Day time is no different than evening
offshore in terms of encountering hazards on a
collision course. But you can see better... obviously.
One problem with
single handing off shore in *popular* regions like the
Caribbean is that with
GPS precision... and quality autopilots... especially AP driven by
GPS is that vessels on reciprocal source have a good probability of a
head on
collision... even when they are navigating between distant islands.
I encountered this when I set out from
English Harbor one morning quite early to sail to Deshais,
Guadeloupe about 55 miles to the south if I
recall. It was a beam reach and I set the way point and get the AP on a track straight as an arrow.. no xtrack error. Wonderful sail! At mid day I went below to prepare a lunch thinking I was 25 miles from both islands and out there alone! But as I was down in the
galley I looked through a portlite above the
stove and a boat whizzed by about 50 feet away!
I jumped up to the
cockpit and saw his stern disappear toward
Antigua... a
Beneteau charter boat with no one in the
cockpit... They were probably down below preparing lunch too... and probably had set the waypoint for
English Harbor and were also on a beam reach. We were traveling on the same *road* between Deshais and English Harbor in opposite directions. Had we been in the cockpit and on watch either of us would have seen the collision approach and taken action. But we were both below decks doing lunch prep. YIKES!
This is a hazard that
shipping lanes and APs and GPS have created. It's even more a common problem in coastal waters.. where so many use the same waypoints (buoys or published in cruising guides) and are running reciprocal courses. LOTS OF 'EM. Block Island to Watch Hill R2 is a very well travel *road*. Watch out! Maybe the name Watch Hill was prophetic?
All sorts of audible alarms are helpful. Use them!