Re: [Paddlewise] Kayaks and Visibility

G'Day Peter, Craig and All,

Hope I can do justice to your questions: -

ORIGIN OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT

Several years ago NSW Maritime Services, who I've always found reasonably
sympathetic to kayaking issues, asked for submissions for a code of conduct
for kayakers and rowers on Sydney Harbour. The NSWSKC and some of its members
including myself, made submissions that seem to have been effective (mine
didn't involve lighting). The need for a code of conduct came after jet skiers
had been banned from the harbour following the actions of a few renegades that
had outraged the public. I think there was also some pressure from commercial
boating interests to remove or otherwise tightly control kayakers in the
harbour. The code helped to stop this from happening.

The code of conduct can be seen on
http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/rec_boating/CodeOfConduct.html
<http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/rec_boating/CodeOfConduct.html>

As you are probably aware there have been deaths on the harbour through
boaters not showing lights and the courts can treat those responsible, if they
have survived, very severely.

DO MOST PADDLERS COMPLY

I've never done any kind of survey but am reasonably sure that the majority of
night paddles around the Sydney environs are by members of the NSWSKC. The
code of conduct follows very closely the normal practise used by NSWSKC and I
have never heard of a paddler on Sydney Harbour who did not follow that
practise. At least not one that was still alive. I'm told a couple died many
years ago. I expect there may still be a few who don't know any better.

DO MY TORCHES MEET THE 1km REQUIREMENTS

For several years I paddled at night every week and early on must have spent a
fortune on red lamps, green lamps, strobe lamps, LED torches etc. None of
which proved particularly reliable under the conditions we paddle in. Finally
I came across a $10 waterproof torch that used off the shelf parts and was
incredibly reliable. A bit heavy on the batteries but I use rechargeables for
environmental, cost and safety reasons.

http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?item=89888&search123=torch&i
ntAbsolutePage=1
<http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?item=89888&search123=torch&
intAbsolutePage=1>

I'm putting the link up just to illustrate the torches. I have no financial
interest in the company that makes them. Wish I did!

Never measured the distance but many of us use these torches and they are
clearly visible from a good practical distance provided your batteries are
charged. And I'd be very surprised if they were not visible at 1km. I'll check
next time I'm on the water at night.

ARE THEY EFFECTIVE AT KEEPING OTHER BOATS AT BAY

Never had any problem, haven't been sworn at by any boaters at night and not
aware of any incident reports from the club. Rock fishermen can certainly see
us coming judging by their earnest imprecations to watch out for their
"^%E$FV67%$)^%(%" fishing lines. Their was one notorious occasion .....but no
thats another story and not at all suitable for Paddllewise:~)

FLASHLIGHTS IN DAYLIGHT

Sounds like a smart judge. No requirement here to carry a flashlight in
daylight

LOCAL REDNECKS

Sounds like some smart rednecks and now I know why we've never been fined -
we're way too scary. (yeah sure:~))

NIGHT VISION

Night vision is something the groups I paddle with are very sensitive about.
The lights we use are just fine, bright enough that we can see each other and
not so bright as to cause excessive vision impairment. I would very soon find
myself not invited to a paddle if I constantly used lights that were too
bright. In this regard two lights are much better than one. Remember I quoted
180 degrees, there's a reason for that and the code of conduct states it
concisely

"Notwithstanding 3.1(a), it is considered acceptable for a light to be masked
so as not to interfere with the vision of the vessel's occupants, provided at
least one light is visible from any direction."

The torches I use implement this quite well. There's a reasonable amount of
thought gone into the way we paddle at night

DISPARATE LOCAL REGULATIONS & POWER BOATERS

If you go through the regulations I've quoted you will find that they do not
preclude ColRegs but offer in addition alternatives. It happens that these
alternatives are more practical in our waters and for the kind of paddling we
do than the ColRegs and ColRegs allows us to use them via rules 1 and 2. So
freedom to use commonsense is enhanced and we are not restricted by uninformed
regulation to dangerous practice.

I'm very sympathetic to Craig's point of view re power boaters but on the
whole they are pretty responsible on Sydney Harbour. However, the argument is
a non-sequiter as I would continue to use lights even if power boaters weren't
present, because very often I'm the senior paddler in a group and owe a duty
of care to my buddies and want to be able to locate them. (OK I take it back -
power boaters may be responsible but they aren't pretty :~))

For an example of a challenging night paddle over here, see a trip report from
one of my friends and imagine what it must be like for the trip leader with
duty of care! (not a trip I'm up to participating in at the moment). Just out
of curiosity these are the waters that Freya described as the toughest she had
paddled in, though by the time she's finished her trip we probably won't hold
that record:~) http://mattbezzina.blogspot.com/
<http://mattbezzina.blogspot.com/>  .

PAPER SOLUTIONS

It may be that Paddlewise should consider proposing more relevant rules for
sea kayakers to ColRegs, meanwhile I'm thankful that Rules 1 and 2 and our
local guidelines have given us the freedom to paddle safely at night.

Hopefully I've demonstrated that our local regulations and code of conduct are
anything but paper solutions but came about for very good reason and through
consultation with seamen kayakers who really understood what the local issues
were. As a result I'm quite possibly older than I might have been and still
allowed to paddle freely in and around Sydney Harbour. As I say thank heavens
for rules 1 and 2 in ColRegs

All the best, PeterO

The law can be an ass - but not always
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