Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak Navigation Lights

On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 8:57 AM, John Clinton <jcbikeski_at_gmail.com> wrote:

>
>  Most of my
> safety at night comes more from just staying well clear of boats especially
> by hugging the shore when practical.
>

I do this as well but hugging the shoreline does present its own set of
problems. Floating docks, mooring buoys, unlighted boats, snags, etc. are
more likely to be encountered closer to the shore. If you paddle next to a
high bank it can block some of the (already limited) light from stars and
moon. Nevertheless, I feel a lot safer where a power boat operator is likely
to be more alert and I think this is likely to be near shore.

>
> So if you aren't allowed to display the light continuously according to
> that
> Rule 25 then how often does it have to be off to be okay?  How far in
> advance is one allowed to turn it on before the need becomes imminent and
> how quickly after must the light be turned off.
>
> Rule 25 says "in sufficient time" to avoid a collision. It seems to me that
if no collision is imminent then you shouldn't be showing the light (unless
you have a "lighted lantern"). However the decision seems to be left up to
the paddler. There are other Rules regarding seamanship which cover these
sorts of things.

As for turning the light off, well if there is no longer a danger of a
collision then there is no need for a light. But where you are paddling also
makes a difference in how fast you are in imminent danger of a collision. On
my inland lake, for instance, there isn't much night traffic but what
traffic there is (generally power boats) is often moving at 30 to 50 mph.
But on Puget Sound at night it's much less common to see other vessels
moving at more than 10kts at night but you see many more vessels.

In fact, inland lakes are - at least to me - the most dangerous places for
kayaks because so many power boats can achieve high speeds and the operators
are so much less likely to be aware of (or able to avoid) other boats.
Someone on another forum mentioned that they've never felt that power boats
presented much of a real danger... that's absolutely not the case on my
lake. In the summer, and especially on weekends, power boats are always a
menace; with unlighted jet skis moving at 60mph the scariest (even though
it's almost universal that jet skis are forbidden to operate after dark).
And some lakes are much worse than others. So I'm a lot more vigilant here
than I would be in, say, the San Juan Islands where the fastest vessel is
likely to be a ferry moving at 17kts.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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