Kayaking at Night

Photo by D. McMillin

Recently I tried Kayaking under the stars and learned some valuable lessons I think worth sharing.

1) Trust your compass and not your eyes - While moving across the water the only thing I could see was the shadowy outline of the trees along the shoreline and the water next to the kayak.  The water next to the kayak always felt like it was pushing me sideways, however the compass said the kayak was moving in a straight line along with the shadows on the shore.

2) Use a flasher - The flasher/strobe light made me stand out to other boats on the water, especially the motor boats.  In fact a boat slowed down because they saw the my flasher.  The only thing I would do different with my flasher is put it behind me instead in front so that my night vision is not affected.

3) Try to stay clear of the normal boat lanes - Even with a flasher not all boats pay as much attention to their surroundings as they should and as a general rule it is wiser to be the cautions boater then getting run over by a less observant driver.  

If you have any other suggestions for kayaking or canoeing at night write it in the comments.