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Old 20-10-2014, 20:05   #196
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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If you are getting your current opinion from that statement then I guess I am through here as well. No one can be looking and hearing 100% of the time. We all take breaks, get distracted or do other things related to the boat that are not related to avoiding a collision. If you are asleep or doing something else you increase your risk of collision. If you sleep in short bursts with effective electronic assists, as many single handers do, then you are maintaining just as "proper" a watch as any one else.
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"That statement" is Colreg Rule 5 verbatim as it's published by Homeland Security, and that is where I get my opinion from. Where do you get yours? Do you also have other different Rules of the Road from the Colregs that you go by or is it just this one rule that you don't believe in?
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Old 20-10-2014, 20:30   #197
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

With Claudio Campi's study of polyphasic sleeping, comes knowledge of how singlehanders can maximize their rest gained for minimal time spent actually asleep. Now, this is a subject that both doublehanders and singlehanders can benefit from.

I think a specific law restricting singlehanding is totally unnecessary. The present system works pretty well. I cannot think of any accident involving loss of life or boat that was caused by inadequate watch keeping on a small boat. When Jessica Watson and the Chinese Ship collided, the Queensland government did an investigation on the accident, and her portion of the responsibility was something like 17% if I recall correctly. No one hurt, some damage to her boat. The crew on the ship had made worse mistakes, in the opinion of the authorities.

Mr. Jtsailjt, if you're okay with speeding, then you do not care about the letter of the law as much as your posts in this thread suggest.

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Old 20-10-2014, 20:59   #198
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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The present system works pretty well.
That's an amazing conclusion.

Trying to minimize sleep while sailing is like trying to drink as much as you can get away with before driving.
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Old 20-10-2014, 21:42   #199
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

It is true that single handers, like myself, can not stand watch 24/7, and as such can not meet all colregs requirements. However from an overall safety standpoint there have been far more cases of crewed boat going aground, sinking, etc, then the well prepared single handed boats.

Yes it's against colregs. Colregs just does not address single handing at all. That does not worry me in the least. But then I have some disagreements with ABYC codes too. At the end of the day I do what keeps me safe.

I don't color within the lines very well either...
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Old 20-10-2014, 22:01   #200
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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Ok, Dockhead. It's pitch black on the open ocean and you can't see anything other than the red and green lights. The ship is 1.5 miles away. atioIt's not responding to your hail, turning or responding in any other way. A minute later you still see red and green, so it's a pretty good guess that the ship is coming right at you - or pretty darned close. You are the stand-on vessel. You say you can't turn left or right because you can't judge what direction the ship is going to turn, and you will still be in the 10 degree range of the bow anyway. So tell me, what is the best solution to this situn?
Hum if it's a commercial ship, it will also have a forward and stern all around white lights showing, Using these and the red/green, it's very easy to get a general heading of the ship and which way to turn to avoid a constant bearing intercept.

LOL, if your seeing both red and green, then one only has to turn 90 degrees away from the ships bow, and get the hell out of the way. The exact direction depending on sea state and wind direction as well as which point the ship is closing from.

I don't play stand on vessel with ships at night without radio contact. That would be foolish.
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Old 21-10-2014, 00:04   #201
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

Its not "all the time", its "At all times" and this surely means daytime, night time, mealtimes, laying ahull, sailing, motoring, in the harbour etc etc.

Proper lookout by a solo sailor also surely means someone who is not too sleep deprived.
Obviously many crews of all sizes may be breaking the rules but good watchkeeping by solo sailors is clearly possible within Colregs.

Some armchair judges are simply mis-interpreting the authors of Colregs to suit their arguments.
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Old 21-10-2014, 03:16   #202
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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.........

Are there other parts of the COLREGS you don't feel bound by?
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.........
The idea that you can "technically" break the COLREGS is pretty funny.
Isn't the purpose (and the sole purpose) of the COLREGS is to prevent collision at sea?

If so, then then only time you can in breach of the COLREGS is when a collision occurs. Then fault can be established (in part) by reference to the COLREGS.

Unlike say the road rules where one can be held accountable for say speeding by the mere act of speeding, the COLREGS aren't actually enforced in that manner. Not only aren't they enforced as such, they weren't intended to be (AFAIK).

The skipper (captain / whatever) is the one who decides how the vessel is operated, if a collision occurs, then they are held responsible for failing to comply with the COLREGS; if no collision occurs, then by definition, non-compliance hasn't occurred.
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Old 21-10-2014, 03:30   #203
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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Isn't the purpose (and the sole purpose) of the COLREGS is to prevent collision at sea?

If so, then then only time you can in breach of the COLREGS is when a collision occurs. Then fault can be established (in part) by reference to the COLREGS.

Unlike say the road rules where one can be held accountable for say speeding by the mere act of speeding, the COLREGS aren't actually enforced in that manner. Not only aren't they enforced as such, they weren't intended to be (AFAIK).

The skipper (captain / whatever) is the one who decides how the vessel is operated, if a collision occurs, then they are held responsible for failing to comply with the COLREGS; if no collision occurs, then by definition, non-compliance hasn't occurred.
Mostly correct, but be aware especially of Rule 10, a number of ships and indeed a few yachts have fallen foul of Vessel Traffic Services which monitor the TSS, and have been subjected to heavy fines.

But, in the main, out at sea, a collision is needed before you can be held accountable.
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Old 21-10-2014, 03:34   #204
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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Mostly correct, but be aware especially of Rule 10, a number of ships and indeed a few yachts have fallen foul of Vessel Traffic Services which monitor the TSS, and have been subjected to heavy fines.

But, in the main, out at sea, a collision is needed before you can be held accountable.
Guess that's better than most of my posts .

Thanks for the heads up re VTS and TSS, never ever been in a TSS but might be one day
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Old 21-10-2014, 03:37   #205
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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Guess that's better than most of my posts .

Thanks for the heads up re VTS and TSS, never ever been in a TSS but might be one day
If you do go in a TSS, dont do what this chap did

Racing yacht went 'wrong way' in Straits of Dover
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Old 21-10-2014, 03:49   #206
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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If you do go in a TSS, dont do what this chap did

Racing yacht went 'wrong way' in Straits of Dover
http://www.google.com.au/url?url=htt...Dq9t9a3XT0pKsA

That's me - a couple of points off the stbd bow
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Old 21-10-2014, 04:50   #207
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

Its not only a discussion on the water...

BBC News: 'More than half' of pilots have slept while flying
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Old 21-10-2014, 05:36   #208
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

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So if it's OK for you and Evans but not some others, who gets to decide where that line should be drawn?
I will phrase your question differently, while maintaining its meaning: Is it OK for someone who has devoted a lot of time and thought to doing a particular thing in a bunch of different ways, to do it in a more demanding style than for others who haven't?

Answer: You bet! But I don't ski down the "expert" slopes, where I could hurt others as well as myself, because I have never put in the time to be a decent skier. It works both ways.

Ann says it very well when she notes that she can't think of a time when a singlehander, through poor watchkeeping, has ever hurt someone else. Me neither. I can, however, remember when speeders have.
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Old 21-10-2014, 07:32   #209
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

I think what this comes down to is judgement.

When I'm maneuvering around a crowded harbor, I don't take my hands off the wheel or eyes off the surrounding waters for even a minute. When I'm offshore and haven't even seen a radar reflection of another boat in days, it may be 15 minutes or more between visual scans of the horizon. I prefer to be able to keep a watch on duty 24/7 - but even the crew on watch doesn't spend every minute peering through binoculars looking for a distant ship.

Ultimately the responsibility for avoiding collision, as well as averting many other potential mishaps, lies with the ship's master. Ultimately this depends on good judgement. One cannot legislate good judgement.

I haven't seen hard data on it, but I would venture a guess that a well-rested captain & crew will exercise better judgement and travel safer than one which is fatigued from lack of sleep from continuously scanning the horizon for ships that never appear.
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Old 21-10-2014, 09:53   #210
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Re: Do you keep a Constant Lookout?

There are some very serious rebuttals to Claudio Stampi's technique. It should be studied carefully before a singlehander assumes it is the ultimate solution. You might remember the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer attempts to use it. I wrote in my book:
Dr. Piotr Wozniak has studied polyphasic sleep and does not believe it is possible to perform adequately using these techniques. Another excellent counterview is expressed in a video on YouTube titled “Polyphasic Sleep Experiment,” where the best line is “I can’t tell if I’ve been getting sleep or not. I don’t know. I might be. I’ve got memory gaps. I want some pancakes.”
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