What You Need To Know For A Night Crossing
aybe you’d like a predawn
departure to get to your
favorite fishing spot. Or
maybe you’ve been out for
the afternoon, your schedule backs
up, it’s after sunset, and you’re still
two hours away from home. Whatever
the case, navigating in the dark doesn’t
have to be difficult. It just requires
some new skills and preparations.
Skills: Identification of marine-related lights, and exactly what they
mean, is important to operating in
the dark. Two books, Reed’s Nautical
Almanac or Chapman Piloting, have
well-illustrated pages that explain the
lights you may see on other vessels, as
well as the light characteristics of navigation aids you may encounter. Know
these patterns before you go and have
one of these books aboard.
Lights on other vessels tell you
where they’re headed, what they’re
doing, and how their maneuverings
may affect you. The nautical Navigation
Rules, or, as they’re commonly known,
the Rules of the Road, indicate how you
should respond (if at all) to another vessel’s lights. These rules are included in
Chapman, among other places. Check
that your boat’s navigation lights are in
good working order.
Sounds indicate to a night sailor
what lies ahead. Despite how heavily or lightly trafficked your night-crossing route, turn on a VHF radio
and scan the frequencies for ship-to-ship communications (VHF 13 and 6),
emergencies (VHF 16), and port-traffic
management (VHF 12). Horns and
bells of navigation aids also help orient
night navigators, while the thrum of
a large vessel’s engines may be heard
even before its lights are seen; so periodically throttle down for regular quiet
“listening times.”
Preparations: Your body’s heat-
producing mechanism normally slows
M
down as night wears on, so even in
midsummer, operating at night can
be surprisingly chilly and damp. Have
heavy flannel, fleece, or even down garments aboard. Likewise, hot drinks in
a thermos are smart to have ready well
before midnight. Rather than trying to
prepare hot food in a darkened galley,
concoct these items before sunset.
Avoid night blindness by having
on hand at least one flashlight with
a red-tinted lens. Even if below deck
have tinted nightlights (regular lighting
destroys your night vision); a nighttime flashlight comes in handy. Regular
flashlights can be converted to nightlights by painting the lens with a smear
of red fingernail polish. Dim chart plotters and radar screens in advance.
Operating: Be sure to have a reliable compass and a paper chart, and
mark your route on the chart as you
go through the night, even if you have
a chartplotter. Also be sure to stand up
and scan the horizon with binoculars
every 15 minutes, 360 degrees, to
check for fishing boats and other vessels coming into your range of travel.
When you spot other boats, watch
them, establish their direction, and if
they’re going to pass you closely, go
on the radio and identify your boat by
name, type, position, speed, and heading, and ask them if they “see” you
on their radar; you won’t always get a
response, so give all other boats wide
clearance, even if you have right of way.
Don’t operate the boat under autopilot
near shore; it’s too easy to fall asleep.
If you’re operating an open cockpit
boat after dusk, wear a harness and life
jacket. If you must leave the cockpit,
keep your harness clipped in, and tell
someone else aboard before venturing
forward. Keep common night navigation items such as binoculars, signaling
horn, spotlight, whistle, and the like
near the helm. Give your departure
time and date, and estimated arrival
time and date to a friend, in case you’re
overdue.
Lastly, keep your speed low, and
then slow way down as you approach
your harbor entrance. Avoid alcohol
while operating a boat.
The Dry Run: For nighttime neophytes, a short, post-sunset cruise or
two in familiar waters is useful training for your first overnight open-water
crossing. The most critical consideration before you set out is the weather;
make sure you have a crystal clear
48-hour forecast, and, if possible, a full
moon — nature’s floodlight.
If you’ve never seen your homeport from sea in the dark, try it and
take note of the land lights, and how
they may interfere with or mimic navigation lights. The bigger the port, the
more likely that multiple land lights,
called “backscatter,” will test your ability to follow navigation lights safely
into the harbor. This gets easier with
practice. Just proceed very slowly, keep
your eye on your depth sounder and
GPS, and follow the chart. If you get
nervous or confused, no worries; just
turn around, reorient yourself, and very
slowly approach again.
During a dry run, you may find
your interior nightlights are insufficient
in placement, number, or intensity.
You may also find important cockpit or
flying bridge items such as binoculars,
signaling horns, spotlights, and safety
harnesses aren’t as handy as you originally thought.
Experienced boaters agree that one
of the safest places you can be on a
boat is offshore with plenty of “sea
room,” in deep water, where there are
no obstacles, reefs, rocks, and nowhere
to go aground, only you and your boat
and your thoughts, surrounded by
one of the most beautiful and peaceful
places on earth. — K. T.
