How do you actually manage sleep on a 3-5 day passage with two crew?

[Frank Holden]

I

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In one of his books, Alan Villiers describes the two watch system used on Finnish sailing ships:

0000-0400
0400-0800
0800-1300
1300-1900
1900-2400

I never knew I was Finnish!
That is essentially what we do, voyages up to 4 weeks.
We typically have dinner just before sunset. that means I get to turn in after dinner, typically about 1900/2000. Mate stays up until midnight. I then do the 12 to 4. Mate turns out at 0400. Makes breakfast at about 0700/sunrise. Thats when I relieve them.We don't keep 'watches' through the day. The mate can then turn in after b'fast for as long as they like. I shut my eyes for an hour or two after lunch. Watches resume after dinner.

 

[elenya]

We have done many long and short voyages and use the following watch system.

08:00 to 12:00
12:00 to 16:00
16:00 to 20:00
20:00 to 02:00
02:00 to 08:00

This system rotates you around different watches and gives you a long period of sleep each day.
Works well for the two of us. Last long voyage was NZ to Guam (29 days) ab5 day stop and refuel/ restore and then 25 days to Attu in Alaska. About 7500 nm.

We find the hardest voyages are coastal voyages of about 3 to 4 days. Oven voyages are far easier we feel.

 

[NatalieG]

Minerva — fair point, and I probably deserve that. Yes, we're a maritime safety company, but this isn't a sales thread. The question is genuine — my partner and I have struggled with this on every passage we've done and I wanted to hear what works for other couples. The research paper link is there because it's relevant and free, not because I'm trying to funnel anyone anywhere. Happy to take it on the chin though.

Thank you for all the responses — because this is brilliant and exactly what I was hoping for.

AngusMcDoon, your 4/3 system is interesting and I like that meal prep is built into the rotation rather than being an afterthought. But your last line is the one that really lands: "it's not the night hours that hurt, it's the not being able to get decent sleep when off watch on a noisy moving boat." That's been our experience too. You can have the most elegant watch system on paper but if neither of you can actually sleep below, it's all theoretical.

geem, the evolution from 3/3 to 4/4 to 5/5 is really helpful to hear. We never tried five-hour watches — always assumed it was too long on your own at night. But your point about getting proper rest in a longer off-watch block makes sense, especially past day 3. Do you find the first couple of hours of a 5-hour night watch hard, or is it the last two that drag?

What strikes me is how many of you have landed on the same thing LittleSister and BobnLesley described — there's a hump around day 3 where you feel terrible, and then it gets better. That matches what the research shows about cumulative sleep debt, but it's reassuring to hear it from people who've actually lived through it rather than just studied it.

Sea Change — crossing Biscay with a five-year-old on your first multi-day passage is properly brave. The point about preparation (solar, windvane, pre-made meals) making the difference on the next trip is spot on. Half the battle is reducing the workload so the off-watch person can actually rest.

 

[Graham376]

I generally did midnight to around six or seven but rest of the time no set watches, just took it in turn to sleep when needed.

 

[geem]

Minerva — fair point, and I probably deserve that. Yes, we're a maritime safety company, but this isn't a sales thread. The question is genuine — my partner and I have struggled with this on every passage we've done and I wanted to hear what works for other couples. The research paper link is there because it's relevant and free, not because I'm trying to funnel anyone anywhere. Happy to take it on the chin though.

Thank you for all the responses — because this is brilliant and exactly what I was hoping for.

AngusMcDoon, your 4/3 system is interesting and I like that meal prep is built into the rotation rather than being an afterthought. But your last line is the one that really lands: "it's not the night hours that hurt, it's the not being able to get decent sleep when off watch on a noisy moving boat." That's been our experience too. You can have the most elegant watch system on paper but if neither of you can actually sleep below, it's all theoretical.

geem, the evolution from 3/3 to 4/4 to 5/5 is really helpful to hear. We never tried five-hour watches — always assumed it was too long on your own at night. But your point about getting proper rest in a longer off-watch block makes sense, especially past day 3. Do you find the first couple of hours of a 5-hour night watch hard, or is it the last two that drag?

What strikes me is how many of you have landed on the same thing LittleSister and BobnLesley described — there's a hump around day 3 where you feel terrible, and then it gets better. That matches what the research shows about cumulative sleep debt, but it's reassuring to hear it from people who've actually lived through it rather than just studied it.

Sea Change — crossing Biscay with a five-year-old on your first multi-day passage is properly brave. The point about preparation (solar, windvane, pre-made meals) making the difference on the next trip is spot on. Half the battle is reducing the workload so the off-watch person can actually rest.

It initially took a while to get used to 5 hour watches. Neither of us sleep well on the first night at sea. We tend to do 3 hour or 4 hour watches for the first night. By the second night we hook in to our 5 hour watch system. Its hard for the first couple of nights. On watch we read our kindles and I have a couple of games on the tablet to keep our brains stimulated. This helps to make the time pass more quickly.
Once we get to about day 5, the 5 hour watch system is working well. Your body gets used to the sleep pattern and the 5 hour watch isn't a problem.
We used to find on a 3 hour watch system that you would be lucky to get 2 hours of actual sleep

 

[Sea Change]

Podcasts get me through long passages- The Now Show for on watch, and In Our Time to send me to sleep

 

[richardh10]

We do 6 on 6 off and the first couple of days are hard! After that it all seems to slip into place. It means that the person off gets a good long 6 hour sleep, and can also pick up another couple of hours sometime during the day. I was very sceptical when my wife suggested this, but gave it a try and it's what we've done ever since. Did I mention that the first couple of days are hard!

 

[Dockhead]

We have done many long and short voyages and use the following watch system.

08:00 to 12:00
12:00 to 16:00
16:00 to 20:00
20:00 to 02:00
02:00 to 08:00

This system rotates you around different watches and gives you a long period of sleep each day.
Works well for the two of us. Last long voyage was NZ to Guam (29 days) ab5 day stop and refuel/ restore and then 25 days to Attu in Alaska. About 7500 nm.

We find the hardest voyages are coastal voyages of about 3 to 4 days. Oven voyages are far easier we feel.

With two watchkeepers, the choice is either really tough night watches, or really inadequate sleep. So we do just as you do, prioritizing sleep. I've done a couple of long transits of the Eastern Seaboard on the U.S. in recent years, with just two watchkeepers. Due to other people on board just not up to taking a watch. Not fun.

I agree completely about 3 or 4 days. Long ocean passages are much easier because you get into the rhythm. Plus, work load is less.

I don't like sailing 2-up on multiday passages. It's simply not enough crew. I try to always find friends to join us. In my opinion, 3 is adequate (2x 4-hour watches each per day, 2x 8-hour periods off), 4 is better (the skipper is out of the rotation and can pinch hit and double watches as needed), 5 is lux. We were 7 when we crossed the Atlantic a couple of years ago. Crew resource is extremely important, as any big ship's master will tell you.