Hey Pete, we would never consider anchoring out without having lights visible all around the vessel at vessel height. We are happy with several outdoor solar lights from Lowes or Home Depot attached to stanchions or leaving deck lights on if you have the power available. Bad story of a bass boat not seeing an anchored houseboat at night and decapitating both passengers in the bass boat when they ran up the swim platform and through the back sliding doors. Apparently never saw the houseboat that was shinning a legal anchor light.
Outstanding article about a very important subject. My first sailboat had a riding light that needed to be hoisted on a halliard because the builder did not include an all-around anchor light. It was a very good idea, which I think of every night I come out on deck and see all the lights up in the air. But I never remember to do something about it.
Maybe, instead, we should just turn on more lights inside the boat to make it obvious that there is a boat under the light. The cruise ships are lit up like Las Vegas, so much that it is actually hard to separate out the nav lights.
This problem appears in other contexts. The last watch I stood on a ship in the Navy was as OOD on the USS South Carolina (CGN37), entering the Med for the first time with the USS Nimitz and the USS California. It was the mid-watch, and I had never had to conn a ship in waters like the entrance to the Med, at night. All three of us had standard running lights, which on a warship can be in places you might not think are very wise, because they are clustered together on the superstructure, with no indication that there might be a couple of hundred feet of Large Grey Ship sticking out both forward and aft of the lights.
I could see lights all around, including fishing boats and all sorts of commercial traffic lining up to go through the Straits of Gibralter. I knew where the California and Nimitz were, from my radar picture, but the vast majority of the rest of the vessels had no idea that there was a 1000ft long, 90,000 ton floating menace to navigation underneath those lights, or that the two sets of navigation lights that were clustered together were sitting on top of two 600 ft long US Navy cruisers. It was nice to follow the Nimitz and let her "clear the way", but at one point I heard a call (in very British english) on Channel 16 "Vessel on my stbd bow, this is the SS Whatever, requesting your intentions". Then another call saying the same thing. I think he was calling the California because there was no one near us, but I could see a radar return converging on the California.
As the returns merged I heard a very angry call from the same gentleman "Why don't you people put some proper lights on your bloody warships!!!"
He had not realized that there was a large warship there, and they almost had a collision.
Excelllent breakdown of how visual systems degrade when compliance replaces comprehension. The distinction between being visible vs being readable is huge, especially in crowded anchorages where attention is split across tons of inputs. I anchored off Cat Island once and had that exact moment trying to parse where hulls actually were beneath all the high lights. Lower reference points just make more intuitive sense for short-range navigation.
We are in an anchorage right now in Boca Raton and the least visible boats are those with anchor lights (or whatever the maritime nomenclature people refer to it as) on top of their mast. They get lost in the lights of the surrounding condos. And the best is the boat off our port side that has 6 or 8 blue lights. It stands out like a dire thumb.
Ever since hearing of an insurance company that refused to pay for damages caused by their inebriated client to a boat he hit in broad daylight, arguing that the struck vessel was not displaying an anchor ball while anchored (not in an established anchorage). We always raise the black shape whenever the anchor is down.
I am a simglehander who uses both. My crusty oil burning Ankerlicht has done its salty job for half a century now. Its rich warm glow stands out from the LED solutions. Polishing, fueling, and lighting is part of a very satisfying ritual for me, somehow connecting me with Hornblower, Aubrey, and Childers Riddle of the Sands!
A critically important subject worthy of discussion.
In the parlance of the Nav Rules, the light located at the top of the mast is not called a 'masthead light'. The masthead light, also knowns as a steaming light, faces forward and shines in an arc of 225 deg. The light at the top of the mast, which is supposed to (it's often obstructed, especially on power vessels), shine over 360 deg. is referred to as the 'all-round light'. For legal and practical reasons, when discussing navigation, it's important to use the correct terminology.
I think riding lights are a great idea, anything to improve nighttime visibility in an anchorage, without creating confusion (i.e. bright flood lights that obscure anchor lights) makes sense. I don't believe there's any issue of compliance, using a riding light is not prohibited, not unless it was used in place of a anchor light.
I have been saying this for a very long time now. A single anchor light while at anchor can get lost in the lights of a harbor or city very very easily. They are FAR above eye level. They are not useless, but I find them poor at best. And then there’s the issue of wiring and bulbs going out.
We run a couple anchor lights on deck. Blue or yellow. We can set them to flash when we go ashore so we can easily find our boat if we come back after dark. They are not annoyingly bright. Our boat sticks out. Meanwhile all the other sailboats have one little measly light up in the sky. Guess what other boats are easy to see in the anchorage though? Trawlers. With an anchor light at 10’.
Great article that got me thinking! Curious if anyone has suggestions on LED versions of these lights and links to them? I see that Al Fricke uses a trusty oil lamp, I admire his ritual -- but that is likely not my ideal solution.
Excellent thinking. I’ve long been thinking similarly. I now sail a 40 foot cat. Of course it has a masthead anchor light. Still, I normally leave that off and rather hoist a riding light in the fore triangle. It’s about 4 meters (13 feet, for the metrically challenged) above water. The light shines some on the boat deck and superstructure, which is practical for us aboard at night, and makes an enormously larger area visible to other boats. That’s extremely much easier to immediately understand, related to what it is and where it is. Claiming that AIS and Radar gives any benefit whatsoever in an anchorage, is flat out stupid. For one, who has any of that on a fast small craft? I’ve seen enough of such crashing into anchored boats. Sure, that means the small boat was run stupidly, but making it easy to be a victim of stupidity is just as stupid.
On top of this, most anchorages have a lot of small lights. Some are from boats, but often more from land. Background lights. Defining a small spot of light as much closer than the lot of other lights is often VERY hard. A softly illuminated larger object is immediately identifiable. No thinking or attention needed. It’s obvious. Small light spots almost NEVER are obvious. That’s a big problem with running lights too.
With all respect, the tone here sounds so very much like it was written by AI - as relevant as the topic may be, the repeated "it's not X, it's Y" format, the long prose followed by the short, pithy sentences, and so on all read like LLM-generated text.
If you can look past the incorrect lexicon, (masthead light (225-degrees) is not an anchor light (360-degrees)), the author almost has a point.
However, an additional light is completely unnecessary because Rule 30 allows vessels less than 100 m in length to illuminate their decks as an option.
Our trawler has inward-facing LED deck lighting every few meters along the edge of the bulwark. For just a few watts/hour we can illuminate the entire topsides in a soft glow that clearly shows the outline of the vessel to any approaching boat at “eye level” which seems to be the author’s concern. I definitely agree that the untrained amateur who may be approaching an anchorage at night may not realize that the single bright light aloft has a large vessel beneath it.
Spreader lights on sailboats or larger power boats usually draw significantly greater wattage and often are so bright it may make sleeping in the forward cabins difficult.
For those without deck edge lighting, the inflatable solar light cubes sold at camping and outdoors stores are very effective and last all night. They can be tied to a railing or secured atop the coach roof and/or cockpit to fully illuminate the shape of the vessel very affordably. For those okay with the low risk of a flame, several paraffin or oil lamps are available to tie to the pulpit or in a visible location to better illuminate the outline of the vessel.
Bottom line: I agree in spirit, but fortunately the IMO writers ALREADY provided an option for any vessel. No need for any change to the Rules.
1. A "masthead" light is something else entirely, and I suggest your guest author change that word.
2. The rules call for the all-around anchor light to be "where it can best be seen" which is not, by rule, atop the mast. Most would argue that it would be hanging in the foretriangle. But hanging a light is more work than flipping a switch, and I think most sailors are just lazy about it. Also, there are evidently local LEOs out there who seem to think the rule says atop the mast (it does not) and will get pissy about it.
3. The rules allow for deck lights to be illuminated in addition to the anchor light, and this is arguably the best answer for visibility. Modern LED deck or spreader lights use very little power.
4. Finally, the rules do allow for two anchor lights, but be attentive to the fact that the lower of the two must be abaft the higher of the two. This is, in part, to make it explicitly distinct from two masthead (steaming) lights.
Hey Pete, we would never consider anchoring out without having lights visible all around the vessel at vessel height. We are happy with several outdoor solar lights from Lowes or Home Depot attached to stanchions or leaving deck lights on if you have the power available. Bad story of a bass boat not seeing an anchored houseboat at night and decapitating both passengers in the bass boat when they ran up the swim platform and through the back sliding doors. Apparently never saw the houseboat that was shinning a legal anchor light.
Outstanding article about a very important subject. My first sailboat had a riding light that needed to be hoisted on a halliard because the builder did not include an all-around anchor light. It was a very good idea, which I think of every night I come out on deck and see all the lights up in the air. But I never remember to do something about it.
Maybe, instead, we should just turn on more lights inside the boat to make it obvious that there is a boat under the light. The cruise ships are lit up like Las Vegas, so much that it is actually hard to separate out the nav lights.
This problem appears in other contexts. The last watch I stood on a ship in the Navy was as OOD on the USS South Carolina (CGN37), entering the Med for the first time with the USS Nimitz and the USS California. It was the mid-watch, and I had never had to conn a ship in waters like the entrance to the Med, at night. All three of us had standard running lights, which on a warship can be in places you might not think are very wise, because they are clustered together on the superstructure, with no indication that there might be a couple of hundred feet of Large Grey Ship sticking out both forward and aft of the lights.
I could see lights all around, including fishing boats and all sorts of commercial traffic lining up to go through the Straits of Gibralter. I knew where the California and Nimitz were, from my radar picture, but the vast majority of the rest of the vessels had no idea that there was a 1000ft long, 90,000 ton floating menace to navigation underneath those lights, or that the two sets of navigation lights that were clustered together were sitting on top of two 600 ft long US Navy cruisers. It was nice to follow the Nimitz and let her "clear the way", but at one point I heard a call (in very British english) on Channel 16 "Vessel on my stbd bow, this is the SS Whatever, requesting your intentions". Then another call saying the same thing. I think he was calling the California because there was no one near us, but I could see a radar return converging on the California.
As the returns merged I heard a very angry call from the same gentleman "Why don't you people put some proper lights on your bloody warships!!!"
He had not realized that there was a large warship there, and they almost had a collision.
That is how I entered the Med for the first time.
Excelllent breakdown of how visual systems degrade when compliance replaces comprehension. The distinction between being visible vs being readable is huge, especially in crowded anchorages where attention is split across tons of inputs. I anchored off Cat Island once and had that exact moment trying to parse where hulls actually were beneath all the high lights. Lower reference points just make more intuitive sense for short-range navigation.
We are in an anchorage right now in Boca Raton and the least visible boats are those with anchor lights (or whatever the maritime nomenclature people refer to it as) on top of their mast. They get lost in the lights of the surrounding condos. And the best is the boat off our port side that has 6 or 8 blue lights. It stands out like a dire thumb.
The whole point?
Ever since hearing of an insurance company that refused to pay for damages caused by their inebriated client to a boat he hit in broad daylight, arguing that the struck vessel was not displaying an anchor ball while anchored (not in an established anchorage). We always raise the black shape whenever the anchor is down.
I am a simglehander who uses both. My crusty oil burning Ankerlicht has done its salty job for half a century now. Its rich warm glow stands out from the LED solutions. Polishing, fueling, and lighting is part of a very satisfying ritual for me, somehow connecting me with Hornblower, Aubrey, and Childers Riddle of the Sands!
A critically important subject worthy of discussion.
In the parlance of the Nav Rules, the light located at the top of the mast is not called a 'masthead light'. The masthead light, also knowns as a steaming light, faces forward and shines in an arc of 225 deg. The light at the top of the mast, which is supposed to (it's often obstructed, especially on power vessels), shine over 360 deg. is referred to as the 'all-round light'. For legal and practical reasons, when discussing navigation, it's important to use the correct terminology.
I think riding lights are a great idea, anything to improve nighttime visibility in an anchorage, without creating confusion (i.e. bright flood lights that obscure anchor lights) makes sense. I don't believe there's any issue of compliance, using a riding light is not prohibited, not unless it was used in place of a anchor light.
More here https://stevedmarineconsulting.com/feature-navigation-lights-editorial-marine-systems-excellence-underway-once-again/
I have been saying this for a very long time now. A single anchor light while at anchor can get lost in the lights of a harbor or city very very easily. They are FAR above eye level. They are not useless, but I find them poor at best. And then there’s the issue of wiring and bulbs going out.
We run a couple anchor lights on deck. Blue or yellow. We can set them to flash when we go ashore so we can easily find our boat if we come back after dark. They are not annoyingly bright. Our boat sticks out. Meanwhile all the other sailboats have one little measly light up in the sky. Guess what other boats are easy to see in the anchorage though? Trawlers. With an anchor light at 10’.
Great article that got me thinking! Curious if anyone has suggestions on LED versions of these lights and links to them? I see that Al Fricke uses a trusty oil lamp, I admire his ritual -- but that is likely not my ideal solution.
Excellent thinking. I’ve long been thinking similarly. I now sail a 40 foot cat. Of course it has a masthead anchor light. Still, I normally leave that off and rather hoist a riding light in the fore triangle. It’s about 4 meters (13 feet, for the metrically challenged) above water. The light shines some on the boat deck and superstructure, which is practical for us aboard at night, and makes an enormously larger area visible to other boats. That’s extremely much easier to immediately understand, related to what it is and where it is. Claiming that AIS and Radar gives any benefit whatsoever in an anchorage, is flat out stupid. For one, who has any of that on a fast small craft? I’ve seen enough of such crashing into anchored boats. Sure, that means the small boat was run stupidly, but making it easy to be a victim of stupidity is just as stupid.
On top of this, most anchorages have a lot of small lights. Some are from boats, but often more from land. Background lights. Defining a small spot of light as much closer than the lot of other lights is often VERY hard. A softly illuminated larger object is immediately identifiable. No thinking or attention needed. It’s obvious. Small light spots almost NEVER are obvious. That’s a big problem with running lights too.
With all respect, the tone here sounds so very much like it was written by AI - as relevant as the topic may be, the repeated "it's not X, it's Y" format, the long prose followed by the short, pithy sentences, and so on all read like LLM-generated text.
If you can look past the incorrect lexicon, (masthead light (225-degrees) is not an anchor light (360-degrees)), the author almost has a point.
However, an additional light is completely unnecessary because Rule 30 allows vessels less than 100 m in length to illuminate their decks as an option.
Our trawler has inward-facing LED deck lighting every few meters along the edge of the bulwark. For just a few watts/hour we can illuminate the entire topsides in a soft glow that clearly shows the outline of the vessel to any approaching boat at “eye level” which seems to be the author’s concern. I definitely agree that the untrained amateur who may be approaching an anchorage at night may not realize that the single bright light aloft has a large vessel beneath it.
Spreader lights on sailboats or larger power boats usually draw significantly greater wattage and often are so bright it may make sleeping in the forward cabins difficult.
For those without deck edge lighting, the inflatable solar light cubes sold at camping and outdoors stores are very effective and last all night. They can be tied to a railing or secured atop the coach roof and/or cockpit to fully illuminate the shape of the vessel very affordably. For those okay with the low risk of a flame, several paraffin or oil lamps are available to tie to the pulpit or in a visible location to better illuminate the outline of the vessel.
Bottom line: I agree in spirit, but fortunately the IMO writers ALREADY provided an option for any vessel. No need for any change to the Rules.
Good article. A few comments.
1. A "masthead" light is something else entirely, and I suggest your guest author change that word.
2. The rules call for the all-around anchor light to be "where it can best be seen" which is not, by rule, atop the mast. Most would argue that it would be hanging in the foretriangle. But hanging a light is more work than flipping a switch, and I think most sailors are just lazy about it. Also, there are evidently local LEOs out there who seem to think the rule says atop the mast (it does not) and will get pissy about it.
3. The rules allow for deck lights to be illuminated in addition to the anchor light, and this is arguably the best answer for visibility. Modern LED deck or spreader lights use very little power.
4. Finally, the rules do allow for two anchor lights, but be attentive to the fact that the lower of the two must be abaft the higher of the two. This is, in part, to make it explicitly distinct from two masthead (steaming) lights.