Sailing at night tips

[PollyAnna]

Sailing in Texas, or most other southern states right now is not for the faint of heart. With heat indexes in the 105 to 115 ranges, just the thought of doing any sailing during the day is daunting enough. Through in the fact that the winds seems to die down during the heat of day, most of my sailing is in the morning when the temps are tolerable and the wind is the best, albeit less than 10 knots.

I was on the phone with a sailing club member inviting me and the admiral to an ice cream social to sort of "beat the heat". Then we got to talking about night sailing. Well the admiral and I have discussed night cruising as more of a romantic adventure before, but the sailing club member told me, that during these dog days in Texas, night sailing is actually better.

This got me searching the forum for night sailing tip, but either there is not a specific thread for this, or my lack of advance search skills (the later more likely). I thought I would start a thread to see if some of the salty dogs can give advice to us with less night sailing skills.

Any suggestions or tips would be great!

Thanks,

Gregg

[macgeek299]

Hey, Night sailing is great... especially in our Texas summers. I do limit my night sailing to waters I am VERY familiar with. Also make sure you lights work.

Jim
College Station

[dennisneal]

Gregg,

I'm not an "old salt" by any means. I'm more of an "old f*rt".

That said, I suggest that you do a risk/reward analysis of the idea of recreational sailing in the dark.

I'm not talking about sailng from San Francisco to Honolulu, a journey that may take many days, and certainly includes sailing in the dark. I'm talking about tooling around in your local area after the sun goes down.

When I'm sailing I love to watch the telltails and the action of the wind upon the sails. I want to try to improve the boat's performance by "tweaking" a thing, or two. I want to see the wave action caused by the wind. I love to see and hear the wake as the boat moves through the water. I want to see the shoreline.

Also, importantly, I want to see who else is in my area. Is there another boat, or an obstruction, that I should avoid??

For me, the answer is that I don't sail in the dark. I don't sail in the fog either. I can have fun on my boat, just tied up to the dock.

[jcasale]

After another board member gave us an motivational pep talk (thanks Mark), the Admiral and I recently mustering up the courage to attempt night sailing. It changed the way we look at the boat by adding an entirely new dimension to something we both love.

Use common sense, review the literature and plan ahead. I hate to be vague but it's that simple.

As mentioned above and as simple as it sounds make sure your lights work and that means more than just turn on or off. You need to have a fairly well coordinated lighting plan on your boat, one that provides ample light to work without compromising your night vision. Read some articles on how the human eye compensated for low light situations and you'll understand why.
Take it slow, be safe and good luck!

John
Atlantic Beach, Fl
2010 Jacksonville Macgregor Get-Together
S/V Untethered

[Chinook]

My experience sailing at night is extremely limited. One frosty January afternoon, a friend invited my to accompany him on his Hunter 34 for a sail across Puget Sound, from Shilshole to Winslow. We enjoyed a hamburger and beer in Winslow and returned to Seattle in the pitch dark, under sail. A full moon rose above the City's brightly lit skyline, and it was a magical experience. My friend had made this night crossing many times, and so when it was my turn at the wheel he was able to describe to me where to point the boat (a specific light on a radio tower), and that made navigation a simple task. The navigation lanes were empty, and we had a great sail.

My next experience was aboard an East Coast friends 32' Caliber on a crossing of the Gulf of Maine. I had the 10 pm to midnight watch. When I took the wheel we were under sail, in pitch dark. Being out of sight of land, my only point of reference was the compass bearing. I found that I had to concentrate on the compass, and couldn't gain any useful feedback from the sails, since they weren't visible in the inky darkness. And, I couldn't line up with a star since we were shrouded in
a fairly dense fog. The wind was around 10 knots, and we were sailing close hauled, but our proper course was not too close to the wind. It was a real struggle to hold course and keep the sails properly drawing. I couldn't utilize a distant point of reference, or adequately view telltales or sail shape. I found that there is a delay in the compass reading when the boat's course was modestly changed. Also, there is a delay in the reaction of helm/rudder to the water and the boat's direction when a turn based on compass reading is initiated. These two delays made steering extremely difficult. One safety precaution we did take was to keep a spotlight handy. The plan was to play the spotlight up on the sail if we noticed any nearby boating traffic on the radar. The suggestion made by others about night sailing on familiar waters is a good one. I would add the obvious benefits of distant points of reference, such as city lights or starry skies.

[Theo]

I do not equate boating at night with boating in the fog at all. Actually, I consider night boating to be an important skill to know with a boat like a Mac. It opens up alot of potential. It is important to know your lights though. You need to know what the other boat lights on the water mean. You also need to know, from charts mostly, what the significant shore lights and navigational lights mean. It does also help to be familiar with the area you are in during the daytime. If you are comfortable with that then it is pretty easy to zip around at night even in a place as congested as LA/Long Beach harbor.

Theo

[restless]

Get some red cabin lights installed... I end up pootling around in the dark quite often in busy waters, in terms of traffic and features! I fitted a fwd pointing 50w spotlight on a bike lock braket to a stantion which is useful when on the motor.
Holding a torch will blind you as light off the white gel coat or sails will dazzle you in a flash. Likewise if Mrs is below making a warm cup or something, the light out of the companionway will do the same.
Arianne put some red leds in his standard cabin lights with an extra switch. works well. (in case you didn't know, red light does not wreck your night vision.. looks pretty funky too!)

[FinallySailing]

I do wonder if red cabin lights might confuse other boats as to which your portside is. But it does look awsome cool !!!

[Russ]

What they said above.

I use my GPS to help me "see" what I can't see, but don't depend on it. It's probably a good tool to keep you from running into buoys and such that may not be lit.

Also, I carry a bright flashlight that I can shine on the sails. This is in the event some yahoo is powering down on me and doesn't see me I can shine the light on the sails to make myself "bigger". Keep an eye out for those other boats.

Night sailing is one of our favorite things to do. It takes on a different perspective, but just make sure you don't run into something.


--Russ

[Love MACs]

Wife and I love going out at night. It's always cooler and less crowded, lot fewer boaters. And the feeling of sailing in the dark is different, at least to me But if it is clouded over or just no moon period we just don't go. I much prefer/need some moon or starlite to help with visibility. My night vision is not what it used to be I always use the GPS but had it quit on me one cloud covered night, and despite knowing my area very well, it was difficult finding the Marina Thank goodness for the big spotlite I always carry but we had to close sail the shore, on our return, to use it to any advantage and that was a pain And docking in the dark has become almost normal now. MAN was it scary the first time we tried it

But a nite sail and swim has been kinda our routine for the last few weeks as the days have been so blasted hot


Allan

[magnetic]

Most of my night sailing has been in the UK and the BVI on boats significantly bigger than my ; nightsailing is in fact part of the core syllabus of the RYA Powerboat (Advanced) certificate and (oddly) also the RYA Day Skipper sailing course

I am a big fan; in the UK during the Summer months you can see a phosporescent trail of plankton behind the rudder(s) which is absolutley fascinating; in the Autumn you can watch meteor showers. And at any time, the miles just seem to melt away so much faster.

Some basic rules -

1. Be equipped. Radar reflector if Coastal or Offshore, big flashlight easily to hand, well-marked sail plan. Flares (pyro, not bell-bottom trousers!)

2. Be sensible. Lifejackets in the ON position. No going up on deck after dark (certainly not without a lifeline), reef far earlier than you would normally, watch (and listen to) the wind extremely carefully. Anything with lights is presumed to be heading straight at you until proved otherwise (especially buildings ashore!). Let the Coastguard know who you are and where you are going. Don't be afraid to check in with occasional progress reports.

3. Know where you are and where you are going at all times; use a GPS, know what the next light you are looking for looks like and where approximately it should appear. Keep a log and make quick stock-takes of visible marks and lights to ensure that you know which way is "up" at all times. Use the GPS to monitor VMG to the next waypoint, not SOG

4. Relax, lay out on one of the cockpit seats and look up. Watch the graceful arc of the Main. Listen to the Genny. Breathe.

It's magical. Do it once and you will be hooked

[Hamin' X]

Make sure that you know what you're looking at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fscydKvocrw

~Rich