do you sail@night

7

73sunfish

New Member
i was driving last night past the lake and noticed the moon reflecting off the water. i realized there was plenty of light to put my sailboat in the water, and fell in love with the idea to sail my SF on a full moon.

Any advice on sailing at night?
What kind of lights do you use?
Is it even legal?

i guess i should check with my local bureaucracy for accurate info, but if you night sail, lets talk..

that means you nightsailor.
 
At one time our sailing club tried 'moonlight sails', only to find that the wind dropped and the bug count increased at night. After a few times out the idea was dropped. You are right to check the local/state regulatons as to light on the boat. In New York a Sunfish seems to be a 'class A" boat which implies it must show the 'red/green' lights on the bow, but are not required to show a stern light. You can get these lights, which are portable from West Marine or Overtons. Some attach with suction cups and have LED light sources and are powered by AA or AAA batteries. It also states that a 'row boat or canoe' even under sail, only needs to have a latern with white light to be displayed to avoid collision. When we had our moonlight sails we carried only a flashlight to shine on the sail, but we were in pretty restricted waters, a resevoir with a 5 HP limit on motor boats.
 
I sail at night as much as I can. I avoid the sun--it will kill you. I've never sailed a Sunfish at night.

You would need a single all-around light to be legal. A flash light might work if you point it at any threat--like a speeding watercop about to run you over.

If you are serious about it, I'd find a way to mount an all around light at the top of the gaff.
 
i just looked this up @ the texas dept. of parks and wildlife.

Manually Driven Vessels: Manually driven vessels when paddled, poled, oared, or windblown;
  • A sailing vessel of less than 20 meters (65.6 ft.), while underway shall exhibit sidelights and a sternlight which may be combined in one lantern carried at or near the top of the mast where it can best be seen.
  • A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters (23 ft.) shall, if practicable, exhibit the sidelights and a sternlight, or shall exhibit at least one bright light, lantern or flashlight from sunset to sunrise when not at dock.
  • All other manually driven vessels may exhibit sidelights and a sternlight, or shall exhibit at least one bright light, lantern, or flashlight from sunset to sunrise when not at dock.
In vessels of less than 12 meters (39.4 feet), white lights shall be visible at a distance of at least two (2) miles. Colored lights shall be visible at a distance of at least one (1) mile. "Visible" when applied to lights, means visible on dark nights with clear atmosphere.
sailinglights.jpg
 
i live in N.Texas.. this area is known for strong winds. we have the gulf just south of us and when areas of low pressure roll through the country, gulf air gets funneled right over us.
 
Sailing under a full moon from about 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. has really gets me jazzed. There is still plenty of light so you don't need navigation lights. By 5 or 6 the wind is almost always gone and the bugs come out.

Heck yes, get a battery strobe for the gaff. Duck tape a battery red/green light to the bow handle. Should be good to go.

Get one of those water activated strobes that Velcro to your life vest and a whistle.
Let someone know where you're going/when you'll be back/the type of boat and the safety gear you have with you. If someones going to take the risk of looking for you when overdue, least you can do is help them out with some critical info.

Not much you can do about idiots running at high speed at night. Usually a couple deaths on Lake Michigan each year caused by alcohol, a go fast boat and someone with more money than brains. Shame that it's most often the people they hit that get killed.
 
Be cafeful and look into it before you use a strobe. It seems that just about any type of blinking light around here is used for official (police, etc.) vessels or to mark dangerous areas.
 
scap114 said:
Be cafeful and look into it before you use a strobe. It seems that just about any type of blinking light around here is used for official (police, etc.) vessels or to mark dangerous areas.
Click to expand...
I agree, do it by the rules
sailinglights.jpg

. . . just imagine if you were to replace your automobile's running lights with a strobe on the roof. Do you think being unexpectedly different will avoid accidents and tickets?

. . . then again, emulating an EPIRB beacon might be a time saver :rolleyes:
3995.3-1.jpg
 
Here's Wikipedias: International Regulations for Preventing Collision At Sea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Regulations_for_Preventing_Collisions_at_Sea

Mast light is listed as Steaming Light or Green/Red light. So, substitute my recomendation for a strobe to one of those battery Steaming Lights. Then Red/Green on bow handle. Says Tri Color can be used for mast but not in congunction with Red/Green deck light.

I'll stick my foot in it again but navigation lights are often very hard to see on a dark night again a background where you can't see the outline for another boat. I'd feel a lot safer with a strobe but if it's not to be, a flash-light would be your last line of defense.
 
A strobe is NOT a legal running light your stern, steaming and masthead lights should all be white lights that are on continuously, as should your port and starboard running lights. Using a strobe is more likely to cause somebody to think it's a distress situation, since strobes are usually carried by crew on night races, so they can be more easily located should they go overboard. You can get a trilight which would be mounted on the highest point of the gaff, this is legal when your under sail. Mounting port and starboard running lights on deck might not be very effective due to the very low free board on a sunfish.
 
73sunfish said:
i guess i should check with my local bureaucracy for accurate info, but if you night sail, lets talk.
Click to expand...
Back to the serious side since you're working a safety issue...

Since you reside in the state of Texas there are two sets or rules that govern your waterways.

For inland, recreational water, the TPWD rules apply, as you found.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/safety/vessel_requirements

  • A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters (23 ft.) shall, if practicable, exhibit the sidelights and a sternlight, or shall exhibit at least one bright light, lantern or flashlight from sunset to sunrise when not at dock.

For coastal and commercial waterways the USCG regulations will take precedent. Speculate all you like, but any further ideas will need to be taken up by your state legislature or Congress and earn acceptance before you can apply them without risking a fine.

Lobby on Garth . . . ;)
 
Unless you are sailing in really crowded water and doing it n the dark frequently (by the way, probably not a great idea in a Sunfish), some of this seems like overkill to me.

From the boatus site (don't know who they are quoting, but it makes sense to me): A sailing vessel of less than 7 meters in length shall, if practicable, exhibit regular navigation lights, but if not practical, she shall have ready at hand an electric torch or lantern showing a white light which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision.
http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/ReviewPages/BoatUSF/Project/info2c.htm

I think it is reasonable to say that on a Sunfish, anything more than the red/green combo stick-on flashlight is "not practical". Any masthead light on a boat where the mast can rotate is going to be wrong at least half the time. Any light mounted on deck is at water level and will only be visible from a short distance.

Just found this
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/runlights.htm
 
I have a New Hampshire safe boater certificate (U.S. Coast guard approved), as required by the state of NH, because I have a powerboat and use it in this state. I cruise a large lake, at night, at a safe/slow speed, that I would notice a light, out in front of me ( so slow, that my speedo doesn't even register the speed).The night time navigation lights are specific, and are the law, they must be followed, they are not optional, nor subject to changes because one thinks they may be overkill.Using the lights correctly, lets other on coming boater know what they encountering. Night time travel by an underpowered vessel, under 65.5 ft must use the red/green bow lights and an all white stern light, or a combo, near the top of the mast (period!). They do however allow a lantern or flash light to be used when the lighting system is not available. Since the mast on the Sunfish can pivot, it may give the on coming boater a wrong signal. And since the SF sits so low in in the water, an on coming boat may not see the SF. At night, the winds usually die down unless there is a storm, so sailing out there would be very tough, with minimal breeze. I would not use any underpowered boats, (canoe included) at night, I believe it would be asking for trouble. Some power boaters travel, at night, a bit too fast to see a small boat. I believe, most other states are either getting this safe boater requirement or already have it in place.
 
Rules get everyone on the same page but in the end it comes down to each situation being different and referring to your better judgment. If you're on a lake or waterway and know the night time traffic patterns you can make educated guess to the risk level. Compared to aircraft, boat navigation lights are of poor quality and often hard to spot unless you know where you're looking. If I were to use my SF on the lakes around my area at night, I'd use my red/green on the bow and a battery Steaming Light on the gaff. As a backup I'd carry a flashlight or the strobe off my life vest. This would put me in as good a condition as any other boat on the lake. As for being run down by a faster boat, that can happen in any size boat. If you can't get out of the way the best you can do is wave the flashlight or use the strobe. Sometimes, luck is just not on your side even if you do everything correctly.
 
I didn't mean to imply that the law need not be followed, merely that the law did not REQUIRE running lights. Even more important though is common sense.
 
In the USCG discussion of nav lights is a suggestion for gaining recognition that can supplement the basic port & starboard markers. It's offered that when an approaching vessel is thought not to see you, illuminate the sail with a bright light..., in our case likely a really good flashlight such as a Mag-light.

When that sail gets illuminated, even a small boat gets big.
 
A few years ago, while walking around the Portland, Maine harbor and Fore River, I was myself enthralled by sloop coming into the harbor with the full moon as a backdrop. There were only a few of them, much larger than a SF and with the requisite lights. Most of them were under motor and with just the mainsail up. As a child, it was magical to be around or on the salt water in summer, especially when there was "fire" from the bioluminescent diatoms (whatever).

A few years ago, in *November* I wanted to go out in the 16 ft. daysailer in that area. By the time we arrived at the launch and stepped the mast, my DH refused to go with me and thought I was nuts. (So, what else is new.) The sun was already ready to set. The weather was unusually warm and balmy, the wind was sweet, fair and constant. I think the air temp was something like 74 deg. F..

I decided to go for it and we launched the daysailer. I was under the impression that a small sailboat wasn't "required" to have lights. Still I took about 4 with me on my solo voyage at the mouth of the Fore River. I had a big beam halogen, a flashlight lashed to the mast and pointed up at the single sail, a life jacket light "on," and another PFD light somewhere else on the boat. I was very mindful on (1) No one expecting a sailboat without standard ship lighting in that area after dark, and also, (2) the commercial traffic including tankers, tugs, ferries and taxies. I was only out for an hour or so, and saw no tankers or tugs, just a few pleasure boats, lobster boat/draggers, a couple of ferries. I made sure that I was seen or obvious to any ship/boat/ferry approaching.

It was so balmy and intoxicating and was an absolute blast. I still think of it and smile. Maybe I was foolish to do it, perhaps it was dangerous. I didn't think so at the time. I'm sure that water would have been around 50 or so F and nothing I'd want to hang out in for more than a second; but I stayed in the channel and, of course, had on my ever present PFD and a cell phone in a water-tight case. I passed a resturant and craved a cup of java so much that I considered tying up at the DeMillo's dock and ordering a take out. I resisted. But I bet I could have done it (maybe _next_ time :rolleyes:).

There were no mosquitoes and a there was a lovely, balmy, even breeze. I saw seagulls mulling around and some swooped down over the bow, perhaps in gree ting. I used to be told that at sundown all the Casco Bay gulls went to Ragged Island to sack out; guess not.

My only "difficulty" was in locating the unlight launch. There were some ledges I didn't care to hit and I couldn't locate it right away. The commercial boats have a lot of displacement and would create substantial waves, so I didn't want to bash against the ledges. I phone my DH but he didn't have his phone with him. With the monster beam flashlight (halogen, sears' rechageable, grey thing. I love it.), I was able to spot the launch and DH's light colored shirt. I think I need to go and mount some reflectors on the ramps for "next time."

As someone pointed out, usually the winds die after sunset, but sometimes they persist. I'd go for it if you take all precautions (lights, cell phone, PFD and so on). A full moon would make it very attractive, I had the many dock and resturant lights for my "moons."
 
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