Just the other day, I saw this headline in the local news, and it could have easily been much worse.

** A kayaker out on Tauranga Harbour at night and showing no light received the fright of his life when he was run over by a fishing boat. **

The Waka Ama Safety Guidelines state the following requirement:
- Fixed white light 1 metre above deck, that can be seen 360° - Required for night paddling

A few years ago I wrote an article about how to make a light that would meet the requirements.
While its nice and well to tick the box and say you meet the requirements, unfortunately just meeting the requirements is not enough to keep you safe.

In our backyard "Tauranga harbour" or any other harbour for that matter, there are a lot of street lights, car lights, boat lights, port lights, etc, and a single white light on a canoe gets drowned out amongst it all.

What we require our teams to do now, is wear headlamps. A minimum of 2 headlamps, one on the front paddler (facing forwards), and one on the steerer (facing backwards). This is in addition to the single all round white light.

There are several good reasons to use headlamps.
- cheap and easily available at the supermarket.
- battery powered
- front lamp is facing forward (so it doesn't blind the steerer)
- the whole crew can wear them if you like.
- the movement of your headlamp while you are paddling will attract attention.

Be safe on the water in the dark, check the conditions, paddle in a group, and make sure you can be seen.

Alex Ryder
Tauranga Moana Outrigger Canoe Club