Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak Navigation Lights

I've stayed out of this discussion because so much of it seems moot for my 
use of kayaks.  Paddling isolated areas for the most part (even on the 
Columbia River), and rarely at night -- not at all for the last ten years 
or so -- lighting is not very critical for me.

Yet, it seems to me that a simple, clear message needs to get out to the 
average paddler:  have _ready_ a _bright_ flashlight/headlamp/all around, 
in short, something!  And, use it if/when an interaction with a power boat 
is imminent.  That seems to fit the thrust of the rules, and will fend off 
attorneys in the event of a legal problem post-accident/incident.  We can 
concoct various what-if scenarios which might represent a legal 
entanglement, but what is the likelihood of those occurrences?  [I agree if 
you are on a lake, at night, such as Craig's, that has boat crazies about, 
your risk is much greater.  But, my solution for that is to get the heck 
off that lake and paddle on a serene backwater on the Columbia.]

I just completed a Boater Ed class with Becky, which is mandatory in Oregon 
for legal operation of a power boat.  The class has sort of a lowest common 
denominator approach (no navigation, for example) and thereby establishes 
what might be reasonably expected of the "average" Joe/Jane boater in 
Oregon.  It emphasizes the various requirements for lighting of vessels 
under power, at anchor, etc., and mentions that paddlers, rowers and 
sailors in very small boats simply need to show a light when needed.

If you are within that envelope, in Oregon, your ass is covered legally, 
making most of the discussion here moot.  You have behaved reasonably, in 
compliance with what is expected of you, as defined by the Boater Ed class. 
  In effect the mantle of liability is transferred to, "Wull, dat's what I 
was taught by da Boater Ed guys!"

BTW, the boater ed crowd has pretty good numbers illustrating the 
effectiveness of the now-widespread influence of mandatory boater ed 
classes, which have been phased in over the last ten years or so:  about a 
40% drop in accidents and injuries, but essentially no change in deaths, 
for the US, overall.  Listening to the response of people in the boater ed 
class, it is plain that there are a lot of misconceptions amongst 
uneducated boaters, and that educating the nut at the helm is more 
important to us than whether _we_ show a light at night or not.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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