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06-October-2016
Sailing in Darkness or Low Light
Sunset is now very early and it is likely
you will be finishing your voyage/trip in darkness. Before setting sail on a voyage/trip which
will involve sailing in the dark careful thought needs to be given to how the
dark will make the trip different to a voyage completed in daylight only.
Depending on the experience and ability of
the skipper and crew a different safety briefing may be needed and the
"rules" on board, for example when lifejackets and safety harnesses
are a must, may need to be altered. Location of flashlights, location of steaming,
navigation and deck light switches all need to be located and understood when
to use. In addition know how to turn the
instrument displays to red/black displays and understand how to dim the intensity
of the display. It goes without saying
knowledge of navigation marks and boat lighting ID is critical. Re-familiarise yourself with all pertinent
channel and navigation buoyage in the likely area of your voyage (MFD display
and the paper charts)
Night vision
A key consideration to maximise safety in
the hours of darkness is night vision. It takes our eyes in the region of 10 -
15 minutes to adjust to their best level of performance in the dark but just a
brief exposure to white light will re-set the adjustment your eyes have made. Therefore
for any vessel which could be out during the hours of darkness, changing your
display settings to red light with intensity diminishing as your eyes get
accustomed to darkness and dimming the MFD right down (cannot be changed to
Red/Black mode).
Discuss with your crew the use of lighting.
Caution must be exercised with white light on deck. If you look up from the job
you are lighting with your head torch, to face someone and speak to them, the
light will shine straight in their face. If this is white light, their eyes
will have to start from scratch adjusting to the dark. Switching on deck lights
should be avoided and torches / head torches should be red light wherever
possible.
As well as briefing their crew on night
vision and the danger of exposing your eyes – or those of the crew “on watch” -
to white light, skippers should also be aware and brief the crew on the
detrimental effect that glasses with photochromic lenses can have on night
vision. Photochromic lenses reduce night vision significantly and to such an
extent they should not be worn for lookout duties at night.
Watch systems – General Lookout
In general when a vessel is at sea
overnight, a watch system should be set up, to ensure that someone is nominated
for the helm and an adequate look out is kept.
It is very important when sailing at night, even after a short evening
sail to stress this. This is also
critical in the environs of Copenhagen harbour and its entrance as there can
still be small boats and kayakers out after dark on pleasant evenings. Assign people to port and starboard lookout, assign
someone to monitor the MFD to assist in navigation and assist helm with clear
instructions as to location of next navigation point/aid ie: bearing, distance
and ID characteristic of next navigation light point.
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02-October-2016
Health and the Environment
The legislation relating to discharge of black water at sea varies between Sweden and Denmark. No discharge is allowed in Swedish waters ie: no use of Rasmine's toilet in Swedish waters (ie: Hven, Malmo and anywhere across the maritime boundary). Black water is toilet waste i.e. liquid and solid waste which will contain harmful bacteria and viruses.
Sweden; From 1 April 2015 all pleasure boats, including foreign flagged boats, are prohibited from discharging sewage into the lakes, internal waters and territorial waters (12 nautical miles) of Sweden. Recreational craft listed for preservation are not subject to the ban.
Sewage is any discharge of waste water and other waste from any type of toilet, including portable toilets. Sewage contains phosphorus and nitrogen and the primary aim of the ban is to reduce their discharge into Swedish waters.
Although a bucket, pot or similar does not count as a type of toilet and therefore falls outside the scope of the discharge ban, Sweden does have regulations which mean that anyone who is spending time outdoors should take every possible precaution not to contaminate the environment.
Pleasure boats can fit a holding tank, stop using the toilet and go ashore, or use a portable toilet, earth closet, incineration toilet or similar. It is not prohibited for a pleasure boat to have a directly discharging toilet as long as nothing is being discharged. If a boat does not have a toilet, sewage should not be discharged into the water but dealt with on land.
Marinas are responsible for ensuring that there are adequate facilities for boat owners to dispose of this waste on land.
A map showing the location of pump out stations can be found on the Swedish Transport Agency website.
Anyone caught not complying with the ban may face an on the spot fine.
Denmark; Discharge is allowed 2nM from shore BUT if there is a holding tank it goes without saying to take the boat to the pump out stations in Denmark and empty your waste.
- Boats built before 1 January 1980 do not have to have a holding tank and can discharge sewage when 2 nautical miles from the shore.
- Boats built before 1 January 2000 but after 1 January 1980 which are either less than 10.5m LOA or have a maximum beam of less than 2.8m do not have to have a holding tank and can discharge sewage when 2 nautical miles from the shore.
- Boats outside of the above exemptions, including all boats built after 1 January 2000 must have a holding tank that can be emptied through a deck fitting.