Sailing at Night

Night Sailing

If the conditions are right, sailing at night is just plain neat.  A full (or nearly full) moon, thousands (millions) of stars, perhaps even the northern lights, all make for a wonderful evening of sailing.  But with all this beauty, there is an imperative that the trip be well planned.  The boat needs to be properly outfitted and maintained.  The running lights must work.  All crew who are on deck must wear safety harnesses with tethers.  Any lights below that can be seen from the cockpit should be red in color to prevent night blindness.  (I cover the main cabin lights with red cellophane held in place with a rubber band.)

If you are planning an overnight sail, you must plan for a night watch system that insures that the crew on deck is alert and functional at all times.  The time period between midnight and dawn is the most critical time for the crew on deck.  Choosing a smaller number of crew members from 2000 hrs (8 PM) until midnight; and a larger number of crew members from midnight till 0400 (4 AM) and from 0400 till 0800 (8 AM) might be smarter than trying to have an equal number of crew on deck during all watches.  The reason for this is that most of us are easily able to stay awake and alert till midnight.  But, many people find that trying to stay awake after midnight is very difficult.  If there are more crew from midnight till 0400, there will be a better chance that everyone helps keep each other awake and alert.  There is an old saying that “two experienced crew who are used to night watches may be far stronger than three times the number if inexperienced.”  And remember, that steering the boat does not insure that the person steering stays awake.

Remember to try to get the crew who are not on deck (on watch) to rest or – better yet – to sleep.  This recharges their “batteries” and helps them stay awake during the night watches.

Plan the night watches in advance, and write down the instructions for each watch.  Make sure that the crew know where things  might be when needed.  Make sure that there is a good supply of snacks, and hot coffee or tea.  Insure that there are jobs to do during the watches and a check list for putting the crew member’s initials for jobs completed… not just sitting in the cockpit for four hours.  What are some of the jobs?  Here’s some ideas:

Of course, steering the boat.  But, steering should be in one-hour or less “stints”.  If it’s stormy, fifteen minutes might be plenty of “exercise”.  Rotate the crew steering the boat.  Later in the watch it might be prudent to shorten the steering “stints”.

Trimming the sails.  This is an as needed job that might require one or several crew members.  Include in this – reefing or shaking out reefs; and changing sails (especially head sails).

Plotting the boat’s progress on the chart every fifteen minutes.  Use a hand-bearing compass to find lines of position to aids to navigation, landmarks, etc.  Record the compass bearings and then plot the fix on the chart.  Train all crew to do this job so that (like steering) each member of the watch performs this job.

Maintain a Dead Reckoning Log with updates every fifteen minutes or anytime there is a course change.  The “DR” log should contain information for:  time, magnetic course, boat speed, distance run since the last DR, wind velocity, wind direction, barometer reading, barometer trend (up or down), sails in use, and comments.

Checking the running lights.  This should be done every hour.  Remember that if you are using the boat’s engine, the boat is considered a motor boat and the running light scheme changes.  Sailboats which are sailing show red/green bow lights and a white stern light.  Motor boats show those same lights plus a “masthead” steaming light that shows ahead.  The stern light plus the steaming light provide for 360 degrees of white light.

Making hot coffee or tea.  This requires knowledge regarding the stove and its operation… AND, knowledge regarding how to prepare these beverages.  Even during the summer, the nights can be pretty chilly.  A hot cup of coffee or tea tastes wonderful.

There must be maintained a shipping watch.  Someone on deck must have the job to keep a lookout for ships and boats. In busy waters, this person must check in every direction at least every few minutes.  If it’s foggy or hazy, this person likewise must check every direction every few minutes.  If another vessel is seen, the shipping watch crew must keep track of that other vessel until it is absolutely certain that there is no danger.  This requires knowledge of how to interpret the running lights on the other vessel; and whether the other vessel is crossing or converging with your boat.

Interestingly, there are many people who have color blindness to one degree or another.  Many people cannot distinguish between the colors red and green.  This condition is a real problem at night if the crew member is watching the running lights on another boat.  It would be prudent for a skipper planning a night sail to test his crew ahead of time to know who does and who does not have color blindness.

There is a “golden rule” in which calling the next watch (waking them up) includes having hot coffee or tea ready five minutes before the new watch is on duty.  This isn’t just kindness.  Some people take a while to wake up and the coffee or tea helps measurably.   The off-going watch must inform the new watch – explicitly – of several things:  where the boat is on the chart; if land is close; if the weather is changing; present course and speed; any other vessels in sight and their status.

Finally, when should the skipper be called?  The skipper might have issued specific orders to be called at a certain time, or if there is a change in course, for shipping, etc.  The watch must remember that the skipper is responsible for the boat and everyone aboard.  If anything worries the watch, or seems to threaten the ship in the slightest, the skipper must be called right away.

So, take a look at this year’s almanac to determine when there is a full moon each month.  A night sail on or near the full moon might be great fun.  Pick your crew, plan ahead, do some training.  And get ready for an incredible experience.