Surfski Knowledge Base

(These messages were in response to another about required lighting on the water at night, but the link to the content mentioned is no longer valid)

Dale McKinnon
04/10/08 #4229

Adam, you've missed one very important lighting pattern, and that is the three -white-light pattern on the mast that tugs display when towing. We've had serious loss off life between Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle because ignorance of this lighting pattern. Not fun to find heads severed from bodies by the towing cable as kayakers passed behind a tug not knowing or being able to see or understanding the usual and customary semaphorage in a working harbor. The tug was only doing 2-3 knots. But a towing cable can oscillate even in mild swell when pulling a loaded barge. Unfortunately, it snapped taut just as the kayakers passed over it.

This has also happened to a family of five (all killed) in a powerboat, and I've personally seen a seal between tub and barge (on the Inside Passage) flipped and severed in two by a towing cable. I would personally like to see you stress the importance to your readers of understanding the US lateral bouyage system and lighting schemes. The Canadian system has it vagaries/differences… it'd be good to know them too, particularly for people traveling north of Jonesport on the East Coast.

Sincerely,
Dale McKinnon

Shiela
04/11/08 #4241

Hey night-paddlers,

In addition to the regular nav lights (red/port; green/starboard),
tugs in Canada display 3 white lights vertically on the mast when
towing (barge, log boom, skow…)a load that's more than 200 meters
behind the tug. They display 2 white lights if the tow load's less
than 200 meters behind it. The white lights are only visible if you're
seeing it from the side. The tug also displays a yellow light atop a
white light on the mast, which is visible when you're approaching from
astern.

The tugs here travel quickly and they're hard to see or hear when the
whitecaps are galloping and the wave sets are gorgeous. We know that
some of them see us tho coz the horn's are eze to hear!

Enjoying pogie-free paddlin in Victoria,
Shiela

Re: Paddling at Night: VHF radio calls and boat lights
Reivers Dustin
04/11/08 #4242

I've done a little night paddling, but don't care for it much. I
have great night vision, but find that depth perception and judgement
of relative courses is just gone. But it's true; you can hear
vessels as though they are really close.

Paddling out of Friday Harbor amongst the ferries coming and going
was weird. They looked like spaceships in the air until you were
close enough to see the foamy bow wave. This was not a happy weird.
I got in touch with my frightened inner kayaker child. He wanted to
paddle far far away and never come back. We both got drunk together
later at camp.