Crew of three - watch routine

[Independence]

I'm planning a 4 day passage with a crew of 3. Could anyone recommend a watch routine they have used which worked well for them?

Thanks

 

[awol]

2-on, 4-off, 1st call in 2nd two hours off watch.

 

[Wansworth]

three on six off.First day people wont want to get in to watch system buy it should establish it self naturally come night fall.Pleanty of time to get a good kip for all-

 

[grumpy_o_g]

I'd say 2 on 4 off if it suits the crew but it depends entirely on the people. I work late, covering US East Coast hours so I find I can easily do 20:00 to 04:00 or 00:01 to 08:00 but only if there's plenty to do or a couple of people on watch, otherwise 8 hours is too long. Older people are not always as good at catching naps when they can so too short a watch can be a problem. 4 days is too long to manage a disturbed sleep pattern but not long enough to settle in to a new one unfortunately. Talk to the crew and see what suits them and don't be afraid to change it if you have too.

 

[Pete R]

I suppose it all depends on your crew and if they can stand a night watch on their own. Also the boat and can it be handled alone. But assuming all is OK then 3 on 6 off normally works OK but obviously some of that 6 off is going to include foody stuff and maintainance. If it's hard going then you can always change it to shorter hours.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[snowleopard]

4 hours during the day, 3 hours at night. That gives a convenient rotation. Harder to stay warm and awake at night so the shorter watch helps.

0000 - 0300 A
0300 - 0600 B
0600 - 1000 C
1000 - 1400 A
1400 - 1800 B
1800 - 2100 C
2100 - 0000 A
0000 - 0300 B

and so on.

 

[prv]

The longest passages I've done on a yacht were one full night plus one early start / late arrival, so I can't really talk about watches there. But I have done passages over two weeks on square riggers without feeling deprived of sleep. They have three watches (like your three crew) and use the traditional watch system - 4 hours, with two dog watches:

Middle Watch: 0001-0400
Morning Watch: 0400-0800
Forenoon Watch: 0800-1230 (slight kink to allow lunch at a sensible time)
Afternoon Watch: 1230-1600
First Dog Watch: 1600-1800
Second Dog Watch: 1800-2000
First Watch: 2000-2359

The dog watches mean that the system rotates. Every third day you get a solid 8 hours in your pit, which is nice, midnight to 8am (well, actually 7:20 as you have to get up and have breakfast ready for the forenoon watch)

Pete

 

[colhel]

When I was a crew of 3 on a long passage we worked out a night watch timetable (can't remember if it was 2 or 3 hours).During the day just made sure someone was on watch, this could have been 5 mins or a few hours.

 

[richardsn9]

Another vote for 3 on, 6 off, as long as weather conditons and crew experience allow. It has the advanatge of allowing a reasonable kip, and also moves forward each day so the night watches are rotated fairly.

 

[Bobc]

The longest passages I've done on a yacht were one full night plus one early start / late arrival, so I can't really talk about watches there. But I have done passages over two weeks on square riggers without feeling deprived of sleep. They have three watches (like your three crew) and use the traditional watch system - 4 hours, with two dog watches:

Middle Watch: 0001-0400
Morning Watch: 0400-0800
Forenoon Watch: 0800-1230 (slight kink to allow lunch at a sensible time)
Afternoon Watch: 1230-1600
First Dog Watch: 1600-1800
Second Dog Watch: 1800-2000
First Watch: 2000-2359

The dog watches mean that the system rotates. Every third day you get a solid 8 hours in your pit, which is nice, midnight to 8am (well, actually 7:20 as you have to get up and have breakfast ready for the forenoon watch)

Pete

+1

 

[mph]

Another vote for 3 on, 6 off, as long as weather conditons and crew experience allow. It has the advanatge of allowing a reasonable kip, and also moves forward each day so the night watches are rotated fairly.

+1

 

[blackbeard]

I seem to remember 4 on 8 off. This gives watches at same time each day which I think is better provided everyone is happy with the time they have got.
I had 0400 - 0800 and 1600 - 2000. Got to see a lot of sunrises and sunsets.
But 0400 - 0800 (and I assume 0000 - 0400) can drag a bit.

On another trip we had 6 hour watches during day and 4 at night, and we had 3 watchkeepers and one other. The 4 th person, although not experienced enough to stand a watch, was really helpful, being a source of support, company and coffee, especially valued at night. No chance of finding another crew member, I suppose? (On the other hand, I'm told that on some very long (RTW) voyages just 2 is a good number as they become very experienced!)

 

[Wansworth]

Four days is not a particularly long time and people not used to watches may hang about off watch and then on the second day start to feel sleepy on their watches in the early mornings so it essential that off watch crews are resting and dozin even if they dont want to.

 

[Jamesuk]

I say bring a forth for fun, 2 on 6 off, was lovely crossing the Atlantic last year. chatted with the person coming off watch for 20 mins then did exercise for one hour (keeps you fit and awake, i find) then before you know it the next watch is coming on and you have at least 5 hours of sleep, book reading time.

 

[Neil_Y]

3 on 6 off worked for me.

Make sure you have a good method of waking the next person from the cockpit if needed, a wireless door bell is handy, and can be taken to the cabin of the next on watch.

I'm assuming the yacht has self steering of some kind so one on watch is possible.

 

[maxi77]

As a general rule I would suggest that longer off periods are better than short. 2 on 4 of ensures that even in a few days every one becomes knackered, and descisions as time goes by become worse. 6 off is a lot better because longer periods of sleep tend to be more effective, and 8 if you can stretch to that is better still. The secret to staying awake is proper sleep and rest periods, most of us can run on adrenalin for up to 24 hours but longer than that you will find that without good sleep patterns staying awake on your own becomes hard. All watchkeepers really need to rest properly during daylight as wellas dark hours.

 

[snowleopard]

Four days is not a particularly long time and people not used to watches may hang about off watch and then on the second day start to feel sleepy on their watches in the early mornings so it essential that off watch crews are resting and dozin even if they dont want to.

"Get some Zs in the bank"

 

[awol]

For short (< a week) trips I'm for a 2-on 4-off during the night, and be sociable but get a rest during the day. If wide awake, enjoying the dawn, at a good bit in my book, or whatever, I'll let the next watch sleep till they wake.

For me and most people, there is a natural sleep cycle of about 90 minutes. Wake me in the middle of one of those and I'm a grumpy bear. 4 hours off allows 2 cycles with a bit for settling down and waking up; 6 hours off is either 3 cycles and a period of awake or get woken up in the middle of the 4th. For 3 people finding a rhythm that suits all shouldn't be too difficult but if the dynamics are such that resentment can breed then disciplined fixed timings are called for, though I'd recommend picking the crew more carefully.

 

[snowleopard]

research has recently suggested that we are naturally attuned to 2 x 4-hour sleeps per 24 hours. Certainly I find it easy to slip into a couple of shorter sleeps a day on a long passage.

Whatever your watch pattern you need to recognise that for the first 24-48 hours it will be difficult for people to adjust their sleep routine so those on night watches are likely to be dopey. A full 4 hours 0000-0400 on the first night can be too much for most people. Other factors to be aware of at the start of a passage are seasickness (I always feel queasy for the first day or so) and constipation.

 

[Skylark]

From the replies so far it seems evident that there are a number of satisfactory solutions to finding a crew rota.

On the practical side, I'd suggest that you make sure everyone is aware of the rota and that you stick to it with some degree of discipline (of course you may need some flexibility).

You'll also need to establish a routine for calling additional help and for what circumstances to wake / defer to skipper.

I like solo night watches but I always clip a (pound shop) electric kitchen timer to my jacket to set off an alarm every 30 minutes or so, just in case. I always complete the log at the top of the hour so the time passes all too quickly. An iPod keeps me company.

Good luck with your passage.