When I lived in Florida I sailed on the St John's River between Jacksonville and Palatka. I took many night sails. They were better than day sails since the power boats were all put away and the river was quiet. There was almost no commercial traffic on the river (occasionally you had to watch for barges bringing coal to the power plant in Palatka and you had to be aware that there might be 3 or 4 barges behind that tug). The weather was cooler during the summer and the winds were more steady.
And if you have sailed at night at all you know the ambient light is more than sufficient, as long as you are headed in the right direction and not relying on a radio befuddled compass!!.
I also spent several years in the Navy and we of course did quite a bit of night "sailing" on the open ocean. I never tired of watching the light show from the bio-luminescence in the water.
It looks very enjoyable and I would like to do that a lot but in my region, the Saint-Lawrence /Montreal area, I see too many power boats who are going very fast in the dark. Are they keeping a good watch or are they just following the little boat in the GPS screen?... I feel a lot safer at anchor in a safe place.
Michel Boulet
Ex: "Mari-Bell" Sandpiper 565 (18.5367454 ft)
Now: "Papou" Tanzer 16 dinghy
Montreal
"Let the world say what it will"
~~_/)~~
One important thing to be said about night sailing -- those who do it, have to be better at it than those of us who do not. And if you don't sail at night, you put certain limits upon yourself.
I totally agree with you but, the place I sail is not very safe during the night. Speedboats are zooming all around the place and who can be sure if the driver is in total possession of his senses?
There is a lot of commercial shipping also.
My goal is to go out kayaking on the lake near me. Many a night I have sat on the rock at the public beach (the beach is little used and only 20 feet wide) looking at stars thinking, why isn't anyone on this lake, on such a beautiful night.
Now I am wondering if I should consider sailing....
Michel wrote:I totally agree with you but, the place I sail is not very safe during the night. Speedboats are zooming all around the place and who can be sure if the driver is in total possession of his senses?
There is a lot of commercial shipping also.
One of the nice things about night sailing in Florida was that most of the drunken power boaters had gone home. I am not a huge fan of most power boaters. I don't think most of them know the first thing about water safety, rules of the road, or just plain common courtesy. I treat them like I treated automobile drivers when I rode motorcycles, I stay out of their way as much as possible.
Here on Lake Cherokee it is very different from Florida. the vast majority of the watercraft are either platform boats or kayaks, neither of which present much of a problem. Occasionally you find the bass fisherman who needs to get from fishing hole to fishing hole at 100 mph and damn the wake and anybody who gets caught in it.
I am lucky because I can sail during the week. I am retired.
I prefer not to sail during the weekends because of the great number of power boats with their noise and wakes.
For me, the best times are in the morning. I am often all alone on my portion of the Saint-lawrence apart for the big ships. But I don't worry to much about them. I know their routes and stay away.
Michel Boulet
Ex: "Mari-Bell" Sandpiper 565 (18.5367454 ft)
Now: "Papou" Tanzer 16 dinghy
Montreal
"Let the world say what it will"
~~_/)~~
I've enjoyed night sailing in familiar waters, and still do now and then. These days when I sail at night, it's to enjoy a full moon or holiday fireworks. But I plan for it, and try to stay away from the swarms. I also time my departure so that most of the speed racer types are gone before I get under way. At anchor, I'm either off by myself, well into shallow water, or near friends in other boats. The boat stays lit up, and a spotlight is kept close at hand.
In unfamiliar waters, I know how much daylight there will be, and plan to be off the water at least two hours before sunset. That leaves a margin, in case plans must change, and allows plenty of time to set up for the night.
