[rockDAWG]

By the look at all the stuff people suggest you take you will need your own boat to transport it!

. There is always a reality check at the Gate. The girl at the counter says: Your bag is 5 lbs over, that will be additional charge of $200....hahaha.

After that, you will pack wisely. :laugher:laugher:laugher

 

[SVAuspicious]

No headlamps. I don't care what bloody color they are when you look at me you shine the light in my eyes and I can't see properly for way too long. You blow my night vision one time on my boat or on my delivery and I confiscate your headlamp for the duration. Awful things on watch.

I recommend being responsible for your own safety. I've supplied tethers for crew from time to time and *I* know they are good and have never been loaded but how do you?

Communication is key - who is bringing what? We don't need six handheld VHF radios or eight GPS handhelds. Bring your entertainment along but coordinate charging.

Keep a small footprint. Keep your gear in your bag (which should keep it dry) and have a watch bag that fits in your duffle so you don't leave your book or iPod in the way of the next watch. Water bottle. Communicate about food needs/desires/allergies.

 

[ScottUK]

A sleeping bag for this particuloar passage. If you were in the tropics then at least a sheet. No boat owner likes you to drool or sweat on their cushions.

 

[MedSailor]

Booz. Nobody has mentioned Booz! You should coordinate if you're contributing to the stores, or if the skipper has it all covered, (in which case you still bring some but just less).

It IS a sailboat after all....

MedSailor

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

As I read each additional post it becoems more clear that anyone joining a new boat for a race should carefully talk to the skipper!

Each one will have different requirements.

And weight allowance! I dont really care about weight but if i was doing a long off shore race with 10 crew does that mean 20 tethers? 20 lifejackets? 10 navigation systems? 10 sat phones and 10 VHFs, 10 EPRIBS & 10 PLBs and 10 AIS. 20 sets of wet weather gear only ten of which are in the team colours? Unapproved torches etc. medical kit and spare operating table....

If everyone brings extra stuff then weight does make a difference on some boats... Like the ones that refuse any food except dehydrated.

Also I heard a story recently about a crew member trying to call by Sat Phone the US Coast Guard to get them off a boat because they were seasick. The skipper didnt know the call was being made till too late... A debacle of cargo ships occured etc etc...
Point is some skippers may not want crew taking stuff on board that can serve as a mutiny.

So back to the original poster... ASK the skipper.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

Booz. Nobody has mentioned Booz!

It IS a sailboat after all....

MedSailor

Well if its Doctors orders!

 

[MedSailor]

A very good point Mark. The list of gear that we've created here is absolutely the maximum list of things to choose from, but not all of it should be taken and many of the items do not need multiple duplication.

I forgot about the weight thing.... some skippers are pretty obsessed about that. I was invited to day-race on a J-30 once. The only piece of gear I had that I needed to stow was a fleece jacket. I put it on the setee and the skipper looked at me with horror in his eyes.

"Put your stuff on the cabin sole to keep the weight low!"

Ummm.... you're the boss. So on this 7,000lb boat, which with the addition of my jacket now weighs 7,000lbs and 10 ounces, has the weight correctly distributed.

Suffice to say I didn't sail with them again, I was afraid their high blood pressure was contagious. Still, if weight is important to the skipper, you need to know about it before you pack.

MedSailor

 

[rockDAWG]

Communication is key -

x10. It is nice if it is both ways, but more importantly is from Captain to crews. Doing a passage in a boat, one must accept that it is not a democratic system. The captain makes the rules, I follow his rules until I leave his boat. Everyone has his pet peeve and all have their own reasons. Some of them may be good rules that I will adapt them into my practice, some of not so good I leave them in the back burner.

I remember Capt Tom T at Maryland School of Sailing prohibits anyone bringing LED lights on board. I also carry a back up mini MagLite flashlight I can use if the Captain says no to my LED light.

When I looking for a crew position, I only ask questions about the safety aspects of the passage. Anything other than that, I can live with for the duration of the voyage. I crew mainly for the experience I will gain, not the companionship or pleasure. However, friendship and pleasure will be great if it happens. I consider it is a bonus.

 

[rockDAWG]

Suffice to say I didn't sail with them again, I was afraid their high blood pressure was contagious. Still, if weight is important to the skipper, you need to know about it before you pack.

MedSailor

Leadership is often more important than seamanship. Some can bring out the best from other (crews), some only know how to bring out the worst of other.

Voyage from hell is not uncommon.

 

[Minnesail]

I remember Capt Tom T at Maryland School of Sailing prohibits anyone bringing LED lights on board. I also carry a back up mini MagLite flashlight I can use if the Captain says no to my LED light.

What was the rationale behind banning LEDs?

 

[rockDAWG]

That was a few years ago, when LED flash light was just emerging. Tom said they were too bright and kill his nite vision.

It is a valid point that too bright a light source will kill the nite vision. But I think the concern is blown out of proportion. My nite vision will come back less than 5 min. It is unlikely that within that 5 min, a tanker is going to run over you. It is not ideal, but it is not fatal.

Likewise I often complaint about Full Moon, it is too damn bright. I lose my nite vision... :laugher. I prefer sailing in pitch dark.

 

[gamayun]

If a red headlamp freaks out the captain (which I was thinking would be used below and not up on deck), then get a dim green light on a neck lanyard. This way, you have to point it to see things.

 

[SVAuspicious]

I remember Capt Tom T at Maryland School of Sailing prohibits anyone bringing LED lights on board. I also carry a back up mini MagLite flashlight I can use if the Captain says no to my LED light.

That was a few years ago, when LED flash light was just emerging. Tom said they were too bright and kill his nite vision.

It's still hard to find dimmable lights. A few layers of translucent film over the lens helps.

It is a valid point that too bright a light source will kill the nite vision. But I think the concern is blown out of proportion. My nite vision will come back less than 5 min. It is unlikely that within that 5 min, a tanker is going to run over you. It is not ideal, but it is not fatal.

My understanding from a good bit of research is that full night vision takes quite a long time to return, particularly as we get older. That aligns with my experience.

There are lots of reasons I get called on deck at night. The "hit rate" of crew turning to look at me as I come up the companionway and hitting me in the face with light is pretty high.

I'd love to have a mini-MagLite LED conversion with a dimmer.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

I never have a torch on deck.

If I have a specific problem on the foredeck where I really cant do it by toch or available light then I go below and get a torch.

Basically, if one needs a torch one doesn't know the boat. But I'm not racing.

 

[hellosailor]

Every Maglite comes with a dimmer. Always has, always will.

If you just put your fingers in front of the light, and let it out a bit in the crack between two fingers, voila, you've got a dimmer.

These are things that anyone with experience working at night are just supposed to learn along the way, like remembering the first time they got told "If you shine that light in my eyes one more time, I'm going to shove it up your *** and pull it out your throat".

Next thing you know, Congress will be banning those Xenon Tactical Assault Lights and calling for flashlight owner licensing and training programs.

 

[FarCry]

I never have a torch on deck.

If I have a specific problem on the foredeck where I really cant do it by toch or available light then I go below and get a torch.

Basically, if one needs a torch one doesn't know the boat. But I'm not racing.

On my own boat, I agree.

It's when you jump on to another's boat and find yourself on watch at night with no moon it's nice to be able to illuminate an area that a "new" noise is coming from, like up the mast or on the foredeck. I also used my headlamp's red lense when rummaging around in the galley so as not to light up the entire interior just to grab a granola bar.

 

[christian.hess]

That was a few years ago, when LED flash light was just emerging. Tom said they were too bright and kill his nite vision.

It is a valid point that too bright a light source will kill the nite vision. But I think the concern is blown out of proportion. My nite vision will come back less than 5 min. It is unlikely that within that 5 min, a tanker is going to run over you. It is not ideal, but it is not fatal.

Likewise I often complaint about Full Moon, it is too damn bright. I lose my nite vision... :laugher. I prefer sailing in pitch dark. [/QUOTE]

are you for real or joking cant make it out but for me one of the most beatiful things in life is sailing with a full moon on big trade winds and rollers...

the sheers beaty and sounds and the way the sea glimmers, is a "sight" to behold

that and the ease of being on watch..you can see almost everything

no need for even running lights jajaja

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

are you for real or joking cant make it out but for me one of the most beatiful things in life is sailing with a full moon on big trade winds and rollers...

I don't think he's joking. I prefer no moon, too.
I emjoy the full moon, too, just for a change, but one night of it not the whole week, there a week of no moon is great.
I love the stars and the phosporesence... On dark nights I can turn the nav lights off and watch for hours.

Mark

 

[rockDAWG]

are you for real or joking cant make it out but for me one of the most beatiful things in life is sailing with a full moon on big trade winds and rollers...

Half and half ......

Sailing with a full moon ahead is too bright for me. In a Pitch dark nite, you can see more stars and all phosphorescent creatures in the bow waves.

Edited: Sorry, you did not hear the echo. Mark typed faster than me.

 

[gamayun]

If I'm camping, I want a full moon. If I'm sailing at night, I want a new moon to see the stars and bioluminescence.