Night Sailing
Sailing after the sun sets can open up new experiences, challenges
As a liveaboard cruiser, night sailing is part of the experience. My wife, Liz, and I sail our 36-foot Pearson cutter Sonata offshore on passages up and down the East Coast as we migrate north or south with the weather. We’re comfortable with the sea at night, but it took time to find that comfort zone. We eased into night sailing over a period of years, starting out with our first boat, a Bristol 24, on the forgiving waters of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey.
One night in particular still resonates. A gentle southwesterly wind filled the Bristol’s sails as she glided eastward on the Metedeconk River making 4 knots on a beam reach under the glistening white of a full moon. There were other small sailboats out there with us, a Dana 24, a Cape Dory 19, even a few small racing boats. Sailing in protected waters with no fear of commercial traffic proved irresistible for the local sailing fleet on that balmy summer evening.
Barnegat Bay was also a good place to learn the basics of sailing at night. The methods and precautions are the same regardless of the boat’s size, but practicing close to shore where there’s bound to be less chance for trouble is a good way to become familiar with what you need to know before taking on the challenge of a long offshore passage at night in a larger boat.
Staying aboard Aside from sinking, falling overboard ranks second on the list of nightmare scenarios. It’s hard enough to find an MOB during the day in anything but flat calm conditions. At night, it can be almost impossible. It goes without saying that everyone aboard should be wearing a PFD, preferably with a strobe and whistle attached. On a small boat, depending on its size, there may be no need for jacklines, but there is for harnesses. Harnesses with long tethers can be dangerous. It’s possible to fall overboard and get dragged under. I rig my harness with a long and a short tether, and as soon as I’m forward I clip the short one onto a sturdy ring fixed to the mast. I did the same on the Bristol.
One last thing about tethers: never use a slipknot to attach it to the D-rings. If your boat capsizes, you’ve got to be able to unclip in the event you find yourself trapped under the sails or hull. Buy a heavy-duty carabiner.
If the boat is small and you’re always in the cockpit when sailing, rigging a line athwartships where it’s out of the way will allow for clipping on. If the boat has side decks, buy jacklines and use them. Resist the temptation to use regular line for jacklines as a cost saver. It tends to roll under foot and can cause crew to fall, possibly overboard. Use jacklines made of strong, flat nylon webbing and ensure they’re not slack when rigged.
Keeping watch No matter what size boat you’re sailing at night, keeping watch is essential, and there are a number of considerations. The first concern is the preservation of night vision. A bright white light will kill it in seconds and it can take as long as 45 minutes to fully regain it. All instruments in the cockpit should be equipped with dim red lights. A bright red light can still cause you to lose some night vision. Belowdecks the nav station and galley should have red lights. I also rig a small flashlight I keep in my pocket with red acetate film taped to the lens. The acetate can be found in auto supply shops for use in fixing broken brake light lenses. The rest of the boat should be dark.
Spotlights are notorious for killing night vision. If you must use one to identify an unlit buoy, hold it high above your head and turn it on when pointed well away from the boat, especially the sails. Reflected white light kills night vision. While I do have a powerful spotlight in the cockpit when sailing at night, I find a six-volt flashlight produces a good beam and is less apt to hamper my night vision.
When on watch, tracking any traffic in the area requires constant attention. It’s easy to get lulled into a sense of false security if you don’t see anything around. But remember that ships frequently travel at more than 20 knots. From the deck of a larger cruising boat on a clear night it’s possible to see around eight or nine miles out. On a small boat with very low freeboard, your line of sight to the horizon is considerably less than that, requiring even more vigilance. At eight or nine miles, you won’t spot a ship until it’s less than 30 minutes from your location. That’s enough time to take bearings on it relative to your position either with a hand-bearing compass or with the radar to determine if it’s on a collision course, but not if you haven’t seen it pop over the horizon.
Night lights An entire article could be written on the wide variety of lights shone on the various types of recreational and commercial vessels. The rule of thumb is obvious: If it’s bigger than you, steer clear. That’s what I always do, and I don’t worry about whether I’m the stand-on or give-way vessel.
Technically speaking, if you are sailing and see a white and green light, you are the stand-on vessel and should maintain course. But in reality the skipper of the approaching boat may not know he’s the give way vessel. You’ve got the right of way if you’re a sailboat closing with a powerboat, but don’t count on the other guy. Likewise, if you see a red and a white light, you’re supposed to give way.
Obviously, if you see a red and green light, the other boat is headed straight at you. If you only see a white light, you’re looking at the stern and may be in an overtaking situation, in which case you’re supposed to go around the slower boat. If you’re under power, you’re considered a powerboat and must use your steaming light. Don’t use your anchor light to illuminate the wind vane. Instead, use a flashlight with a powerful but narrow beam to see which way the wind is blowing.
Commercial traffic is a little more complicated. Look for the red and green running lights, and on freighters you’ll also see two white lights. The highest will be mounted aft on a mast. The other one will be mounted near the bow and will always be lower than the one aft. This makes it easy to figure out which end of the ship you’re looking at from an oblique angle, and thus understand which way it’s going. The running lights also help in this regard, though sometimes these are harder to see.
You don’t want to see a red and green with only one white light since that means the ship is coming right at you. If you see only a white light and no red or green, the ship has missed you and is steaming away.
Fishing vessels are easier to spot. These are typically well lit when working. Give them a wide berth. Cruise ships look like Christmas trees. We ran across one off Ambrose Channel on approach to New York and the lights were so bright they threatened my night vision. It was difficult to spot the running lights. I keep a handheld VHF in the cockpit at all times and tune it to Channel 16. I don’t usually hail ships; they seldom answer, but the VHF is there if I need it.
In addition, I keep the six-volt flashlight handy to shine on the sails if I feel I need to be seen. From the bridge of a ship, the tiny running lights of a sailboat are almost impossible to spot. A tricolor mounted at the masthead increases the odds. Also, fiberglass gives a very poor return on radar, if someone on the bridge is actually looking at the screen. I use a radar reflector mounted below the spreaders, but I don’t expect to be seen either visually or on radar. I consider it my responsibility to see the commercial traffic coming and stay well out of its way. That’s the safest and most prudent approach.
On larger boats, I consider radar an essential tool for coastal sailing at night. It allows for easy tracking of targets and for taking bearings. It also makes it simple to check my distance from shore. I check the radar at least every 10 minutes, and more than once I’ve picked up a ship I hadn’t noticed with my visual scan. When preoccupied with navigation or boat handling, it’s surprisingly easy to miss approaching vessels. To help with my visual checks I use a good set of 7x50 binoculars. Even when there is no moon they gather enough ambient light to enhance my night vision.
Sailing short-handed with my wife, I tend to err on the conservative side. I pick my weather windows very carefully and won’t head out unless I’m absolutely sure of the weather. I reef down before sunset if I think the wind’s going to come up more than 15 knots.
Sailing at night is more challenging than during the day. For the newcomer, try night sailing in familiar waters before taking on more demanding passages. As your comfort zone increases, though, you’ll find that night sailing is a magical part of boating, something that shouldn’t be missed.
