Thanks Malcolm. I was thinking that these would be more for keeping other paddlers aware but likely we'll stick with the deck lights we've always used.

Sounds like a busy place to paddle down there. I'll stick to my secluded (and cold) northern lakes.

Be careful out there.

Jim

: Good day Jim,

: For vessels under 7 meters, and for non-powered vessels, the only
: requirement is a 360 degree all-around white light. Of course to
: be 360 deg on a kayak it really needs to be up on a pole. I
: would check out the Kayalu deck light. Joe O'Blenis at
: www.joeopaddles.com sells them. Mine has been through a
: hurricane- literally- as the kayak sat on my porch with the
: light attached during a category 1 hurricane. It stayed put! I
: have done visibility tests and it can easily be seen at over 1
: mile even with other lights around it. (Very important because
: often your light blends in with or is overpowered by other
: lights on shore.) Save the complication and get the deck light.
: I have also seen a similar red/green bow light that attaches to
: the bow. I only recommend it because the 360 deg white may be
: obstructed by your body if it does not stick up over your head.
: In that case the bow light gives added visibility.

: You can do a red/green LED bow light but it needs to meet USCG regs
: for 1 mile visibilty, and also- very important here- you must
: have it visible only as green from starboard, only as red from
: port, and both must be visible head-on. If you deviate from this
: you will (a) be out of regulations and more important (b)
: indicate improperly your direction. If I see a red and green
: then I am going to assume I am approaching you head-on. Although
: it's not as critical when you are not under power and moving
: slowly, it does help when I'm out in a boat at night and trying
: to take the best course to avoid you. I will always opt ot go
: behind you or if approaching you head-on I will steer to pass
: port to port. Very often due to the low stance of a kayak I
: won't see you until I am right on you, so it is important to
: show proper lights.

: Living on an island, I boat a lot at night. I rely heavily on the
: lights of other vessels to determine which way to go in order to
: avoid a collision. My favorite story is when a vessel once
: passed me with lights indicating he had a vessel in tow (three
: white masthead lights). I was in a RIB doing about 25 knots. I
: stopped, waited and looked but saw no vessel in tow. The vessel
: in tow should have at minimum a stern light. after waiting it
: out a bit I decided he must have forgotten to turn off his
: lights after dropping off the vessel he was towing and I was
: about to proceed. Just then all the lights on St. Thomas went
: out. I thought it was a power outage (very common here).
: Suddenly I realized that the lights didn't go out, but a huge
: barge with no lights at all was passing in front of me, thus
: blocking my view of the lights of St. Thomas. On the moonless
: night the barge was just a blackness. Had I not correctly
: interpreted the towing vessels lights I would have gone between
: him and the towed barge and either gotten decapitated by the
: steel towing cable or been crushed by the vessel in tow. The
: story hasn't much to do with kayaks, but it does illustrate the
: importance of showing proper lights at night, and knowing what
: the lights of other vessels indicate.

: One that is more related to kayaks and small vessels- There was a
: tiny "rubber ducky" dinghie with 8 souls precariously
: perched on the tubes, crossing one of the busiest channels at
: night with nothing but a dimly-lit and poorly-held flashlight. I
: was underway approaching the harbor. I was again in my 15' RIB.
: It is only by the grace of God even in my small boat that I saw
: them and avoided running them over. Right behind me was a ferry
: boat. I motored alongside them to keep the ferry from running
: them over, and the ferry visibly steered to correct when he saw
: us. Had I not been there they would have been t-boned.

: It is good to see you are putting lights on your kayak and that you
: seek advice before doing so. Go with the Kayalu deck light. It
: is USCG approved, very visible, and even hurricane tested!!!

: Cheers,

: Malcolm