When you’re anchoring at night, there are many important guidelines you and your crew are going to need to follow in order to stay safe. While there are numerous safety regulations and laws surrounding the practice of anchoring at night, there are only a couple of principles you need to keep in mind in order to ensure the best possible outcome when you drop the anchor for the evening. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the important tips for staying safe when you’re anchoring at night.
– Maintain Situational Awareness at All Times – No Exceptions –
The most important thing you can possibly due after dropping your anchor for the night is to set up a dedicated schedule for the night watch. In fact, federal regulations require that you have at least one individual awake and alert at any given moment in order to avoid potential accidents due to collisions and other possible scenarios. Additionally, this practice of keeping a lookout to safeguard your vessel against other threats at sea is actually required by law, and where lookouts are not being kept major fines can be incurred. Thus, to ensure maximum situational awareness, you’re going to want to have at least one crew member constantly standing guard for threats at all times. This crew member should also be outfitted with a life jacket in order to comply with standard maritime laws related to lookouts while anchored at sea.
– Strategies for Conducting a Safe, Effective Lookout –
Ensuring that your lookout crew stays alert and aware of their surroundings is easier said than done, unfortunately. The lack of sleep can take its toll, even when you have a four person crew that is actively rotating throughout the anchor time period. Nevertheless, there are a few ways to better enable your lookout team members to stay awake and alert. Firstly, you might consider setting an alarm for 15 minutes intervals in order to keep everyone awake. You might also try caffeine pills and other kinds of chemical stimulants. – Head Up, Eyes Open, Stay Alert – Ultimately, the safety of the vessel and her crew is dependent upon the knowledge, experience, and awareness of the captain. If that happens to be you, then you now understand the necessity of maintaining a night lookout while you’re anchored at sea. Maintaining an effective lookout for your vessel is of prime importance, so get out there today and come up with a plan – it may just save your life one day.