Keeping Watch at Night ?

[zeehag]

geefreeking ziz==i do not ask of others to do anyhting i wont do---on watch has a lovely sofa on the transom for sitting and reading.. i prefer no music in ears as this boat has a propensity fro knowing whenye dont hear her and bitches and gets her way...nasty boat--has a character flaw....

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

wow carsten, thats a very absolutist view. I doubt it will remain as you do longer and longer sails.


i

who sails the boats, trims, fixes things, cooks, cleans, does equipment checks. !!



hours, try doing that for a month!, you'll find reading , listening to iPods etc very useful ( even though funnily , I watch the night sky for nights on end, but I accept people need their props.)

On the ocean , not a lot is happening, your absolutist view is untenable. Sailing across the English channel is different.



you must be Ryanairs best customer.!!

The essence of leadership is not control , dominance or rule making, but to instill commitment and drive in others to pursue your goals as a common one.

dave

A friend sailed with John and Amanda Neal. Apparently they put a paying crew member ashore for not informing John of a vessel on the horizon.

[zeehag]

if i am finally asleep and you awaken me for that i will not be a happy camper--if it is on a collision course within one mile and we are gonna die---WAKE ME NOW if the price to repair is gonna be more than you can afford to pay me in the end ---WAKE ME now..... i will hear the engine change song--i am a motorhead.....but i will not be happy if you do not understand the damthing is being a brat yet again and we need to attend to something.....i will probably know something is amiss before it makes a sound, but , please hear the sound .... is symptom of problem and identifies the repair. ÿou"being able to hear the problem and help id it is a huge benefit.

[Cheechako]

Yeah, I've heard stories about them too... Met once many years ago. Never desired to again.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by jackdale

A friend sailed with John and Amanda Neal. Apparently they put a paying crew member ashore for not informing John of a vessel on the horizon.

If I were that crew member I would put a stop payment on the credit card charge, but then I wouldn't have been on the boat in the first place.

I used to hire very green crew for deliveries FL to the VI. If I had them call me every time there was a light on the horizon I would have been awake the whole trip. I did however tell them that they should call me anytime for any reason or even for no reason. Promised I would never be mad if they woke me at anytime. If they had any question, if they saw something, heard something or thought they saw something and had any doubts, call me.

Over the years I only fired two crew members. One for sleeping on watch and getting annoyed at why I made such a big deal and chewed him out for it. The other for being so out of it that in a 4 hour watch she steered us almost 20 miles off course. The fact that she ate more than the rest of the crew combined made it a little easier.

[barnakiel]

On the boats I sail it is the same rule too, if I command. If there is a new vessel, if an old one changes course, if the wind shifts, etc. Still, some will fail to deliver. But I do not fire anybody for I know it is as well my failure in training them.

When I crew, some captains will order us NOT to wake them up no matter what. Others just can't be woken up... Really, I do not know what to think of this. They may be right as well.

The only exception is when we sail our own boat. The admiral is free to make her own decisions on whether it is better to wake me up and consult anything or else she tackles the challenge by herself. I must admit I sleep like a baby when she drives and I jump to my feet immediately anytime she needs my help or advice.

b.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

The only exception is when we sail our own boat. The admiral is free to make her own decisions on whether it is better to wake me up and consult anything or else she tackles the challenge by herself. I must admit I sleep like a baby when she drives and I jump to my feet immediately anytime she needs my help or advice.

b.

Yes, Barney, that is how it is on Insatiable and how it should be on any cruising yacht manned by a couple. Trust in your mate (Admiral if you wish, but that has been deemed pejorative) is essential for your well being and for her/his development as a sailor. Good stuff! That degree of trust is hard won, invaluable and why my mate is a keeper! And, incidentally, why we have never felt the need to take on additional crew for passages...

Cheers,

Jim

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Yes, Barney, that is how it is on Insatiable and how it should be on any cruising yacht manned by a couple. Trust in your mate...is essential for your well being and for her/his development as a sailor. Good stuff! That degree of trust is hard won, invaluable and why my mate is a keeper! And, incidentally, why we have never felt the need to take on additional crew for passages...

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by sabray

On sabray we don't allow slouching. If your shoulders are forward of your toes while on watch we put you off the boat. You must stand watch no sitting or its off the boat. Prisoners I mean crew will check the horizon every two minutes or its one night in the box. Bunks will be clear and crew articles are properly stored or its one night in the box. Messing up the latrine one night in the box
Enjoy your cruise
Luke aka cool hand

I laughed so hard I spit food on my laptop.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

On the boats I sail it is the same rule too, if I command. If there is a new vessel, if an old one changes course, if the wind shifts, etc. Still, some will fail to deliver. But I do not fire anybody for I know it is as well my failure in training them.

When I crew, some captains will order us NOT to wake them up no matter what. Others just can't be woken up... Really, I do not know what to think of this. They may be right as well.

The only exception is when we sail our own boat. The admiral is free to make her own decisions on whether it is better to wake me up and consult anything or else she tackles the challenge by herself. I must admit I sleep like a baby when she drives and I jump to my feet immediately anytime she needs my help or advice.

b.

On our boat it's the same. Charlotte can wake me up for any reason under the sun and vice-versa but we're also cognizant that waking up a sleeping person is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. They're sleeping so that they can be awake when you want to be sleeping soundly.

In captain school they taught us about danger bearings which I've grown to appreciate. I write in our little logbook "Near 0330 a flashing red light should be visible off the port beam."

It's a nice way to put in some reality checks on your navigating, the watch stander's observations, and a checkpoint where if either one is absent someone will notice. It's better than just hopping out of the cockpit and saying "don't hit anything."

[sabray]

Trashing laptop one night in the box. Be safe amd enjoy.
Cool hand

[bobconnie]

When ever Connie and I have extra crew, we still do the dark nite watchs ourselfs ! Not that we don't trust folks, but we know when we need some help on deck, and feel that it's just easier that way ! let them do the early lite shift and we can sleep better !

[carstenb]

Mine may an absolutist view, but we take things like standing watch seriously.

And dave, standing watch also means trimming sail etc. I've know several boats that got into deep **** because the watch was reading when they should have been watching. f.eks when a gale came up from behind and wacked them with a knock down. wouldn't have happened if the watch had been an eye out and either reefed themselves or woken the skipper

my wife and I trust each other implicitly. if we feel the need we wake the other person, rare, but happens.

Nothing to do at night on watch? learn the constellations and enjoy the night sky

[conachair]

Originally Posted by carstenb

I've know several boats that got into deep **** because the watch was reading when they should have been watching. f.eks when a gale came up from behind and wacked them with a knock down. wouldn't have happened if the watch had been an eye out and either reefed themselves or woken the skipper

Reading and keeping watch is hardly difficult, glance around every paragraph or two. If someone can't do that and feel the weather worsen with their eyes closed then they aren't really up to standing a night watch alone.


IMHO.

[noelex 77]

I have a number of friends that singlehanded a lot when young, but as they have got older and softer the appeal of bit more more sleep has become attractive and they have taken on a crew member for longer trips.

Interestingly they have all independently come to the same conclusion.

Moderately experienced sailors are the worst crew. They will make independent decisions that put the boat at risk.

They all now use backpackers that have never sailed before. A short shakedown leg, or sail is used to check there are no problems like severe seasickness.

Then its simple. Instructions like wake me if see a light, or if the wind needle goes above this level. They are essentially singlehanding, but can get adequate sleep. Sailing even a relatively big boat these days is easily done by one person so it makes sense to me,

Fortunately for me as others have said my wife and I are the perfect crew. We trust each other implicitly and both know the boat backwards.