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Question:I'd like to know what kayakers use to make their presence known while paddling at night and if they give any thought to what their chosen means might accidently signal to other boaters.



What has worked for me is that I adopted a system for night paddling. That means a lighted compass, cyalume light sticks for group management, a headlamp and an instantly deployable flashlight.

I turn my head around a lot at night. When the wind is in your ears it is harder to hear the engine of an approaching craft. Unfortunately, some folks like to add the dual sided "nav" lights to their kayaks. The lights tend to ruin my night vision at close range when I turn my head in their direction. I need that night vision to avoid wood or rocks or other problems. In a rural setting adding "nav" lights would likely be more noticable by other craft.

However, consider the perspective of another craft. They are higher off the water. Your dinky little "nav" lights will be lower and appear farther away than they are, if seen at all. Most of these lights are meant to be seen on the axis of their light source. From different perspectives their initially minimal output is further degraded. In port or urban settings the glow of thousands of high pressure sodium lamps filling the craft's windshield will likely completely obscure a kayak with most lighting attempts.

The US coast guard requires at minimum a vessel under oars to be able to produce a white light to wave in order to prevent collision. That is something I've done. What helps is having it instantly deployable and a switch easy to activate with gloves. I use the clip on the light to secure to the slotted patch on my PFD. My headlamp has a large button that is quick to activate, also. Greatland Laser makes a nifty rescue laser lighting device that is not a recognized emergency signal by the authorities. Mine has been in my PFD for over 2 years in and out of surf zones and is as waterproof as the day I bought it. It makes a highly visible signal though it does not meet the coast guard white light rule.

Cyalumes are not bright enough to be visible to anyone but your paddling mates. I use them for group management. I also prefer a countoff 1-2-3-4 for keeping track. Keeping a tight group and not depending on other craft to see my lighting, unless it is my flashlight are how I plan on not getting run over.

Cheers,

Rob G