By and large, we’re diurnal critters. Sunlight illuminates our environment.
As you get started in boats, most of your adventures will be day excursions. But life on the water can’t run on a timetable. Wind, tide, weather, and mechanics mesh inconsistently, and you’ll be night-running soon enough. With time and experience, cruising into the night will delight you more and more with an almost magical beauty. You’ll discover that you can adapt nocturnally using low technology to mime night-creature senses.
We can’t avoid dispelling the dark, however. Seeing visual marks of safety is a necessity. We need to see where we’re going, and we need to be seen. Your boat isn’t the only half-blind voyager on the water, so be sure to light up!
Land Time vs. Sea Time
Even though boating with friends is a prime joy, a prudent skipper will warn his crew and guests against the demands of land time. On a boat and under way, rigid schedules are invalid; old Poseidon keeps his own haphazard clock ticking and tocking unevenly as the sun and moon and wind gyres compete. The linear ratchet of meetings and dinners ashore is chancy. If one of your mates has a 4 p.m. shore appointment, strongly suggest that a boating adventure may be inadvisable. There are no timetable promises afloat.