[captainbob]

When sailing at night out of shipping lane, is it customary or o.k. to "heave ho" and rest?

Sailing near Caribbean. Have all charts.

Thanks!

 

[Seaduction]

Welcome to the Forum (You mean "heave to')

 

[Faster]

When sailing at night out of shipping lane, is it customary or o.k. to "heave ho" and rest?

Sailing near Caribbean. Have all charts.

Thanks!

Near? Among the islands? a bit more detail might be helpful. Amongst the islands the trips are relatively short and usually day trips.. plenty of fish trap floats out there - tough to spot sometimes even in daylight.

 

[captainbob]

Thanks Seaduction. I stand corrected.

Faster- Just wondering if traveling long distances away from islands if it is a feasible method or if it is not recommended. It doesn't look like we will have more than 55-60 miles to travel at once for the majority of my 10 week sail.

Thanks very much.

 

[Faster]

Thanks Seaduction. I stand corrected.

Faster- Just wondering if traveling long distances away from islands if it is a feasible method or if it is not recommended. It doesn't look like we will have more than 55-60 miles to travel at once for the majority of my 10 week sail.

Thanks very much.

I'd think that if you're certain you're outside of any major shipping routes that 'stopping for a rest' is OK... are you singlehanding? If not it seems to make more sense to keep on keepin' on since we generally don't cover a lot of ground in a hurry anyway? In the trades with self steering it should be simple enough.. What boat are you on?

As long as you're away from the islands and any chance of night traffic that doesn't want to be seen...

 

[aeventyr60]

Why not depart in the late afternoon and arrive at your destination in the morning?

 

[paulk]

I have never hove to when sailing at night. Even outside of shipping lanes, you never know what you might come across. You're there -- maybe somebody else is out there too. We've always kept a watch, and if you're keeping a watch, why not have something to do while on watch like sail the boat? I have heard it can be convenient to heave to when approaching landfall so as to hold off and not actually arrive until daylight, but haven't actually ever needed to do that; Bermuda and most of our other destinations have been well marked day or night.

 

[christian.hess]

we did it a couple times waiting for daylight like above...once we just dropped anchor when unsure to go further...in a shallow entrance...

if you can sail being in movement is prefferable however its not unheard of...if you are reall really exhausted, alone and do not want the trouble of being in forward motion then heaving to is a time honored way of doing this...

 

[RichH]

Most radar installations have a 'watch' function which scans the horizon every few minutes (instead of constantly, which draws power) and when any object comes within the set 'watch zone' the radar 'alarm' is activated. I use this function when anchored or hove-to a lot when sleeping on the Bahamian banks or when hove to and dozing 15-20 minutes at a time close to a shore, or 'shipping lane' etc.

When hove-to, forereaching .... when dozing, be sure to have youre boat adequately 'illuminated'.
Its better to doze during the day, the night is for 'sailing'.

 

[christian.hess]

midday sun made me so sleepy when cruising...that was naptime for me! jajaja

 

[Sabreman]

It doesn't look like we will have more than 55-60 miles to travel at once

Ok, I'll say it. No, it's not ok. You are required to keep watch for your safety and that of others. If you were crossing an ocean single handed, that would be a different situation.

The quote above indicates that you are not alone, so there is no reason for the helm to be unattended. 55-60 miles isn't that far and can easily be achieved in trades if you leave early enough.

 

[christian.hess]

crap I thought you were alone(and if exhausted)

absolutely NO then...watches and lookouts on a 2,3 4 hour interval depending on how many crew you have

55 miles is a day sail anyways

yikes

 

[capta]

Of course, I'm not too sure where in the Caribbean you'll be sailing, but I think it's safe to say that no matter where you are sailing in the Caribbean, there is likely to be some traffic.
Interisland cargo boats, tugs with barges, cruise ships, freighters, car carriers, tankers, fishing vessels, yachts and research vessels, all ply the waters around the islands, through the channels between the islands, the lee and windward sides of the islands and each passage between the islands can be a path to or from the Panama canal.
Certainly not a place to take a snooze without a watchstander.
Anyway, there's plenty of wind to do a 60 mile trip in daylight down here, most days, and more than enough the rest of the time.

 

[Omatako]

Interestingly the sailing legend Eric Hiscock used to habitually heave to and sleep through the night when he and his wife were voyaging.

So there are pros and cons related to the era.

Pro: He was long-term cruising (no real rush), had a lot less crowded ocean and huge ships didn't do 34 knots.

Con: He never had HD radar, AIS, etc.

Personally, I always aim to do as much mileage per 24 hours as I can (it's a matter of pride). So stopping to sleep is not for me, we keep watch and keep sailing unless of course we reach a strange harbour in the dark when I will always stand off until daybreak.

 

[christian.hess]

yes indeed it was an old school thing to do...even when racing...and your point about ais and radar etc is so true too

back then solo sailors slept all night long too sometimes not a "care" in the world they trully were so alone

having said that I still think that unless completely exhausted to the point of being a danger to others there is nothing wrong with heaving too with some sort of signal or lights or extra visual implements if you will...

timers, putting the volume up on all radios etc...will help you.

cheers

 

[Omatako]

back then solo sailors slept all night long too sometimes not a "care" in the world they trully were so alone

Single handing is a whole new ball of wax.

When I solo'd across the Indian ocean in 2004 I slept whenever I could in short bursts of an hour or less around the clock but I was under way all of the time. Having said that, unless you're near Sri Lanka or Indonesia you'll see no other boats and there is very little shipping where I was (400nm off the coast).

 

[christian.hess]

thats one of my best sailing memories....the waft of smells that came from the sri lankan coast before entering...

it was 3 of us...so watches were easy...plenty of time to sleep and eat and poop etc...

absolutely amazing!

 

[TQA]

Heave to during the day and sleep then. Much better chance you will be seen and avoided.

Keep watch at night.

 

[Jspencer4]

I would not recommend it. Not familiar with sailing in the Carribean, but my experience in Puget Sound and Straits requires constant vigilance. The shipping lanes are not always where you'll find the big guys. We've had freighters approach long distance out of the lanes in the pitch darkness. Not a fun experience.

If you must, have some alarm system (radar or other) that will give you plenty of notice of freighter activity.

 

[Sabreman]

If you must, have some alarm system (radar or other) that will give you plenty of notice of freighter activity.

I downloaded the Ship Finder HD app for iPad and iPhone last night. Take a look at your area and then decide whether you want to park yourself in the middle of it.

There is no way that I'd recommend leaving a helm unattended, especially if more than one person is on board.

Heave to during the day and sleep then. Much better chance you will be seen and avoided.

Relying on someone else to keep me safe makes me itchy.