This reminds me of a guy Phil I had standing watch for
me that kept steering us around in circles. We were
20-30 miles off the coast of New Jersey and the loom
from Atlantic City was noticeable--that was all we
could see in overcast conditions at night. It actually
made steering pretty easy. I would just keep the
loom off my port side.

Of course my compass light had failed, so I was
partly to blame. I'd just fixed it, but it didn't hold up
to the conditions. I've since replaced it with a pair
of soldered LED's, shrink wrap and tape. So far so
good. Without a compass Phil could not steer!

I explained about the loom several times to Phil and
pointed to it. He still could not seem to see it. Finally,
I sent him below to get warm , locked the helm, as we
were close hauled and enjoyed the remainder of the
watch by myself tidying up the deck.

I quickly found out Phil's experience was very limited.
You know how men exaggerate their experience. The
most obvious factor was revealed when he didn't know
how to lock the Edson helm. He'd only seen the newer
Edson locks on the hub of the axis of the wheel, and was
totally unfamiliar with the side mounted brake which was
so prevalent on most boats. In the dark he was trying to
tighten the hub! I still laugh when I think about him
trying to muscle that thing which requires a wrench to
remove!

It turned out Phil bought a brand new Sabre. His big boat
experience was a weekend or two shaking it down on the
Chesapeake. He had only started sailing a few years
before, and had never been on the open ocean at all.

Despite this, I liked Phil, and I wish I could have sailed with
him more.

Before going below, we had a few nice conversations.
One thing he said to me that I relate to many folks is this,
He said, "I just wish I started {sailing) sooner." A week
later, while sailing on the Chesapeake he let out a yelp
and dropped dead. He had a heart condition that was
more serious than he let on. Let this be a warning to all
not to wait too long. It is better to buy a cheap boat and
sail now, than to wait for a nicer one and try sail too late.

"Edgar" wrote
You have to be careful of navigating towards a 'glow' even if you are sure
what it is. Sometimes there is a headland between your position and the
source of the glow.