MacGregorSailors.com

If you read some cruising forums, it would seem it's not that uncommon even today. If you can believe what you read on the internet, at least.

I remember one night dad decided we needed to pull the boat out of the water because of an impending storm and he felt we were not safe at anchor so we threaded our way to shore under power at midnight. It was 1974 and there were quite a few boats with oil lamps on the mast but what was really distressing for me (I was on the bow as the lookout for anchor lines) is that many boats had no lights at all!.

It was hard to get around the other boats at anchor in the dark.

Per COLREGS you don't actually need an anchor light at an "approved anchorage"

Still not a bad idea to light up.

The anchor light, I mean.

I was thinking about creating a long string of solar lights to run up the forestay, over the masthead, then down the backstay. (But haven't had time to do it yet.) I've seen this done a couple times during some harbor parades we've had down here in Newport/Balboa. Looks pretty cool!

The good solar garden lights have become acceptable anchor lights here in Florida .
We have two of the more expensive ones on the cockpit roof of Gypsy . They are very visible .
We also have some color changing solar lanterns hanging in back as well .

Its all a bit tacky looking but it gets the job done . I too , always worried about my anchor light blending in with the shore lights .

Years ago , we part of a long procession of boats running up the Mobile river (Mobile Ala ) running from Hurricane Isaac . At three in the morning I couldn't go no more , so we pulled out of the channel and anchored .
The next tugboat that came around the bend , I called and asked if He could see me okay . "Oh yeah" He replied, "your the talk of the river" "Good that means I am seen" I replied .

Loala wrote:I was thinking about creating a long string of solar lights to run up the forestay, over the masthead, then down the backstay. (But haven't had time to do it yet.) I've seen this done a couple times during some harbor parades we've had down here in Newport/Balboa. Looks pretty cool!

This works well as it clearly defines the outline of a sailboat and can give boats in transit a good interpretation of what they're looking at and how far away it is. Adding a few points of light (other than downward facing flood light) can really cause confusion. It's not just making sure that you can be seen from a distance but that others can determine what you are, where you are and where they are in relation to you, others and other nav aid's. Adding additional white light can make you look like a larger vessel and give false interpretation of distance, adding a couple yellow lights, now you might be a vessel in tow. When you're underway in the dark your mind plays serious tricks on you, distances get muddled as does your position and you start to question your instruments. Lights cannot always be interpreted from a standstill either and a group of lights muddled together can be any number of things, is that a house? Two boats moving together / past each other? A busy Anchorage? A UFO? "Well none of the light combinations I see make any sense based on the standardized navigational light patterns...must be the shore?" Just things to consider

BOAT wrote:Back in 1974 I actually hoisted an oil lamp up the mast when anchoring in the Sea of Cortez! That was not an insane thing to do back then, now it would seem crazy.

Been thinking about this and I'm considering getting a battery Anchor light (like Russ's) and fitting a couple sail track sliders to it, then hoisting up the main track ..... Any thoughts on this?

All the best.
Neo

Neo wrote:

BOAT wrote:Back in 1974 I actually hoisted an oil lamp up the mast when anchoring in the Sea of Cortez! That was not an insane thing to do back then, now it would seem crazy.

Been thinking about this and I'm considering getting a battery Anchor light (like Russ's) and fitting a couple sail track sliders to it, then hoisting up the main track ..... Any thoughts on this?

All the best.
Neo

Back in those days it seemed all boats had a big bird beak chicken head thing on top of the mast and up there were always extra turn blocks for stuff like topping lifts or bosuns chairs and so forth. My dad used to haul me up the bosuns chair in the dark at anchor to wrap bungees around the mast to stop the halyards from slapping in the wind because my mom would wake up and complain that she could not sleep from the halyards slapping the mast. The same line that hauled me up in the bosuns chair was used to hoist the anchor light. That meant that every night I went up there it was in the dark.

And I was cold too.

BOAT wrote:

Neo wrote:

BOAT wrote:Back in 1974 I actually hoisted an oil lamp up the mast when anchoring in the Sea of Cortez! That was not an insane thing to do back then, now it would seem crazy.

Been thinking about this and I'm considering getting a battery Anchor light (like Russ's) and fitting a couple sail track sliders to it, then hoisting up the main track ..... Any thoughts on this?

All the best.
Neo

Back in those days it seemed all boats had a big bird beak chicken head thing on top of the mast and up there were always extra turn blocks for stuff like topping lifts or bosuns chairs and so forth. My dad used to haul me up the bosuns chair in the dark at anchor to wrap bungees around the mast to stop the halyards from slapping in the wind because my mom would wake up and complain that she could not sleep from the halyards slapping the mast. The same line that hauled me up in the bosuns chair was used to hoist the anchor light. That meant that every night I went up there it was in the dark.

And I was cold too.

Must have been cold holding that oil lamp all night in the dark

Hey! He brought the anchor light DOWN with the line. He then PUT the anchor light on the deck. Then he hooked the bosuns chair to the same line he used for the anchor light. THEN he hauled ME up the mast. The anchor light stayed on the deck WITH HIM! I got left in the dark!

And another thing! Those stupid oil lamps would splatter oil on the deck when they slammed into the mast! You can't fill them all the way up - you only fill them half way (enough to last until sunrise) that's it!

I hated those stupid things.

Back in those days batteries and flashlights were like primitive D cell carbon batteries, (they had a picture of a black cat on the front). I don't even think they invented alkaline then. There was no way a battery would last all night. It was either OIL or your boat battery - that's it. And boat batteries were not all that reliable either back then. 50 percent of the boats at anchor had no light on at all on the mast.

Neo wrote:

BOAT wrote:Back in 1974 I actually hoisted an oil lamp up the mast when anchoring in the Sea of Cortez! That was not an insane thing to do back then, now it would seem crazy.

Been thinking about this and I'm considering getting a battery Anchor light (like Russ's) and fitting a couple sail track sliders to it, then hoisting up the main track ..... Any thoughts on this?

All the best.
Neo

I hoisted a video camera up the main halyard once. Forgot to attach a line to pull it back down. It almost stayed up there all day. I got lucky and grabbed it with a boat hook.

Having the light close to the mast might create a blind spot for the light. That's why I put mine around the backstay. If you were to haul it up, I would attach a line and hold it away from the mast and not too far up, else just get a mast top fixed mounted one.
I still use my mast top light, but the solar patio lights make a good low light source as well.

RussMT wrote:

Neo wrote:
Having the light close to the mast might create a blind spot for the light. That's why I put mine around the backstay.

That's a great idea, but 'boat' is a MacGregor M boat and does not have a backstay. Backstays can be handy for lots of stuff, but in the long run I am better without it because I trailer to the marina every time I go out and rigging is easier without a back stay. At first I really missed having a backstay but now I have become accustomed to it.

Most boats have backstays, 'boat' does not.

BOAT wrote:

RussMT wrote:

Neo wrote:
Having the light close to the mast might create a blind spot for the light. That's why I put mine around the backstay.

That's a great idea, but 'boat' is a MacGregor M boat and does not have a backstay. Backstays can be handy for lots of stuff, but in the long run I am better without it because I trailer to the marina every time I go out and rigging is easier without a back stay. At first I really missed having a backstay but now I have become accustomed to it.

Most boats have backstays, 'boat' does not.

Good catch....I meant topping lift. See photo above M with anchor light wrapped around topping lift.

Isn't the fact an "M" does not have a backstay a bit of a quibble?

dlandersson wrote:Isn't the fact an "M" does not have a backstay a bit of a quibble?

Gosh, I don't know. I guess I need to look up the quibble to see what it is . . .

quib·ble
ˈkwibəl/Submit
noun
1.
a slight objection or criticism.
"the only quibble about this book is the price"
synonyms: criticism, objection, complaint, protest, argument, exception, grumble, grouse, cavil; More
2.
archaic
a play on words; a pun.
verb
1.
argue or raise objections about a trivial matter.
"they are always quibbling about the amount they are prepared to pay"
synonyms: object to, find fault with, complain about, cavil at;


Well, I guess I should not complain?

Okay, I guess it is a trivial thing - but it might not seem very trivial when I try to hang my anchor light on it, (cuz I ain't got one - my light will fall on the deck).