windbtch,
Night sailing is fabulous. But it is very important that if you do have running lights, they are mounted in such a way that you yourself cannot see them. Otherwise, it is hard to see where you are going. And if you were sailing in Charleston Harbor at night, it definitely WOULD be scary. We came in there one night on a cruising boat, and there were lights everywhere. It was hard to distinguish the navigation lights from the city lights.

For a night sail to be enjoyable, it has to be truly out in the night darkness, where you have only the ambient light. Your eyes adjust to it, and you can really see very well. On a clear night when the stars are out, you almost forget it is night. And the best thing is that you don't have to wear sunblock.