moonlight sailing

[Megunticook]

Took the family out yesterday evening to watch the moon rise over Penobscot Bay. Gorgeous night, 5-10 knot wind out of the south, warm, not much swell. It was my first time sailing at night, felt very safe although I was on high alert. West Penobscot Bay (we sailed from Camden) is wide open, so you can pretty much roam around without worrying about running into anything (other than another boat!).

The one wild card is lobster buoys. There aren't a lot in this particular area right now, but I passed several and sailed right over one. Any thoughts on that?

Only other lesson is that I need to adjust the GPS screen so it's not so bright--it's a Garmin and was in its "night mode" but still way too bright--actually hinders your night vision significantly.

I'm glad I finally did that, been wanting to do that ever since I got the boat (this is our third season).

Didn't see a lot of traffic out there, things on the bay have seemed kind of quiet this year. Sad to say but sailing seems to be on the wane here--and the sailing crowd is definitely graying (rare to see other families with young kids).

[Jim Walsh]

I pretty much ignore lobster pot buoys. If I'm under power and I happen to spot one I avoid it but my prop is pretty well protected in an aperture. I know it's certainly possible to catch a line at some point but that's just not something worth fretting about. If under sail the possibility of snagging a line would be remote. Of course I realize I've probably jinxed myself and I'll snag a couple tomorrow

[Jeff and Sarah]

I agree with Jim. There is a HUGE crab pot field immediately outside my channel. Standing rules of engagement on Prerequisite are to dodge them under power and ignore them under sail. I hit one with my dad's boat under power when I was a kid- the memory of the sound over 20 years later still makes me nervous to let the prop hit one on my boat!

[Megunticook]

That's reassuring about the lobster buoys. Although I did sail over one the first season I had the boat and the line snagged on the lower unit of my outboard (it sits in a well in the TySenior). The wind was fairly strong so I was afraid we might hang up and get turned around or accidentally jibe, but I lifted the motor up out of the well and unsnagged us pretty quickly.

[tartansailor]

Want to reduce GPS glare?
2 ways:
Go to Staples or on line and get a sheet of red polyester film.
or
get 2 sheets of Polaroid film and rotate one with respect to the other until you get the shade that suites you.
Cut the sheet(s) as best you can and sprinkle some distilled water on your horizontal GPS screen and scotch tape
the plastic carefully around the periphery.
There is also a green, but that may or may not be too opaque for your purposes.
Hope this helps.
richard

[Joe CD MS 300]

Megunticook all the Garmins I have had have a brightness adjustment in addition to a day night setting. As far as the lobster buoys they should not be a an issue with an outboard and the typical Cape Dory full keel. As long as the prop is not running the line is not going to get wrapped up and "welded" to the shaft. Getting anything off should be pretty easy although I have never tried it at night and I wouldn't want to.

[Carl Thunberg]

I'm a little disappointed by the response to avoiding lobster buoys. I have family who are lobstermen, and loss of gear is very expensive. Why would anyone not steer around lobster buoys if they can? Why invite the possibility of snagging a toggle on your rudder or prop? Just go around them.

[mgphl52]

I'm a little disappointed by the response to avoiding lobster buoys. I have family who are lobstermen, and loss of gear is very expensive. Why would anyone not steer around lobster buoys if they can? Why invite the possibility of snagging a toggle on your rudder or prop? Just go around them.

Because of the design of most all Cape Dory yachts, it is very difficult to snag anything when not motoring!
The rudder is hung directly off the end of the keel and the prop is enclosed in an aperture, unlike many other sailboats, San Jauns, included.

[Carl Thunberg]

I snagged a lobster buoy badly on my former CD30 and had to dive overboard and cut it free. I'm fully aware how Cape Dories are constructed, having owned two of them. The risk is low, but it is not zero. Multiply a low risk by 1,000 or more boats that travel past any given lobster buoy, and suddenly the probabilities add up. What do you have to lose from steering away from a lobster buoy? A lobsterman will thank you.

[mgphl52]

I must admit that I do try to avoid the crab traps here (ain't got no lobsters...) but we have one crabber that uses BLACK floats... I refuse to have someone constantly sweeping the water with a light looking for (stupid) black floats.

[Carl Thunberg]

I really didn't intend to hijack this thread. Sailing under a full moon is one of the most glorious experiences on the water. There are precious few full moons that coincide with weekends (when most of can go sailing) and clear weather. You got lucky and had both. Those are rare moments. Enjoy them when you can!

[Bill Goldsmith]

Sailing at night, particularly near me in July and August when the days can be windless, but with an evening sea breeze picking up, is a real joy. I would absolutely agree that steering around lobster pots is proper etiquette and good risk management, but of course the original point of this thread was about sailing at night. Most nights there is probably enough ambient moonlight to see lobster pots, but not as far off as during the day. On a really dark night, you're probably going to brush by quite a few. Prudence dictates that sailing at night be done in familiar waters. Once you start sailing at night in unfamiliar waters, you are withdrawing credits from the Vigor black box.

[Joe CD MS 300]

In about 35 years of charters and owning a boat in both Maryland (crab pot territory) and Maine (lobster pot territory) I have about a half dozen snags, all in Maine. Only one occurred while sailing the rest were motoring. The sailing snag was on a chartered 40' fin keel Sabre (if I recall correctly) with a prop on a strut. It had the potential to be a somewhat dangerous situation off of Mount Desert approaching the Western Way with a couple of young kids aboard. It made the boat very difficult to sail and I was concerned about damage to the prop and or strut. I tried to get the line off from the dinghy with a boat hook thinking it could not have been wrapped around more than once. Didn't work. If it were calm I could have probably dived and easily unwrapped the line. As it was fairly rough going under the boat may have resulted in me getting knocked out by the bouncing hull.

I wound up cutting the line from the dinghy which turned out to be harder than expected as the weight of the trap pulled the dinghy into the bouncing hull. Ideally I would have tied the buoy back to the trap but didn't have enough hands so had to let it go. With the trap off I was able to sail to the entrance of Southwest Harbor and used the dinghy tied off the the rear quarter of the boat as tug to push us to one Hinkleys outer moorings. Once on a mooring in a calm harbor it was easy to dive on the line and remove the wrapped line from the strut.

My point is that even when sailing day or night it is best to avoid the lobster/ crab buoys if you see them. Chances are it would not have snagged on a Alberg Cape Dory hull or even my Lyle Hess designed CD motor sailor. It is still a full keel but with a much larger prop and prop opening. But you never know, stuff happens

BTW I keep a wetsuit aboard with the Sailors Solution hooked line cutting knife just in case.

[pjust]

I sail much the same water as Megunticook, and I try to avoid the many, many lobster pots I encounter. In fact sometimes I make a game of it, like running a slalom. But one of the advantages of a boat with a full-keel hull, like the Ty and Ty Senior, is that you won't hang up on pot warps if you do run into them. In fact, when I was looking to buy a boat (my first) I asked the manager of the local mooring field--who is also a lobsterman--for advice, and he recommended a Cape Dory Typhoon.

"Why a Typhoon?" I asked.

"Well, they're very forgiving," he said, "and they have a full keel."

"Why do I want a full keel?"

"What do you see out there?" he asked, pointing out at the Muscle Ridge Channel.

"I dunno," I answered, "A lot of lobster buoys."

"That's right," he said. "And if you have a fin keel or a spade rudder, you're gonna spend all you time scraping pot warps off it. With a full keel, they'll roll right off."

Great advice. One more thing, friends. If you do get caught up on a pot warp, please don't be tempted to cut it off. You're boating for pleasure but that's someone's livelihood.

[Megunticook]

I'm a little disappointed by the response to avoiding lobster buoys. I have family who are lobstermen, and loss of gear is very expensive. Why would anyone not steer around lobster buoys if they can? Why invite the possibility of snagging a toggle on your rudder or prop? Just go around them.

If one does get snagged, I've heard that some lobstermen would prefer you cut the line rather than drag their gear around or risk getting it tangled up. Especially if it's a string of traps, they can usually still get their stuff after you cut yourself loose. I know a few guys in the biz., I'll have to ask them.

In any case, the bottom line is avoid them if at all possible. That can be pretty tough in a place like Merchant Row in August, though.