Single handing 120 miles out..Challenges and Questions

[Gunni]

Yeah, so you don’t ‘go to bed’ when you singlehand. You get 12 minute cat-naps in the cockpit with your boots on. It sucks. Another 24 hours and you would have been seeing mermaids and talking to imaginary friends. You can heave-to but not near ports and shipping lanes.

 

[justsomeguy]

Honestly I'm lost on his English.

I seed much badder.

 

[unhinged schoolboy]

This all sounds reminiscent of the typical CF of a novice in a new boat "heading out" to nowhere special. Advice. Learn more about cruising and weather issues b/f trying a trip across the GOM, or to that "ultimate" destination across the Atlantic Ocean.

Thank You King Gambit....I probably should learn more about ...cruising. However, im in a hurry to get away from Monkey Island and all the...poop throwing monkeys. So...tic toc tic toc.

 

[unhinged schoolboy]

Thanks a million. I will say this..It was the most fun I ever had...HOLY CRAP......IT WAS AWSOME

 

[unhinged schoolboy]

I had two sailors bail on me. However, 98% of time i single hand and I'm down with a robust, enthusiastic sail plan.. I made a living mitigating danger supervising diving operations...this is actually pretty straight forward. I gather from replies its an uncomfortable job and i agree. I'll be more relaxed next weekend if weather permits, I may have a friend next weekend...I'll get this routine polished up in no time

 

[Will Gilmore]

I imagine after time the things i sweated wont be as big a deal as i made them to be and i will be relaxed and not consuming a million calories.

You got it. My father would wake up when I went off course and once he charged past and grabbed me out of my bunk in the middle of the night having felt the change in boat's movement when the anchor rode broke. You get a sense of how your boat feels rolling, pitching, yawing, the sounds and vibrations, and only get alarmed when that feeling changes.

You are on your way to being an extension of your boat. You'll always be scanning the boat or the horizon.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[unhinged schoolboy]

You got it. My father would wake up when I went off course and once he charged past and grabbed me out of my bunk in the middle of the night having felt the change in boat's movement when the anchor rode broke. You get a sense of how your boat feels rolling, pitching, yawing, the sounds and vibrations, and only get alarmed when that feeling changes.

You are on your way to being an extension of your boat. You'll always be scanning the boat or the horizon.

-Will (Dragonfly)

I know right!! Its like the zen you get on a dirt bike after time

 

[capta]

I usually sleep through out the day and night in 20 minute increments when single handing. If not I just do 20 minute cat naps and 4 or more hours at a time during the day if with crew. Single handing is tough for long periods and I would rather have crew (friends) aboard rather than cat nap the whole trip. I'm pretty sure you can get volunteers easily enough if you need help sailing multiple days rather than risk going it alone.

Personally, I do not sail long distance solo by choice. It is just plain hard and very tiring, IMO.

 

[capta]

That wasn't his radar- it was the collision alarm They installed them after that nasty incident at the lighthouse.

It was not an American naval vessel and it definitely was his radar.

 

[capta]

I'm skeptical of that idea. At night, everyone out on the open water has their radar on and are using it, they plan for encounters with passing vessels. During the daytime, they pay less attention because they can see and don't consider that the other guy isn't looking. They may have their radar on, but they aren't using it. -Will (Dragonfly)

Most commercial vessels these days run at less than 18 knots because of the price of fuel. It's not like the old days when everyone ran flat out because fuel was cheap.
I have never seen a commercial vessel, be it a fishing boat, a tug or freighter that did not run their radar 24/7 when underway and many even do so when not underway, though that's of no importance in this discussion. Even the larger yachts do so as well. A watchstander on a larger vessel is much more likely to nod off at night and there is much less chance that other crew members might be just hanging out on deck at night than in the daytime, so I can't see your argument being valid, in this case.
As for other small sailing craft well offshore that I might worry about, I find that most unlikely, as I would never set off with a crowd of other sailing boats on an ocean passage. Nothing sends shivers up my spine more than these rallies, filled with so many 'skippers' who are afraid to cross an ocean on their own, choose their own departure date and thinking that somehow there is safety in numbers on a voyage like that.
I actually contacted one rally organizer to get a price on the before and after parties for the rally, but not actually taking part in the sailing. Apparently, I wasn't alone as they had a price already set!

 

[Kings Gambit]

The voice of never having done it is heard once again somewhere above. Sailboats, at least the smaller ones, are not all that likely to run the radar when not under auxiliary power; night or day. If under auxiliary diesel power, the USCG requires that the radar be on if there is one; but recreational vessels are not required to have radar. Many radar display units are below, so as not to get inundated, etc. Sailors do not depend on radar at night to pilot long distances under sail. They depend on night vision. Me, also with a pair of 7 x 50's.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Yeah, so you don’t ‘go to bed’ when you singlehand. You get 12 minute cat-naps in the cockpit with your boots on. It sucks. Another 24 hours and you would have been seeing mermaids and talking to imaginary friends. You can heave-to but not near ports and shipping lanes.

12 minute?? nope- 20 minute- works great- lots of sleep, because after two or three times going back to sleep is like turning a switch off. I've used this for several days at a stretch and never felt sleep deprived

 

[uncledom]

If under auxiliary diesel power, the USCG requires that the radar be on if there is one; but recreational vessels are not required to have radar.

I'm going to have to point out that there is no mention of propulsion, just if you have radar and it works, you should be using it.
—INTERNATIONAL—
Steering and Sailing Rules
RULE 7 Risk of Collision
(a) Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists. If there is any doubt such risk shall be deemed to exist.
(b) Proper use shall be made of radar equipment if fitted and operational, including long-range scanning to obtain early warning of risk of collision and radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of detected objects.
(c) Assumptions shall not be made on the basis of scanty information, especially scanty radar information.
(d) In determining if risk of collision exists the following considerations shall be among those taken into account:
(i) such risk shall be deemed to exist if the compass bearing of an approaching vessel does not appreciably change;
(ii) such risk may sometimes exist even when an appreciable bearing change is evident, particularly when approaching a very large vessel or a tow or when approaching a vessel at close range.

 

[Jackdaw]

I'm going to have to point out that there is no mention of propulsion, just if you have radar and it works, you should be using it.
—INTERNATIONAL—
Steering and Sailing Rules
RULE 7 Risk of Collision
(a) Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists. If there is any doubt such risk shall be deemed to exist.
(b) Proper use shall be made of radar equipment if fitted and operational, including long-range scanning to obtain early warning of risk of collision and radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of detected objects.
(c) Assumptions shall not be made on the basis of scanty information, especially scanty radar information.
(d) In determining if risk of collision exists the following considerations shall be among those taken into account:
(i) such risk shall be deemed to exist if the compass bearing of an approaching vessel does not appreciably change;
(ii) such risk may sometimes exist even when an appreciable bearing change is evident, particularly when approaching a very large vessel or a tow or when approaching a vessel at close range.

That's how I've always read it, but I've always found it interesting to note that it does not say that you HAVE to be using it, but PROPER use shall be made.

As master, I get to make the call on what is proper. Just pray if you get into a collision, that proper meant MANNED.

 

[Kings Gambit]

I'm always impressed by what one can learn on this forum. I'm happy to switch on the radar when it's "the proper" thing to do. Usually it's on when motoring. But, FYI, the magnetrons have a life expectancy. On the 1622 Furuno it was about 500 h, including the time the radar had warmed up but remained on standby. Over ten years @ 24 trips a year for a moderately-active weekender--say each lasting 3-5 h one direction, you have maybe 10 h/trip x 24 trips = 240 hr there alone on the magnetron. Throw in a two-weeker each year with an average of 5 hr travel per day, you have 5 hr/day x 14 d/yr x 10 yr = 700 hr right there. Those magnetrons cost over $500 to buy, plus there's installation unless you do it yourself. Just one more cost to minimize by keeping the thing off when it is not needed.

 

[SG]

I wouldn't be fixating on the Colregs. Single handing on overnight trips is a violation of the basic principal of a continuous watch. The issue in this case is whether you believe that your radar watch guard setting and alarm is going to i)actually spot a target; and ii) you'll awake.

I think it was Capta (and others) have pointed-out that there are situations (shipping lanes, hazard areas with fixed objects, weather shifts, etc. that conflict with the need to rest to some extents have to be balance to reduce risk. Without getting into variable issues, i) you need to know what your capabilities are, ii) you need to not go into situations where you really have used-up your reserves, and iii) you need to configure your boat's sail plan and equipment to minimize the likelihood of a real problem.

Lying a hull isn't such a terrible strategy sometimes in certain seaways, heaving to sometimes might work, and maybe (in the right circumstances) just reducing sail and depending on autopilot or steering vane probably would work many other times. All of those are dependent of your (lack of bad) luck and the what, where, and how.

It's pointless to argue about prudence, compliance with regulations, etc. -- it's really about the notions that those things don't matter more than ones freedom to just do it. Of course there are situations where that really isn't just your personal decision that might impact someone else.

 

[TomY]

I'm lucky, single handing an overnight, I can't fall asleep. It's only on the Gulf of Maine these days (not often), and I know the water, the shipping lanes.

I have to keep a visual watch (no radar), which for me is every 10 minutes or so I poke my head out and scan of the horizon. You have to decide what is prudent, for you. The GOM is pretty desolate at night except off Portland and Boston-South.

I conserve energy and make conservative sail changes before dark and eliminate reasons to go on deck at night. I eat well, fix a few things, navigate much better than normal , and generally find plenty to do that makes the night go by.

My inner clock still 'wakes up' at dawn, even without sleep. This lasts most of the next day, then I crash that night and sleep the sleep of the dead. However my last overnight, I took crew. That's much better!