Sailboat masthead lights can be a problem for me. I had one tacking across a river and with his heel the lights were barely visible. Also my eyes are generally scanning lower down where most small boat running lights are. And the tacks can be unpredictable. I think some sailboaters like challenging powerboats as some sort of sick sport.
Yep.
Also, I've now noticed that some sail boats are using LED that they can change color.
Very handy until they forget to turn on the correct color.
Running down the Irish coast, we encountered a SV on a reciprocal couse showing a red top mast light.
My nephew was at the helm and I was watching over his shoulder. I find this best under difficult situations for me not helm so i can decide what to do.
We'd been watching this light for 15 minutes and had decided it was the top of a radio antenna about 10 miles away, as bearing never changed the whole time!
Nothing on radar, but seas were 4 to 6 feet, thus would get sporadic returns of wave tops.
At about 500 feet, I realize it's a sv dead ahead and grab the wheel to turn hard to stbd.
He passes a few hundred feet on our port side.
I call in 16 "sailing vessel running a red mast light"
He doesn't answer, but red light turns white.
Idiot.
PS. Unless I'm in a channel and don't have much room to maneuver, I never worry about stand to or off, I just adjust my course to pass astern.