Before Sunset: Bulbs, Batteries and Glare

The hour before sunset is your best friend. Use it. Walk the deck and test every navigation light: sidelights, sternlight, masthead tricolour, steaming light and anchor light. Don't just flick the switch and glance up — check the actual colour and arc. A green sidelight that looks white from astern is a problem. Carry spare bulbs of the correct type, plus fuses and a small screwdriver. Corroded contacts are the usual culprit, so clean them and smear a little silicone grease on the terminals before you need them.

Then deal with glare. White light destroys your night vision for twenty to thirty minutes, so switch off cabin lights, dim the plotter to its lowest usable setting and cover instrument displays with red film. A red headtorch is essential, but even that should be used sparingly. Check the compass light, too — a bright white bulb will blind you every time you take a bearing. If your boat has a deck flood, make sure it can be switched on instantly for a man overboard, but keep it off otherwise.

Navigation Lights: The Rules You Must Show

Under sail, you show sidelights — red to port, green to starboard — and a white sternlight. A masthead tricolour combines these in one unit and saves power, which matters on a long night. Under power, you add a white masthead (steaming) light. If you are motor-sailing with sails up, you are a power-driven vessel and must show the steaming light. Anchor somewhere quiet and you need an all-round white light where it can best be seen.

Know the arcs: sidelights cover 112.5 degrees, the sternlight 135 degrees and the masthead light 225 degrees. Check that your lights are not obscured by sails, radar domes or crew. LED replacements are excellent, but buy units approved for navigation, not interior cabin lights. Keep a radar reflector hoisted if your boat is small, and remember that a hand-bearing compass and a torch are your best tools for identifying another vessel's lights. A white light flashing twice and then a long flash is not a mystery — it is an isolated danger mark. Learn the patterns before you leave.

The Watch Rota: Fatigue is the Enemy

Agree the rota before sunset, not at two in the morning when everyone is tired. With four crew, two hours on and six off works well. With three, three hours on and six off is kinder. With two, three hours on and three off is standard for a reason. Whatever you choose, write it down and stick to it. Rotate watch partners so everyone gets to know the boat and nobody is stuck with the same person all night.

Handover should be a proper briefing, not a mumble. Cover course, speed, sail plan, traffic, weather, engine hours and anything unusual. Log your position, course, speed and barometer every hour. Keep the watchkeeper warm, fed and hydrated — soup, ginger biscuits and a flask of tea work wonders. No alcohol. If you feel drowsy, stand up, move around, check the sails, or call the next watch early. A tired lookout is no lookout at all.

Safety starts before you leave the cockpit. Lifejacket on, harness clipped to a jackstay, and a personal light in your pocket. Brief everyone on man overboard procedure at the start of the trip, and practise it in daylight so the night version is less frightening.

Night Vision and Watch Keeping Techniques

Once your eyes have adapted, use them properly. Scan from side to side rather than staring at one spot. Peripheral vision is better at night, so look slightly to the side of a faint light. Look for the loom of a ship's lights above the horizon before you see the lights themselves. Listen, too: an engine, a breaking wave or a buoy bell can warn you before your eyes do.

Use radar and AIS with low screen brightness and set guard zones. Keep the plotter range at three to six nautical miles unless you need a wider view. Identify lights by their pattern and sector: a steady white light might be a sternlight, a flashing red might be a port-hand buoy. Take compass bearings on any vessel that worries you. A constant bearing and a decreasing range means you are on a collision course. Act early. Call on the VHF if you are unsure — better a polite query than a close encounter.

Emergencies and the Run to Dawn

If someone goes overboard at night, press the MOB button immediately, throw a light and a danbuoy, and keep your eyes on the casualty. Illuminate them with the deck flood or a powerful torch. Recovery is difficult in the dark, so stay calm, motor back if you can, and use a throwing line or lifting tackle. This is why you practised in daylight.

As dawn approaches, start your pilotage plan for harbour. Reduce sail early, prepare fenders and lines, and switch on the echo sounder. Leading lights and sector lights are easier to read in the half-light, but do not assume you can see a buoy until you are almost on it. If you are unsure, heave to or anchor in a safe depth and wait for full daylight. Hand over to the day watch with a clear summary of what happened, then note any maintenance issues — a flickering light, a chafed halyard, a damp bilge — before you sleep. Good night sailing is simply good seamanship with the lights on.