Craig Jungers wrote: I've found headlamps (the LED jobbies they sell everywhere now) are way too bright. And shining it at the oncoming boater might destroy his night vision at exactly the time you want it to be at its best. If you're alone it's perhaps not so bad but if you are with anyone else you will surely destroy their night vision too. And possibly your own. <snip> I'm with Jackie. Glow sticks are your friend. They are bright enough to see from close by but not bright enough to attract unwanted attention. I put my flashlight under a bungee on deck. Steve Holtzman wrote: I was trying out a new set of lights that I had just purchased. These were made by Seattle Sports and consisted of a combination red/green light for the bow and an all around white light on a 2 foot rod for the rear. They attached via suction cup to my deck and clipped to a deck line as well. At the end of the night, people kept commenting on how visible my boat was. Here in Chicago there are two major sea kayaking clubs which offer evening paddles on Lake Michigan during the summer months. Although these rarely last until 1 am, folks are out on the water after dark, and with varying degrees of night lighting. Some folks realize the value of kayakers doing their best to look like one of 'them' (power or sail craft). Having a combination red/green bow and white stern light allows the paddler to be recognized, even from a distance, and also to convey directional information. While those who don't often paddle after sunset may not want to spend the $$ for outfitting the boat with bow and stern lights, the next best thing, IMO, is to carry a bright headlamp, as it can be kept pointed in the direction of oncoming traffic while paddling like hell to get out of the way. Many years ago, I borrowed a friend's kayak for my wife-to-be to use on a trip, and wanted to test-paddle it myself prior to returning it - the only option being a night paddle. I opted for a longish route, even with NE wind and somewhat bouncy conditions, and at the half-way point had to cross the mouth of Calumet Harbor, an international shipping port on the south side of Chicago. Just outside the mouth of the harbor and a bit too late, I realized that a fuel barge being pushed by a tug was bearing down on me fast. With a bright 4 x AA cell light biner'd to the shoulder strap of my pfd (perfectly legal), I quickly stopped paddling to shine the light at the tug captain, who quickly cut the engines. Even so, and feeling that he was too close for comfort, I let the light hang down while paddling like hell off to the side. The outcome was good as he missed me, and it was probably a good thing that the wind and waves kept me from understanding what he was saying on the tug's outside PA system. That evening I had opted to use only a handheld light, which required the cessation of paddling to operate. I had a headlamp at the time, but felt that it was not bright enough for night paddling, and hadn't bothered to bring my bow/stern lights along for that paddle. With the advantages of lighting technology over the last 10 years, there is, IMO, no reason for paddlers to NOT have either a red/green bow/white stern combination - or at very minimum - a 'way too bright' LED headlamp for paddling in busy commercial/recreational waters after dark. A handheld light just isn't good enough, and I'm not sure I'd trust light/glow sticks in such waters. Erik Sprenne at the southern end of Lake Michigan *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jul 30 2007 - 21:04:55 PDT
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