The white light must be at least 2-3 feet above the water. I forget which.

Gary S. wrote:

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 23:25:28 GMT, "Rick" wrote:


"JB" wrote in message
...

Hello all...

I'm writing from Switzerland and this is my first post on this
newsgroup...but I've been reading you all for a long time and got plenty

of

tricks that helped me improve my poor skills...

Most of the time, I paddle on Lake Leman but I travel every year to

Brittany

and put my kayak to rougher seas !!

I just wanted to hear from you about seakayaking at night...do you use any
light so other boats could see you ?


I would certainly recommend standard boat lighting (red and green), however,
I would not wish to rely solely on same. Some device to provide a radar
profile would also be useful, as would additional safety and signal
equipment should something unexpected occur. While collisions with a kayak
are unlikely, you are in a very exposed and unprotected situation and should
take reasonable safety precautions.

Rick


In the US, any craft on the water at night is supposed to display the
standard basic lights, regardless of propulsion. Obviously the US
Coast Guard rules do not apply elsewhere, but your equivalent agency
may have similar policies.

There are many inexpensive lights available, which attach in a variety
of ways..

For radar, there are things called "corner reflectors" which do a fine
job of reflecting radar back to its source. These dramatically raise
your visibility on their radar for little cost and no power.

Any marine supply store will have these.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

lcopps wrote:

The white light must be at least 2-3 feet above the water. I forget which.

No, there is no height requirement by the USCG. According to
http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/fed_reqs/equ_nav.htm the only required
lighting for sailboats under 7 m in length and "vessels under oars" (I
think paddles and oars are considered synonymous by the USCG) is a white
flashlight or lantern which can be used to signal when necessary to avoid a
collision. Other lights, such as red/green side lights and a 360 white
light, may be displayed but are not required. I prefer to use a headlamp
as my white flashlight so I can use it to signal while still being able to
paddle.

Gary S. wrote:
In the US, any craft on the water at night is supposed to display the
standard basic lights, regardless of propulsion. Obviously the US
Coast Guard rules do not apply elsewhere, but your equivalent agency
may have similar policies.

There are many inexpensive lights available, which attach in a variety
of ways..

For radar, there are things called "corner reflectors" which do a fine
job of reflecting radar back to its source. These dramatically raise
your visibility on their radar for little cost and no power.

Thanks for your answers....I think I'll go for the white flashlight...and
btw, in Switzerland, you apply the international rules, which means a
flashlight, at least...

For the emergency flare or lights, I carry 3 red flares (1 in the PFD and 2
on the boat) and a parachute flare. I will soon purchase a strobe but for
now I have a Photon 3 with SOS strobe...usefull only when weather conditions
are not too bad, of course
(http://www.photonlight.com/products/photon_3.html)

Another question, did everyone have a problem because of the lack of light
while navigating by night ?

JB wrote:


Another question, did everyone have a problem because of the lack of light
while navigating by night ?


Can be more difficult if there is no dominant landmark (light) to which
you can orient.

Also, have found in very dark conditions that equilibrium can be
affected and that I probably brace more than needed due to feeling that
I'm about to dump. Odd sensation.

doug m

doug m wrote:

Also, have found in very dark conditions that equilibrium can be
affected and that I probably brace more than needed due to feeling that
I'm about to dump. Odd sensation.

This is a variation of the condition known as "kayak angst". It can occur
whenever you're in a situation where you lose the ability to distinguish the
horizon. That usually means flat water with fog, heavy overcast or darkness,
and no landmarks or objects in the water. Basically, without any reference
points, your inner ear goes haywire and you can't maintain balance.
Fortunately, all it takes is ripples in the water or another paddler within
sight to eliminate the problem.

--
Regards

Brian

in article , Brian Nystrom at
wrote on 10/4/03 6:09 AM:



doug m wrote:

Also, have found in very dark conditions that equilibrium can be
affected and that I probably brace more than needed due to feeling that
I'm about to dump. Odd sensation.

This is a variation of the condition known as "kayak angst". It can occur
whenever you're in a situation where you lose the ability to distinguish the
horizon. That usually means flat water with fog, heavy overcast or darkness,
and no landmarks or objects in the water. Basically, without any reference
points, your inner ear goes haywire and you can't maintain balance.
Fortunately, all it takes is ripples in the water or another paddler within
sight to eliminate the problem.

What your inner ear contributes to balance should not be affected by your
ability to see the horizon. A perfectly normally wired person should be
able to maintain balance even when blindfolded. But balance is affected by
input from vision and all physical sensation. You can be blindfolded and
maintain balance more easily if your feet are on the ground than if you are
floating in a boat.

I get the sensation of being way off balance in my kayak whenever I raise
the camera to my eye because the way I'm seeing the horizon is greatly
modified through the viewfinder. It is bizarre.

I have not experienced the same at night when the horizon is not visible.

It's definately not limited to kayaks, my daughter gets it whenever we drive
through rural areas at night and you cannot see the horizon from the rear
passenger window. Fortunately, she can deal with it now and no longer pukes
as a result.