Snapshot of the session
Night boating can be one of the most relaxing, romantic and enjoyable
pleasures of boating. However, it requires
special attention from the Skipper. Everything changes at night, it is
more difficult to judge distances and avoid a collision as visibility is
restricted. Skipper's also need to be aware of the effects from
silhouetted shorelines, where lights from the shore stream across the
water in ribbons, causing blind spots between the ribbons. In these
areas it is difficult see any unlit vessel, structure, or moored craft.
Night visibility - It can take your
eyes about 30 minutes to become accustomed to night light and any bright
light can destroy your night vision in an instant
Passage plan
Departing from the Drummoyne Boat Ramp at 6.00pm on board the College vessel students will traverse down Sydney Harbour, steaming down the Eastern shore to Sydney heads and heading back along the Northern shores and Lane Cove River and then returning to Drummoyne Boat Ramp at 9.00pm
What you will learn
- Pre-start checks in preparation for night boating.
- Night boating crew and passenger preparations and safety briefs.
- Night situation awareness - Identifying navigation aids, light characteristics, different types of vessels and importance of maintaining a proper lookout.
- Local knowledge planning for night operations.
- Observing commercial operations.
- Observation of navigation light intensity.
- Running bearings on channel leads and monitoring your passage using channel markers and leads.
- Traveling at speed at night.
- Anchoring at night.
- Running along a shore line at night.
- Judging distances off of other vessels and moored vessels at night.
- Determining which vessels to give way to at night.
- Safety procedures and local knowledge for operating on Sydney Harbour for New Years Eve, Australia Day or during other water based events.
Course inclusions
- Course Completion Certificate.
- Bottle of water and picnic bar.
- Inflatable Lifejacket - provided by the College for the duration of the practical session only.
What to bring
- Appropriate apparel for the night practical session - runners, boat shoes, no thongs, jacket suitable for weather conditions of the evening.
