Kayaking at Night: Safety Tips, Gears, Glow in the Dark Kayaking and More
The warm summer weather and the feel of riding along the gentle water soothes the mind of any kayaker. Especially, rowing a kayak or canoe under the moonlight or the clear night sky occupied with myriads of teeming stars can make you nostalgic and your heart full of joy and happiness. Kayaking at night can bring benefits to your health and mind. It can be a huge stress reliever after you are done with your mundane day to day chores.
Here in this article, we will give you safety advice for kayaking at night, the gears that you will need and a little perks for inexperienced kayakers – Glow in the Dark Kayaking to take your adventure even further which you will absolutely love to experience. But before you head out for the adventure, make yourself well prepared for nighttime kayaking as it can be a bit different than daytime kayaking because you need to take extra precautions so that you be safe and confident in your trip.
Plan you trip before heading out for kayaking
You should be more careful when kayaking at night. Before kayaking tell your friends or family about your trip planning and when you would be returning home. Select a nearby lake or river that you are very familiar with the routes. If you are not accompanied by professionals, then always choose calm weather during the summer season. Wear heavy clothes to keep you warm if you are kayaking in spring or autumn just in case you don’t get cold if you fall over in cool water. It’s best if you never kayak after dark during the four months of winter if you are living in northern most States of USA when the water is freezing cold.
Before setting off, mark your starting point location with a lantern or light raised on a pole just so that you don’t get lost and can find your way out easily. At night it’s much less visible than daytime. So make sure to pick a route that have memorized like the back of your hand. If you get lost, recall location markers like trees, hilly slopes and any distinguishable features you have already seen before to guide you along the route.
Pack a spare clothes with you just in case you get splashed with water and drench wet! Also you can use a GPS device to guide you through the lakes. GPS on phones might not receive enough signal when you are out in the middle of the lakes and rivers.
Send a SOS message when you are in trouble
Get an emergency LED light from the shop, which is a 360° radiating light that is visible at least a mile away so that rescue crews can come to save you. This is a specialized light device that can send a beeping SOS Morse code that coast guard will understand that you are in trouble. Some newer versions will automatically activate and start sending SOS light signal if you fall in the water. You can also strap that to your PFD. Your white stern light or the red/green sidelight that you use for your kayak are also designed to give off SOS signal in case of emergency (more details on this below).
Watch out for mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can ruin your adventure in the summer time when it’s the breeding season. Last time, I remember going to a hiking trail with my friends, the mosquitoes were a nightmare, and I was left exhausted only because I forgot to pack a repellent.
Make sure you take a bottle of mosquito repellent with you because those nasty little invaders can pierce your skin like blades, especially if you are travelling through a narrow channel with a lot of dense jungle and bushes around.
Get the most effective repellents available on the market. And trust me! It can do wonders from protecting you from mosquito bites. Buy those repellants that are odorless. The only downside about the repellent lotion – that I noticed – was that the mosquitoes will find that spot where you haven’t used that lotion. But, don’t worry! Some of the most effective ones are potent enough that by just applying a drop of lotion on your hand, and then rubbing your hands all over your exposed skin will do the trick and work out just fine.
Applying kerosene can also be effective as the strong smell will drive off mosquitoes but then the smell could be also repulsive to you. And you don’t want to apply that when you are around with other kayakers because that will be an embarrassment!
However, if you are out for kayaking in a river with no dense jungle or caves in your vicinity – and just open water for miles after miles – then there isn’t much chance of mosquito bites. Then you can enjoy a skinny dipping if you like!
Know the coast guard requirements for kayaking at night
Coast guards usually operate in marine waters, rivers and the Great Lakes. You wouldn’t find them in narrow lakes, channels or streams. So, when you are travelling in small lakes or channels, it’s best to choose the nearest location to your house that you are pretty much familiar with.
Always check the rules of your jurisdiction for coast guard requirements for kayaking at night. The safety gears that you use for kayaking at night must also be coast guard rules certified. However, it’s not a big of a deal in this case because manufacturers already make the kayaking safety gears meeting the coast guard specifications whether it’s US or Canada.
If you do need to check nighttime kayaking rules in official coast guard website, some terminologies might confuse you – for example “vessels under oars”, “sailing vessel” etc. Kayaks and canoes fall under the category “vessels under oars” because they are unmotorized and driven by pedals, not by sails. The word “underway” is described if your boating vessel is moving on the water, and the word “anchored” means when your kayak is not moving on the water.
Almost all kayaking requirements in jurisdictions both similar in Canada and the US. However, there are quite a few changes in rules across some US States that you need to double check for your particular jurisdiction.
Lighting up rules for your kayak
The most straightforward rule for lighting up is that the light must be visible at least one nautical mile away for safety. There are three ways to light up and signal your presence after sunset.
You can use a red and green sidelight attached to the front of your kayaking deck along with a 135° white stern light placed on a pole at the back (stern) of your kayak. The white light should be placed high enough so that it’s not obstructed by your body and can radiate enough distance to guide you in the darkness and give boaters and kayakers enough time to steer away from collision.
You can also use an “all-round” white light placed at the stern of your kayak instead of the above combinations. Sometimes, people don’t prefer to use “all-round” light because they feel that the glare of the light reduces visibility of your eyes. So, they go with the 135° white light in combination with the red and green sidelight.
For kayaking, if you have none of the above lighting equipment, then carry a white flashlight with you. So, when there’s a motorboat or sailing boat approaching you, you got to flash your light in time so that the oncoming boat can react early enough to evade any collision with you. My personal opinion would be that if you don’t wanna buy both red/green sidelight as well as 135° white stern light, then at least buy an “all-round” 360° white stern light.
Some States might want you to keep your kayak lit up all the time after dark. That way people around you can keep a look out for your white light and stay clear from your path. Just in case your waterproof stern light is drained of its charge, always carry a flashlight as a backup and added safety. Make sure that your stern light is mounted on a pole high enough to make your presence clear to other boaters because kayaks are so low that they might fail to notice you.
Keep in mind though – as a kayaker you are deemed a weakling amongst other boaters in the lake. So, always drive defensively and never take chances or expect mercy from other boaters!
More safety tips and facts to make you safe in the water
Remember, around 80% of all fatalities during kayaking or canoeing is when people are not wearing PFD on their body. So, make sure to put that on your body all the time while kayaking.
Moreover, never go for kayaking when drunk. Never go alone at night for kayaking or canoeing. Take your buddy with you on the ride. That’s much safer and a lot more fun to enjoy the calm, serene night sky! It’s preferable not to travel at night in lakes and rivers, where speed boats or sailing boats are usually known to be active at night.
Still not sure if are prepared enough to kayak safely at night? Hmm… Maybe you can take a short boating safety course just to be on the extra safe side and to make you confident.
Glow in the Dark Kayaking
If you find your calmly night kayaking to be a bit boring and still craving for a bigger fun, then Glow in the Dark Kayaking could be the awesome adventure that you are looking for. These trips are offered by professional kayaking companies. Perfectly suited for people of all ages from veterans to beginners having little experience in paddling.
Here, a guide would be accompanying you for your safety. And just to add more to the amusement, they would take you along routes with picturesque wilderness, landmarks, caves and bioluminescence water. Normally, these tours have small group of 10-12 kayakers, which are 1-hour long trips. That way, you wouldn’t have a hard time listening to your guide’s commentary from behind. These are evening tours and starts after sunset to give you the best glowing experience.
If you don’t know paddling, a guide will give you a quick introduction before departure. Depending on the lakes you are taken to, you might have a chance of getting a glimpse of the fish underwater if you are using the crystal clear glowing kayak. Normally, they do have those types of kayaks but you have to ask for it before getting in the water. Usually, people don’t have to bring anything with them because the company will provide the necessary equipment. You’ll be given a helmet and headlight, and of course a life jacket (i.e. a PFD).
The tours are offered from March to November usually when the water isn’t freezing cold. There isn’t much chance of falling over the lakes because the trips are scheduled on calm weather. But don’t worry, it will be a closely guided tour, where the visitors will be sticking around close together. Plus, you have your life jacket on your body. The guides are well trained to rescue people in case of any emergency. Kayaks are pretty much stable and sturdy even during windy weather.
Arrive half an hour early to collect your necessary equipment and an introduction for do’s and don’ts in kayaking before setting off. Dress up lightly but not too lightly to make others uncomfortable (you know, what I mean!!!). If your family is with you, ask the agency if it’s gonna be family friendly (sometimes parents are worried about skinny dipping – not too friendly for bringing kids along with).
You can’t wear shoes during the paddling. Maybe, you can wish to wear socks and light athletic cloths, especially underground canyons water paddling tours could get a bit warm and damp for you. Wearing black clothes is preferable as splashing of water from paddling can get your body and kayak seat wet (it’s best not to wear socks).
Remember, you can’t bring children under 3 years along the trip. Only bring kids who would be able to wear a PFD and helmet and can enjoy the experience with you patiently for the full trip.
If you want to go for the ride with your partner or kids, ask the guide to offer you a tandem kayak (two-persons kayak) for you. And about the pricing – there are companies who tend to charge based on per kayak and others charge per person even if two people are using the same kayak. We think it’s best that you don’t bring any pets with you because occasionally agencies don’t allow it and other times these animals are too dumb to understand any discipline.
Don’t paddle on high winds and thunderstorms. Light rain is not gonna be a big of an issue. Besides, the kayaking team would be keeping an eye on their radar system to check if the lightning conditions will pass away, then there might be a delay in the schedule for the trip. During the summer time, thunderstorms would likely pass away quickly as the evening weather becomes cooler and rain starts dripping.