I am planning on doing a lot of night sailing on the Chesapeake Bay this season. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas on equipment musts, besides a good chart and a lighted compass.
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Another Thread on this is going right now.
Make sure your lights work and you know which configuration is correct you would be amazed at the numbers out there that have no clue or do not care. Make sure all your vests have reflective material on them each has a strobe light and a whistle. A good spotlightand extra batteries for your GPS. The Power Squadron and Coast Guard Auxiliary offer inexpensive courses and offer free Vessel Safety Checks to help make sure your boat has all the correct and functioning gear.
Make sure your lights work and you know which configuration is correct you would be amazed at the numbers out there that have no clue or do not care. Make sure all your vests have reflective material on them each has a strobe light and a whistle. A good spotlightand extra batteries for your GPS. The Power Squadron and Coast Guard Auxiliary offer inexpensive courses and offer free Vessel Safety Checks to help make sure your boat has all the correct and functioning gear.
Crab Pots
If you sail at night, you will want to stay in the primary channels as crab pots can be a problem. We do not sail our H34 at night for this reason. Also you will find some fish nets that are night lighted. My wife and I sail the Chesapeake every June for the month and it is wonderful. Have a great time. Bob
If you sail at night, you will want to stay in the primary channels as crab pots can be a problem. We do not sail our H34 at night for this reason. Also you will find some fish nets that are night lighted. My wife and I sail the Chesapeake every June for the month and it is wonderful. Have a great time. Bob
Blast those crab pots
I can tell you, from experience, that nothing is more fustrating than that one crab pot that was put into a channel near your yacht club. Crab pots are one of the most irritating things to deal with in the Chesapeake Bay area. They will hang your rudder, your keel, and the prop and shaft of your boat. It is even worse if you hit one while you are under power. The pot will rap the shaft and create a huge mess! If you sail at night it is advisable to have someone up front shining a spotlight in the area infront of your boat. That is still a risky business, especially because some people paint their crab floats black (part of that bad experience).
I can tell you, from experience, that nothing is more fustrating than that one crab pot that was put into a channel near your yacht club. Crab pots are one of the most irritating things to deal with in the Chesapeake Bay area. They will hang your rudder, your keel, and the prop and shaft of your boat. It is even worse if you hit one while you are under power. The pot will rap the shaft and create a huge mess! If you sail at night it is advisable to have someone up front shining a spotlight in the area infront of your boat. That is still a risky business, especially because some people paint their crab floats black (part of that bad experience).
Night sailing on the Chesapeake can be a great experience, or a real nightmare. In addition to the previously noted hazard of multiple crab pots, pound nets are also something to be very careful of. These large structures (in my mind they should be called "hazards to navigation") are often poorly lit with road hazard type lights, or not lit at all. Also, many of the lighted navaids on the Bay have the same flashing patterns which makes figuring out where you are a bit more difficult. Finally, in many parts of the bay where it is very narrow (near Solomons, for example) it is quite easy to confuse lights on vehicles ashore with those of boats afloat. All the foregoing are only cautions to consider as night sailing in open and safe waters is wonderful. My advice is to ease into it slowly and carefully by taking short sails as the sun goes down and it begins to get dark. Practice figuring out just exactly where you are and how to get back home safely. With practice, you'll really enjoy this aspect of sailing.
Use Waypoints
When I sail on my nearby lake, I sailed in the daytime and marked my tracks and waypoints on my handheld Garmin throughout the lake area, noting boundaries and areas I didn't want to approach. Then at night, I just stay within the boundary tracks. Works pretty good...as long as you have batts for the Garmin!
When I sail on my nearby lake, I sailed in the daytime and marked my tracks and waypoints on my handheld Garmin throughout the lake area, noting boundaries and areas I didn't want to approach. Then at night, I just stay within the boundary tracks. Works pretty good...as long as you have batts for the Garmin!
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