whats a good watch schedule?

capnjim02 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-10-2004

Next week my wife and I are planning to move our boat back to Havre De Grace, Md. from Old Lyme, Ct via the out side around Montauk to Cape May, Nj. we were wondering since we''ll be out side for 200+ miles what watch setups work well for two people.

walt123 · #2 (**permalink**) 09-10-2004

For such a short passage there really is not an ideal schedule. Offshore we tried to keep 2 6''s during the day and 3 4s at night, alternating the mid watch. I suggest that you catnap as often as possible and when one is feeling drowsy wake the other. The best answer would be to get one additional person and do 3 or 4 hours watches. Fair winds

WHOOSH · #3 (**permalink**) 09-12-2004

Jim, my observation is that widely differing skeds work better for different crews. My suggestion is for the two of you to think about your normal sleep patterns and ask yourselves whether you might to some degree have differing preferences which will lead you to a watch sked that works well for you. My wife simply MUST hit the sack early in the evening. I''m no night owl but I can last longer than she can...but waking up in the middle of the night for a while isn''t a big deal for her, at which point I''m ready to sack out. She also needs to sleep in...but I enjoy the early a.m. watch and seeing the sun come up. So for the two of us, we almost have a perfect arrangement without worrying about a formal sked. Perhaps the same will be true for you...

Jack

catamount · #4 (**permalink**) 09-16-2004

I don''t know how either of these will apply to your situation, but...

On a trip from Cape May to Rhode Island earlier this summer, we had two watches of two people each (plus the captain/navigator who was not on rotation) standing 6 hours watches during the day and 4 hour watches at night.

On a longer trip to Newfoundland last year, we had three watchstanders plus a cook. With the three of us, we had a watch schedule of 4 hours on, 5 hours off. The first and last hour of your watch were overlapped with the guy before you or the guy coming after you; the middle two hours of your watch, you were on watch alone. For the return trip, we switched the order of rotation, but kept the same pattern. It worked pretty well.

Regards,

Tim