It was really dark

It was really dark.

Our darkness happened at night, sailing down the middle of the lake, with clouds obscuring the lights of the towns along both shores, and nobody else on the lake.   

Even the spreader lights did the deck no justice but they did highlight the foam close to the boat that lit up on the top of the 3 meter waves we were surfing down.

It was really dark

Ahead of us, and far away a single red light and two white lights appeared off our starboard bow.   It started a conversation with my crew, Matt.   We decided it was a later about 5 miles away.  After discussion, Matt figured out that if we could see the red light, it must be going across our bow and we should watch it carefully.   Besides the waves and the compass, this was the most interesting thing to watch. 

We were on a course of about 63 degrees.  We had left Port Dalhousie about 9 hours ago.  Lakers tend to go down the middle of the lake in ‘laker lanes’  unless they are turning left or right to visit an industrial dock or turn into the Welland Canal. 

Almost nothing in this paragraph makes sense.  As the lights got closer we started to believe that we were on a collision course.  I turned off the autopilot and steered to starboard.  After a couple of minutes of hand steering, the compass told me I had strayed from 63 degrees and was now on 315 degrees.  I used the autopilot to steer back to 63 degrees.  It was not certain that we were on a collision course, but we were keenly aware of the 3 lights which were all we could see on a laker that was otherwise painted black.   I hand steered again.   I watched the lights.   I checked the compass.  We were far off course again.  I repeated this a few times. It was difficult to hand steer in jet black!

Suddenly we could hear the rumble of the laker.   It was about 200 meters from us, and definitely on a collision course.   I turned to starboard with caring what the course was.   The laker had its own bow wave and it was white.  We looked up at the laker’s gunwales as we passed the hull, 50 to 100 meters away.   The laker’s wake bounced us about as it passed.   My adrenaline was at a high.  But we had avoided the collision.  

There were two boats in the lake and we found each other.

Lessons learned.

• We were on Starboard. It makes no sense to claim rights.  He had gross tonnage rights.  And we would never have claimed the right of way.  That would be reckless in this case, and stupid. There are other reasons this decision was correct, like my inability to hold a course, but it’s all moot.
• I wonder if there is a ‘firefly’ effect where we are drawn to lights in the pitch dark as a part of nature.  I don’t know, but if the situation comes up again, I’ll be aware.
• Our watchkeeping was correct.  We picked it up miles away and watched it constantly until the near miss.  
• Our teamwork was great.  We discussed options and perspectives constantly until the near miss.
• My hand steering was inadequate.  Period.

When we looked at the track the next day, It’s clear where the meeting happened.  The laker must have been off the usual navigation channels, perhaps on her way to Cobourg industries.