Nutsy,

Night sailing here in the NW is just about a necessity. Some of the best
sailing here is in the Winter with the "Trades" reaching us but our days
are short as Hell. Being a Sailor has the advantage of Slow Speed. The
Pilothouse with the Large Sliding Window (Can't even call them port)
given the opertunity to use a hand held "Spot Light" The same holds true
for the outside Helm

Al six Knots or under, a Sailboat can snap the "Spot" on and off. That
clears the area of a tack for several minutes and also lets others gauge
our progress and direction.

I can't tell you how many time I've have power boat wait for me at the
Entrance of Bellingham Bay and follow me in.

It is a practise I've developed here in the northwest. Back on LIS it
wasn't necessary. When day got short the boats were up on the Hard.




http://community.webtv.net/tassail/ThomPage