99011 Can You See Small Craft?

Can You See Small Craft?
Report No. 99011

I am a new associate and find the MARS reports especially interesting. My associate status reflects that, to me, a 30 meter/150 ton schooner is a large vessel. Most of my experience is in substantially smaller vessels. I raced to Tahiti a few years ago on an 11.5 meter sloop, and cruised the SE Pacific on my 9.2 meter sloop. In a certain sense the MARS reports tend to confirm the yachtsman's nightmare - that in fact the watchstander on that oncoming tanker may be stirring his tea, in the heads, or simply napping. Still, I have to ask, is there anything, in the opinion of NI members, that can be done to improve small craft visibility? In the yacht community there are advocates of strobe lights and radar transponders. I personally adhere rigidly to COLREGS, but hope that a future modification might incorporate some feasible alternatives which would provide greater visibility. And, if some watchstanders cannot see an oncoming ship in a timely fashion and maneuver appropriately, the chance of their seeing anything smaller, no matter how well illuminated, seems minimal.