Do you use a Daytime Black ball at Anchor?

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by meirriba

Last night in Lefkada (ormos Liaditis aka Tranquil bay) we showed the anchoring ball. There were more boats showing black balls mainly English sailors).

What use is a black ball at night?
Lights are what you use at night.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

What use is a black ball at night?
Lights are what you use at night.

I have meant the day before not night...sorry, my mistake.
At night we have standard mooring light.

[requiem]

Spotted, at Fleet Week in SF this past Saturday, on a ship anchored just east of Alcatraz:

[robertevans]

Originally Posted by bluez06girl

When reading the USCG Regulations, it states that during the daytime a vessel under 50 meters shall hoist a ball shape forward where it can best be seen. Black balls should be 0.6 meters in diameter.

Does anyone do this?

It's the law, if someone hits you you will have an apportionment of blaime, if someone dies you could end up in prison, its not hard to do.
In an instant every on knows your not going to move and can navigate appropriately

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by hpeer

No. But I’ve had one boat hit me one night with 2 anchor lights and the very next night there was a near miss. And our boat is bright yellow. Yesterday I added reflective stripes on mast, arch, and dingy motor.

Reflective stripes or devices are fine for vehicles and mailbox posts, but all they do is reflect light. Since most boats don't have headlights, their effect on o boat is minimal at best.

Lights are a much better solution.

[garyfdl]

Over the last 40 odd years of sailing, I have never noticed anyone flying a 'black ball' while anchored, nor have I ever heard of anyone who was sited for not doing so. Not saying it is wrong or right, but doesn't seem to be done much or enforced.

Have also chartered a half-dozen or so times, none of the charter boats was provided with an anchor ball.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

Over the last 40 odd years of sailing, I have never noticed anyone flying a 'black ball' while anchored, nor have I ever heard of anyone who was sited for not doing so. Not saying it is wrong or right, but doesn't seem to be done much or enforced.

Have also chartered a half-dozen or so times, none of the charter boats was provided with an anchor ball.

In my local area I've never seen one on a boat other than my own. I do know one other person that has and uses one.

Realistically I don't expect anyone to know what it means. I just figure it keeps us lower on the list of boats the coast guard or sheriffs will ever care to bother (they usually ignore sailboats or anyone that looks competent and sober around here). And it'll help insurance wise if one of the idiots manages to hit us at anchor some day.

[Mike OReilly]

Fun revival of this older thread... Cruising here in Canada, and a little in the USA (border areas), I can't consciously recall ever seeing a day anchor ball in use. No one I know has ever used one. I certainly have not. And I've definitely never heard of any enforcement around it.

Their use seems very regionally based. As I recall from the old discussion, many European cruisers report general usage. Over on this side of the pond, few seem to employ them.

We've been having this ongoing discussion about black water dumping, and where people do it. It seems there is a parallel here, with those who follow the letter of the law, and those who make their own path.

[C420sailor]

I’ve never seen one, except on the massive chartered motor yachts.

No one uses them here (US).

[s/v Jedi]

Of course. In common use both sides of the Atlantic. Is worldwide accepted regulations, no exceptions. If you don’t abide then hope nothing happens because a collision will put blame on the anchored boat that has failed to show the mandatory signals.

[BillKny]

Originally Posted by C420sailor

I’ve never seen one, except on the massive chartered motor yachts.

No one uses them here (US).

I guess you have never seen my boat at anchor.

[rwidman]

I don't believe I have ever seen an anchored recreational boat in the eastern USA displaying an anchor ball. It's just not done. I suspect the water police don't even know what it is and what the requirements for its use are. I did buy one of the folding anchor balls, but I have never used it, mostly because my boat doesn't have a good place to display it. I do shine an anchor light at night when anchored.

That said, it seems to me that it doesn't really matter if a boat is showing a black ball or not, you just steer your boat to avoid it. It would be difficult for someone to say he ran into your boat because it was not showing an anchor ball.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Of course. In common use both sides of the Atlantic. Is worldwide accepted regulations, no exceptions. If you don’t abide then hope nothing happens because a collision will put blame on the anchored boat that has failed to show the mandatory signals.

This is an oft-repeated claim when these discussions come up. Do you have any references to examples of when this happened in court? Or perhaps insurance claim information? Maybe our resident legal expert, DH, can cite some (maybe he already did ... this thread goes back to 2019, and I recall it got pretty ...'interesting' back then).

As with black water dumping, I bet it is a rarely-invoked law that is used by law enforcement in especially egregious situations. Except in this case, I can't think what that would be ... anchored in a seaway? Just being an incredibly annoying twit?

[Martkimwat]

It's depressing to see from this poll that just over 7.5% of members of this forum have obviously never read the COLREGS but even more damming that 60% seem to think it is OK to ignore them.

[Exile]

In early June I spent a couple of weeks anchored out in St. George's Harbor, Bermuda. Lots of different nationalities represented, with many Euro-flagged boats heading home from the Carib. I'd say roughly half the anchored boats displayed the black ball, which seemed to correspond with the nationality shown by their ensigns. Generally speaking the US-flagged boats did not display black balls, except for mine.