I've even had trouble (of sorts) pulling into a new harbor at night, even though I've been there in the daylight and knew what the procedure was (range markers, private lighted buoys, etc.). I've even gotten a bit disoriented after leaving a marina during the day and returning after dark, and I was just there a few hours earlier. Everything looks different in the dark, and not always in a good way. Navigation software with GPS positioning is very helpful, but oddly enough, I've found myself second-guessing what the software was telling me, just because the dark really changes perception.yukonbob wrote:Thanks TF, Exactly. Watching lights in the dark plays tricks on your mind. You rarely see something and go "I know exactly what that is and where it is" You watch it for ten minutes, ask "what is that?" watch it for another five minutes, starring intensely at it, reducing throttle, "WTF is THAT?" (at this point if you could see in the dark I bet it would look hilarious cause theres usually a mile between you and whatever it is that you're looking at) Then at some point something in your brain clicks and "Oh thats what that is! Why didn't I see that before?" Its also good to remember that these are three dimensional light patterns as well and can take a while to determine, what, where and how its orientated.Tomfoolery wrote:Just a minor clarification (and not trying to be picky), but there is one minimum in those requirements: light intensity and distance range of visibility. The COLREGs specifically call them out as minimums, and allow shorter range as boats get smaller. But if anyone is distrustful or uncomfortable with 1-mile sidelights and/or 2-mile masthead, stern, or all-round white anchor light, they can always jump up a size to 2-mile and 3-mile, respectively. Or conceivably more, but those units get pretty big, pretty fast, with increase in range.yukonbob wrote:The light requirements and specific combinations for all vessels (not just small recreational boats) are not a minimum requirement; they are a very specific combination of colour, placement, angle, visibility range so that other vessels can quickly identify what you are, which direction you are heading, where you are in relation to them and also help in determining positions based on an accepted standard of conditions.
From Rule 22: "The lights prescribed in Rules 20-31 shall have an intensity as specified in [ Section 8 of ] Annex I to these Rules so as to be visible at the following minimum ranges:" (emphasis added)
And little lights on small vessels aren't any different, at least once it's dark enough that you can't see the outline of the vessel. Or for that matter, big lights on big vessels. It's spooky being 10 miles from shore on a Great Lake and coming close enough to a freighter to pay some real attention. I keep them miles away, but they're hard to judge. Fortunately, the nav lighting on them really does help a lot, and they have two masthead lights, one higher than the other, one forward and one aft, to also help in determining their heading relative to your boat. Red or green sidelight plus one masthead (steaming) light is better than nothing, but two white lights along the ship's centerline is very clear as to heading. So I guess it's not a surprise big vessels are required to use two of them.
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