Anchor light

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by junkrig

I'm not sure here whether you're telling me that it's ok to leave your masthead lights on under power, whether it's not, or whether it doesn't matter, but here's what The Book says...

Read the thread, post 9.

I concur with your advice, although that is not the rule reference I would use...

[junkrig]

Originally Posted by sailingfool

Read the thread, post 9.

I concur with your advice, although that is not the rule reference I would use...

actually I read Post 9, and agreed with it at the time. Post 13 contended that you would only have to turn off your masthead light if you were over 12 meters, and that is what I was disputing.

Given that I've been reading my ColRegs harder today than I have since I was preparing for my master's exam, and didn't see any other rule that specified what I was looking for (the requirement to run the appropriate lights and only the appropriate lights) I'm curious as to what rule you would have preferred to cite.

[CaptainForce]

I'm compelled to bring back the characteristics of parallax and the human perceptions related to steroscopic vision. Like many predators and those that swing from one branch to another, we have excellent depth perception. As objects become closer our brain interprets the angle from our two eyes as distance. The hawk must snatch the rat from the rock without hiting the rock. There are limitations to this perception as our eyes are close together,- oh, to be Hammerhead Sharks and know just how far away everthing is! So flip the optics around and place two light sources far apart instead of the two eyes. As you approach the lights move further apart across our range of vision. Lights far apart and high from the horizon give us more information about distance. The best information that an anchor light can provide is that you are coming closer! Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[junkrig]

And just as an aside, all I asked in the first place was whether I had to run a masthead anchor light to get around the visibility obstruction problem with lower lights.

[junkrig]

Originally Posted by CaptainForce

I'm compelled to bring back the characteristics of parallax and the human perceptions related to steroscopic vision. Like many predators and those that swing from one branch to another, we have excellent depth perception. As objects become closer our brain interprets the angle from our two eyes as distance. The hawk must snatch the rat from the rock without hiting the rock. There are limitations to this perception as our eyes are close together,- oh, to be Hammerhead Sharks and know just how far away everthing is! So flip the optics around and place two light sources far apart instead of the two eyes. As you approach the lights move further apart across our range of vision. Lights far apart and high from the horizon give us more information about distance. The best information that an anchor light can provide is that you are coming closer! Take care and joy, Aythya crew

Thank you, and joy to yourselves!

[fryewe]

First, just in case my previous post regarding my lights on my Norsea wasn't clarified by previous entries...I have a masthead tricolor for use while sailing; and running lights, masthead, and stern light for use when under power. The tricolor is optional according to COLREGS, but makes sense to use when sailing, to me, because of heel while under sail and the normal running lights being so low with respect to the water, and because my boat is small with little freeboard relative to the normal swell and wave action in the open sea, where I am most likely to be sailing at night. These lights at the masthead can legally be used only when sailing, according to COLREGS, so they are off when motoring, and the steaming lights (running lights, masthead, and stern light) are turned on, as required by COLREGS. The stern light on the pushpit is NOT used in conjunction with the tricolor.

Junksea, did you get my private msg on this topic?

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by junkrig

And just as an aside, all I asked in the first place was whether I had to run a masthead anchor light to get around the visibility obstruction problem with lower lights.

Answer is no, boaters have used anchor lights hung off the forestay forever.

[eherlihy]

... and if it is HUNG off a stay, then it will swing as the boat rocks, and the mast will only impede it's visibility momentarily.

I hang mine off the backstay.

[allene222]

Old thread but in case anyone is reading it the anchor light needs to be 360 visible but can be obstructed by something if less than 6 degrees. That means a 6 inch mast would need the light away by 60 inches (10x is just under 6 degrees).