Our eyes do acclimate to dark, but it worries me that a white light, even behind the cockpit could ruin night vision. Going with other paddlers means everyone would have to stay in an even line abreast to minimize loss of night vision. My experience with group paddles shows that its hard to keep people together during daylight, so I imagine night would be impossible.
A full moon night might be a good opportunity. We regularly went on night hikes without the aid of a light. Only on one occasion did I find it so dsrk, I couldnāt see my hand held out.
I like the idea of going out in the dark before morning. That way, an emergency event has the benefit of improving visibility.
Iāve been cured of night paddling in what I thought would be a calm ocean. My son (a very proficient paddler, NOLS graduate) and I decided to paddle along the shore off of one of the Georgia barrier islands. I thought the moon would provide sufficient sunlight, but I brought along a (not waterproof) headlamp just in case. About 10 minutes after we put in, we started getting hit by swells that sometime broke over us. At one point I looked back and only saw the hull of my sonās boat. Fortunately he rolled up. I got hit and rolled up but my light went out. We decided we were truly out of our depth and turned back, only to get hit by growlers that literally came out of nowhere. At one point, his boat got surfed into me; I barely got out of the way. When we took out, feeling quite stupid, my son noted that there is sometimes a thin line between excitement and terror and that we got way too close to that line. One lesson is the need to ensure visibility.
Generally night paddling is something I avoid. It means I planned poorly, am totally worn out and misjudged the distance or conditons or the amount of time to complete a run. If I need to get an early start to avoid wind then I might consider it. Kind of like getting a head start on a long driving day.
Yup. Gotta know your waters and also be sure of your skills. Had some close calls of my own night fishing in tidal rips, shoals and reefs which are magnets for stripers as well as the āunanticipatedā (rogue) wave. Fortunately, my bracing ability sufficed and I didnāt need to test my rolling (which even when successful would be loss of very expensive fishing rods and equipment).
These āluckyā folks were out yesterday in the dark, with stiff winds and chops: