What have you heard?

[Don C L]

This topic came up among friends: What have you thought you heard or saw at sea during the day or on that late night watch, when you might be fatigued? or not? I can only lay claim to hearing voices or someone call my name, but I have heard of others having far more interesting hallucinations... just curious...

[Cheechako]

I often heard voices, cattle etc on the sea at night. To the extent I think they were actual sounds! I have smelled wet mesquite desert 75 miles from land at night. unmistakable.

[Orion Jim]

As I rolled in a seaway the water in my double sink drains would gurgle constantly. When I was falling asleep it sounded like voices a couple times so I had to shut the sea cock.
Or were they voices........

[roverhi]

On a delivery went 3 days straight on the helm. My 90# wife could only spell me on the tiller long enough to eat and dump. It was a fantastic passage with ideal winds on a broad reach in phosperescent seas doing hull speed hour 24/7 once we were passed the Gate. Must have nodded off and began dreaming sometime around zero dark thirty on the third night. I suddenly came to with my heart trying to beat itself out of my chest. Saw straight lines of phospherescent wakes streaking straight for the boat from the beam. Was totally convinced we were being torpedoed because of the bright staight streaks in the water. Braced myself for the inevitable explosion at the torpedoes passed under the boat. When the boat didn't explode calmed down and looked around. The streaks turned out to be porpoise making runs on the boat. Managed to stay awake without difficulty till the sun came up and we rounded Point Conception. The winds went flat once around the point and my wife was able to drive under power and I passed out for hours.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by roverhi

On a delivery went 3 days straight on the helm. My 90# wife could only spell me on the tiller long enough to eat and dump. It was a fantastic passage with ideal winds on a broad reach in phosperescent seas doing hull speed hour 24/7 once we were passed the Gate. Must have nodded off and began dreaming sometime around zero dark thirty on the third night. I suddenly came to with my heart trying to beat itself out of my chest. Saw straight lines of phospherescent wakes streaking straight for the boat from the beam. Was totally convinced we were being torpedoed because of the bright staight streaks in the water. Braced myself for the inevitable explosion at the torpedoes passed under the boat. When the boat didn't explode calmed down and looked around. The streaks turned out to be porpoise making runs on the boat. Managed to stay awake without difficulty till the sun came up and we rounded Point Conception. The winds went flat once around the point and my wife was able to drive under power and I passed out for hours.

Ahh, I had something similar at 3 in the am in the still black water in the lee of Santa Rosa Island. Swirling blue-green mass under the boat. I was sure I was about to be hit by a whale, but it was just a school of sardines stirring up the water.

[belizesailor]

Ive never thought I heard or saw something, but of course have actually seen and heard some strange things at sea. Similar to some of the posts above...actually had a whale cross close under the boat at night, shrouded in bright phosphorescence. That was a spectular, and heart stopping, sight.

A friend of mine once saw mirage condos on the horizon...the power of wishful thinking.

[Hard Rock Candy]

I did a solo from Ft. Myers to Isla Mujeres. After four nights of very poor sleep and being side swiped by a Drag from a shrimp boat, I had about 4 hours to the bar. I kept seeing my friend Paul sitting on the front rail. It would give me a good feeling for a second and then I would realize that it was just a hank of line for a short anchor I had tied to the rail. Mac

[Dulcesuenos]

After 60. Plus hours of no sleep wife and I both heard dogs, chickens, music playing. Neither one of us mentioned it to the other until we'd had rest. We did both see millions of purple jellyfish, and some kind of wild naval practice at night way off shore in the gom.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[ozsailer]

Hello all,
doing an overnighter up the east coast of Australia. I had just taken over my shift from my wife. I was not fatigued I was not drinking or under the influence of anything when this occurred but I swear its true. I made a suggestion of course change and my wife agreed with me and said I was right. Truly it did happen. Stranger things have happened:big grin: I suspect strongly that my wife was somewhat fatigued though


Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine

[Bulawayo]

Yes, on a cat we once owned we would hear the sound of baby in distress crying. It was really disturbing in every sense. We eventually found that it was our cockpit drains that whooshed when the underside of the cockpit was wave swept.

[Trim50]

About 18 days out on the way to Nuka Hiva from Mexico, in the middle of a new moon pitch black night we were flying our gennaker and doing hull speed. I kept hearing splashing sounds from near the forward section of the boat and loud clicks. When I pulled out the spotlight and shined it on the lower edge of the gennaker, I was surprised to see a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water and touching their noses on the bottom of the sail which was only 3 feet above the water. They all took turns doing it like a game.

We also would hear voices which would sound like a radio talk show taking place in another room. We could hear people talking, but you couldn't tell what they were saying. I believe it has something to do with HF radio signals interacting with the shrouds in an audible level which can only be heard when there is no other sound. We have heard this sound many times when far from land.

Also experienced huge glowing lights under the boat the size of a ship. We later figured that it was probably a large school of fish moving in the bio-luminescence.

[rbrentp]

Aren't they always fatigue induced? Had the midnight watch with no sleep for about 36 hours. Jumped awake thinking there was a hooded figure standing by cabin door. It was a coil of rope. Pulse settled down, dozed again. Woke up with a start because there was a hooded figure standing by the cabin door. This happened three or four times before I moved the rope and banished the apparition.

[design360]

Wow, what a good spooky October topic!

On delivery from Lynn, Mass to Tortola mid-November several years ago. In the midst of a 6 day gale while on my white knuckle watch at around 0300 I saw robed figures standing all around the boat on the wave tops. Not menacing or threatening in any way, just there apparently standing watch as well.

[GafferMate]

We were two days out from Mangareva, heading to Tahiti. It was early evening, weather calm, Bill and I were down below playing a game of cards before beginning our night watch routine. We weren't tired and we don't drink alcohol during passages.

As clear as Bill across from me, I saw a canoe of natives pass through PILAR diagonally, paddling heavily from starboard to port, right through the table and out again in an instant.

"DID YOU SEE THAT???" I asked, but No, he hadn't.

The brilliantly clear memory still stuns me when I recall it.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Originally Posted by ozsailer

Hello all,
doing an overnighter up the east coast of Australia. I had just taken over my shift from my wife. I was not fatigued I was not drinking or under the influence of anything when this occurred but I swear its true. I made a suggestion of course change and my wife agreed with me and said I was right. Truly it did happen. Stranger things have happened:big grin: I suspect strongly that my wife was somewhat fatigued though


Greg and Sue
SV Sunshine

I call BS. Unless you have film of it, I ain't buyin' it.