| Perini Navi | 56M | "Bayesian" ex. "Salute" | 2008/20 | (Casualty/SANK) |

I spent most of the fall leering at the 56m Perini Navi Santa Maria berthed in Santa Margherita. I noticed the mast light was red presumably in deference to low-flying aircraft and have since wondered at what point a mast requires a red light. Anybody know?

I think you should have red lights if the mast is over 200 feet, (and strobes if it should be 500 feet...)

I guess you are allowed to wear a red light on your cap as well, but it is not required...

On landbased objects, it has more to do with the location of high objects and communication masts are sometimes also illuminated or with several strobes so you should see it if you are flying low. With a sailing yacht, you may consider this as well if your mooring is close to an airfield or heliport.

Quite a few airports are located next to harbors and tall masts can be a real problem....

Boston comes to mind as well as some islands in the Bahamas and the Carribbean.

A strope light would be more effective than a red light or red paint.

The question of aero reds is actually moot as they are not fixed, as in landbased towers etc.....hence it is really a case of willy waving by owners and crew saying look how big mine is. There is no definition, as far as I know, that requires an aero red. But please let me know if different.
happy sailing

More than a few smugglers have attempted to fly under the veil of darkness... and well below the scope of radar... skimming the surface at altitudes low enough to 'salute' a skipper.

I'll take a BIG red light up top, thank you.

Although this from the FAA is only a partial answer it should give some guidance. As for the "look how big mine is" I suspect the one they're showing off for is the fellow in the low flying Cesna concentrating on taking pics. That aside does anybody here know who currently has the tallest mast and how high it is?
2-2-3. Obstruction Lights

a. Obstructions are marked/lighted to warn airmen of their presence during daytime and nighttime conditions. They may be marked/lighted in any of the following combinations:

1. Aviation Red Obstruction Lights. Flashing aviation red beacons (20 to 40 flashes per minute) and steady burning aviation red lights during nighttime operation. Aviation orange and white paint is used for daytime marking.

2. Medium Intensity Flashing White Obstruction Lights. Medium intensity flashing white obstruction lights may be used during daytime and twilight with automatically selected reduced intensity for nighttime operation. When this system is used on structures 500 feet (153m) AGL or less in height, other methods of marking and lighting the structure may be omitted. Aviation orange and white paint is always required for daytime marking on structures exceeding 500 feet (153m) AGL. This system is not normally installed on structures less than 200 feet (61m) AGL.

3. High Intensity White Obstruction Lights. Flashing high intensity white lights during daytime with reduced intensity for twilight and nighttime operation. When this type system is used, the marking of structures with red obstruction lights and aviation orange and white paint may be omitted.

4. Dual Lighting. A combination of flashing aviation red beacons and steady burning aviation red lights for nighttime operation and flashing high intensity white lights for daytime operation. Aviation orange and white paint may be omitted.

Does anyone have an idea how much this mast might cost??

Here is how she looked at FLIBS a few weeks ago!

Her aluminum mast is 246' tall!



Please notice you can see Salute's exhaust ports above water as she was on the hard depending on the tide.

They had to wait for extreme high tide to bring her in and take her away from her spot at the show on the ICW.


And a vid of Mirabella's 292' mast being destepped for her recent refit.

m5 (ex Mirabella V) - YouTube

Here she is all lit up at night.

What caused her to go down? I can understand significant damage on deck, rig but not sinking.
Sleeping with the garage open?
Holed by another boat in the storm?

Piecing together different reports, it seems she may have been laid over on her side, which would certainly cause flooding.

Big wind against that huge rig combined with shallow draft for her size, likely.