Night sailing top tips

Toby Heppell is sailing editor of Yachting Monthly. He has been sailing his whole life and writing about it for many years

- Toby Heppell

STAY ON DECK

As always with pilotage, the right place to be is on deck, not least to avoid uncharted objects such as other craft, mooring buoys and fishing pot markers. Most pilotage errors occur at night rather than in the day so a thorough pilotage plan is essential. Even with a navigation station filled with electronic aids it is still possible to become disorientated while trying to reconcile the view on deck with that on the chart. You need a pilotage plan.

The most important principle is this: if you know the position of the yacht and you are armed with a chart (electronic or paper) and a compass, you know the range and bearing to the next mark. This means that when you reach a known position, such as a navigation buoy, you know where to head to find the next one. Simple, except that a surprising number of navigators waste time scanning the lights ahead with no plan to find the one they want.

FISHING POTS

Unpredictable and unlit, these are the biggest danger at night. Avoiding them is largely a matter of common sense. Sometimes they are laid in deep water, but mostly they lurk in less than 50m. Avoid shallows if you can, especially near fishing harbours, and inside passages around headlands, even if you are confident of your position thanks to radar and plotter. Even if you know where you are, there’s still the same risk of the engine stopping with a crunch, or finding yourself moored by the rudder or prop in a strong tide.

LIGHT POLLUTION