As a rule of thumb, I pretend that I am invisible. Not only am I paddling
a stealth craft which cannot be detected by any known means, I also have a
Cone of Silence around me, so that no noise, no matter how loud, can ever
leave my boat. It worked for me riding motorcycles, and it has worked for
me so far paddling boats. I used to drive much larger sailboats, I lived
on a 35 foot sloop for a number of years. While almost every set of
nautical rules I have seen have some reference to the duty to maintain a
sharp lookout, in practice there are far too many folks out driving boats
who would hit something even if it had a flashing orange warning light and
a warning alarm. Not only that, I pretend that every other boat out on the
water is out to "get me." I want to expose myself to the possibility of
being run down for as little a time as possible and I keep my eye out for
any boats that may even have a chance of hitting me. It's kind of a
contradiction, believing on the one hand that I can't be detected and then
believing on the other hand that I am easily targeted, but, like I say,
it's a concept that has worked for me so far.

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
Illiterate? Write for FREE help

Spot on.
My grand father had an issue with a navy vessel careening through an
anchorage while he had 7 sail boats under tow. He cracked a flare
across the bow of the fast patrol boat and the ship slowed dowm. My
grand father had a visit from the local constabulary and had a stearn
talking to.
Now if a navy ship in the Gareloch can't spot 8 large boats in a
confined space, in daylight: how are they going to see a 17 foot 55
pound silent thing at sea level at night or any time for that matter.
Of course our company ran student races and a bunch of students snuck
off in a dinghy and painted the conning tower of a submarine yellow.
The Faslane naval facility is part of the neighbourhood there.
The incidents were unrelated but poetic.
I love the line "illiterate? Wight for help."
The community centre I chair is actively involved in literacy. Its nice
to have a laugh at that the odd time. Life can be much too serious.

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
As a rule of thumb, I pretend that I am invisible. Not only am I paddling
a stealth craft which cannot be detected by any known means, I also have a
Cone of Silence around me, so that no noise, no matter how loud, can ever
leave my boat. It worked for me riding motorcycles, and it has worked for
me so far paddling boats. I used to drive much larger sailboats, I lived
on a 35 foot sloop for a number of years. While almost every set of
nautical rules I have seen have some reference to the duty to maintain a
sharp lookout, in practice there are far too many folks out driving boats
who would hit something even if it had a flashing orange warning light and
a warning alarm. Not only that, I pretend that every other boat out on the
water is out to "get me." I want to expose myself to the possibility of
being run down for as little a time as possible and I keep my eye out for
any boats that may even have a chance of hitting me. It's kind of a
contradiction, believing on the one hand that I can't be detected and then
believing on the other hand that I am easily targeted, but, like I say,
it's a concept that has worked for me so far.

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
Illiterate? Write for FREE help