Night Sails

I've been practicing my night sailing lately, and it has been glorious. Sunset after beautiful sunset to the point where I start to feel embarrassed at the sheer number of photos I upload (even though I don't upload them all!)

Last night I sailed out to just south of Ashbridges Bay; the sunset did not disappoint. I might have to learn to take proper night photography if this continues, although it's pretty impossible to capture the full spectrum of stars, sails and sounds that make it so rewarding.

I spent some fun time plotting out the exact coordinates for a mile south of the Coatsworth Cut, as well as the entrance to the Ashbridges bay yacht club, but despite my eagerness to do an overnight sail, I had no desire to come into a new harbour in the pitch black! I have a whole new appreciation for my dad's harbour entering tension these days!

Coming back home is always difficult, particularly in our little channel where the only navigational aid is the light house - oh, I have several GPS marks down the center, but I never trust the GPS alone, particularly at night, and it's amazing how black the water, buoys and rocks are after dark.

I was too cheap, and bought a sub-par flashlight to use to spot the buoys - something I will need to rectify as it only has a range of about 4 meters at most. The other concern, because I do tend to go out for more than a couple hours, is that my GPS rapidly runs down if the backlight is used at all. I left it on for the whole trip and found it showing low battery warnings around the 2 and a half hour mark. I had spares, but I'll need to stock up, and maybe start thinking about a solar panel for rechargeables. Or at least use some rechargeables that I can charge at home!

On the other battery-powered note, my little NavSafe bow light is doing great. I haven't changed the batteries yet! Hopefully the weather will hold a little longer and I can get a few more starry nights in, and maybe one overnight trip before the season turns to snow!