Using headphones on night watch?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by rupertfb

“Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.”

Note where ‘as well as’ is placed - it is after ‘by sight and by hearing’. That means that using your hearing is required at all times.

I am also listening to the sounds of my own boat.


The above quote is unambiguous. You can sleep on watch if you want, but that doesn't make it right. No, there are no head phones on my boat. I'm OK with reading a book, but I expect to see the head swing 360 degrees with each page. In fact, I find it is a good reminder for me; it makes for regular horizon checks.

[bensolomon]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Wonder how many read on watch, messing up their night vision? Or gone below to pee, or get a drink, or check the chart. How many have just plain nodded off on watch?

I’ve done all these things.

I’m amazed by those that follow “the rules” so well they are at the helm constantly scanning the horizon at all times etc on watch!

I have interior red cabin lights so as not to lose night vision when I go down below for a drink or two used to head. For my chart work and logging I have a red headlamp, again, so I don't lose my night vision.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Wonder how many read on watch, messing up their night vision? Or gone below to pee, or get a drink, or check the chart. How many have just plain nodded off on watch?

I’ve done all these things.

I’m amazed by those that follow “the rules” so well they are at the helm constantly scanning the horizon at all times etc on watch!

There is nothing wrong with going below to pee, make a cup of coffee, check the chart, etc.

But do you really think it's ok to be "on watch" and be asleep? Or reading a book? What kind of "watch" is that? Being continuously distracted by something (or asleep) is totally different from taking 5 minutes off to do something before getting back on deck with all your senses.

Obviously where you are sailing makes a huge difference in what kind of watchkeeping is required. If you are 500 miles offshore and out of the shipping lanes and with no traffic around, and you've got radar guard zones and AIS alarms set, I guess you could even safely go below and watch a movie, or just go to your bunk and get a good night's sleep (although that would be in violation of the rules). But in coastal waters where there might be at any moment a small boat not broadcasting AIS which your radar might miss, or lobster pots, or whatever, or where if your autopilot has a glitch could put you onto a hazard, or where there is ship traffic which requires attentive monitoring, a totally different level of concentration is required.

[zeehag]

one night in 1998, in a kettenberg 43 heading north from ensenada to san diego we were under dark moon with only sea life around. nice peaceful quiet sail. only 60 miles.
began hearing what sounded like engines. saw no boat. no nav lights nothing. sound kept growing louder. louder... we didnot see the sportsfisher on plane heading south until it was damned near on top of us. full throttle heading south sped by with no one at helm and only 20 ft to our stbd. had we not headed off a tad, we would have been mulch. we had to navigate it by sound only.
gave us quite a fright. no markings no helmsman, and up on plane.
tell me we would have missed certain death had we been wearing music in our ears.
be smart out here. **** happens. you need to hear to avoid as well as see.

[sailorboy1]

I expect we have reached the point in the thread where the long posts about the obvious “ifs” begain. And based on the “ifs” people are comfortable making some big wild jump examples to support their “must win” Internet position.

I live in the real world of boating.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I expect we have reached the point in the thread where the long posts about the obvious “ifs” begain. And based on the “ifs” people are comfortable making some big wild jump examples to support their “must win” Internet position.

I live in the real world of boating.

What are you on about?

I just arrived in port, a few hours ago, after four days and nights at sea continuously, managing a new crew of four, where watchkeeping standards and procedures was kind of a main focus of what we were doing. That's not the "real world of boating"?

By all means, keep watch however you like. It's your boat -- read a book, sleep in the cockpit, whatever you (and your crew) are comfortable with. The OP asked a good question, which a number of people have attempted to answer according to their own experience and knowledge. It's a useful discussion which I bet will stimulate useful thought among at least a few people.

[fryewe]

Boredom.

This is my opinion. Take it for what you’ve paid for it.

The first time I came across the phrase “weeks of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror” was in the book Blow Negative which I read as a young submarine sailor. It’s a fictional account of life on diesel submarines. I’ve seen the phrase numerous times since.

I was immediately intrigued by the phrase because it captures the essence of engaging in an activity where you’re surrounded by potential energy that can kill you and your shipmates instantly if the boundaries holding it back are breached, but the energy is usually kept in place by robust engineering and materials, and well developed procedures and practices of well trained watchstanders.

Those boundaries can be breached in numerous ways. Little can be done about a catastrophic breach without warning, but because most systems are over-engineered, that type of failure is infrequent.

Significantly more likely are failures from cascading small faults,improper operation of systems, and poor watchstanding. Watchstanders prevent these kinds of failures.

So...since days and days of routine can generate boredom, how do you fight it?

You fight it by being bored while off watch. While on watch, the life of the ship and crew are in your hands. It’s up to you to note the small faults before they cascade and to operate systems professionally. Installing a boom preventer can be boring. Replacing one that’s chafed and can fail can be boring. Inspecting the standing rigging and finding nothing wrong seventeen times in a row can be boring. Dismasting due to failure to prevent a uncontrolled gybe or due to a missing clevis pin keeper generates sheer terror.

A bored watchstander is an unsafe watchstander. If you’re bored, train yourself. Learn something about your ship, the sea, and what duty really means. Use all your senses to keep the off watch safe. Their lives are in your hands.

A bored watchstander should be ashore.

Leave the ear buds in your bunk.

How many watchstanders were bored on Fitzgerald? McCain?

[captmikem]

Imagine yourself, alone on the ocean, your boat sunk 12 days ago, either a killer shark struck her, you hit a submerged meteor, or a container fell off a passing cargo plane and crashed down on you.

It is a quiet night as you sit in your liferaft/dingy, you have used up all of your flares on passing ships that never saw you, batteries in your 9 flashlights and 7 vhf’s you brought along are all dead or corroded with salt water, same with the strobes on the 5 safety harness/life vests. Only your six handheld gps are working. You are nearly out of water and you finished all the food 3 days ago.

You are contemplating the end..

Suddenly you spot the lights of a small sailing boat headed your way, in fact he is headed right at you! OH LORD you are SAVED!!!

He comes closer and closer, you stand up and shout and wave, you can’t believe your luck that he would come this close!! Oh THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

But wait, he does not slow down, he passes 50 feet away, you shout, blow the whistle on your life vest, anything to let him know you are there.
As he passes you see him sitting in the cockpit with his back to you. He MUST hear you! Is he Deaf?

As the small boat sails away with you yelling your lungs out you see the tale tell white cord going to his ears… Your voice and whistle are never heard, the only sound that reaches his ears is Jimmy Buffet wailing "Cheeseburger in Paradise"……

[FionaJC]

I always think like this;


There I am in a court being asked about my actions "I was on watch listening to music through my headphones"


"So you weren't on watch with sound and vision, you were half on watch as you couldn't hear anything that might be untoward with the ship or its passage?"


"In fact I would say you were not on watch at all, you were on deck listening to music and as a result of your actions the collision couldnt have possibly been avoided, and therefore you are negligent"



"What were you listening to?" - "ZZ Top, Caro Emerald, Evanescence and Muse m'lord" - "Guilty as charged"


I find it useful to play the court game whenever I'm tempted to bend the rules.

[Halien]

Headphones are fine on an easy August night in the middle of the ocean. I passed a lot of 4-8 watches listening while staring at the sky. They come out the second things become enthusiastic though.

Headphones anywhere in the Salish Sea, where I sail, are banned for watches on my boat. There's just too much going on. Those ships you think would be really loud are not. Navy and CG vessels do not always use AIS. **** sneaks up on you fast, and you really need to be 100%.

The commercial fishing fleet off the Pacific coast doesn't seem to use AIS consistently, so I wouldn't use headphones until you're more than about 75 miles out, and even then only in perfect conditions.

Still, when everything lines up, there's nothing like watching the Perseid Meteor Shower while enjoying The Rain Song, or some Chet Baker, or a Bach fugue.

[CharlesV]

Ok, about earphones, i say dont ever.

Im posting because of the post back there about boredom because it reminded me of the first times I stood watch on sailboats back in the 70's. My friend, the skipper, was trying to teach me about care of larger boats and always had me hopping when we sailed on his. When I stood watch, I simply never stopped hopping. There is always something to do, to listen for changes about, to feel, to see, think about.

I got an interesting lesson about this the other day while watching a YT video about a pilot demonstrating his beautiful P-51 WWII aircraft. He took us on a 10 minute ride and it was impossible not to notice that after his pre-flight checks he did not settle down and fly the plane in boredom AS SO MANY DO. Some are so bad youd think they had fallen asleep during the making of the videos. No. He was constantly checking, touching, checking, touching everything inside the cockpit during the flight, a fact not unnoticed in the comments. I was watching him and remembering the 1970s in which watchstanding meant the same. You dont settle down to earphone music because if you are watching well there is much to do, especially at 2am and you cant see anything. People are asleep below and counting on your senses and your boat checks, the lesson being that if you are bored and earphones, well you are not watching and sooner or later you'll regret it. YES, the so-called reality of sailing is that people are bored and listening to music, plus drunk probably, and this is the way to a shorter life at sea. MY reality of sailing just cant be that.

[Pelagic]

I love music in the cockpit on night watch...but it is the mix of sea noises, motion and smells that elevates the music, low on speakers to a special level.

Have done so many sea miles with Leonard Cohen, he is as familiar as the traveling lady we all should take care of.... on our night watch.
https://youtu.be/wf5NN3oanzE

[Cheechako]

I assume you mean offshore? Not a problem. Unless in a traffic zone. You aren't going to hear much anyway. Scan the horizon every 10 minutes or so. Make sure you can hear the VHF though.

[sailorboy1]

It was such a simple question to produce such high and nightly responses.

Just use "common" sense





I expect s 200 word response now to spin the definition of common

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by 664895ss

Hi, just wanted to get other opinions around the use of headphones while on night watch. I've heard mixed opinions, including absolutely not, where one headphone in and one out and where both. I personally think noise cancelling ones would be an absolute no! Trying to alleviate the boredom but keep safe.

Nope (sailorboy, happy?)