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Transit narrow channel at night

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britinusa
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Initially Posted - 06/29/2010 : 05:09:46

Thought I would share this and perhaps get some feedback.

During our trip last week down the FL Keys, we ended up making a midnight transit through the narrow channel between Card Sound and Biscayne Bay.
[url="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=25.360603,-80.288866&spn=0.000985,0.001558&t=h&z=20"]google map link really zoomed in[/url]

The channel is marked with the usual port and starboard poles, and as the Intracoastal 'Goes' to Texas, and we were headed 'up' we had the Red poles on our left.

The first pair of markers are not perpendicular to the channel and only the Red maker is lit, FL 4secs. Despite a nearly full moon, the clouds made it impossible to see the Green post until we were almost upon it.

We had GPS, but at that close range it is understandably unreliable, pretty accurate, but you cannot rely upon it to indicate you are about to hit a pole!

My plan was to motor on the left side of the channel so that I could just miss the FL 4sec Red marker as we could not see the Green. SWMBO was close to freaking out as we approached within about 30' of the Red marker on our left, it was only as we were close to it that we could see the Green marker off to our right (not that far away!)

I adopted the same process on the remaining markers, keep to the side of the lit marker to avoid the unlit marker. All was well, although at that late hour the Admiral was a little testy

Throughout the transit I felt comfortable (even dealing with the threat of divorce) with the process, it was clear enough that we could see if there were any oncoming 'lit' boats, there were none.

Even with the GPS lighting reduced, the running lights probably played a role in not being able to see the unlit markers, however, turning off the running lights at night is a no no! If others did the same thing... crunch!

Using the million candles was not an option, the admiral was not comfortable handling the boat in those conditions (have to work on that) so I could not go forward to light up the posts (doing so from the cockpit would have wrecked our night vision!)

Would you handle it any differently?

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - britinusa on 06/29/2010 05:13:19

windsong
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 05:49:11

Your method works as long as every red is lit.
Your wife wouldn't go forward with the spotlight? If not, then I guess your only other choice was to drop the hook and wait till dawn (if that was in fact an option).
Nice job getting through there. I'll bet you were going mighty slow. :)

Edited by - windsong on 06/29/2010 07:46:41

DaveR
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 06:52:19

Paul, I would have and have done it the same way. Lit Marker to lit marker. Who ever does the maintenance on these does a great job and I can't remember seeing one out that was supposed to be lit, so I think you can somewhat trust that line of thought. I also agree with the spotlight that it kills the night vision. LED's are much better with a tighter forward beam and might be something to try. Last week-end I was out with my brother on his powerboat and we were using a (2)AA battery powered LED (quite small) and it did petty good job without blinding.

Edited by - on

delliottg
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 07:20:42

I have no practical experience here except on big gray ships that had radar and I wasn't driving anyway, so I'm interested to see the responses. Rita is reluctant to take the helm in tight situations but has become somewhat more relaxed with practice. Regarding the million cp light, it made me think of a Mythbuster episode where they tested pirates' eye patches for retaining night vision in one eye. They found that it worked quite well, so maybe a couple of pirate patches would allow you to use your spotlight, and maintain your night vision, or at least half of it. Plus you'd look salty, or silly depending. Argh matey.

Your concern about GPS accuracy is well founded, it's not uncommon for your position to be as much as 100 yards off depending on your satellite constellation. It should only be used as an approximation of your position.

Edited by - delliottg on 06/29/2010 07:24:39

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 08:44:53

Sounds like you did what you needed to do (traveling on the "wrong" side), which was fine with no other vessels present. If I had any other traffic in sight, I'd check to see whether, according to the chart, the markers were set for a consistent channel width. Then between reds, I'd watch to see how far to starboard the greens are as I pass them, and try to use that to set my course in the "middle" of the channel. (The depth gauge might help, too.) An approaching boat should tend to move toward my port side, and I could ease a little to starboard as he approaches, but slide back to mid-channel after he passes.

It's another situation where I appreciate my radar!

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 06/29/2010 08:49:37

redeye
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 10:23:51

One person goes forward and holds the 1million candle power light and lights up the markers for you, keeping an eye out for the markers as well as what you are directly approaching.. If someone is not comfortable with that then you hafta do it. It is not that you lose your night vision, it is that you see each marker and stay in the channel.

The next part is practicing the commands as you move forward. I've always had the person point with the light and their arm extended in the direction of the marker or hazard, one hand on the light and one around a shroud/mast. Feet apart.

They light the markers, and hazards, and you pick your direction.

Another method to practice is similar to divers signals, Fingers pointed in a direction means look that way (hazard), pointing the thumb means go that way (channel).

I would practice with her, running the channels at night.

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 11:39:51

I was going to chime in here with my thoughts, but no one seems to take advice from the skipper of a boat named "Unsinkable 2"...

:)

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JohnP
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 11:43:47

- Navigating under sub-optimal conditions

Paul, you did a good job of navigating safely. Some waterways are marked with hard-to-use markers.

- Interpersonal communication & chain of command

When I'm sailing under bad conditions, I give orders and I get an immediate response. The chain of command is from me to me.

- GPS unreliability

I have had no experiences with my gps that indicated that the accuracy had diminished to a significant extant, if I can pick up 10, 11, or 12 satellites. I've tested the gps chart maybe 10 times over the last few years, by sailing right up to some green or red can and have found the gps position accurate to within 10 feet. I bought the GPSMAP76 in 2005.

I wonder how satellites "fall out" of range or disappear from gps reception? Are the satellite signals directional? Do land forms interfere? Is there partial coverage in some places?

Edited by - on

JohnP
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 11:46:01

Yeah, Mike, what the heck happened to the Unsinkable #1?

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delliottg
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 13:04:27

John,
Regarding your GPS questions, the satellite constellation is in constant movement, so it's possible to have a constellation that doesn't provide strong triangles, so the fix will wander. Ideally you would have three or more satellites at roughly 60° from each other, providing a strong fix. The reality is it's not that simple. You can indeed have shadows from obstructions, like land masses, trees (try to get a GPS fix in a forest sometime), an antenna in close proximity to metal (like our masts) can produce false time stamps, and lots of other things. The good thing is, the lower resolution fixes seldom last long, because the constellation is in constant flux, and another satellite will rise above the horizon, or move further along it's path to strengthen the triangles, etc. Since you have 276 like mine, it'll be easy for you to go back and look at your track. If you see straight lines between places you know you weren't going straight, that was a drop out in your signal. If you use your GPS for car navigation, this is much easier to see. Just go back and check your backtrack on the device (usually a green line indicating where you've been recently, I changed mine's color to red). If you see giant zigzags, again you're seeing where the signal has degraded, and it's trying to reestablish a strong fix. Those zigzags can be hundreds of feet long, longer if you were working with a weak triangle to begin with. When I see it happening on my display, I always make a point of pointing it out to Rita, so she knows not to absolutely trust the GPS.

Edited by - on

redeye
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 13:37:47

I usta love night navigation in StAndews Bay, put the "go to" on the GPS and gun it. (powerboat) and pop the spotlight for the marker you are looking for way out there. Of course I'd go back and look at the track and I'd have gone directly over a sand bar.. ( good water levels thank goodness )

The markers were so far apart in some areas we would have to pick a "goto" to point us to our next marker, and then watch the bottom as we went.

I'd be afraid of using it for narrow channels, but if that's what works, cool. I'm only using a small handheld. Seems like lots of times you are tired. It is really fun when you are well rested.

Hope to night sail Thursday, trying to get rest this week.

Edited by - on

redeye
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 13:43:08

What I'm doing now for Lake sailing is putting in the hazards, in the GPS, and when I'm sailing in a given area and I think I Might be near a hazard I put in a "goto" command for that hazard and that gives me a position relative to that hazard.

Something to stay away from.

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 15:53:58

Paul, thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like you handled it well. In addition to learning about how to deal with a difficult situation I also think it is useful to ask how the situation could have been avoided. I would not be comfortable sailing in a diffcult area that is unknown to me in the dark. Of course we don't control every factor and things come up so your post and the reponses to it are very helpful for learning. I often debrief situations by asking myself "how could I have avoided that?"

Edited by - Nautiduck on 06/29/2010 16:00:38

Champipple
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Response Posted - 06/29/2010 : 20:50:58

I've been in similar scenarios. A late night exit out of Hawk's bill Cay to make the shortcut during High Tide had us up at 3 am in the middle of nowhere. (that channel was unmarked) We had radar for the stuff above the water and GPS with our track in from the prior day. The crew and the captain usually get some sort of a system together that over the years gets tweaked and perfected. Every time you do it, you begin to add something to similar night navigation scenarios. It will only get better.

You didn't run aground, didn't hit a channel marker, didn't hit another boat and you brought everyone back. I didn't see note of a single malt scotch or a rum once you were moored, docked or anchored. We'll let that one slide this time. Other than that it was flawless.

I'd trust your GPS a little more. The error is around 10 feet or less. (It is obvious you realize it isn't perfect and you know you need backup nav tools. Which is good.) I couldn't tell from your link how wide the channel actually is, but if the gps puts you between the two buoy's you are going to be there unless the channel is less than 30 feet wide. Only other option is to avoid passages like that at night or buy radar - and that's no fun.

Edited by - Champipple on 06/29/2010 20:58:01

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 03:45:16

Appreciate the responses.

The situation arose because we were anchored in the lee of Pumpkin Key and had 18-25knts wind and choppy water despite being only 200' offshore. Admiral remorsed that we would not be able to sleep even with the anchor alarm on. So the decision was made to head to Billy's point which has a cove anchorage, shallow, but normally very quite.

We were doing about 3.5 knots with the outboard running at about 1600 rpm (pretty good wind just off the bow)

I'm going to guess the channel is about 80' wide, if you look at the charts you'll see at least one light on each pair of markers.

Rum time? Honestly, when we finally tied the boat up at Elliott Key Harbor and rolled out the bed, I don't recall my head hitting the pillow.

Good point about the LED spotlight. To be honest, in that situation, I think a million candles is overkill. If there were other boats in the channel you know they would be cursing us each time we lit up the universe! Perhaps a smaller LED flashlight would have illuminated the post markers while not blinding the crew or other boaters (had there been any).

FYI: For navigation, we have a Garmin GPSMap 192C, GPSMap 76cx, waterproof charts and intracoastal nav notes. We have been though the channel probably a dozen times, twice at night in calm air and used all the candles, the rest by day. We have sailed through it a few times with the outboard down and running in neutral.

Paul

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 09:43:03

...and you didn't do this!

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Champipple
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 10:02:41

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 ...and you didn't do this!

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This guy got half of it correct. For the rest he can plead his boats name.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 11:15:37

Ha! mythbusters broke that one.

We see a lot of poles down here that get hit by absent minded helms, however, they most often lean away from the boat! In the case of the picture, the pole is just toooo upright!

Seen the pic in lotsa places, sure makes you think about it all the same!

Paul

Edited by - on

DaveR
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 13:52:47

I glanced of a marker in the Catalina 22 I had in 1983. It got behind my genoa and I was in conversation and.............
luckily it was just a glance off and didn't do more that soil my undergarment

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delliottg
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Response Posted - 06/30/2010 : 14:07:42

Well, I can say I've run one down completely although technically I wasn't driving at the time, my 12-13 year old nephew was. We were "racing" on my catamaran, there was little to no wind, so I was paying attention to the main (looking up), while he was supposed to be looking out around us. I'd seen the can (5 mph marker), and assumed he'd seen it as well and would steer around it. Not. He noticed it about when it broke the plane between the hulls forward. By then it was too late, and we went right over the top of it, and because we had so little forward momentum, got stuck with it poking up through the trampoline. That was fun to get out of. Needless to say, we lost that race.

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britinusa
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Response Posted - 07/01/2010 : 05:42:44

I can picture that one David.
With the C250 shrouds so close to the sides, I'm really leary of getting close to any marker. The thought of snagging a shroud on a post is dismasting.

Paul

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Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
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Response Posted - 07/01/2010 : 07:01:28

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 The thought of snagging a shroud on a post is dismasting.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Valid concern--I watched it happen in a marina once.

Edited by - on

redeye
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Response Posted - 07/05/2010 : 08:45:23

<< forward to light up the posts >>
Iffin I was dreaming about what I'd like, I think it would be a waterproof cigarette lighter outlet in the back of the anchor locker, and something to hold the lid up. Then one person could go forward, plug in the 1 million candle hand held light, hold onto the front stay and light up the posts.

I put a plug in forward just inside the poptop so you would have a hand held light at the mast area, but one at the bow would be ideal.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
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Djibouti
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Response Posted - 07/05/2010 : 10:35:33

No need for a million candles... Most navaids will illuminate brightly with a small flashlight, with less risk of blinding other boaters.

Edited by - on

Prospector
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Response Posted - 07/05/2010 : 20:08:19

We enter this channel at night semi-regularly through teh season. At teh mouth you have a daymarker to port, and a flash to stbd with a daymark under it.

http://marinas.com/view/inlet/1746_Lagoon_City_Inlet_Ramara_ON

Prevailing winds are from teh NW so waves push you into tht STBD shore on your approach. Inside the breakwall there are nuns and cans to mark the safe channel, which skinnys things up considerably. coming in at night with a blow can be downright scary.

I have set 3 waypoints in teh GPS to form a transit up the dead centre of the channel, and can line up on the last waypoint on my GPS. Then I work to keep my projected path in line with teh other 2 waypoints. Sort of a Transit in teh GPS.

Edited by - Prospector on 07/05/2010 20:12:48

redeye
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Response Posted - 07/06/2010 : 05:32:38

<< No need for a million candles >>

Yeah, right...
I've needed a million candles many times in some of the places I've navigated. The channel markers get pretty far apart in the intercoastal, and some up in the trees on the banks, and many a night it was rainy/foggy and a bright light kept me off the sand bar. I can tell you I was thrilled when the 1 mil candle power handhelds came to market. Every time I've needed them I was the only one out in the night.

Also, we had a few markers that had lights, and unlit markers between them, so if you didn't watch out you'd go aground, next to the other wreck, if you didn't watch your channel.

One night, back before we had big handhelds, we usta go flounder giggin in a small boat and we were having a hard time finding the channel because of all the lights coming from the town, and I finally turned off all our lights to see if I could pick up the channel markers, and everything ahead was looking black.

I was suddenly lit up from a billion candles from the light of a barge coming at us... with my small light I could not see the markers, or the barge. I'm glad the captn saw me...

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