THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN BEFORE I STARTED SAILING by JOHN VIGOR

Author:JOHN VIGOR [VIGOR, JOHN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sheridan House
Published: 2020-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

NIGHT SAILING

Sailing at night is an act of faith.

Sailing at night can be a wonderful experience, especially in warm southern waters where phosphorescence swirls in your wake and the trade wind sighs gently in the rigging. Brittle stars prick through the velvet canopy of night to guide you on your course and the moon floods the decks with a silver glow.

Sailing at night can also be very frightening, akin to speeding down the freeway blindfolded. Even on the best of nights it’s almost impossible to see anything in the water close ahead of you. It’s a complete act of faith to presume you have a clear passage.

We all know that containers are washed off freighters regularly. They’re floating half-submerged out there, along with deadheads, fishing nets, unlit weather buoys, sleeping whales, and many more things yachts occasionally run into, including each other.

To steer by the compass only, to reef, handle sails, and work on deck in the pitch dark takes practice. Start gradually and gain experience by going out for a couple of hours at twilight. Everything looks different in the dark, even the home port you know so well. Distances are hard to judge and ships’ lights are often dangerously confusing.

TIP: Don’t start out on an overnight passage unless somebody on board has adequate experience of night sailing.

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