you have to use them, but that is usaully
not the case. My main problem with lights is that they screw up my eyes
getting use to seeing in the dark. With a light on, about all I can see is
where the beam of light is focused. Generally, I prefer to have a wider
field of vision than using lights allows. Also, it makes me a bit sea sick
(don't get sea sick in a kayak any other time) seeing other people's lights
going up and down in the swells. As a result, I am reluctant to allow people
in my groups to use lights in the ocean at night. When we have used lights,
we paddled in a side by side line (hard to control) to avoid seeing each
other's lights. If we are navigating with a compass, only the navigator at
that time has a light on the compass.

It's cool being stealthy too.

The only night light I carry in the ocean is usually just a little, one AA
cell, waterproof, LED light. However, I suppose that if I had to (would more
than likely avoid) make a nasty landing in and around some rocks with lots
of surf at night, having a powerful headlamp for backup would be nice. In
dark sea caves, I use a medium powered headlamp (which is just about
useless), a powerful dive light thethered to the front deck and easily
removable for spotting by hand, and a light stick taped to the top of my
helmet.

Duane Strosaker
Southern California
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