Watch Keeping Single Handing

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Staying away from known shipping routes helps.

Unless you end up in a life raft, as the American sailor Steve Callahan found out.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Unless you end up in a life raft, as the American sailor Steve Callahan found out.

Steven Callahan drifted right through the shipping lanes and saw several ships.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Boatie,

I used to ride motorcycles for a long time.....loved my Harley.

I was keenly aware of my surroundings at all times, but there were days when the "radar" in my head just wasn't functioning as I would like, and I would not ride on those days. Call it a sixth sense of you like.

I find that I have similar days on the ocean, there are days when I'm completely in tune with my surroundings, and days when I'm not. Could be sleep deprivation, could be something else, I dunno......when you're hot, you're hot...but when you're not....you're not.

That's the difference with bikes, you can leave it in the garage on an off day.. on a boat 1000nm from land either heave to or just keep going.. same risk but keeping going covers more miles.
A moving targets harder to hit..

[MicHughV]

I can remember a time when I was singlehanding. I found myself having some seriously crazy thoughts. Though I was tied to the boat with a safety harness, I contemplated jumping overboard to see if I could pull myself back up...fortunately sanity prevailed, and I didn't do it...but the fact that I had actually thought about it made me realize I need some sleep...gives me the shivers just relating this tale.....brrrrr....

[boatman61]

The only time I have swum mid Atlantic of a boat was heading for Antigua in the late 60's aboard an RN frigate, HMS Aurora.
We had stopped for some engine TLC and shortly afterwards the gangway was lowered and free swim for all off watch crew was announced as it was flat calm..
I dived off and powered off for about 500metres then floated on my back for a few minutes.. then treaded water looking for the ship.. nowhere to be seen, I did a 360, nothing.
Then the imagination took over, I knew it was near 3 miles deep where we were and being sonar crew I had been listening to sounds underwater on the hydrophones.. theoretically there could be something half a mile long under me, or giant squid, the images kept coming as I kept spinning looking for the ship.
Finally the mast came into sight then the funnel, bridge and the rest off the ship.. I broke Olympic crawl records heading back..
Its amazing how big a lazy swell can be on a calm day at sea at sea level.

[MicHughV]

I need to write a book "Crazy s**t I've said and done and lived to tell the tale"

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I need to write a book "Crazy s**t I've said and done and lived to tell the tale"

Most of the chapters will probably start with the sentence:
"I handed my beer to my best friend and said, "Watch this.""

[davil]

Originally Posted by TabbyCat

I So please, be considerate of your fellow boaters, don't be a hazard to navigation, and just get a second crewperson for those long passages so that you can keep a 24/7 watch. Thanks!

=======================================
respectful and "gentle reminder"

this thread is on

" Watch Keeping Single Handing"

There are other threads dedicated to opinions on the merits and negatives of single handling.
So be considerate of your fellow boaters who are single handling.
Thanks

[owly]

Originally Posted by boatman61

That's the difference with bikes, you can leave it in the garage on an off day.. on a boat 1000nm from land either heave to or just keep going.. same risk but keeping going covers more miles.
A moving targets harder to hit..

In HS, I bicycled across down town Portland (Or) right through the heart of town every day... Choosing to go to John Adams instead of Woodrow Wilson HS. I did battle with rush hour traffic every single day........... A truly amazing experience, I rode faster than traffic as I was going down grade. I absolutely refused to ride curb lane... that's where you get killed!! People turning, opening doors, pipe racks, etc.... pure suicide!! Situational awareness was survival. It was instinct, as well as ignoring things like signals, and making eye contact....... small cues, trivial things. Knowing what people were going to do before they did. It taught me survival....... situational awareness, the ONLY reason I'm alive today!! That was in the late '60's....... I've NEVER been in an accident of any kind because of that. Boating is only slightly different......... If you are paying attention, you know what is going to happen.........
but you have to sleep. That instinct has saved my life more times than I can count! In traffic, in the wilderness, etc..... one rather dramatic incident involved being stalked by a mountain lion...... perhaps it was just curious....I think I knew the cat....My hackles stood up (hair on the back of my neck). Far from any other people in winter, I "listened" to my instinct, turned and charged! The last thing the cat expected! I could not see or hear it, but knew it was behind me .... out of sight. It fled when I charged.....

Sensing the "thrum" of engines passed through the hull as just insignificant vibrations....... it may be nothing more than God tapping you on the shoulder and saying "wake up"... Some of us pay attention and listen to these warnings. I collapsed one day with zero hesitation back in 1980......... I knew that there was a rifle trained on me (hunter).... I didn't even question it..... not for a split second. I felt it and I collapsed instantly..... I would swear to this day that I felt the breeze in my hair. When I get the call, I listen! I always have. Your mileage may vary....nor do I care! I know what has kept me kicking for so many years. Ironically I'm NOT a religious man........I have not been in a church in over 50 years except for funerals (rarely), but when God speaks to me I listen.. We've always been "friends"... in some sense. I appreciate the way he works, I love his sense of humor, and I listen when he speaks with urgency. I do NOT leave everything in his hands. He gave me the vaccine, he gave me AIS, and he gave me to common sense to recognize those as gifts provided to ensure my safety. I do not stick my head in the sand and listen to idiots. I believe in taking EVERY measure I can....... beyond that it is up to "him". To do otherwise is foolish!

[boatman61]

Bar the god bit I agree with everything you've said about listening to your senses.
However most Townies don't have them, but then the Townie who solo's is a rare breed and even rarer on the open ocean.

[MicHughV]

The good Lord is said to look after fools, drunks and sailors....so I've been well covered.

[owly]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Bar the god bit I agree with everything you've said about listening to your senses.
However most Townies don't have them, but then the Townie who solo's is a rare breed and even rarer on the open ocean.

God is something we invoke to explain the unexplainable... as I said, I'm NOT religious...... you have to find a language to explain such things.........I suspect we are pretty much on the same page.

[owly]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

The good Lord is said to look after fools, drunks and sailors....so I've been well covered.

I suspect you have a host of stories ;-) Most of us do. Mine involve rip tides, Sharks, mountain lions, survival storms high in the mountains, flying, and extreme road conditions. There are few of us who do not have such stories unless we are quite young.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

The good Lord is said to look after fools, drunks and sailors....so I've been well covered.

I say the same about Njord..

[Mal Reynolds]

There is an issue for singlehanders whose trips are longer than 24 hours. I think of this problem in 2 pieces with very different concerns: 1) Coastal and 2) Offshore meaning off the Continental Shelf. Coastal situations have 50 times the traffic, and this traffic is less professional raising risks many-fold over Offshore situations.

For Coastal work, you basically can't sleep. For detection by sight, the math says if a ship or powerboat is coming at you at 20 knots and you are going 6, you have 23 minutes if you pick them up at in good visibility at 10 miles with your horizon sweep. If visibility is poor or at night, fugetaboudit. For detection by AIS, it's all good if they are running an AIS transponder and you have your alarm set. Along the Coast, still many boats still don't have transponders. For detection by radar, you have to have it running with alarm set, and the gain and clutter setting have to set properly. Maybe you hope they are running radar, but note that fiberglass sailboats don't typically get picked up by radar - with or without a passive reflector - at 2 miles. All of this informs me that I basically can't sleep when along the Coast where there is traffic. If I need to take a trip up and down a coast, I take someone with me or plan hops with sleep and rest involved. Certain areas with lots of traffic for long distances are especially tough, such as the English Channel.

Offshore is a different animal. Far fewer vessels, and most are running AIS transponders and radar. That said, so should you if you are sleeping. On my boat, I run both along with an active radar reflector. The active radar reflector is effective with commercial vessels over 100 tons and anyone running magnetron radar which includes most fishing vessels. It does not respond to the low power broadband radars on leisure vessels so it's not perfect. I think passive reflectors don't do much and lend a false sense of security. Offshore I believe the electronic aids are more effective at providing full situational awareness, especially at night. I have no problem sleeping an hour at a time offshore as long as I have my aids running. Low-loss VHF cable and good connections for your AIS are important here, especially for lower power Class B units.

Fishing vessels represent a special problem as in my experience they often don't run AIS, and often have limited maneuverability. This is where radar comes in, both the active reflector so they might see you, and for you to see them. For trip planning, an interesting resource is Global Fishing Watch . This shows a map of all fishing boats around the world that are running AIS, and even has data for boats whose lights can be seen at night by satellite. It gives you a sense of where fishing boats are likely to be operating.

So offshore most nights I sleep an hour at a time and try to fool my body into thinking it's getting uninterrupted sleep by getting up for only 5 minutes (less?) at a time for a horizon sweep and check on things before resetting the timer for another hour. I will do this 6 times to get 6 hours, then get another nap or two in the afternoons. Every so often my body will rebel and I will crash for a 3 hour stretch. Wind conditions do change this, and when I'm racing vs. cruising. If winds are fluky and shift and I'm racing, I find it hard to get any rest. If in the trades, no problem except in squalls. I haven't tried to shift my body clock to stay up at night and sleep during the day. So maybe others can comment on that.

Below 34 degrees South around South America and below 40S around Antartica there is basically no traffic, so where you are makes a big difference in this discussion.

The watchkeeping aids and alarm conditions I have onboard:

AIS Transponder, Class B (On continuously, even racing; Coastal CPA Alarm 0.5 nm or off, Offshore 10)

Radar with Watchguard alarm (On continuously Coastal 360 guard zone 0.5nm or off, Offshore 10)

EchoMax XS (On continuously, Coastal & offshore alarm off)

Binoculars with ED glass, hand bearing compass, horn, VHF radio, and spotlight

All of this said, I believe singlehanders can venture out safely, but they need to plan ahead and prepare their watchkeeping aids for travel at night or in poor visibility conditions.