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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Optimum running lights sought
Posted By: Todd Bradshaw In Response To: Re: Optimum running lights sought (Capt. M. Hamilton)
Date: Thursday, 14 December 2000, at 11:48 p.m.
: TEB. I listed the capt. in my name, as I am a USGC Master, so when I give
: advice it is accurate to the best of my knowledge, and usually researched
: before posting. This doesn't make me smarter or better that any of you
: guys, but it does mean that I had to pass several CG tests and have many
: many days on the water, so I only mean to help. It is not legal to display
: a red strobe! It would be overlooked in an emergency, but it is not
: allowed in either Inland or International Rules. Perhaps some state bodies
: of water have ammendments to this, but i doubt that. On inland waters a
: high intensity white flashing light (50-70 times/min) can be used as AN
: EMERGENCY SIGNALING DEVICE, not as a running light!!!!! International
: waters do not allow officially for a strobe, but no one will mind if you
: use it only for an emegency! While it is admirable to try your best to be
: seen, the bottom line is simply that travelling by kayak in the dark in
: heavily congested waters is foolish, which violates Rule #1 of good
: seamanship. Sea kayakers should pick up a copy of the USCG Navigation
: Rules and spend some time understanding them. The problem with doing your
: own thing outside of these rules is that mariners will not understand what
: they are seeing! For example, If I'm running my water taxi in the dark in
: the San Juans and I see a strobe going off, I will immediately head for it
: WHILE talking to the Coast Guard on the VHF! In your efforts to do right
: you may be doing more harm, so best to play by the Rules, which are very
: specific and applicable to ALL vessels. If the rules do not satisfy your
: need for safety, then it isn't safe to be out there. We cannot break or
: modify these rules because we are kayakers!Gee, Capt. H., which side of the V-berth did you crawl out of today? I'm always amazed at how aggressive many of the posts on this board tend to be and wonder how much good they actually do for the sport. Perhaps it's a function of taking a very personal, individualized sport and dealing with it in a mass forum. As far as I can tell, after checking my copies of the nav regs and Chapman's, my standard lighting system is perfectly legal. The red strobe thing was added as a possibility, qualified by making it a request for input. I still haven't found anything at all pertaining to red strobes in any context, but since I don't own one, I doubt it will be a problem.
I also doubt that I will ever be run down by anyone that I would label a "mariner". More likely, it would be a walleye fisherman rounding a point at 45 m.p.h. with his eyes glued to his fishfinder or a half-tanked hotshot in a jet boat. My perception from reading the regulations is that rule #1 is to avoid being in a collision by whatever means is necessary. Without getting into the dueling credentials thing, I have not suggested that anybody should routinely paddle with a white strobe running or going out to play in the shipping lanes at night. My initial concern was that if a paddler is in an urban environment, a mast-mounted, white all-around light doesn't show-up worth a damn and that for a deaf paddler, it might not be a good choice.
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