Is sleeping OK?

[TQA]

I sleep during the dayand hope anything else is keeping a good watch.

If I was outside the shipping lanes I would risk a longer sleep say two to 3 hours followed by cat naps otherwise 20 minute naps with two timers to wake me.

Keep watch at night.

A single hander on passage has no option as you will be hallucinating after 48 to 60 hours without sleep. You have to sleep.

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by tdw

Simon .... do you have AIS as well as radar ? (Hi to you both btw, trust all is well with you.)

Hi A&W Yes I have AIS but this is on the chartplotter wich has a silly beep beep warning, On my Radar which is also my old back up chartplotter that is pre AIS I have a 110 db Pisso alarm (think smoke detector alarm). I do not sleep when in the traffic lanes. I must say now Julie is with me I tend to sleep deeper but still wake every hour, even at anchor.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by SimonV

Hi A&W Yes I have AIS but this is on the chartplotter wich has a silly beep beep warning, On my Radar which is also my old back up chartplotter that is pre AIS I have a 110 db Pisso alarm (think smoke detector alarm). I do not sleep when in the traffic lanes. I must say now Julie is with me I tend to sleep deeper but still wake every hour, even at anchor.

With the Wombet in the cockpit I sleep like a log. Now while I don't wake every hour I'm still having a look around every two and like you even when at anchor, indeed even on dry land I find myself up and about every couple of hours .... and that's not only due to a 60 year old bladder ...

AIS alarm is pretty pissweak. Barely capable of waking me when at anchor let alone when at sea.

I must say that unless the Wombet wakes up to herself and shows me the door my single handing days are over. Minor regret there but the old chatterbox makes up for that in many other ways and she loves sitting out on deck starring at the stars moon and dolphins as much as I.

btw .... for the fifteen minute nap an egg timer is the go, preferably one that has an auto reset.

A

[JonEisberg]

A few thoughts...

First, I think it's somewhat naive in today's world to adhere to the notion of well-defined "shipping lanes" offshore... With highly sophisticated weather routing, virtually real time satellite imagery of the Gulf Stream, and so on, the old rules and patterns of ships making open ocean passages simply no longer apply, to a considerable extent. With the exception of well-defined traffic and separation schemes on approaches to ports or straits, it's virtually impossible for a small yacht traveling at 5-6 knots to realistically assess their proximity to "shipping lanes", they're EVERYWHERE, these days:



Second, IMHO, effective sleep management for a singlehander is, for most individuals, a practiced and acquired skill. One that might take years to fully master... Within the Anglo-Saxon culture, unlike the Latin, there has never been a widespread adaptation of the practice of daytime "napping", and to do it effectively, and come to understand your body's circadian rhythms, and what works best for you, can take a LONG time to figure out... I believe it's totally unreasonable for someone, for example, who has lived a conventional workaday existence, to suddenly jump into a life of singlehanded sailing, and do so in relative safety immediately...

For anyone seriously considering extensive singlehanded passagemaking, I'd highly recommend the sleep seminar conducted by Dr Claudio Stampi in conjunction with the Bermuda 1-2 every other year... He's the world's foremost authority on sleep research with singlehanded racers, the guy certainly knows his stuff...

Lastly, while coastal passages are certainly more stressful as a rule, even along the East coast, there can often be a surprising lack of traffic out there... As James W noted, the lower Delmarva is one such area, that can be a very lonely piece of real estate... And, between Hatteras and Canaveral, inshore of the Stream and away from the various approaches to Cape Fear, Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville, there's really not nearly as much going on out there, as many might assume...

[travlineasy]

Originally Posted by LoboPops

Radar doesn't pick up some of the trash out there that can really ruin your day! Have seen logs, trunks, house roofs, etc. that can make nightmares.

Actually, the new 3G and 4G radar systems WILL pick up the trash. You can see crab pots, gulls floating on the surface and flying off as your boat approaches, pretty much anything out there including styrofoam cups. The only 3G Radar system I've seen personally is the Lowrance, and it was absolutely incredible. So in this situation, radar is definitely your friend.

Cheers,

Gary

[VK540]

This is probably a really dumb question but here goes! If a sailing vessel is stopped, heave to or hove to, are they ok to go and have a good nap without worrying about the legal obligations of a lookout? Daytime or night time? With proper nav lights on. Would heaving to only require anchor lights?

[Ferretchaser]

To a bulk carrier it makes no ods weather you are siling at 5 knots or are hove to and as far as the legal aspect goes, who cares when you end up under the bow of one of them. But to answer your question, no you are not at anchor and are by rights sailing the fact that you are not making any way does not matter. You still have the rags up and your vesel is able to manuver.

ATB

Michael

[tdw]

Originally Posted by VK540

This is probably a really dumb question but here goes! If a sailing vessel is stopped, heave to or hove to, are they ok to go and have a good nap without worrying about the legal obligations of a lookout? Daytime or night time? With proper nav lights on. Would heaving to only require anchor lights?

Now look, someone is bound to pop in and prove once again that i don't know my arse from a hole in the ground but as far as I am aware you would be still underway, even when hove to.

[Capt.aaron]

I spend a lot of my life in a commercial wheel house on watch. We see sailboats very well in the day time. The day's of the untrained junky nodding off on radar watch is a thing of the past. Night time approaching Cartagenia is not a good time to sleep, hove to in the day time out in the ocean is safer than not sleeping. Shipping lanes basically exist. time is money and the line drawn between busy ports is a lane, ships stick to routes. Ofcourse they can be any where. 100 ships pass me on the way to Bahamas, one will pass in six day's on my regular route to Honduras, because I'm out of the "major" shipping traffic. I don't think you need to be raised in siesta ville to take a much needed sleep after an all night watch nor do I think long off shore single handed passages are for the average cubical paper sales man from suburbia, all though those dudes do sometimes pull it off. You either have the sea coursing through your veins or you don't. I did an 8 day passage when I was 19, fell asleep the third night out for 7 hours in the Yucatan channel, stupid luck got me through that night. I was niave to think trying to stay up as much as possible was the best tactic. Now when I do that run I sleep in the light of day and stay up all night.

[LoboPops]

Originally Posted by jackdale

No, sleeping is not OK.

A relevant court case

FindACase™ | GRANHOLM v. THE VESSEL TFL EXPRESS

Thank you for the above. The case goes along the lines I have seen in the past. The point is also driven home. Do NOT expect the other ship/boat to look out for you. There are too many things that can happen (lights burn out, lookout not utilizing proper techniques or something else gets their attention, other equipment malfunction, etc.)

The only reasonable conclusions I can draw:

1. Find an inlet or other place to moor or drop anchor out of the way.

2. Sail with someone else along to share watch duties (plus never hurts to have extra hands in an emergency.)

3. Continue with as much navigational warning equipment on that I have on board and realize that responsibility for any accidents may or will be my fault!