I understand your apprehension of sailing at night but l honestly tell you, in good weather there is nothing to it.
I arrived to Newcastle at 23.00 and on the way in, my crew, who was on duty at the time, quit. He could not handle the plethora of lights. I enjoyed piloting into the harbour and after contacting Port Operations and asking them about in or outgoing traffic - there was none - l just motor sailed in, laughing, to the NYC. Arrived at 02.00 tied up and slept.
No worries.
Same, coming home to Sydney, l arrived at 22.00 at North Head and motor sailed to my mooring in Drummoyne. No worries.
It was actually a very pleasant trip.
All the way l was assisted by my chart plotter with fresh C-Map on it and the paper charts, on both occasions.
A good quality binocular and knowledge of the different navigation lights is a must as Newcastle is rather confusing at first sight and Saw and Pigs and the islands in Sydney are not to be missed.
As far as Lake McQ and Port Stevens are concerned, common sense, good seamanship and prudence should make the trip a very enjoyable one after proper research and planning.
Red lights all over inside the yacht for night sailing are necessary not to kill your night-vision. Normal white light destroys night vision for a long time, 10-15 minutes!
Perhaps going out at night couple of times before the trip would help.
Fair winds!
