You are boating at night. you see a single white light directly ahead. what should you do?

Navigation lights help you and other boaters determine which is the give-way vessel when encountering each other at night. These lights must be displayed from sunset to sunrise and during periods of restricted visibility, such as fog. There are four common navigation lights.

• Sidelights: These red and green lights are called sidelights (also called combination lights) because they are visible to another vessel approaching from the side or head-on. The red light indicates a vessel’s port (left) side; the green indicates a vessel’s starboard (right) side.
• Sternlight: This white light is seen only from behind or nearly behind the vessel.
• Masthead Light: This white light shines forward and to both sides and is required on all power-driven vessels. (On power-driven vessels less than 39.4 feet in length, the masthead light and sternlight may be combined into an all-round white light; power-driven vessels 39.4 feet in length or longer must have a separate masthead light.) A masthead light must be displayed by all vessels when under engine power. The absence of this light indicates a sailing vessel because sailboats under sail display only sidelights and a sternlight.
• All-Round White Light: On power-driven vessels less than 39.4 feet in length, this light may be used to combine a masthead light and sternlight into a single white light that can be seen by other vessels from any direction. This light serves as an anchor light when sidelights are extinguished.

Page 2

• • • Reach, Throw, Row, or Go
    • Animation: Reach, Throw, Row, or Go
  • • Preventing a Collision
    • Video: Avoiding Accidents
  • • Preventing Running Aground
    • If Your Boat Runs Aground
  • • How to Respond to Injuries
    • A First-Aid Kit
  • • What You've Learned
    • Video: Unit 5 Review

To stay safe on the water at night or at times of restricted visibility, you need to be able to recognise lights on other vessels. These lights help prevent collisions.

A vessel's navigation lights tell you:

• whether it's at anchor or underway
• the direction it's travelling
• the vessel type and size.

Keep a lookout for lights that may not be bright, such as those on smaller vessels. These vessels may only display a single white light or a torch light.

A single white light can also mean a vessel is at anchor, or travelling away from you. If you see a white light, be aware that something is ahead of you and prepare to take appropriate action.

If you see a lot of lights, or lights up high, it's probably a large vessel, such as a ship or commercial fishing boat. Keep well clear.

These are some examples of navigation lights you may see.

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