Well, as you will understand I'm very new to sailling and that is why my question may sound stupid, but anyway, I'm just thinking to get away from the shore for the first time. How do you spend a night in the open waters when it's too deep? Do you have somebody always watching? Do you drop a floating anchor to reduse the drift and just go to sleep? What do you do? Thanks, Dan.
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nite in the deep
Different sailors have different ways of handeling the night. When alone some people sleep during the day, relying on the idea thet most all others are watching while they sail during daylight. Some set a timer to wake them up during the night to observe for other craft.(that time varies from seaman to seaman, with the shortest time of 20 minutes). I pesonally would not rely on only my sight, but I would have radar. Lastly, I would have another crewmember that I could trade watches with..3 on 3 off etc
Different sailors have different ways of handeling the night. When alone some people sleep during the day, relying on the idea thet most all others are watching while they sail during daylight. Some set a timer to wake them up during the night to observe for other craft.(that time varies from seaman to seaman, with the shortest time of 20 minutes). I pesonally would not rely on only my sight, but I would have radar. Lastly, I would have another crewmember that I could trade watches with..3 on 3 off etc
Night Vision
Dan, The prudent thing is to never plan an overnight voyage without sufficient crew to maintain a 24 hour watch. There's lots of traffic out there, especially near the coast and shipping lanes, but even a single ship or boat seems to be attracted to another like a magnet! Floating oil drums, other debris and even whales are hazards that are very difficult to see at night. Changing weather conditions can put you at risk if everyone's asleep. I would not attempt an overnight sail without a pair of eyes, two pairs are better, on deck at all times. If not enough crew to have two on watch, they should take short watches as you can fall asleep at the helm! Even the best plans may go awry. I once set off on a 24 hour trip to the Dry Tortugas out of Fort Myers with a crew of 6 and a carefully planned 2 hour overlapping watch schedule. After a couple hours in 6-8' seas and 20-25 knot winds, 4 of the crew were so seasick they were out of action. Bear in mind they were all experienced freshwater sailors who had taken occasional saltwater trips but were unacclimated to sea conditions. That left two of us to run the 44' boat . It was a long night! Of course, there have been many solo sailors crossing oceans and they must sleep but usually try to sleep in short shifts so that they can periodically check on things. Some heave to, making sure proper lights and radar reflectors are deployed. You can position a flashlight to shine on the sails which makes you more visible. No one should ever be on deck at night in any condition unless properly clipped on with safety harness, PFD, personal strobe light and monitoring the VHF. Night sailing is not to be taken lightly! Dick Vance H-25.5 "Honey Bear"
Dan, The prudent thing is to never plan an overnight voyage without sufficient crew to maintain a 24 hour watch. There's lots of traffic out there, especially near the coast and shipping lanes, but even a single ship or boat seems to be attracted to another like a magnet! Floating oil drums, other debris and even whales are hazards that are very difficult to see at night. Changing weather conditions can put you at risk if everyone's asleep. I would not attempt an overnight sail without a pair of eyes, two pairs are better, on deck at all times. If not enough crew to have two on watch, they should take short watches as you can fall asleep at the helm! Even the best plans may go awry. I once set off on a 24 hour trip to the Dry Tortugas out of Fort Myers with a crew of 6 and a carefully planned 2 hour overlapping watch schedule. After a couple hours in 6-8' seas and 20-25 knot winds, 4 of the crew were so seasick they were out of action. Bear in mind they were all experienced freshwater sailors who had taken occasional saltwater trips but were unacclimated to sea conditions. That left two of us to run the 44' boat . It was a long night! Of course, there have been many solo sailors crossing oceans and they must sleep but usually try to sleep in short shifts so that they can periodically check on things. Some heave to, making sure proper lights and radar reflectors are deployed. You can position a flashlight to shine on the sails which makes you more visible. No one should ever be on deck at night in any condition unless properly clipped on with safety harness, PFD, personal strobe light and monitoring the VHF. Night sailing is not to be taken lightly! Dick Vance H-25.5 "Honey Bear"
Cat nap
Dan, I do solo races on my C-38, last attempt was Chi - Mac 333miles.(first one in was 67hrs) We all do it a little different but in general we use a timer for 10 or 20 min's and the AP, depends on weather but remember we are also racing so we are checking trim more often. I love nite sailing and when not racing I do 30 or so and when you see an ore/tanker boat it looks like the lights of san fran and just as big! If you have crew, put them on a watch sched it's part of the fun, even if u have to sleep on deck and get up with the change of watch to check out things it makes them part of the sail and u won't get yelled at for doing everything yourself
... at least that's what I'm told I'm supposed to do, sometimes it's easier to just do it yourself Mike WD9EOU C-38 #169
Dan, I do solo races on my C-38, last attempt was Chi - Mac 333miles.(first one in was 67hrs) We all do it a little different but in general we use a timer for 10 or 20 min's and the AP, depends on weather but remember we are also racing so we are checking trim more often. I love nite sailing and when not racing I do 30 or so and when you see an ore/tanker boat it looks like the lights of san fran and just as big! If you have crew, put them on a watch sched it's part of the fun, even if u have to sleep on deck and get up with the change of watch to check out things it makes them part of the sail and u won't get yelled at for doing everything yourself
... at least that's what I'm told I'm supposed to do, sometimes it's easier to just do it yourself Mike WD9EOU C-38 #169Use a Safety Harness
At night one of the greatest dangers would be falling overboard. Use a harness and a light attached to each crew member and pratice man overboard drill. Good Luck
At night one of the greatest dangers would be falling overboard. Use a harness and a light attached to each crew member and pratice man overboard drill. Good Luck
Overnights
I've done it many times on a schooner with sufficient crew for a regular watch schedule. Here in New England, the near-coastal areas have lots of fishing boat traffic at night, plus (lately) all-night gambling ships that ply the zone outside the US waters. They need watching. If you are under way, you'll need to play close attention to the running & masthead lights on surrounding traffic to determine what's going on. A trawler with gear deployed basically makes a sailing vessel under way the burdened craft required to maneuver. These fishing boat crews do not always respond to a radio hail, either. We encountered one off of Block Island one night on a collision course with us & finally had to do a 180 deg. maneuver into the wind to let them get by -- just a few hundred yards away -- never ever seeing a human being on that boat! They were probably asleep down below... Another technique, if you have the sea room, is to heave-to. Watch that you don't drift into a lee shore though. Also, it is suggested that you put a spotlight on your sails to heighten your visibility to others. This technique can give you a few hours of rest before pushing on again. Fatigue is your biggest enemy. We hove-to on Stelweggen Bank one night and had whales surfacing & spouting all around us all night long. Facinating, but very smelly. There are numerous books about single-handed cruising techniques on the market. Suggest browsing through them for more ideas. --Ron
I've done it many times on a schooner with sufficient crew for a regular watch schedule. Here in New England, the near-coastal areas have lots of fishing boat traffic at night, plus (lately) all-night gambling ships that ply the zone outside the US waters. They need watching. If you are under way, you'll need to play close attention to the running & masthead lights on surrounding traffic to determine what's going on. A trawler with gear deployed basically makes a sailing vessel under way the burdened craft required to maneuver. These fishing boat crews do not always respond to a radio hail, either. We encountered one off of Block Island one night on a collision course with us & finally had to do a 180 deg. maneuver into the wind to let them get by -- just a few hundred yards away -- never ever seeing a human being on that boat! They were probably asleep down below... Another technique, if you have the sea room, is to heave-to. Watch that you don't drift into a lee shore though. Also, it is suggested that you put a spotlight on your sails to heighten your visibility to others. This technique can give you a few hours of rest before pushing on again. Fatigue is your biggest enemy. We hove-to on Stelweggen Bank one night and had whales surfacing & spouting all around us all night long. Facinating, but very smelly. There are numerous books about single-handed cruising techniques on the market. Suggest browsing through them for more ideas. --Ron
For couples
Hi my wife and I have done several multi day/night trips together in sailing from Seattle, WA to Cabo San Lucas, MX. Three 6 day legs along the way. With two people aboard there is always someone on deck. We have arrived at a watch schedule that works well for us. During the day we have 6 hours on, 6 hours off. During the night we do 3 hours on, 3 off. This allows each of us to get almost 6 hours continuous sleep during a period of the day when the on watch can be active and stay awake easily. Since we have a windvane and autopilot this is really pretty easy work. Not much to do, but eat, scan the horizon, tweak the sails, and read.
Hi my wife and I have done several multi day/night trips together in sailing from Seattle, WA to Cabo San Lucas, MX. Three 6 day legs along the way. With two people aboard there is always someone on deck. We have arrived at a watch schedule that works well for us. During the day we have 6 hours on, 6 hours off. During the night we do 3 hours on, 3 off. This allows each of us to get almost 6 hours continuous sleep during a period of the day when the on watch can be active and stay awake easily. Since we have a windvane and autopilot this is really pretty easy work. Not much to do, but eat, scan the horizon, tweak the sails, and read.
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