Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak Navigation Lights

    My take on paddling Moses Lake is that it is unsafe during the day, and 
unsafe
    during the night. Having been buzzed by jet skis, there is no love lost 
there.
    We should focus less on navigation lights, and more on offensive 
weaponry.
    I figure a well-placed RPG will make short work of a jet ski. Is a 
50-calibre
    machine gun too heavy for a kayak?

   BRC



> 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.
>
> 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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