PSOD: Apologies for hi-jacking your thread.
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea ("COLREGS"), published by the International Maritime Organization, set out navigation rules to prevent collisions between two or more vessels. A dinghy under power is a "vessel." These regulations have been adopted by treaty by virtually every nation, including Great Britain and by extension the BVI.
Part C, Lights & Shapes, states in paragraph 20 that the "[r]ules concerning lights apply from sunset to sunrise, in conditions of restricted visibility and in all other circumstances when it is deemed necessary." Paragraph 23 states, in pertinent part, that a power-driven vessel underway less than 23.0 ft in length, whose maximum speed does not exceed 7 knots (8 mph), must be capable of showing a white light. Unlike the US and all 50 states, I am not aware of any BVI-specific modifications to the COLREGS.
So, assuming your dinghy is not 23 feet or longer, or your shorter dinghy is traveling at 7 knots or less, you are technically legal operating at night if you have a flashlight on board capable of being turned on to show a white light.
(Note: That is not the case in the USVI, where a dinghy underway at night must actually display red and greed sidelights visible for at least 1 mile, and an all-around white light at least 3.3 ft high visible for at least 2 miles.)
However, "legal" is not the same as smart, safe, sane and careful. In 2016 I retired from 42 years as a civil trial attorney, specializing in the litigation of recreational marine accidents. I have reviewed thousands of accident reports, personally investigated hundreds of incidents, and tried dozens of cases to verdict, including both collisions and allisions. At the outset, I always hypothetically asked: "Which side would I choose if I could?" That would tell me which way a jury was likely to lean, and thus how steep I hill I would have to climb for my actual client. I would hope not to have to represent a StormJib, as it would require a vertical climb with a slip leading to a very deep abyss. In other words, I would not be able to find a qualified expert to testify that it was reasonable for my client to be operating an unlit powered vessel in the dark at the time of the collision.
On over a dozen charter trips, from the BVI to Union Island and everything in between, we successfully operated our dinghies at night as follows:
1. No speed faster than idle in a mooring field.
2. Bow passenger tasked with correctly holding a red-green flashlight so as to be visible to other vessels.
Red-Green Battery Flashlight 3. A stern passenger tasked with shining a white flashlight off the stern, so as not to be directed toward the helmsperson yet visible to other vessels.
4. All passengers instructed to be observant for other moving vessels, mooring balls, anchor lines, etc.
We did so not be legal, but because it is reasonable and makes common sense.
