A year or so ago, I was walking our dog on the road along the shore, and I passed two women talking about boating. One said that she likes the big white light on the front of their boat because she doesn’t understand the green and red lights. I was sorely tempted to say something, but they did not ask me and I walked on. To a great degree, I have regretted that ever since.
So many things came to mind: a) this woman did not know how to navigate comfortably; b) she clearly needs to take some boating classes; c) she did not appreciate the problems caused by a bright light shining in other boaters’ eyes, particularly some that may be headed towards her boat; d) she did not appreciate that other boaters likely could not see her navigation lights because of the bright light; and e) she was probably putting herself at fault for any incidents because of her use of an unauthorized light.
1. Safe boating classes, some navigation classes, and spending time under the supervision of a knowledgeable boat captain would teach her to to “read” the lights in a harbor at night and comfortably go without the bright headlight.
2. It takes 25 minutes for your eyes to become fully accustomed to darkness, and a fraction of a second of bright or not-so-bright white light to lose your night vision. So a white headlight facing forward is going to blind oncoming boaters for a long time, and definitely during any meeting or crossing situation.
3. While one boater might not know what he/she is doing, others (hopefully) do, and are looking for and reacting to proper navigation lights. If the normal navigation lights are lost in the glare of a bright light, the other boaters might not understand the situation and know what to do.
4. While the Rules of the Road do not spell out “thou shalt not show a bright light facing forward,” it is clearly not authorized by the Rules, and the boater with the bright light would likely be found at fault in the event of an incident.