HHow long is too long (solo sailing)?

[stu9000]

I love sailing the boat solo. Plenty of room. The slightly monastic quiet life where I can actually experience the natural world around me.
The freedom to sail and anchor as you please.

But I find anything more than 8 hours stops being fun. This is cruising the Thames estuary which is obviously a busy waterways. I need to in the cockpit pretty much all the time, just nipping down for a cuppa. Even well away from TSS areas you never know what might be in your path. I've had fast cat fishing boats zip past me only to anchor right on my track.
After about 7 hours I get a bit tired. Even half an hour not in duty is a game changer.

I have just watched Erik Aanderaa's video solo sailing from Holland to Denmark. He has spent years refining the set up on his Contessa with night vision Mast head cameras and easy view below deck screens. Maybe I will look into that.. I'm guessing the routes he sails have fewer buoys, anchored fishing boats and other hazards than the Channel area isail in.
I also watched 'Sam sails' do Suffolk to Ijmuiden, which I found tiring enough with two of us last July. Impressive resilience.

I have tried the perimeter alarm on the radar but it just went off all he time. Not false positives. Just lots of stuff on the water. I didn't use it on the Holland trip because I had crew and there were relatively quiet sections where I might have felt comfortable closing my eyes for a few minutes. I know colregs stipulate a watch must be kept.

The old Thames barges used to anchor behind a sand bank, waiting for a wind or a favourable tide. In the right conditions I guess I could drop a hook and rest a bit. But that only works in relatively benign conditions.

I wonder what other forumites do?

 

[William_H]

You must do what you find right for you. You don't have to prove anything just enjoy.
However I was immediately reminded of John Sanders of this parrish who sailed around the world 3 times non stop solo over about 20 months but then he is a cerain kind of person. Quite some years back he did not have the electronic aids OP speaks of. ol'will.

 

[garymalmgren]

RE: The old Thames barges used to anchor behind a sand bank, waiting for a wind or a favourable tide. In the right conditions I guess I could drop a hook and rest a bit. But that only works in relatively benign conditions.

I wonder what other forumites do?
Any input will be relevant to areas being sailed.
That goes for Eric , anyone else and me.
Your area is crowded.
That increases the risk of collision due to poor look out, incorrect calculation of speed and bearing, inclement weather (rain or fog_ etc.
Fully maned ships collide in the English Chanel!

I sail on the North East Coast of the main island of Japan. There are hundreds of small accessible fishing harbours that I can pop into.
There are all the dangers mentioned above plus hundreds of fishing boats large and small, set fish farms and nets etc.
My rules are.
1. Sailing in daylight between before sunrise till well before sunset.
2. Have 3 destinations planned. 35 miles, 45 miles and around 50 miles.
3. Pull into a destination well before dark.
4. Don't push to the next destination , hoping to make it in time.

Your options are limited, but you must avoid being tired.
I recently crewed on a delivery to Tokyo Bay. I slept well on the off watch but the skipper just dozed behind me when I was on watch. By the time we entered Tokyo Bay in the dark I could see that he was frazzled and hesitant about his decision making.
Even the very experienced can make a misjudgement when tired.
So. Do what ever it takes to stay rested.

gary

 

[potentillaCO32]

I tend to day sail on ny own and hop from port to port within about 10 hours sailing time.

 

[john_morris_uk]

RE:

Your options are limited, but you must avoid being tired.

So. Do what ever it takes to stay rested.

gary

Agree 100%

I failed a candidate on his Yachtmaster Ocean recently. He announced that he’d run a watch system of four hours on watch four hours awake and on standby and four hours sleep time. In other words eight hours awake and perhaps three and a half hours sleep for days at a time. His crew must have been walking zombies after a week of that. It’s simply not enough sleep time to keep the crew fit and refreshed and ready for any emergency etc. (It wasn’t the only reason he failed.)

 

[potentillaCO32]

Agree 100%

I failed a candidate on his Yachtmaster Ocean recently. He announced that he’d run a watch system of four hours on watch four hours awake and on standby and four hours sleep time. In other words eight hours awake and perhaps three and a half hours sleep for days at a time. His crew must have been walking zombies after a week of that. It’s simply not enough sleep time to keep the crew fit and refreshed and ready for any emergency etc. (It wasn’t the only reason he failed.)

So i guess any long distance solo sailor, like john passmore, sam sails etc sitting down with you for his ocean yactmaster would fail if they told you how they cover watches on an ocean passage?

 

[Plum]

I love sailing the boat solo. Plenty of room. The slightly monastic quiet life where I can actually experience the natural world around me.
The freedom to sail and anchor as you please.

But I find anything more than 8 hours stops being fun. This is cruising the Thames estuary which is obviously a busy waterways. I need to in the cockpit pretty much all the time, just nipping down for a cuppa. Even well away from TSS areas you never know what might be in your path. I've had fast cat fishing boats zip past me only to anchor right on my track.
After about 7 hours I get a bit tired. Even half an hour not in duty is a game changer.

I have just watched Erik Aanderaa's video solo sailing from Holland to Denmark. He has spent years refining the set up on his Contessa with night vision Mast head cameras and easy view below deck screens. Maybe I will look into that.. I'm guessing the routes he sails have fewer buoys, anchored fishing boats and other hazards than the Channel area isail in.
I also watched 'Sam sails' do Suffolk to Ijmuiden, which I found tiring enough with two of us last July. Impressive resilience.

I have tried the perimeter alarm on the radar but it just went off all he time. Not false positives. Just lots of stuff on the water. I didn't use it on the Holland trip because I had crew and there were relatively quiet sections where I might have felt comfortable closing my eyes for a few minutes. I know colregs stipulate a watch must be kept.

The old Thames barges used to anchor behind a sand bank, waiting for a wind or a favourable tide. In the right conditions I guess I could drop a hook and rest a bit. But that only works in relatively benign conditions.

I wonder what other forumites do?

All depends on you and the waters you sail in. I sail singlehanded from the UK east coast with trips to near continent and Solent and my personal target is to sail for a maximum12 hours (on a few cases I have sailed for longer but that was not planned). Provided I am up to date on sleep beforehand I can cope with this target but then would need to ensure I was up to date on sleep (7.5 hours for me) before another long leg. There are not many places in my waters where this is safe but I have slept for 5 minutes underway with an alarm set. I have also on occasions hove-to for 30 minutes for a rest, but not slept.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

So i guess any long distance solo sailor, like john passmore, sam sails etc sitting down with you for his ocean yactmaster would fail if they told you how they cover watches on an ocean passage?

That’s the permanent dilemma for solo sailors on passage. Pete Goss said his method on Clarke’s active air was to go to go to sleep across the winches. It was so uncomfortable he’d wake every 20 mins. But then, a 26ft racing catamaran in mid Atlantic, maybe that’s the seamanlike thing to do. But he must have slept for a week after he arrived.

 

[Roberto]

Formally, beyond say 36 hours everyone is at times violating Rule 5, would the YM scheme condone anyone deliberately breaching rules ?

So i guess any long distance solo sailor, like john passmore, sam sails etc sitting down with you for his ocean yactmaster would fail if they told you how they cover watches on an ocean passage?

 

[billskip]

Experience reminds me of waking up ...only to find the crew on watch fast asleep... bit worrying it was...

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Experience reminds me of waking up ...only to find the crew on watch fast asleep... bit worrying it was...

Keelhauling is the just punishment for that. That is assuming you haven’t had them on watch and watch for the last week.

 

[billskip]

Keelhauling is the just punishment for that. That is assuming you haven’t had them on watch and watch for the last week.

No they were well rested, if anyone, it was possible me pushing it a bit to ensure the crew were well rested..
One thing to be aware of is the "change of air" can have a serious effect on one's ability to stay awake, good fresh air offshore can make one fall into the zzzz

 

[Chiara’s slave]

No they were well rested, if anyone, it was possible me pushing it a bit to ensure the crew were well rested..
One thing to be aware of is the "change of air" can have a serious effect on one's ability to stay awake, good fresh air offshore can make one fall into the zzzz

We get a lot more air than most, with our high apparent wind, but I don’t find it induces sleep. The more air, the less sleep in fact. Maybe it’s a trimaran thing.

 

[potentillaCO32]

We get a lot more air than most, with our high apparent wind, but I don’t find it induces sleep. The more air, the less sleep in fact. Maybe it’s a trimaran thing.

One of the benefits of the Tri. The fear factor of imminent flippage keeps the snooziest crew member as awake as Sally James did on a cold 70s saturday morning.

 

[billskip]

We get a lot more air than most, with our high apparent wind, but I don’t find it induces sleep

yeah, but you are used to it living on IoW.. . For those from the smoke oxygen is akin to neat gin...

 

[Roberto]

I wonder what other forumites do?

During passage planning, I personally identify sea areas where three different watch patterns seem reasonable: a. areas where one can not stop being on watch, or stop at most for a few minutes, say go inside to prepare a sandwich; b. areas where the 20min naps rythm could be used; c. areas where the 1.5-2h sleep cycles can be used.
I have found my personal limits at 8-10 hours in areas a., 36-48 hours in b. areas, unlimited time in c. areas. Past personal experience/mistakes have clearly shown that any departure from this schedule generates considerably higher risks so I try and stick to it as much as I can. It is of course risk mitigation, not avoidance, but then one should stop sailing singlehanded.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

One of the benefits of the Tri. The fear factor of imminent flippage keeps the snooziest crew member as awake as Sally James did on a cold 70s saturday morning.

We’re not scared of flipping. It happens to racers who push too hard, not sensible cruisers. It’s the noise and the motion at speed that keep you awake.

 

[Concerto]

How long to sail single handed for can depend how rested you are before sailing and how much sleep you normally need. According to my FitBit my sleep average per night over the last year was only 5 hours 32 minutes, which is very similar to t hours 39 minutes in 2022 when I sailed round Britain.

Personally I am happy to sail for 16 to 18 hours, my insurance allows for 24 hours single handed. I even questioned the insurance company about the 24 hour limit. Provided the planned journey was expected to be within 24 hours, but if other outside factors like weather or breakages extended the arrival time I would still be covered. However some policies have short time limits, so check your policy wording.

 

[Refueler]

So i guess any long distance solo sailor, like john passmore, sam sails etc sitting down with you for his ocean yactmaster would fail if they told you how they cover watches on an ocean passage?

Probably ... but I don't think the course / examination is based on Solo sailing ... I would consider more aligned with yachtMASTER and being able to delegate / allocate sensible system ?

 

[Refueler]

My boat - we do trips across baltic ... 15 - 18hrs home port to Gotland ..... similar Gotland to Swedish Islands ..... usually stopping in Gotland for a short break to stretch legs and maybe find a restaurant / cafe.
Depending on who is crewing - I will go below into one of the aft berths where if needed I can be roused and out quickly ... if crew is not so capable - then I curl up in fwd part of cockpit ... I have a peculiar sense that awakens me if anything changes ..

The shortest legs from home port here are 8hrs to Pavilosta ... 12hrs to Kuressaare ... unlike Solent / Thames Estuary - its a pretty bland coastline ... so a system soon gets accepted and subsequent trips usually slot into similar ..