Use compass points, the traditional breakdown of a right angle - simple to use, BTW no one can steer more accurately than a quarter point, so thats why they only go trhat small.
If you use points it all suddenly works.
the cry from a lookout "Mister Mate red light with two masthead lights showing one point on the starboard bow" means somthing and is a call to action,
Whears red light with two white lights 2 points on the port bow means something else, and is an immediate even subliminal communication,
Thats why points mean something and that's one of the reasons I really do take issue with the way navigation and in particular so called seamanship is taught by the RYA et al. Don't think they have ever actually been at sea! Certainly not on the bridge of a 25,000 ton ship doing 25 kts off the mouth of the Tagus with ships ferries etc all going in every direction at every speed imiginable!
When you say "one point on the starboard bow etc" does that one point mean 1/4 of a right angle (22.5 degrees) and two points mean 1/2 of a right angle (45 degrees) etc?
If that is the case; it makes an awful lot of sense
There are 8 points in a rightangle. Thus 1 point = 11.25 degees : hence coloured and steaming nav lights are set to shine from ahead to 2 points abaft the beam i.e. 22.5 degrees, per the Rules.
I am sure you will understand this, but my abovementioned Board of Trade examiner would also ask in the Oral Exam:
"You sight a red light 2 points on the starboard bow. Between what points might that vessel be heading?"
Quick as a flash you were expected to say something to the effect "Between the reciprocal of the bearing and 10 points to port of that bearing". In other words, he could be coming straight at you, or steering across your heading. (Think I've got that right).
To elaborate, the Examiner might even give you the course you are steeing - say "NNE 1/4 E" then ask the victim between what courses the target might be steering. None of that 360 degree stuff. It was a terrifying experience.
It might also be worth mentioning that we were taught never to alter course to port except in absolute extremis as can very quickly lead to confusion. Far better to take a round turn to starboard.
Ok, yes that was probably a bit confusing. I'm looking at Annex 1 to the Colregs, section 7, as follows (this was taken from the Sailtrain.co.uk website, I hope it's ok to quote it here, and I can thoroughly recommend them for learning stuff about sailing!):
7.<a id="#7"></a> Colour specification of lights
The chromaticity of all navigation lights shall conform to the following standards, which lie within the boundaries of the area of the diagram specified for each colour by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE).
The boundaries of the area for each colour are given by indicating the corner co-ordinates, which are as follow:
(i) White x 0.525 0.525 0/.452 0.310 0.310 0.443 y 0.382 0.440 0.440 0.348 0.283 0.382 (ii) Green x 0.028 0.009 0.300 0.203 y 0.385 0.723 0.511 0.356 (iii) Red x 0.680 0.660 0.735 0.721 y 0320 0.320 0.265 0.259 (iv) Yellow x 0.612 0.618 0.575 0.575 y 0.382 0.382 0.425 0.406
Continued in next post - I've gone over the message limit apparently!
OK, I hadn't a clue what this all meant, so looked up the CIE diagram on the internet, and came across a site that had a picture of the diagram with co-ordinates and colours. So I printed it out, plotted the co-ordinates on it, but the result was a bit weird - the "white" bit as defined by the co-ordinates seemed to spread across other colours, "red" was a tiny tiny area in the red corner, "yellow" was a tiny tiny area in what looked like an orange part of the diagram, and "green" was a huge area of, yes, green. Now I may have got the co-ordinates wrong or else a dodgy diagram, you never know when you just lift stuff off the internet, but I just found it confusing and wondered whether anyone who knows the Colregs backwards could explain it to me in words of one syllable? Not that I actually need to know, I don't think I actually have to learn Annexes 1 and 3 at this level, but I'm just curious! I guess the purpose of it is to make sure that a red light, for instance, is really red and not orange, which could be confused with yellow.
As you can see from the CIE diagram and will already know; there are virtually infinite variations of colours.
When a specification or similar document is written, by it's very title, it is intended to be specific.
In the case of paint finishes, RAL numbers (I can't remember what RAL stands for) are normally used. If you were specifying the colour of, for example, a light fitting to be installed in a ceiling and just said white; someone would come back to you and say which white and what finish. In the absence of a specific colour requirement for the ceiling (imagine it was just ceiling tiles like in many offices), you would be likely to specify RAL 9010 in eggshell finish. To you, me and practically everybody else it's white, end of story.
When they write a document like the Colregs which in many ways is a specification, they have to be specific and obviously they can't just say red, green and white. Also, as the requirements are international, it's probably most appropriate that they define the colours according to the CIE diagram.
Now the only people likely to be able to distinguash whether the colour of your lights was close to the specification would be those who use CIE diagrams such as television screen designers and maybe graphic artists. And they would need to be very young ones with good eyes in good atmospheric conditions.
To any mariner, professional or amature, or any other normal person; a starboard light is either definately green or it definately isn't. A stern light would need to be pretty poor before it became confused with a yellow light or a pinkish port light.
---"I say bring back the Lamp Trimmer and keep the wicks free of soot and the glass clean. And don't forget to polish the copper & brass housing."--- That sounds about right Peter then finish the operation with a dram or two good malt!
---"But the colour is only as good as the eyesight of the beholder. How many boaters are colour-blind?"--- Your're absolutely right, probably quite a few judging by the availablity of those colour correction devices.
I guess I won't agonise over learning the exact definitions of the colours then. Actually colour-blindness is very common - my Dad is red-green colour blind (more difficulty with red than green) and I've looked into this a bit as it's genetically transmitted through women, so my son has a 50% chance of being red-green colourblind (though I don't think he actually is). Anyway, something like 10% of males are red-green colourblind, (much smaller percentage of completely colourblind I believe) and a lot fewer females as they have to inherit it from both parents to be affected. But then, what is the percentage of male to female in boating? Say 3 male skippers to every 1 female, and then you could assume about 7% of skippers can't be absolutely certain of the difference between a port and starboard light! Scary eh.
It is worrying Judy but it takes me back to my first line on this subject ---"I work on the assumption that everyone else at sea is a complete idiot untill they prove otherwise! It's much safer!"---
Just because I "think" he can see my port light doesn't mean I would want to assume he knows what it means!
If you suffer from colour blindness you can buy a very neat light viewer, that you hold up to the light, if the light disappears (no longer visible) that is the colour of the light you are looking at, needless to say it has the actual colour written on it!
Back to compass points
its simple to guage without reference to a compass, pellorus or azimuth mirror, everyone can create an aproximate right angle by putting the heel of ones hands together elbows against the front of your ribs and then opening out ones fingers this equals aright angle which is 8 points
Then move ones fingers to halve the angle, we now have 4 points
halve it again and we have 2 points ( thats the 2 points abaft the beam we have for nav lights)
and obviously half of that is one point.
All simple stuff and the more you use it as a method of describing to others what you mean , the more convenient it becomes.
It also works well for doing a quick distance off running fix without even refering to a chart oir doing any plotting! (doubling the angle on the bow - even more accurate these days if you have on deck a GPS with real COG and distance display - great for a quick double check without leaving the helm or waking crew if short handed. Plus if sailing with people whose ability you might not trust or when teaching people you can do a quick mental check without looking too neurotic or untrusting)
I have a Seekey as I suffer from colour blindness. It does work well although I rarely use it - usually to demonstrate how good it is! However, it is easy to identify which colour filter one is looking through as the red one has round corners and the green one has square ones. When spotting ships at night if you have to wait until you can see a red or green navigation light you have left it too late! You should have figured it out from the white light(s) much earlier. And buoys generally have distinctive characteristics.
In addition to doubling the angle on the bow, the other way of estimating distance off is to measure the distance (with log) from when the object of 4 points of the bow until it is abeam. A compass is not necessary for the first bearing. The distance sailed in that time will be the distance off.
Just point one arm and hand ahead, and the other on the beam. Then rapidly bring both arms together and you will have your 4 point (45 degree) bearing.
It is a physical fact that when clapping like that with both arms outstretched that they will normally move at the same rate.
Also for those that dont know, 15 degrees (or any other bearing) on the bow, then 30 degrees (or double the first bearing) on the bow, the distance sailed between taking the two bearings is the distance off at the time of the second bearing.
This is actually much more use in practice than 45 & 90 degress, as if the light/object or whatever is abeam, you know you haven't hit it. Also when approaching a fixed mark such as a lighthouse or maybe a lightship, one doesn't always want to pass by it completely.
Both have their place and in the present times its a useful trick just to keep one's brain working, now we have all become so dependent upon electronic charts.
I not sure if I should really admit it, but the last time I took a paper chart out for my own use was over 6 years ago, just never use them, I write hourly positions in a note book, so I can plot my position if I ever need to. And I did insist that when my 20 yr old son borrowed my boat for a cruise to Holland that he kept up an hourly plot on paper charts.
Even more worrying when sailing on the East Coast and South Coast I rarely even turn on the chart plotter either, having sailed these waters for 55 years, I just know where I am - ooooh aren't I aweful!
