Day or Night passage

[tgalea]

Hi All,

I seem to be in a bit of a dilemma with regards to choosing day or night for my first passage this summer.

Summer months in the Mediterranean are of course very hot and the idea of about 10 hours in the sun at 4 to 5 knots seems a bit less appealing than a night passage.

However, I believe the night offers its disadvantages too. Such as, floating objects, unlit fishing nets and stuff like that.

I would of course appreciate any feedback from people on this forum with regards to this subject. It is my first time so I am trying to gather as much information and experience from people like yourselves to assist me in making my decisions.

Thank-you once again.

Regards
Tyrone Galea

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[milltech]

I can only tell you my preference, which is to arrive in daylight with time to spare before darkness falls. My second preference, if I'm heading for a marina, is to arrive before 16.00 so I'm not scrambling for the last visitor berth.

Whether the at-sea time is by night or by day is less important save for crews energy level.


<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[boatless]

I prefer a dawn start in the Med, distances permitting. The essential is a bimini or some form of (more or less) all weather sunshade.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[AndrewB]

Before GPS, my favourite time to arrive someplace new was at dawn, so that in the dark lighthouses and harbour lights can be picked up early and would help to guide us for the approach, but the actual entry would be in daylight. Then one would have the pick of the berths as yachts departed in the morning. With GPS though we are much less dependent on fixed navigation aids.

The risk of hitting floating things at night is not that much greater than by day in my experience. However the one thing that is harder for the first few times is coping with shipping. It takes practice to work out their lights, how far away they are and which direction they are moving, whether you are on a collision course. And running into a big fishing fleet at night is a bit of a nightmare the first time.

 

[chrisc]

Depends where in Med you are ,all those nets for fifty miles west of the rhone estuary would certainly stop me from approaching that area in the dark -or maybe I woudnt worry about them so much in the dark----
If just doing fifty miles ,we usually start about sun up gives a pleasant day and plenty of time and light on arrival .It is cooler at sea than sitting in marina-

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[chrisc]

Depends where in Med you are ,all those nets for fifty miles west of the rhone estuary would certainly stop me from approaching that area in the dark -or maybe I woudnt worry about them so much in the dark----
If just doing fifty miles ,we usually start about sun up gives a pleasant day and plenty of time and light on arrival .It is cooler at sea than sitting in marina-

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tgalea]

Yes quite right. No I am speaking about the Malta / Sicily channel.

There aren't that many nets en-route it's only in the approaches where they are marked. However you can't be sure who decided to lay nets here or there. Local fisherman do lay nets in the region of 25 - 30 miles out.

Besides this I would also appreciate any feedback you can give me relating to your preference (day/night) and reasons.

Is it for example more stressful at night than by day ? Is is a busier time for shipping and all that ? Stuff like that.

Thanks once again.

Tyrone.



<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tgalea]

Yes as you say these are in fact my worries. Maybe i will endure the sun for the first few times until i gain some experience.

It's only because some people i spoke to all suggested slow boats should go by night since it is more tiring in the morning, August, +38 in the sun!

Thanks

Tyrone.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[milltech]

I'm with AndrewB and I'd say the trick at night is to be aware at the beginning and keep that awareness up. Letting comfort and a peaceful sea get the better of you, and then see a light that surprises, and judgement becomes much harder than if you've been keeping a contsant mental plot of your surroundings.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[milltech]

I'm with AndrewB and I'd say the trick at night is to be aware at the beginning and keep that awareness up. Letting comfort and a peaceful sea get the better of you, and then see a light that surprises, and judgement becomes much harder than if you've been keeping a constant mental plot of your surroundings.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[LadyInBed]

On balance, I'm for day passages.
No disruption of sleep patterns
Hard to sleep during the heat of the day in harbour
Cooler at sea than in harbour
Normally more breeze at sea by day than by night
Easier to keep watch
Easier to stay alert
Easier to do chart work
Easier to see if the fishing line has caught anything
Easier to clear prop if the boat catches something


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Dave1258]

I was just about to mention sleeping in the heat of the day when I saw your post!

<hr width=100% size=1> A man should have two things in life, a boat and a wife willing to let him have one.

 

[dulcibella]

if you plan to sail by day, the bimini is essential for reasonable comfort, as is plenty of cold drink (buy ice every couple of days - a fridge won't cope without ice in temperatures of 30 or more). Get a really good pair of sunglasses that don't leak sunlight round the edge, too. Happy sailing!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[lilianroyle]

We did a few overnighters in the med last year. Porqueroles to Bordigera
Imperia to Marina da Pisa and recently from Ajaccio to Porqueroles. Assuming we are not just comparing day and night sailing generally I would say that night sailing in the med compares quite favourably with day sailing. I think the heat is an issue on a long passage and you will probably be motoring in August. There is in our experience much less traffic than in the channel, the night will be short, warm and probably flat calm. Sailing at night is on the other hand inherently more tiring and I would say dangerous.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Tyrone,

Why not have the best of both worlds, I prefer night sailing myself.

But if the distance you plan to sail is 8 to 20 hours, why not get everthing ready then bunk down early and get some good rest, depart around 0200 hours and enjoy at least 5 hours of cooler conditions, you may even have a chance of a little kip during the day so arrive fresh and not jet lagged.

I hope this helps

Avagoodtripandkip......



<hr width=100% size=1> Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Growing old is unavoidable. However, growing up is still optional.