Is Singlehanding >24 Hrs. Morally Wrong?

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by conachair

Still picks up decent returns though, but struggle with a little wooden or plastic sailing boat with a next to useless passive radar reflector fitted.

YBW (an excellent British yachting magazine) did an excellent test on these. Some were good, one was excellent and some were good for recycling. If interested, you can read about it here:
http://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspi...ce_ym_june.pdf

[GTom]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Little risk but not zero. I did once have to dodge another sailboat hundreds of miles from the nearest land. No idea if it was singlehanded or crew just asleep but the boat had no lights on a moonless, pitch black night and no one on deck. If I hadn't been keeping a really good watch we would have collided pretty much head on with a closing speed of 15 kts or so.

Might have been derelict, Davy Jones hasn't been informed on the changes in colregs in the past 400 years.

[akprb]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Have been T boned by a yacht with 4 crew on board..
In my opinion crewed boats can be more dangerous than singlehanded.. very lax on watchkeeping very often the 'I thought one of you guys were keeping an eye open' excuse can be heard..
Morallity is a high ground claimed by inadequate people resentful of others....

I agree totally!!! When single handed (which I consider even when sailing with my wife) I am on full alert. Boats with 3-4 onboard easily fall into "he's got it" when no one does.

What I've noticed is the level of seamanship has nose dived since the advent of GPS. Ban GPS and watch sailing incidents (rare as they are) nosedive and watch the environment of far off places be far less impacted.

(that ought to stir the pot) :-)

[mud bug]

I for one am so tired of people trying to legislate or push their ideas no matter how unsubstantiated they may be upon others. It always starts with "I FEEL" and then follows with what other people should not be allowed to do. I don't single hand, but I will not stand in the way of others who have the freedom to do as they please. Too many people feel that they know more than others and therefore have the right to tell them what to do. STOP IT!

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by conachair

Sure they were solo? In general from experience the single handers I've met are better at using tech to keep an eye on things. Were you transmitting AIS?

I've had to dodge oblivious port tackers many times. They had zero idea I was there and always appeared quite startled. There were ALWAYS 2-4 people in the cockpit. Conversation is a huge distraction.

I wonder if a single person, knowing that he is 100% responsible for his own safety, is more diligent than the average crew on autopilot, all believing that someone else is also watching... when in fact they are not. Many anecdotes have been recited. I'm quite sure I am more diligent when alone, not distracted by company.

Are singlehanders (when they are not napping) fundamentally less distracted?

----

Before I bough the PDQ, I walked up to a man in a boatyard to ask him about his boat. He was up a ladder, tending to something on the cross beam. He was immediately embarrassed. It seems he had placed the boat on autopilot (with full crew), entered a way point, and the GPS had taken him exactly there. Because the wheel was centered, the mast blocked the marker from view.

You need to get your eyes and head out of the cockpit, off the instruments, and move around.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Actually it's not quite that simple if you are not used to it.

I missed seeing a container ship one night coming into Hampton Roads due to light pollution. There are bridge lights, street lights, car lights, buoy and channel marker lights, boat lights, stop lights, and range marker lights which can create problems seeing the lights of boats/ships

There are so many lights that it's easy to miss one little red one on a big ship that's "hiding" behind your sails

On this occasion, the pilot made an inquiry on the radio and I was like what the hell and finally saw his little red light.........

After I crossed that shipping lane, I saw the small green light of another ship ghosting along and on closer inspection the ship itself faintly outlined

Offshore, even 10-12 miles, the lights of ships and other boats are much easier so see at a glance......

This is why heaving to until first light OUTSIDE of the TSS/shipping lanes/approach to the reef entrance is pretty critical. Our devices, which extend our senses, can make "getting in" seem possible, but our desire to do so, set against fatigue and a confusing loom of shoreside traffic and lights, goes against this. Prudence is your friend, not something to be mitigated against. Even the cautious and old habit of following in a fishing boat may involve problems concerning sufficient draft in the absence of local knowledge or a good night's sleep.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by akprb

I agree totally!!! When single handed (which I consider even when sailing with my wife) I am on full alert. Boats with 3-4 onboard easily fall into "he's got it" when no one does.

What I've noticed is the level of seamanship has nose dived since the advent of GPS.
(that ought to stir the pot) :-)

You hit the nail on the head. I see people stating that they can handle their fifty-five footer because they have electric winches, furling sails, GPS, etc. What they mean is that they can when the gizmos are working and there are no unusual circumstances.

Add to this they myth of the plastic card and suddenly those who've taken one course think they are "qualified" when in reality they've just started their learning. Please don't take this as a dig on courses. It's a dig on the fact that we've made it easier to not pay attention and to do something when really not ready and to do something without situational awareness.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Have been T boned by a yacht with 4 crew on board..
In my opinion crewed boats can be more dangerous than singlehanded.. very lax on watchkeeping very often the 'I thought one of you guys were keeping an eye open' excuse can be heard..
Morallity is a high ground claimed by inadequate people resentful of others.... [emoji3]

100%. I'm surrounded by fully crewed charter boats here. There situational awareness is zero (most of them).
I would rather be in the same piece of water with a competent singlehander than many of these guys.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by mvmojo

Morality aside, it is illegal and potentially dangerous to oneself and others! I've heard the "logic" about 20 min naps, egg timers, radar alerts, AIS, etc., and on the surface of it, they can make some sense. But, on more than one occasion, we've had to alter our course for boats at night that didn't appear to have anyone on watch, didn't give way when they should have, didn't answer their radio and didn't respond to a spot light. There is an inherent element of danger in going to sea at all, why exacerbate that by intentionally not maintaining a proper lookout for other boats? Sort of like texting while driving!

But you were alert, and how do you know if they were singlehanders?. Fact is a singlehander is not a danger to anyone following COLREGS to the letter so.
Not having navigation lights is totally different matter and far more dangerous..

[seasick]

The closes I've come to colliding with a singlehander was when on watch heading from Bermuda north to Nova Scotia during the single singlehanded Bermuda race from RI. I was deeply engrossed in my novel at the helm of my north bound, 135' topsail schooner, at 0200, when a pretty little yawl came sliding down my port side literally sliding along my rub rail. I never saw him/her coming and was unable to raise them to let them know how close to calamity they had come. I was every bit or more so at fault for this near collision than the person asleep below.

I have singlehanded for tens of thousands of miles and I'll never know how close to colliding with another vessel I may have come.

Immoral? Perhaps. Add it to the growing list of my immoral acts. Bottom line, I just don't give a rat's ass. The only time I've ever actually collided with another vessel was when I had two people on deck and one on the radar. Poop happens and all the diligence in the world can not always stop it from happening.

Time and inovation in marine electronics, will soon make singlehanding a safer gamble as far as collisions are concerned.

Singlehanding for month long voyages have been the most spiritually uplifting experiences of my life. The danger to the singlehander is far greater to the single handed sailor than the vessel he is likely to encounter.

[alley]

As illustrated by the posts above, I think "Is it moral?" is an incorrect, an perhaps even nonsensical, question. Asking if something is moral questions whether the intent is corrupt or evil. I don't think the act of single-handing satisfies either of those requirements.

Is single-handing legal? The short answer is "no", but in practice it is condoned by most authorities.

Is it safe? I think that depends entirely on the individual who is doing the single-handing. With proper care and preparation, it can be safe for all concerned.

In a nutshell, sailing, like all of life, is all about risk management. If you can properly identify and manage risk, odds are you will be successful at just about anything and achieve your goals without hurting or endangering anyone else along the way.

So is it "responsible" (or "irresponsible") to single-hand? I think the answer there depends on whether the individual engaged in the act is assessing and managing risks in a manner that would satisfy a reasonable person.

[TrentePieds]

Good Lord, Ann!! Whatever possessed you to ask such a question :-)?

You are not just having us on, are you ;-)?

As a Norseman I rather doubt that you, as an American ex-pat, share the Weltanschauung of the Norse. For that matter, I doubt that you would share the darma of my very good friend who is a rather conservative and devout Hindu. So haven't you just prompted a visit, yet again, to the venerable argument about the number of angels who can dance...?

Try as I might, I cannot see how ethics has any bearing on compliance with COLREGS .

Yours, as ever :-)

TP

[Dave22q]

There are good reasons for the Feds to limit on duty time for truckers and pilots. 24 hours at the helm may not be immoral but it sure is reckless. If you think your as sharp after 8 hours as when you started you are delusional!

[GTom]

Originally Posted by alley

Is single-handing legal? The short answer is "no"

Can you quote a COLREG paragraph for that? Mid Atlantic how come that set radar alarm, AIS, navlights, VHF doesn't fulfill the "proper lookout" term? I don't remember that a human has to do the lookout all the time.

[alley]

Can you quote a COLREG paragraph for that?

I don't have a copy on hand to reference the exact paragraph at the moment, but COLREGs require all vessels to maintain a "proper lookout". The helmsman (or, for that matter, others that are "running" the boat at the moment) are considered to be distracted and thus are not "proper" lookouts. To be a proper lookout, the "looking out" must be your sole duty. This was hammered into us when I was studying for my captain's license some years ago.

Now, you could argue that with your boat on autopilot and sailing itself, can the sole occupant now be a "proper" lookout? I think you can, but this is a gray area that depends on the skill of your lawyer.

Again, I think it all boils down to whether or not you are managing your risks in a reasonable (responsible) fashion. Unfortunately this is subjective and would likely have to default to some sort of consensus.

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BTW - I'm enjoying reading everyone's viewpoint and sea stories. Great discussion!