OK So what do you do on long passages to stay awake?

Bertramdriver

Bertramdriver

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Having been forced by circumstances to spend more time at displacement speed than at full ahead. I'm getting used to passages lasting twice as long but ye gods SWMBO and I get bored. I've already fallen asleep at the wheel once. So what do you do to stay sharp, keep the wife occupied and the sleep sirens at bay?
 
Bertramdriver said:
Having been forced by circumstances to spend more time at displacement speed than at full ahead. I'm getting used to passages lasting twice as long but ye gods SWMBO and I get bored. I've already fallen asleep at the wheel once. So what do you do to stay sharp, keep the wife occupied and the sleep sirens at bay?
Click to expand...

Fishing boats, have a timer klaxon, which runs for a short time sometimes 4 minutes before it sounds, you have to move your body position to cancel it.
PIA, but it works.
 
About five hours if it's calm, less if it's sloppy. This summer we'll have some 10 to 12 hours. With the autopilot on and the plotter driving I was thinking of taking up knitting. The problems made worse by the hypnotic exhaust note of the two Detroits which seem to slow the heart rate.
 
On displacement speed cruising I often troll some fishing lures just to see what is around. I also practice chart work and do some ready reckoning to keep from forgetting it all! (although that isnt exactly exciting)
 
Logging keeps our minds on the correct things during a long passage.
The boat's PC outputs a verbal announcement every half hour using a "text to speak" facility and it "speaks" SOG COG, Long, Lat and time etc.
The person on watch "writes" the information down by hand into the log thus keeping a disciplined watch.
Very good during long night passages

Here is an old video clip - you can just hear the "speaking voice" in this clip



I upgraded the PC logging software last winter - it now "cuts out" any audio that might be playing before making the announcement.
It also warns of a "logging event" with a ships whistle over the audio speakers.
You certainly wouldn't sleep through it!!
 
If you are intending to do long passage making then there is only one prudent solution, more crew and set proper watches.
Two crew on a 24hr passage doing split watches is not good, they don't get enough off watch rest time to really re-coupe, and in the later 3/4s of the passage both of you will be tired out, and made worse by not resting with your head down and eyes shut.
That bit is most essential if you intend to be alert if and when all hell brakes loose,
be it a power vessel or sail it is just plane silly, you need a very minimum of 3 competent crew members, who can cope on their own for 4 hrs, with the rested back up to call on if required, you set watches from he very start 4 on 8 off and as soon as you are full away,
(Thats when the lines and fenders are stowed and you are clear of your harbour/anchorage of departure) the off watch PUT their heads down, NO star gazing at the romance and adventure of the high seas, this is a serious business.
 
  • Adjust the sails :)
  • Read.
  • Plot a fix every hour; ok it doesn't occupy much time, but it helps divide it up.
  • Go and sit on the foredeck. Or recline on the boom (but sadly with a loose-footed main I can't use the sail as a hammock any more).
  • Do simple maintenance jobs. Anything involving splicing or sewing is good. On the old boat I used to oil the teak gunwale.
  • My mate's nephew spends hours playing an iPad game where you put food into a pig and then it burps. This is hilarious if you're four :)
  • Cook. I often plan for hot lunches on longer day legs simply because it's something to do. Or mid-morning bacon butties are very popular if you had an early start.
  • Fish (but only if moving slowly)
  • Practice using the radar (new to me on the new boat, so still learning)
  • Wash up. On the old boat it was a cardinal rule never to get underway with unwashed crockery; in theory the rule still applies on the new boat but with a covered second sink to hide it in I admit to sometimes being lazy. For some reason washing up under way is more fun than in port!

Those are some of the things that I do, anyway - obviously only some of them will apply to a motor boat.

Pete
 
5 hours! I've only just cleared the coast.
My tablet is a useful device for time wasting, watch dvds, play the odd game. Then there is all the other necessities, sail trim, nav, eat, drink and listen to Radio4.
On nice sunny days I might do a bit of boat cleaning, overnight I watch instruments and take the odd cat nap.
 
Bertramdriver said:
Having been forced by circumstances to spend more time at displacement speed than at full ahead. I'm getting used to passages lasting twice as long but ye gods SWMBO and I get bored. I've already fallen asleep at the wheel once. So what do you do to stay sharp, keep the wife occupied and the sleep sirens at bay?
Click to expand...

It depends on what you mean by long passages. If they are long daytime passages say of 10-15hrs then two crew should be sufficient to maintain lookout especially if not traversing busy waters. In that context you having a short 1/2 nap in the middle of the day not a problem if your wife keeps a lookout. Autohelm is essential or 10-15 hrs at helm is just too long.

For us boredom has not been a factor as the autohelm enables me to move freely about the boat. We often sit outside, in cockpit dinette, or in saloon, chatting, reading, listening to music, podcasts, game of chess, discussing each others current books, etc, on rare occasions the odd saved movie or TV series on iPad or TV through iPad. I have a routine of system checks every 1/2hr, and plot our position on paper chart just for fun and help use time. I find it fun to see how accurate or not my old pencil and HBC paper plotting is. Really enjoy the passing scenery too. One tip is have a really good sleep the night before and start early if tide/weather permits. If you are going to have some hours of darkness better to have it early in the morning and arrive in evening daylight hours when you may be tired. Not spending the whole passage glued to the helm is the best way to enjoy long trips. If weather is nice and sea state calm, we sometimes stop and drift for a 1/2hr every four hours just to enjoy a meal and get a rest from the engine noise. If in a lumpy swell we don't stop unless passing through a sheltered sound or in the lee of an island.

Obviously if the passages are overnight >24hrs long you need enough crew for a relief helm and a watch system.
 
Last edited:
prv said:
  • Adjust the sails :)
  • Read.
  • Plot a fix every hour; ok it doesn't occupy much time, but it helps divide it up.
  • Go and sit on the foredeck. Or recline on the boom (but sadly with a loose-footed main I can't use the sail as a hammock any more).
  • Do simple maintenance jobs. Anything involving splicing or sewing is good. On the old boat I used to oil the teak gunwale.
  • My mate's nephew spends hours playing an iPad game where you put food into a pig and then it burps. This is hilarious if you're four :)
  • Cook. I often plan for hot lunches on longer day legs simply because it's something to do. Or mid-morning bacon butties are very popular if you had an early start.
  • Fish (but only if moving slowly)
  • Practice using the radar (new to me on the new boat, so still learning)
  • Wash up. On the old boat it was a cardinal rule never to get underway with unwashed crockery; in theory the rule still applies on the new boat but with a covered second sink to hide it in I admit to sometimes being lazy. For some reason washing up under way is more fun than in port!

Those are some of the things that I do, anyway - obviously only some of them will apply to a motor boat.

Pete
Click to expand...

On a displacement motor boat, particularly at night, you are usually inside & looking at a glass windscreen, listening to a hypnotic droning engine. If you are the helm & alone, however disciplined, you can nod off. Some artificial wake up system, PC or klaxon (wife) is essential.
 
Hurricane said:
Logging keeps our minds on the correct things during a long passage.
The boat's PC outputs a verbal announcement every half hour using a "text to speak" facility and it "speaks" SOG COG, Long, Lat and time etc.
The person on watch "writes" the information down by hand into the log thus keeping a disciplined watch.
Very good during long night passages

Here is an old video clip - you can just hear the "speaking voice" in this clip





I upgraded the PC logging software last winter - it now "cuts out" any audio that might be playing before making the announcement.
It also warns of a "logging event" with a ships whistle over the audio speakers.
You certainly wouldn't sleep through it!!
Click to expand...


There is an app for this now - MotionX-Gps - I have it on my iPhone which is connected to stereo via bluetooth. Works really well and can be configured to announce any metric you wish, SOG,COG, time to next waypoint etc. Will also automatically cut in over any music being played and calls etc all work normally.
 
I always travel at displacement speed...... Actually I don't have a choice.

The longest trip I did was 13hrs, on my own and without autopilot, that made me fit one ASAP.

Now I have Auto Pilot I have other problems....... It's so easy to get involved in other things that you forget to check, engine, course ect and the most dangerous item...... Kin lobster pots.

If you find displacement speed boring, your doing it wrong :cool:

Tom.
 
I know its just me but I really don't get the auto pilot thing, at least for MOBO's...
I didn't even bother speccing it on the new boat...I guess I could lash the wheel to hold course if need be.
Did a channel crossing in the dark a few years ago and the thing furthest from mind was taking a nap!! Don't know how some of these sailor types can relax enough to drop off :)
 
AP isnt about being able to be away from the wheel its about holding an efficient course, particularly useful when wind and tide are pushing you around, "lashing" the wheel wont keep you on a course for long.
 
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