When do you cast off?

[sailorboy1]

If just a 24 hour trip along the coast start time for us depends a lot on trying to time the tide and currents.

[El Pinguino]

And also - make sure the crew get well rested after departure - after lunch some one goes below for a nap before trunoing out again at - say 1800- no point everyone staying alert all day and being tired at 2200.
And yes you can run a 4 on 4 off watch through the night with two crew.

[arcticmonkey]

I guess when you cut the dockline

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Really, it depends on my anticipated / desired arrival time, and I want to arrive during daylight, always. But generally early morning is best if it's possible, and if the tide is ebbing then. And if weather permits, of course. But in crossing to the Bahamas, I've always tried to get a nap and then leave after sundown so as to arrive in daylight on the Bank. Though next time, I think I'm going to do a short daylight crossing to Bimini (or Mangrove Cay if I go to the Abacos) and then rest.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

If just a 24 hour trip along the coast start time for us depends a lot on trying to time the tide and currents.

That's definitely the main consideration if the Cape Cod Canal, Buzzards Bay, or Pollock Rip are part of the equation, which I'm sure you have known for a long time, since as I recall you used to sail up here. The canal is the only thing that makes me cast off at 3AM.

There are a few destinations in my cruising grounds where you want to get there earlier because the anchorage/moorings fill up by late afternoon. Sandy Bay/Rockport (unless you have 200+ feet of chain), Isles of Shoals come to mind, but there are other nearby options for both of those. That's the beauty of meandering up and down the New England coast the way I like to.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by arcticmonkey

I guess when you cut the dockline

chuckle

That response reminded me of this thread.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Breakfast in the dark, sail at dawn - SOP for winter day sails in Patagonia. Adjust to suit for morning arrivals on longer runs eg Golfo de Peñas.

Nothing worse than arriving in a strange unlit anchorage in the dark.

Unless it's dark and there's thick fog. Which I've done because something happened, and one of the crew arrived at the dock a couple of hours late.

At a scope of only 4 to 1, you couldn't see where you'd be as you swung. (Guess how we finally found a safe spot.)

The next time that particular group of idiots headed out on that particular hop at that time of year [it's an 7-8-hour sail and there's only 10 hours of daylight], we left well before dawn.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

And yes you can run a 4 on 4 off watch through the night with two crew.

Maybe, if you trust to other guy. I sail with a lot of people who can sail, but I wouldn't leave them alone for four hours at night.

And with someone I trust, I'd only do it if there aren't a million lobster pots. This is my main argument for the offshore part to be the nighttime part.

[Chotu]

Leave at or close to dawn for me. Have someone else who is a night owl do the night watch. Then I wake up early again before dawn and take her through the entrance to the new harbor.

In fact, this is how I did my last passage of similar type. From the Cape Cod Canal to down East Maine. I took it from dawn just south of the canal, and went all day until I was exhausted at like nine or 10 PM. My girlfriend took it from that time until around 5 AM or so. At which time I woke up and took it the rest of the way into the destination harbor while she slept.

[wingssail]

We leave when the wind comes up, around here that's usually about 11:00 AM.

If there is no wind, we delay for a day or as long as it takes to get breeze.

If there is a gradient wind which looks to be persistent, we'd leave at daylight and fix breakfast on the way, but in the areas I've sailed for the last 30 years or so that kind of wind is rare, so...again, we leave when the wind appears.

[dougweibel]

When we would leave on a 24 hour passage has nothing to do with crew or shifts or the like. Factors that would be considered are:

1. Weather, particularly wind and wave direction and strength/size/period. Starting 12 hours sooner or later can make a big difference.
2. Currents and tides at departure and arrival ports.
3. If daylight will be helpful/necessary for getting out of or into port.

[Clivevon]

TIDES ????

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

TIDES ????

I'd say tides fall under this paragraph in the original post

For the purpose of this question, we will assume that the conditions are conducive to your tolerance for passage-making, and not expected to change significantly during that 24-hour period, other than the usual changes that take place throughout the day in the area where you cruise.

I could've said tides specifically, but in my case, I also have to account for the freshening sea breeze in the afternoon that then dies at sundown, the tendency for southerlies to west through the day in July and August, fog on warm early summer or fall days...

And in your area there's a similar list.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by wingssail

We leave when the wind comes up, around here that's usually about 11:00 AM.

If there is no wind, we delay for a day or as long as it takes to get breeze.

If there is a gradient wind which looks to be persistent, we'd leave at daylight and fix breakfast on the way, but in the areas I've sailed for the last 30 years or so that kind of wind is rare, so...again, we leave when the wind appears.

That's a very good point. Around here 11 am is usually when the wind picks up if you're dealing with warm weather and southerlies, which is the prevailing condition in the summer.

Then again, if it's fair weather here, at some point in a 24-hour sail you're either motorsailing or doing <5 knots.

[DMF Sailing]

By the way, in my opinion as OP, confirmed by most of your posts, the best option in this poll is the last answer.

The question should've been "What goes into your thought process when deciding what time of day to cast off," but if I had done that, I don't think the answers would've been as good, because fewer respondents would've read the original post.

Also, I appreciate the two people who have selected Option 5, who either got the joke or clicked without thinking it through.