Badger
Member
SWMBO keen but prone to mal de mer in F5 and above and no night hours. Ideas for an overnight passage watch system (Me used to it)Ps Not mal de mer but overnight passage please.
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Husband & Wife Watch system
- Thread starter Badger
- Start date
Happy1
N/A
I don't know what you are on about, but this is a boating forum, not a swingers chat room /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
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peterb
New member
An overnight passage isn't the best time to start collecting night hours. At least have a few trips that don't need separate watchkeeping (e.g. a night passage down the Solent) before you think about overnight passages.
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BrendanS
Well-known member
what are watch keeping abilities of SWMBO during daylight hours? Can she keep a course for 2-4-6 hours without your intervention. Can she read charts/gps? If you can leave her for 2 hours without intervention during daylight hours, I'd halve that at night. etc etc.
If you are happy cat napping, set a timer to let her wake you for periods in which you are happy to let her solo, just to check on progress. Then make sure her instructions are to wake you without consequence if anything changes which she is not sure about
Very difficult to advise without knowing her level of competence.
If she is competent to your level, but inexperienced at night passages, I'd do it slowly, as nothing is more nerve wracking to beginners than assessing angles of approach of ships at night, and feeling of inexperience
Other than that, first voyage, put her 2 hours on, and you 4 hours on, and see how it goes. I'd be very cautious beyond that, if you want her to do it again
<hr width=100% size=1>Err, let me know if Depsol enters the forum, I'll go and hide
If you are happy cat napping, set a timer to let her wake you for periods in which you are happy to let her solo, just to check on progress. Then make sure her instructions are to wake you without consequence if anything changes which she is not sure about
Very difficult to advise without knowing her level of competence.
If she is competent to your level, but inexperienced at night passages, I'd do it slowly, as nothing is more nerve wracking to beginners than assessing angles of approach of ships at night, and feeling of inexperience
Other than that, first voyage, put her 2 hours on, and you 4 hours on, and see how it goes. I'd be very cautious beyond that, if you want her to do it again
<hr width=100% size=1>Err, let me know if Depsol enters the forum, I'll go and hide
Gunfleet
New member
Why not get a pretty deckhand? Then SWMBO will be up and down like a yoyo making sure everything's okay and won't have time to feel sick while you snooze in corner. Just a little plan
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LadyInBed
Well-known member
Wife sleeps and I watch!
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ccscott49
Active member
Fairly simple, You do the night watch! Or are we talking a day AND night at sea? If so, then let her do the daytime and you cat nap, to keep your sleep hours up, checking on her periodically. You should be capable of 10 hours at night, it's actually less at this time of year, if you feel this is going to be too much for you, do not jepordise your safety, get a crew!
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Jacket
New member
This admission is likely to get me slated, but I've allowed crew with next to no saling experience to do night watches. I set up a bed for me in the corner of the cockpit, and leave them with instructions to wake me if they se ANYTHING, or if the wind strength changes or shifts. Obviously, I only do it with people who I can trust to follow these instructions to the letter.
I've always used 2 hour watches at night (any longer and people tend to get cold and bored) with either 3 or 4 hour watches during the day to get some real sleep.
If someone can be trusted on watch in the day, there's no reason that I can see that they can't do the same at night, as long as they're aware that judging distances is harder, and so alert the skipper sooner when there's shipping about, and that its hard to judge visibility at night.
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I've always used 2 hour watches at night (any longer and people tend to get cold and bored) with either 3 or 4 hour watches during the day to get some real sleep.
If someone can be trusted on watch in the day, there's no reason that I can see that they can't do the same at night, as long as they're aware that judging distances is harder, and so alert the skipper sooner when there's shipping about, and that its hard to judge visibility at night.
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jeanne
Member
My husband and I start watches the minute we step on the boat when we are passagemaking. The off watch is free to read a book, doze or whatever, as long as they are resting so that we both keep fresh. This means that if one of you becomes hors de combat at some stage, the other is still OK to do a longer watch if necessary. There is nothing more likely to make you seasick than anxiety and that is likely to be induced by coming up in the pitch dark and trying to make out what is about and which way it is going.....perhaps your wife could do the early stint as dark falls so that she knows what is going on around her; then you could do the hours of deepest dark, followed by her doing the watch as dawn breaks. That's a magic time anyway and always fills me with pleasure.
The other thing is the remedies she uses for the mal de mer; we had a blue water friend who for the first 3 days did all her watches prone watching the radar, calling her husband if anything needed doing. After I advised her to start taking Stugeron 3 days before a passage she was a new woman and even cooked fry ups! All this assumes that you have a third hand on board i.e. some sort of self steering. This keeps up your confidence as you have time for looking about, running the boat, keeping warm, having hot drinks and keeping up with the chart work; this also helps keep sickness at bay.
Hope this is constructive help - enjoy your passage.
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The other thing is the remedies she uses for the mal de mer; we had a blue water friend who for the first 3 days did all her watches prone watching the radar, calling her husband if anything needed doing. After I advised her to start taking Stugeron 3 days before a passage she was a new woman and even cooked fry ups! All this assumes that you have a third hand on board i.e. some sort of self steering. This keeps up your confidence as you have time for looking about, running the boat, keeping warm, having hot drinks and keeping up with the chart work; this also helps keep sickness at bay.
Hope this is constructive help - enjoy your passage.
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tome
New member
My wife did her first solo night watch (2 hours) last year and it was a real milestone in our cruising. Our method now is that she does the 2-4 watch when I'm at my most tired. Having a couple of hours rest (even if I don't nod off) is very refreshing and allows us to keep going.
If anything happens then she knows to call me, but it's a matter of pride that this rarely happens. She is prone to sea-sickness but manages this with tablets before we leave - she prefers the French Mercalm pills. We've also discovered that it's best if she takes the helm for an hour or so as soon as we're established on passage. This gives her something to concentrate on and mitigates the sleepiness that these pills induce. I think it also helps her attune to the motion of the boat so that she relaxes more when off watch. We try to keep her time below (except when sleeping) to a minimum.
My wife learns at her own pace and this season she has mastered the radar for collision avoidance which is a great help in crossing shipping. She is no longer intimidated by shipping lanes and, as her confidence grows, passages are becoming more enjoyable for both of us.
I think the secret is to do a little to start with and let her progress at her own pace, accepting that you will have to do the lions share for a few seasons if you are experienced and she is not. It's most important that you actively manage her sea-sickness and accept that anxiety can be a major contributor to this malaise. Prolonged night passages can add to this anxiety so it calls for a bit of common sense and planning.
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If anything happens then she knows to call me, but it's a matter of pride that this rarely happens. She is prone to sea-sickness but manages this with tablets before we leave - she prefers the French Mercalm pills. We've also discovered that it's best if she takes the helm for an hour or so as soon as we're established on passage. This gives her something to concentrate on and mitigates the sleepiness that these pills induce. I think it also helps her attune to the motion of the boat so that she relaxes more when off watch. We try to keep her time below (except when sleeping) to a minimum.
My wife learns at her own pace and this season she has mastered the radar for collision avoidance which is a great help in crossing shipping. She is no longer intimidated by shipping lanes and, as her confidence grows, passages are becoming more enjoyable for both of us.
I think the secret is to do a little to start with and let her progress at her own pace, accepting that you will have to do the lions share for a few seasons if you are experienced and she is not. It's most important that you actively manage her sea-sickness and accept that anxiety can be a major contributor to this malaise. Prolonged night passages can add to this anxiety so it calls for a bit of common sense and planning.
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johnsail
Member
You let yourself down again Happy1
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Sybarite
Well-known member
I usually try to get some early rest because the wife is naturally rather alert up until about midnight. I then usually take the next three or four hours, duration depends on my alertness. She will do the next 2 - 2 1/2 hours and then we alternatively catnap until fully caught up. It seems to work. If during her watch we are in an area of activity I usually bunk down in the cockpit.
The log is updated every hour (barometer, log distance and average estimated speed, course steered, distance off rhumb line course, and finally GPS postion to comfort other readings) - even if only helps to overcome drowsiness.
One rule that we follow scrupulously is that no matter how calm the night is we wear harnesses. This gives comfort to the off-watch person.
John
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The log is updated every hour (barometer, log distance and average estimated speed, course steered, distance off rhumb line course, and finally GPS postion to comfort other readings) - even if only helps to overcome drowsiness.
One rule that we follow scrupulously is that no matter how calm the night is we wear harnesses. This gives comfort to the off-watch person.
John
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