Offshore Nighttime Watch Guidelines

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

I've found that up to a point, it's the time *off* watch that matters most, especially when you have a smaller crew. When your watch is over you still have chores, getting out of your foulies, etc, and when it's time for your next watch you have to spend time preparing for that. So what looks like a four-hour off-time (for example) turns into three hours of sleep at best.

And this can really catch up with you. On the last days of one trip home there were four of us and we were pretty groggy. Then the autopilot croaked (salt water fried the hydraulic drive motor because of a leaking rudder shaft seal and a plugged limber-hole). Then the wind died and the fog rolled in. We had to motor and hand-steer -- the windvane doesn't work when there's no wind. I had been getting less sleep than the others, because I was also navigating and running the race-return SSB net, and I found that I couldn't hand-steer for more than fifteen minutes in those conditions before I started hallucinating. The lack of visual clues in the fog really did me in, and the compass card in front of my face appeared to be spinning in circles. There was no way I could hold a course. The other crewmembers were also affected, but not as badly as me.

So I altered our watch schedule from three hours on, to two hours. This was a mistake -- we got even less sleep on average and it only made things worse.

And in general, for the first couple of days it can be really hard to settle into a watch schedule, regardless of the details. We start out all charged up, the noise makes sleeping difficult, etc. While as skipper I insist that the crew get their rest, there is still usually an initial sleep deficit before people get accustomed to the schedule. Earplugs help, and after a few days the combination of acclimatizing and fatigue add up and you will be able to sleep standing on your head. But be diligent after you set out.

Paul, excellent advice about being flexible on any initial watch plan. It makes sense that the plan will probably change as the cruise progresses.

I should have mentioned that our current trip route starts from central Atlantic Florida to Key West, Dry Tortugas, Havana, Isla Mujeres, Roatan, San Blas, Panama Canal, Ecuador, Galapagos, Hawaii, San Francisco.

[Gmcgyvr]

Jeff,
Good advice from many - however; you should never clip on to lifelines; run jack lines inboard fore & aft,
Graham

[Over Budget]

When standing watch I wear my PFD, I’m tethered, wear a personal locator beacon and carry a flashlight. I also have my cell phone with me in a zip lock bag just in case although I’m considering switching that off for a hand-held radio.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Gmcgyvr

Jeff,
Good advice from many - however; you should never clip on to lifelines; run jack lines inboard fore & aft,
Graham

Graham,

Thanks for pointing that out. I said lifelines but I meant jack lines. In fact, based on a recent CF post, I plan on re-laying out my jack lines from one down the port side and one down the stbd side to just one down the middle.

Jeff

[maqhth]

With a 5 man crew, why not give 2 hour watches for the 4 crew with the captain not pulling a watch but being cheerfully on call 24/7?

[BillsWife1]

Mikado,

We completed a 9 day offshore passage with a crew of 5 last spring.

FWIW here's what we did. Day watches were informal. Our formal watch system always began and ended with an entire boat check. All lines, sails, bilges, engine and fluids inspected. Our formal watch system started after dinner and clean up, which we timed just before sunset. It started with a formal boat check for chaffing or any developing issues. We did in fact reef every evening but that was due to the reefing system we had which required us to leave the cockpit.

After reefing and boat check we scheduled 3 hour shifts. We had two people on watch at all times. Half way through your watch your partner would change. It looked like this:

Crew 1: 7pm-10pm
Crew 2: 8:30 -11:30
Crew 3: 10pm- 1am
Crew 4: 11:30-2:30
Crew 5: 1am-4am
Crew 1: 2:30am-5:30am
Crew 2: 4am-7am
Crew 3: 5:30am-8:30am

On Day one I would be crew spot 1, on day two crew spot 2 etc. On day 4 and 5 I would only have 1 formal watch. This would allow 2 days of a light watch schedule to ease any fatigue.

Also, After dinner I would put out a basket of night time snacks like granola bars, ginger snaps, fruit, cookies, chocolate, etc. For beverages I had a carafe of boiled water and packets of instant coffee, hot chocolate, tea bags, cup of soup. All of this was left in the cockpit for easy access and quiet below decks.

As an aside, the two person watch schedule had a few benefits. When we were hand steering we were able to trade off every half hour. We had two crew members that were a little green around the gills for a few days. By having a 2 person watch they only had to be completely focused for a half hour at a time. When our son was really seasick my husband and I split one of his 3 hour shifts which made all the difference in the world for him.

As for the other safety issues, I think it's all been covered. NOBODY on our boat is allowed out of the salon without a life jacket and being tethered after sunset. EVER!!

PS...we are currently undergoing a refit which includes a new reefing system.

[stormalong]

My longest passage was 21 days - Hawaii to Vancouver island. Many many 18 day passages.

With five aboard you have it made. With that many as captain I would not be on the watch schedule. Three hours on and nine hours off would give everyone plenty of sleep time. Night watches do not need to be shorter.

Some added boat equipment can make crewing less difficult. We have dual hot switchable autopilots. The drive can be switched to a second set of electronics in an instant. The drive is set up on a power connector for quick swapping if needed. With two people working - one on helm and one in the lazarette it can be done in under 10 minutes.

IMO hydraulic steering has poor reliability. The autopilot should be on it's own tiller arm, independent of the main steering system. I knew a couple where this was not the case that had to steer with an emergency tiller for a thousand miles because the autopilot and the helm used the same hydraulic loop that failed. Try doing that with just two people. Also, with hydraulic steering have lots of spares aboard and know how to service it.

At night most hazards are well lit. We use electronic kitchen timers to make sure to get a good look around every fifteen minutes. Depending on location and conditions a periodic RADAR look around is also done. Once offshore there are few hazards. It is possible to go weeks without seeing other vessels. With AIS you should be aware of large vessels long before they are an issue.

I agree that no one leaves the cockpit, day or night without someone else being aware of it. And the odds of recovering of an untethered MOB at sea is more like 5% (or less) than 50%.

Waking the next watch person with coffee or tea is a long standing tradition on Storm Along.

[WSMFP]

Originally Posted by Over Budget

I also have my cell phone with me in a zip lock bag just in case although I’m considering switching that off for a hand-held radio.

I just picked up a Standard Horizon HX870 just for this reason. Has built in class D DSC and a water activated emergency strobe.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "Unfortunately this thread has been hijacked into a discussion on watch schedules for a 2 person crew...As I stated in my original post, we have a 5 person crew so the watch schedule is not really a concern,"

When I read the opening post I thought: "Our friend doesn't mean 'watch schedule', though that is what he sez. He means 'routine order'". There is a difference :-)

With a crew of five, the watch SCHEDULE should be a pieceacake to arrange. The ROUTINE ORDER, however, may need considerable thinking to ensure that the vessel's operating requirements are adequately and accurately described, essentially as "job descriptions" for the crew members, taking each crew member's particular competencies and needs for support into consideration.

Needless to say [but I will anyway ;-)], the routine order and the watch schedule need to be integrated.

TP

TP

[John_Trusty]

Obviously we don't know your crew or their equipment, but do you? Most of my passage experience is racing or delivery returns from races, so I'm on crews with a mixed bag of experienced folks and greenhorns. You get different attitudes toward safety and awareness of boats. I suggest to set everyone's mind at rest that you have a crew meeting, on the boat, to make sure everyone has the basic gear (see Over Budget's post above about lights and such), knows where the safety equipment is on your boat, understands the duties of watch stander (keeping the other four people alive), and what the plans are. I would have a group inspection of inflatable PFD's to see that the canisters are charged and the lights / beacons actually work. I wish that more skippers would do that as I've shipped with some crew that I'm hesitant to sleep when they're on deck. On the way to the start, I'd do at least one MOB drill, just in case it's your ass in the drink looking at your boat leaving.

BTW: Have you figured out an alternative watch schedule if one of you drops out due to sickness or injury? You don't have to share with us, but like everything else, it's easier to come up with a plan on land than after a couple days at sea.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

I've found that up to a point, it's the time *off* watch that matters most, especially when you have a smaller crew. When your watch is over you still have chores, getting out of your foulies, etc, and when it's time for your next watch you have to spend time preparing for that. So what looks like a four-hour off-time (for example) turns into three hours of sleep at best.... And in general, for the first couple of days it can be really hard to settle into a watch schedule, regardless of the details. We start out all charged up, the noise makes sleeping difficult, etc. While as skipper I insist that the crew get their rest, there is still usually an initial sleep deficit before people get accustomed to the schedule. Earplugs help, and after a few days the combination of acclimatizing and fatigue add up and you will be able to sleep standing on your head. But be diligent after you set out.

This has been a really good thread to read. From my own experience I have a few more points to add to Paul's excellent posts. JohnTrusty also an excellent post.

Length of watch. This depends much on the conditions and latitude. 3 hours at night in pouring rain (so ink black sky), raging seas and being very cold in 2 degrees C, hand steering because the auto pilot isn’t working (again) is a very different experience from a 3 or 4 hour watch in gentle following winds and sea on a sunny day.

Especially in a wet boat like most racers are (no dodger or bimini or it has had to be taken down because of strong winds). After a day or two everyone’s foulies are soaked, the boat and everything in it gets wet, even sodden sleeping bags. When the wind is screaming so loud you have to shout to the person 2 feet away to be heard. And of course the alternative and I’ve experienced this many times too, the storm ends and you’re left with an awful gluggy sea state and there’s no bloody wind and you motor for days on end bouncing from wave top to wave top. Not much fun sleeping in a quarter berth by the motor.

Mikado you chipped in that the thread had been hijacked, as you have 5 crew. Something else to consider: sea sickness. It’s a shocker for some people and so you have to expect that some people will be seriously affected. People get injured too. Stuff happens at sea. So 5 crew may become 3 competent crew.

The length of the passage is also important. We can all cope with a few days of limited sleep. But from my observation and experience most people take a week or so to settle in to a pattern. 3 or 4 hours on/off is actually very taxing. On most boats it means being on watch at the appointed time, so waking up in time to get all your gear and foulies on without waking others. Perhaps make hot drinks, find some nibbles to have in your pocket. Sounds easy, but in a wildly pitching boat, nil or minimal lights to find things, with screaming wind even finding your gear and getting dressed can take 10-15 minutes.

And you get tired, so very tired, and then when you get off watch, socked to the skin, freezing cold, there’s enormous pressure (stress) inside your head to get some sleep because you know that in 3 or 4 hours you’ll do it all again. But the bed is rocking (not gently) in every direction, the noise is at loud party level and your adrenaline level is at high. And the movement and the sound is all so random.

The boat gets wet because no boats I’ve ever done passages on have storage for the off watches wet weather gear, PFDs and boots. You often string a line somewhere in the cabin for the wet stuff, that soon includes jerseys, shirts, long under wear, pants etc. If you are the lucky person with a bunk either side of the washing line there’s a constant splash as the boat rocks.

In addition the normal shipboard duties need attending to, cooking, cleaning, navigation etc. Those duties are usually all in ‘sleep’ time. As is personal hygiene and going to the toilet. Really difficult and time consuming in a pitching boat to get your gear off, do whatever and dress again.

And there may also be a stress from relationship tensions. Maybe the skipper is an arrogant pig, or a couple of people just don’t like each other. Again for a week or so no real issue, but on a longer passage things can become very tense. For example, I was on one trip where one of the crew kept hitting on someone. And she clearly wasn’t that keen but he just wouldn’t desist. And he was the captain.

[alley]

Hi, Jeff:

No recommendations, but just a short bit on how I've done it on my offshore passages. On each occasion we sailed with a (total) crew of 4 or 5. With 5, the skipper has the option of not being in the watch rotation on account of being on call and responsible for everything all the time. It also allowed the skipper to sub for someone who was still getting their sea legs and needed a little extra time. With 4, there's some incentive for the skipper to participate in standing watches so that crew get sufficient rest, but this depends largely on your crew and their individual abilities.

From 0700 to 1900, we used an informal system and with my crew it worked well. From 1900 until 0700, we had a formal schedule with 2 on and the rest off, but with personnel rotating every 2 hours. One person had to be on deck and on watch at all times. The second could nap in the cockpit, fix coffee, get snacks, whatever. The staggered rotation ensured that you had someone "fresh" on deck every 2 hours and the folks on watch got to talk to more than one other person during the night.

As for safety, my crew has simple rules: PFDs get worn if you're above deck at night. Period. Harness & tethers if you leave the cockpit (or all the time if conditions warrant). Sail changes (including reefing or shaking out a reef) were an all-hands event to ensure we didn't do something stupid because of being short-handed. (None of the boats I was on had lines lead to the cockpit; required trips to the mast to do anything.) Skipper gets woken up for any question or concern. All watches were required to make entries in the log. (You forget things as you get tired.)

We also had a watch change process that worked well for us. The fresh person coming on watch would become "officer of the deck" and would take command. The prior OOD would "hand off" the boat to the new watch stander and review course, speed, conditions, sightings, traffic (if any) and anything else that might be important. The prior OOD would then relieve the second watch stander so they could go below for rest and then make any log entries that the skipper required and then perform any navigational duties delegated by the navigator before returning to the cockpit to assist the new OOD.

General philosophy: Do whatever you can to avoid falling off the boat. If someone falls off at night, the odds are not in your favor of it ending well - even in good weather.

An important point made by others is to recognize what works and what doesn't. Don't be afraid to change if something isn't working. Some people like long shifts, others do better with short ones; some are night owls, others are those pesky, bright-eyed morning deamons. (Now you know what I am...

Very important: Do a MOB drill with your crew so everyone knows what to do, and practice it a few times so your crew gets a bit proficient with the process. This is probably as important as having PFDs, because without the MOB recovery knowledge, the PFD is worthless. Better yet, clip on and don't get separated from the boat.

Hope this helps. Like I said, this is what I do on my boat and boats that I've skippered on multi-day passages. It's not perfect, but works well enough for me and my crew. You've got a lot of good suggestions here and a nice buffet from which to choose. Have fun!

Tom

[NevisDog]

Since the heading doesn't restrict this discussion to crews of five, I'd like to continue with general feedback for any small crews, if that's okay (darn, you never can predict what comes up on these discussions!).

So, if I may, what's this melatonin stuff Anne, and how is it used?

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by grantmc

Something else to consider: sea sickness. It’s a shocker for some people and so you have to expect that some people will be seriously affected. People get injured too. Stuff happens at sea. So 5 crew may become 3 competent crew.

Grant, good point (and excellent post). Seasickness can strike most anybody, especially if you've been shoreside for a while. I usually start taking Bonine (same as non-drowsy Dramamine) two days before heading out on a passage. This gives me time to get used to the medication, and I've heard from an experienced doctor that starting early makes a noticeable difference in effectivity. Starting the meds early also gives you a chance to deal with any complications before you cast off.

Many of my regular crewmembers have their own favorite method for dealing with seasickness -- Scopalamine patch, Stugeron, Gravol (I believe the same as regular Dramamine), and others. Find what works for you and don't be embarrassed to use it. We can usually stop or taper off the meds after 3-5 days. I had one crewmember who did not ever get seasick, but he had an operation to remove a tumor in his brain, and they went in through his ear, destroying the inner ear. Once he learned to balance again, he never got seasick. I'm not going to try that approach, thank you!

And I've had plenty of seasick crewmembers, fortunately none got to the point where it became a medical emergency. On one passage, cutting a four-man crew down to two able crew made for a rough first week. Do read up on symptoms and treatment, as this has the potential to be fatal.

[njwilliams449]

For my part I found the posts on double-handed crew very useful, especially those from Jim and Ann. Sleep needs are the same however many are aboard. The hardest thing I find is between balancing longer (4 hour) watches at night to give more sleep with the loss of concentration at the end of 4 hour night watches. We do 3 hour nights and 4 hour days generally and I strongly encourage crew to go below and lie down for at least an hour at the beginning of their watch during the day. A couple of one-hour naps plus three two-hour sleeps seems to jambe together for most people. We take the kite down at dusk-we get into enough trouble with it during the day-but only reef if it looks like we will need to soon. We often reef at the watch change.