Sleeping during long passage.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Anyone else out there with experience of sleep management while singlehanding on passage, please chime in.

Ann

Reading threads like these it seems to vary quite a lot between people. Some can't handle 2 hour slots while others have no problems with 30 minute periods. I go for 1 hour, 30 days longest passage. No problems at all, really relaxed, rested and content at the end. Though important to note that you rarely need to wake up completely, alarm goes off, go through the check list and make a note in the log half only awake then back to sleep. Unless something is different that you need to deal with. Then it's coffee and wide awake to sort whatever needs sorting. Rarely happens though.

[Waterman_1960]

There is a small book floating around the world called :Regulations for the prevention of collision at sea : as amended 1972. The definition of a vessel is : every description of watercraft. Rule 5. Keeping a lookout.
In short you are obligated to keep a lookout by sight and sound at all times while at sea and not rely on any scant information. How anyone can do this singlehanded has always baffled me during my 38 year career at sea. I have passed sailing vessels at night to many times merrily sailing along on their set courses with no lookouts at all. No responses to my course alterations , sound signals , light signals, ( not that they would know them anyway, incidentally same book) nothing.
It’s an interesting read. In the commercial world you have to know it off by heart.
So, crew your vessel with enough crew to fulfill your obligations to keep everyone on the water safe and sleep like a baby. Cheers.

[ErikSteenberg]

Originally Posted by Waterman_1960

There is a small book floating around the world called :Regulations for the prevention of collision at sea : as amended 1972. The definition of a vessel is : every description of watercraft. Rule 5. Keeping a lookout.
In short you are obligated to keep a lookout by sight and sound at all times while at sea and not rely on any scant information. How anyone can do this singlehanded has always baffled me during my 38 year career at sea. I have passed sailing vessels at night to many times merrily sailing along on their set courses with no lookouts at all. No responses to my course alterations , sound signals , light signals, ( not that they would know them anyway, incidentally same book) nothing.
It’s an interesting read. In the commercial world you have to know it off by heart.
So, crew your vessel with enough crew to fulfill your obligations to keep everyone on the water safe and sleep like a baby. Cheers.

You’re referring to rule 5 of colregs. Keeping a lookout by all appropriate means for singlehanders does include using radar and AIS proximity alarms. Until the day that singlehanding is illegal, people will just have to live with the fact that we exist... and we’re not as dangerous to anyone as we are to ourselves. So I’d rather invest energy in taking on the oriental fishing vessels that dredge the oceans and refuse/are incapable of responding to VHF in english...

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Waterman_1960

There is a small book floating around the world called :Regulations for the prevention of collision at sea : as amended 1972. The definition of a vessel is : every description of watercraft. Rule 5. Keeping a lookout.
In short you are obligated to keep a lookout by sight and sound at all times while at sea and not rely on any scant information. How anyone can do this singlehanded has always baffled me during my 38 year career at sea. I have passed sailing vessels at night to many times merrily sailing along on their set courses with no lookouts at all. No responses to my course alterations , sound signals , light signals, ( not that they would know them anyway, incidentally same book) nothing.
It’s an interesting read. In the commercial world you have to know it off by heart.
So, crew your vessel with enough crew to fulfill your obligations to keep everyone on the water safe and sleep like a baby. Cheers.

Off topic. There are other threads for debating the wisdom or legality of singlehanding. This thread is about the sleeping part. No need for a rule 5 war here.

[Tricolor]

Single hander haters will try it when you give them just a nail

[Waterman_1960]

I am not interested in a Rule 5 war either. And you are completely correct in using radar and ais info to assist in keeping a lookout. If you could just read the first 15 words of rule 5 and explain to me how you do this while asleep I would be most grateful and enlightened. And just to be sure the very best way to get a great sleep at sea is to have a competent rested person on the wheel with your life in their hands and theirs in yours.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Waterman_1960

I am not interested in a Rule 5 war either. ...
If you could just read the first 15 words of rule 5 and explain to me

Sure sounds like an invitation to battle to me.


And it's been done to death on numerous previous threads.

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by Waterman_1960

I am not interested in a Rule 5 war either. And you are completely correct in using radar and ais info to assist in keeping a lookout. If you could just read the first 15 words of rule 5 and explain to me how you do this while asleep I would be most grateful and enlightened. And just to be sure the very best way to get a great sleep at sea is to have a competent rested person on the wheel with your life in their hands and theirs in yours.

Why would anyone want an infernal wheel on a sailboat?? A tiller is so much better and reliable way to steer especially when you are below sleeping and the vane is self steering.

[Waterman_1960]

Aww your no fun. Just give me a sec. I’m just texting while driving to the airport to get in my plane to sleep my way to sleep my way to somewhere. Just cause ,and I quote , I’m not as dangerous to anyone as I am to myself. Obviously the answer to the original question of sleep is then, sleep whenever you like for as long as you like cause it’s all about you. That should keep all my fellow sailors happy.zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz

[pendragon]

Single handing in shipping lanes-->
Buy a AIS receiver. plug it into your laptop or tablet: it will set off an alarm when any commercial vessel is within 20NM of your position.
Stay awake until you are 10NM of the coast, than set your AIS alarm up.
Worked for me many times in any shipping lanes.
You can get a good and cheap dual channel AIS receiver from AISDIGITAL AIS Dual frequency Receiver
best of luck with the passage.

[JPA Cate]

10 n. mi might be enough in low population NZ; but in Oz there is shipping all around its perimeter, as well as gaggles of fishing boats--only some of whom use AIS, and I would say safer after 40 n. mi, on the route Brisbane to Opua. Lots of traffic coming both directions. It could be farther in more populous areas, too!

[boatman61]

You guys need to take some pills and chill out.. there's only one serious hazard out there.. Fully crewed French boats.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Waterman_1960

I am not interested in a Rule 5 war either. And you are completely correct in using radar and ais info to assist in keeping a lookout. If you could just read the first 15 words of rule 5 and explain to me how you do this while asleep I would be most grateful and enlightened. And just to be sure the very best way to get a great sleep at sea is to have a competent rested person on the wheel with your life in their hands and theirs in yours.

Please stop trolling, Waterman. Take it to another thread where you will find plenty of allies and enemies and you can argue to your heart's contentment. The topic here is, I think, HOW does one sleep, not WHETHER or WHEN one should sleep. You are trying to pick a fight where nobody is interested.

[BobFromColorado]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Fully crewed French boats.

Sounds Bloody Horrifying!!!

[foojin]

I sailed alone Osaka-Victoria in a Vancouver 27 a few years ago. Took 72 days. Slept with timer set to wake me every 45 minutes. Thought it would be difficult, but was surprisingly easy. Got used to it in no time. The only time I did not set the alarm was when I was hove to in rough weather. Then I just slept.

AIS alarm was set to go off when CPA with another vessel was two miles. Never went off.