"Edgar" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
news:HpGdnRFII8-DLW_anZ2dnUVZ_sSlnZ2d@bayareasolutions...
Hmm.. well, I can't tell during the day when the bowlight is unlit, as
least
I don't recall being able to tell. I looked at the hi-res images of the
following, but next time I'm at the boat, I'll look again.

Isn't the point whether or not the lights are visible from the prescribed
distance? And, this would be at night of course. So, it seems to me that
if you're involved in a collision at night, and you could show that no
matter what you had was in fact visible, does the CG care that they're
"approved?" I don't know the answer... just wondering.

Is all this worry about the USCG somehow related to the fact that they are
now part of your rather scary Department of Homeland Security? Have they
unilaterally set up their own approval standards for lights? And if so,
why?
The internationally accepted Colregs and, in particular, their Annex No 1
'Positioning and technical detailsabout lights and shapes' clearly states
how far lights should be visible at night and goes on to give highly
technical details about the necessary chromacity and power to achieve
that. Also it even goes on to give a warning not to have lights so bright
that they interfere with the navigators night vision. That should be
enough for anybody surely.
If you have bought decent lights,warranted by the makers to comply with
Colregs, and position them correctly is the USCG really going to stop you
at sea and check the chromacity and candlepower of the bulbs in them as
long as they are actually alight?




These days one wonders. I just picked up my TWIC (Transportation Workers
Identification Credential). Besides the $132, they sure don't make it easy,
at least not in northern Cal. There are three offices. Two are in Oakland...
right. Couldn't find them after 2 hours of driving around when I went to
apply. They don't have a phone number... except for the 800 number, and
they're no help.

Finally, in desperation, I drove an hour out to Martinez. Still couldn't
find the place. I stopped at the Shell refinery guard shack, which was being
guarded by someone in uniform toting a friggin howitzer.

He said, and I'm not making this up, "Oh, there's no way you can find it if
you don't know where it is." And, he proceeded to give me directions to turn
on a road without a street sign, go a certain number of 1/10s of a mile,
then park and walk.

Sure, there was a sign. It was about this big: xxxx (TWIC in tiny letters).
After I found it, the process went really fast... fingerprints, retinal
scan, all about 15 minutes soup to nuts. Then, I waited six weeks and went
and picked up the card.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com