Who remembers all around white lights?

[Nicholson58]

[QUOTE=Chotu;3727903]I am in a busy Anchorage for the first time in quite a while.

Looking around at anchor lights I see:

Boat 1: yellow flashing strobe on cabin top , no other light.

Boat 2: some Christmas lights strung around, some white and some red. No other light

Boat 3: some bluish colored light at the boom “twittering.” Sort of a chaotic strobe effect. Also some strung Christmas lights No other lights.

Boat 4: no lights at all

Re-hash of well thrashed stuff.

Here in the Caribbean anchorage:
Maybe half the boats with no lights ever
Many boats with various solar powered LED mini-lights, some flashing.
Dinghys at night, most without lights

My perspective:
An all around white at the top of an 80 foot lamp post is invisible on typical vessels with cabins or bimini. Your stay away from me lights should be at the deck. BTW, power boats don’t hide their lights in the sky. A white mast light may be legal but it is stupid. Also, the rules were written long ago when there were fewer shore lights for your white light to blend with. Any color but white would be better. Blue is good because it is obviously not a NAV light. I think given today’s technology that LED strip lighting around the perimeter and outside the helm view is far more effective.

We maintain the stupid white mast light but ring the lifelines at anchor with solar blue LED mini lights. The cockpit has a 10- light string of solar patio lighting suitable for sundowners and reading. Thes all run all night on daily recharge.

Our dingy:
Photo attached. This saucer sized LED red green white solar dinghy light is very popular in the Caribbean. Originally only available in Martinique and hand made. It is now at Budget Marine on other islands. I built a stalk to elevate it about head high. Most people glue it to the engine. This is too low to be seen. A magnet operates the off switch. It is waterproof.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Seabeau

There is no doubt that the REGs need to catch up to reality. The white masthead anchor lights, which now predominate, can easily be lost in the background of an illuminated cityscape. This is a well known issue. In a crowed anchorage, lights at eye level or slightly above, are more logical, visible and safer. Subsequently, different lights are needed for different circumstances and the REGs need to follow suit.

The COLREGS are actually very well written when it comes to anchor lights. The problem is people (mostly boat manufacturers) taking the laziest, cheapest interpretation of them and ending up with poor anchor lighting as a result.

Moving the anchor light down lower on the mast by using 2 lights (one on each side) still meets the regs, but is much more visible. Doing that at a moderate height and having a second anchor light down lower (such as on a stern arch) also still meets the regs and is even more visible. The 2 light pattern is required on large boats, but optional on smaller ones.

And on top of all of that, deck lighting or lighting the rails or other light that will show the shape of the boat (and not drown out the anchor light) is also encouraged (and required on large enough boats).

For my own boat, we're a powerboat so the anchor light is only just over 13.5 feet above water level (and about 1.5 feet above the bimini, so you have to be very close and directly behind us before losing sight of the anchor light). It's also significantly brighter than the minimum requirement as well. As a result, it's quite visible (see example photos below, although it's a little hard to judge brightness as it wasn't dark yet when these were taken). I also just added some overhead lighting on the underside of the bimini, so I'll probably leave that on at anchor in the future, as that will keep the upper part of the boat illuminated (visible light from all directions even with all of the canvas in place as it'll glow through the windows).

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The special anchorage areas do not have anywhere to anchor a boat. They are mooring fields.

This isn't strictly true.


There is, for example, one in Duluth harbor, where there are no moorings.


There are other examples.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Jammer

This isn't strictly true.


There is, for example, one in Duluth harbor, where there are no moorings.


There are other examples.

Of course. There is always an exception or two. I was talking in general.

And also out here. On the ocean side. They are chock-full of mooring balls. You could not even find a space to anchor one boat in most of them.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Then why would these boats be lighting themselves incorrectly?

Plus, special anchorages are marked by a pink line on the charts. Pretty easy to see and not really all that common once you are out of the Northeast.

I just found it really surprising how many of these boats are not properly lit. I do believe that is more of a Florida thing though. It’s just not as proper of a place. Lol

So, boats anchored at 'special anchorages' are for some reason visible during a moonless night and therefore they don't need an anchor light?

[Adelie]

No they aren’t more visible. As a practical safety measure it’s shortsighted but is legally acceptable.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Icarus

So, boats anchored at 'special anchorages' are for some reason visible during a moonless night and therefore they don't need an anchor light?

The idea is that the special anchorages are marked on the chart, so you should expect boats to be there. But realistically, it's a hold over from the old days when keeping an anchor light powered was a much bigger deal, especially for a boat kept permanently on a mooring.

[noelex 77]

I have never anchored in a “special anchorage”, but I cannot imagine not displaying an anchor light even if this was not legally required.

Even if the law does not require an anchor light I have no desire to be hit by another boat.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

The idea is that the special anchorages are marked on the chart, so you should expect boats to be there. But realistically, it's a hold over from the old days when keeping an anchor light powered was a much bigger deal, especially for a boat kept permanently on a mooring.

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I have never anchored in a “special anchorage”, but I cannot imagine not displaying an anchor light even if this was not legally required.

Even if the law does not require an anchor light I have no desire to be hit by another boat.

The Special Anchorage Areas are marked in the same manner as all other anchorage areas as far as I can determine from US Chart-1, I found no differentiation. This means that the only way to know if an anchorage is a Special Anchorage Area is to consult the CFRs (Codes of Federal Regulations) and READ from the list. Given that there are a lot more anchorages than SAAs, in the absence of checking the list, it's safe to assume you are not in an SAA.

Noelex, if you have ever anchored in US waters you may have anchored in a Special Anchorage Area without knowing it.

Displaying an anchor light is a good idea even in a Special Anchorage Area or a designated mooring field.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Noelex, if you have ever anchored in US waters you may have anchored in a Special Anchorage Area without knowing it.

We have not anchored in USA waters, which I believe is the only country in the world with areas of special exception from the international collision regulations at anchor.

These special exemptions were formulated before LED lights and solar panels were available. Displaying an anchor light before these technological advances was a serious imposition on a boat’s electrical system and there was less leisure traffic, hence the dispensation.

These days the electrical burden of displaying legal anchor lights for most boats is minimal. Hence I would display at least an all around legal anchor light even if I was anchored in one of these special anchorage areas.

There are many actions that are not legally required by legislation (for example: clipping on in bad weather) that nevertheless I feel are sensible actions. When sailing, conforming to the minimum legal standards is rarely all that is needed.

I have no desire to be hit at night by another boat and I do not understand the motivation to avoid the simple and easy courtesy of displaying adequate anchor lights. This will help another vessel safely enter or traverse the anchorage at night.

Originally Posted by Adelie

Displaying an anchor light is a good idea even in a Special Anchorage Area or a designated mooring field.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

We have not anchored in USA waters, which I believe is the only country in the world with special exceptions from the international collision regulations at anchor.....

Yep, we are the only folks stupid enough to let such a regulation continue to exist.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Icarus

So, boats anchored at 'special anchorages' are for some reason visible during a moonless night and therefore they don't need an anchor light?

I don’t make the rules. The USCG does. And they expect you to be a little smarter than a potato, I guess. They expect you to read the chart and Chart 1 and understand where you are navigating.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

I have never anchored in a “special anchorage”, but I cannot imagine not displaying an anchor light even if this was not legally required.

Even if the law does not require an anchor light I have no desire to be hit by another boat.

Here’s what a Special Anchorage looks like in the USA.

Ever wonder why so many Americans are on the forum? We got a lotta boats!

God help anyone who can’t figure out where the boats are in a Special Anchorage. Probably they should sell up and get a hose because they sure would be too blind to continue boating. Lol

This is an actual picture of Newport RI. A Special Anchorage.

There is no need for anchor lights here. It’s all boats. You just have to find some water to slip through between them.

Probably would be easier to light the water than the fiberglass. Ha ha ha


You can’t anchor in a Special Anchorage by the way. They are chock full of mooring balls. There is no anchoring allowed in them (except rare ones like Jammer mentioned)

The only other boat hitting you in a Special Anchorage is someone not in control who missed their mooring and hit you on your mooring.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Icarus

So, boats anchored at 'special anchorages' are for some reason visible during a moonless night and therefore they don't need an anchor light?

Look at my last post. There is more fiberglass than water in a special anchorage.

No reason for anchor lights. You can’t help but to see the boats.

Hitting the fleet in a special anchorage is like hitting a neck of Land. Same type of error

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Adelie

The Special Anchorage Areas are marked in the same manner as all other anchorage areas as far as I can determine from US Chart-1, I found no differentiation.

They're actually clearly delineated. Look at the special anchorage area in Duluth harbor for an example.

There is variation among them. The one in Duluth harbor is lightly used and there aren't any mooring balls. I believe it exists to allow people who live on Park Point to anchor their boats away from shore, since conditions are not amenable to docking a boat larger than a dinghy near shore without dredging.


I believe that the original intent with the special anchorages was that boats would not ordinarily enter, leave, or transit these anchorages at night.