What do single handlers do at night?

[JamieDMerrill]

Even though I use all reasonable precautions, I had a near collision at night over 100 miles from shore in 2018. Thankfully my AIS collision alarm and the radar warnings woke me up in plenty of time.

The other vessel did not respond or alter course so I was forced to swing s/v Sunburst 30 degrees to port at the last minute. As I saw a few nav lights whoosh across my bow, the radio crackled with a loud "pre-she-ate-it". I think he was asleep on watch and woke up at the last minute. Thankfully, AIS can calculate speeds and trajectories in a split second.

I was only going 5 or 6 knots and the other vessel was going around 23 knots. It was pitch black. No moon or stars. So I never saw the vessel and their AIS had no information. All I saw was a handful of lights speeding in the dark from port to starboard, directly ahead of my bow. This was AFTER my course correction. If I hadn't reacted, this vessel would have sank me.

I always set my radar alarm to at least 2 miles. I prefer 4 miles as long as the sea noise is low. This gives plenty of time to access and react (and have some coffee) even if on a head-on collision course. The only exception is if the other vessel is a high speed vessel (20-30 knots) on a headon course, and even then you have at least 5 minutes to react!

Who was the standing vessel? Who cares! I reacted and avoided a collision when I saw the other vessel was not going to react.

BTW: When single handed. I wear my harness/inflatable 24/7 since there is no one else on the vessel to toss you one in an emergency!

[GordMay]

"Based on ... about 10,000 empirical scientific studies, the number of people who can survive on six hours of sleep or less, without showing any impairment, rounded to a whole number ... is zero."
Dr. Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley

[magentawave]

Originally Posted by Cpt Pat

And.... never ever sleep even a few minutes with a spinnaker or preventer deployed.

You don't deploy your boom preventer in case you get backwinded?

Originally Posted by JamieDMerrill

Even though I use all reasonable precautions, I had a near collision at night over 100 miles from shore in 2018. Thankfully my AIS collision alarm and the radar warnings woke me up in plenty of time.

The other vessel did not respond or alter course so I was forced to swing s/v Sunburst 30 degrees to port at the last minute. As I saw a few nav lights whoosh across my bow, the radio crackled with a loud "pre-she-ate-it". I think he was asleep on watch and woke up at the last minute. Thankfully, AIS can calculate speeds and trajectories in a split second.
!

Since AIS and radar warned you I'm curious why you waited until the last minute to alter course?

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by pjr03

If there was on-board company, it would not be single-handed sailing would it

Well, perhaps not. Kids can’t stand watch until they prove themselves responsible enough. Some disabilities prevent proper watch standing too, due to fatigue or other issues. My wife makes great company when she’s up, but can’t stand watch for hours at a time, so I’m more often than not single-handing with respect to the boat.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Since AIS and radar warned you I'm curious why you waited until the last minute to alter course?

Because that is his duty under colregs perhaps?

[Jim Cate]

What do single handlers do at night?

Depends upon whether they have a blow up doll on board...

Jim

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

What do single handlers do at night?

Depends upon whether they have a blow up doll on board...

Jim

You're about 30 posts late coming to the party


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2995392

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by StuM

You're about 30 posts late coming to the party


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2995392

Well, dang! Sorry 'bout that, Stu et al. I had failed to retain the previous posts in my mind.

And FWIW, a peculiar friend of mine, yes, a singlehander, brought a blow up sheep (the "Love Ewe") as his date to a cruiser party in Queensland. I think it was a joke...

Jim

[JamieDMerrill]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Since AIS and radar warned you I'm curious why you waited until the last minute to alter course?

Sometimes its a hard decision given the circumstances.

Because the other vessel was traveling almost 5 times my speed and had the greater opportunity to either slow down a little or make a minor course change, I waited before performing any large evasive action. A small reaction on the part of the other vessel would have completely avoided the situation. But he never altered course or speed or, let me put it this way... it appeared to stay on a collision trajectory even though I was making minor corrections.

He was about 20-30 degrees to port. If I corrected to starboard, he might of T-Boned me. If I corrected to port, he could have rammed me head on. I made minor corrections, hoping to see the other vessel respond in kind, but it never did. Instead, the collision risk remained the same and I couldn't see (at my speed) how I could possibly avoid this vessel. So I had no choice but to wait until I knew which correction would put me out of danger.

You have to understand that it appeared as though the other vessel was maintaining a collision course and had 5 times my speed, so avoidance by me seemed unlikely at the time. I felt threatened by the other vessel. If I had the same speed or was faster than the other vessel, I could have corrected immediately. But in this case, my best bet was to wait until he altered course or until I knew my correction would put me out of harms way.


Sometimes its a hard decision, especially when the other vessel is completely ignoring you or appears to be bearing down on purpose.

[Sailing4Jesus]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

Well, perhaps not. Kids can’t stand watch until they prove themselves responsible enough. Some disabilities prevent proper watch standing too, due to fatigue or other issues. My wife makes great company when she’s up, but can’t stand watch for hours at a time, so I’m more often than not single-handing with respect to the boat.

KIDS??? So far I have never had any Baby Goats aboard, but CHILDREN, Yes many times.

[HinewaisMan]

I’m lucky, have always been an aficionado for the 15 minute power nap, and when off shore can easily slip into a 30 minute routine - 20 mins sleep, awake by two alarms, a radar, AIS and visual scan around, reset the alarms and I can be asleep again within 10 minutes.

So over a 24 hour period offshore, I can get a fair bit of sleep.

Coastal sailing I try not sleep, so try not to sail all through the night, will anchor up, even a marina. Currently in the UK, the South Coast at night is hellish with the masses of unlit pot markers.

Someone once pointed out to me that if your 24 mile radar picks up a ship at full range and it’s travelling at 20kts directly at your stationary boat, you’d have just on an hour before it would hit you.

Mark One Eyeball might pick up the tops of a ship at 12 miles, which gives you about 25 minutes.

Rare to be stationary, true, but a lot of ships can travel faster, or it may be a bow on constant bearing situation, so that time could be less.

I don’t tend to hallucinate, though do find myself sometimes setting a place at table for my imaginary friend. It so annoys me when he gets picky about the food I’m serving.

[GordMay]

Greetings and belated welcome aboard the CF, HinewaisMan.
You may be aggregating some minutes of sleep; but certainly not any significant rest.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by pjr03

If there was on-board company, it would not be single-handed sailing would it

Yes it is. Since we are usually born with two hands, one for the company, and the other for boat handling is technically single handed sailing [emoji1787]

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by magentawave

You don't deploy your boom preventer in case you get backwinded?

No! Preventers are evil. They are a lubberly kludge. I don't want my boom bent, deck attachments ripped out, the boat out of control while heeled 60 degrees, or my boat shoved astern and athwart by a taken-aback main thus damaging my rudder. (Back-winding the main is how sailors caused a boat to move astern ["back up"] before they had engines.) Nor do I want an overstressed preventer failure to result in being dismasted, killed, or severely injured, like in these cases:

https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/comme...eport-2016.pdf

https://www.sail-world.com/USA/Remot...?source=google

I use a Dutchman Boom Brake, which allows the boom to automatically gybe slowly, under control. If the main gets backwinded - you want the boom to swing across - just in a controlled fashion.

----
By the way, if you ever have an emergency way out at sea, and you have an HF radio that operates on the Ham bands, remember this frequency: 14.300 MHz. It is guarded by Ham volunteers almost 24/7 to respond to mariners in distress. That's where Wind Child got help - after raising no one on the marine band.

If it's truly a distress situation - you don't need a Ham license to use the Ham bands. Just call Mayday and use your vessel name.

Patrick
N8QH

[Cpt Pat]

(session timed out)
Here is where you can read how Ham operators assisted S/V Wind Child: SV Wind Child.