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sailorboy1 · 14-08-2010, 04:58

Sailed into Boston last night. There are just too many bright and blicking lights around. I know this area well, but with the shore lights, the airport markers, even the bright light house that flashed me ecery 10 seconds, I don'tknow if I could have made it without my chartplotter to follow.

I just I'm amazed people without a chartplotter can find their way in.

Who is using all those lights on shore at mid-night anyway?

imagine2frolic · 14-08-2010, 05:45

When I went to Mexico in 93. On my return 2 years later. I was sailing to my old marina at night. I had done this so many times I could easily pickout the markers with the background of Berkeley Ca.

Well, not so easily after being gone from the marina for 2 years. I kept telling myself it should be right here. I would pick up the binoculars, and look again from each side of the mast. I was beginning to get worried, and picked up the binoculars again to find the first cement marker dead ahead about 50ft. With a near miss I was home, and who is using all those lights?.......i2f

**David M** · 14-08-2010, 08:14

The end of the Berkeley Pier?

MarkJ · 14-08-2010, 09:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Sailed into Boston last night. There are just too many bright and blicking lights around.

We were coming down the coast near Monaco the other night, quite close in and the chic on the wheel nearly freaked out when quite a large sailing boat appeared 100 meters on the shore side of us on a collision course.

Their Nav lights were those stupid, moronic, illegal masthead loads of unseamanlike crap.

Totally unseeable against the background shore lights. And I am sure only 10% of the lights that a harbour like Boston would have.

**roverhi** · 14-08-2010, 10:19

Welcome to the good old days. Nothing knew in misleading and too many lights ashore. I nearly ran up on the reef trying to get into Keehi Lagoon on Oahu in the early '70s. Lined up on what I thought was the range lights for the channel and only discovered my error when a wave broke on the reef when I was less 50' off. Made an immediate turn out and searched for the real range lights. When I finally found them, they were way dimmer than the false lights that I had mistakenly lined up on.

Blue Stocking · 14-08-2010, 10:41

Not as bad as me picking up a range light and the rudder emblem on a parked BA 777. I live near the airport and know the schedules.
When the depth alarm informed me that I was running out water, I realised that the 777 was taxi-ing from the terminal.
Awarded myself "thickest pilot of the year" trophy".

MarkJ · 14-08-2010, 10:57

Well here is a classic one that really stumped me when we were trying to line up the leading lights of the Sothport Seaway in Queensland, Australia.
One of them, below is on the top of a high rise building.
So?
It was in day time and there ain't nuffin else there but lotsa high rise buildings!

Quote:

Feature Class: LIGHTS
Position: 027 55.452 S 153 24.322 E
Attributes
HEIGHT 105.0(m)

cantxsailor · 14-08-2010, 11:29

We just had the same experience coming into the jetties at Freeport TX.

The chemical plants have completely screwed up any hope of seeing the markers at the end of the jetties and to compound the problem the red light is on a 15sec flash which means when it goes out you have moved a fair piece before it flashes again so you lose it. The green however is a steady.

My first indication of the end of the jetties was looking to my right and seeing a fellow standing under the flashing red light fishing.

Once in there is no turning back as they are quite narrow(and made of granite blocks). Thankfully there was no swell or wind to contend with.

I try never to rely on my chartplotter but this time I was using SeaClear and the free NOAA charts with the AIS turned on as well. It wasn't just accurate it was dead on the numbers accurate. Us, as a little blue circle, were sailing right up the middle of the channel just like reality.

We weren't planning on a night time entry but there was just not enough wind to get us there before dark and a tropical disturbance was starting to show signs of doing something a ways south of us.

It still took me about an hour to wind down from that entry..........m

Philsboat · 14-08-2010, 11:30

I was at Kingston Yacht Club Tues. night.The 65 or so wind generators on Wolfe Isl. all have red lights on them.The interesting thing is they all flash simultaneously,so that when they are off you can see the navigation lights on boats in the area.

Phil