Night Pilotage Plan: A Coastal Skipper Checklist

What changes when pilotage happens at night?

A familiar harbour can look unrelated to its daylight appearance. Unlit marks disappear, shore lighting competes with navigation lights and distance is harder to judge. The plan must therefore identify observations that remain reliable after dark.

Choose lights by charted position, colour, character and period rather than colour alone. Note where each one should appear relative to the vessel and what a missing or unexpected light would mean.

What should the cockpit plan record?

Write a short sequence of courses, distances, turning points, expected lights, depths and clearing limits. Add tidal constraints, local reporting points, VHF channels and the speed needed to leave enough thinking time.

Include more than one way to check position. A charted light bearing can be supported by depth, a radar range, a buoy, a transit or a timed run. If the observations disagree, stop treating the original plan as confirmed.

How should the crew be briefed?

Give one crew member a clear lookout sector and explain the next expected mark in plain language. Agree how sightings will be reported and who will monitor depth, position and traffic while the skipper conns the vessel.

Preserve night vision with restrained instrument brightness and suitable red illumination where fitted. White light may still be needed for a task or safety issue, but its effect on the crew's adaptation should be understood.

Where should the abort point be placed?

Set the abort point before the approach becomes confined. It might be a depth contour, clearing bearing, outer buoy, waypoint or time beyond which the required tide or visibility margin no longer exists.

The action at that point must be practical: turn back, anchor in a checked position, hold in safe water or divert. A useful plan makes that decision early enough that it remains calm and reversible.