HHow long is too long (solo sailing)?

[Refueler]

Thank you for confirming what a lot of us already knew - that a number of the RYA qualifications are irrelevant to singlehanders. But I hadn't realised they are actively hostile towards them. You seem to be suggesting that a singlehander could never pass the YMO exam?

I'm curious, though. I can't find any mention either here: Yachtmaster Ocean exam or here: Qualifying passages that singlehanders aren't elligible, or that qualifying passages must be "sailed with crew".

Maybe the RYA should update their website

Surely the solution is to get a few pals from your club or sailing location to crew for you on the day / passages to qualify ?

But as its shown - the general point of the RYA and any other 'states' tickets - is the ability to 'command' the boat ... being able to sail it is only a part of the whole ... rest is how to 'manage' others on-board whether participating in the sailing duties or not ...

 

[HunterWanderer]

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.)

I agreed at first but maybe the on watch person was expected to use the standby to cover while getting a nap during quiet times, which is most of the time when on a long cruise.
It means that the two crew can take it in turn to get some sleep or rest yet kitted up for the deck conditions.
Actually sounds really good crew management to me.

 

[westernman]

I dined with a couple a few years ago on their boat in the Med. The lady (an American who was new to sailing) asked us firstly what wind strength we considered to be too strong to set sail. Then she said did we think it right to go to sleep at Midnight together and set the alarm for day break? That was apparently what her partner/ skipper (a Frenchman) did. He thought that crossing from say, Barcelona to Corsica was too dull to bother with so just set his autopilot and went to bed.

It made me keep a more careful watch on our next night passage.

In all seriousness, a factor that hasn't been mentioned in terms of solo hours is the weather and the moon. On some clear moonlit nights I can happily sail long periods as though it were daylight, but not so if it's horrible weather and you are peering forward to see as far as the bow. Hence I don't think there is a one size fits all answer to the original question.

When hopping down the Costa Brava in the middle of the day with a nice gentle breeze, perfect sailing weather, we came across a Spanish sailing yacht where they had gone to bed.

We gave 5 blasts on the horn as they were crossing our tracks and we were the stand on vessel (they were on port, we were on starboard). The guy came up onto deck stark naked with his d*** at half mast and dripping......

 

[stu9000]

"Fresh from the Royal Marines" means a very great deal (fitness, attitude, motivation, risk acceptance etc), imho....as opposed to having stood down from a career in say digital marketing or accountancy...at age 30.
Respect!

I loved his book. Close to the Wind. Respect indeed.

 

[stu9000]

Thank you for confirming what a lot of us already knew - that a number of the RYA qualifications are irrelevant to singlehanders. But I hadn't realised they are actively hostile towards them. You seem to be suggesting that a singlehander could never pass the YMO exam?

I'm curious, though. I can't find any mention either here: Yachtmaster Ocean exam or here: Qualifying passages that singlehanders aren't elligible, or that qualifying passages must be "sailed with crew".

Maybe the RYA should update their website

Im brushing up on my theory now, hoping to do the YM practical this spring. I don't think it is unreasonable to consider crew management as part of the assessment. I will check, but my assumption is that I should have crew on board when I do the test.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Surely the solution is to get a few pals from your club or sailing location to crew for you on the day / passages to qualify ?

But as its shown - the general point of the RYA and any other 'states' tickets - is the ability to 'command' the boat ... being able to sail it is only a part of the whole ... rest is how to 'manage' others on-board whether participating in the sailing duties or not ...

I seem to recall that being specifically laid out. That being the skipper for the YM qualification was about leading the crew. Perhaps there should be a separate one for single handers. Though maybe the RYA does not condone breaches of the colregs,