Single handed passagemaking

[longjohnsilver]

There's a post on scuttlebut about a sailor presumed drowned whose boat was found beached and damaged. Very sad and seems to happen more to sailors rather than motorboaters.

It made me think as to why that should be. I do a lot of singlehanded passages, sometimes across channel, and take basic safety precautions, particularly about going out on deck. If I do this my rule is that I have the boat out of gear and stationery. I know from experience that there is almost no chance of catching a boat doing anything over a knot, and also what it's like being pulled along in the water at 3 kts or more. Not pleasant and impossible at any speed over 3 or 4 kts. I guess in a sailing boat it is virtually impossible to be completely stationary, especially in any sort of wind.

I don't wear a lifejacket or a harness, I know that I can climb back up the ladder on the transom if I were to fall in (touch wood, never happened yet!). I keep a good lookout and my speed as many know is somewhat lower than planing boats. The anchor is always properly secured, two seperate lashings, always amazes me when I read of self launching anchors, and all warps safely stored in the cockpit.

There is always the unexpected which can happen, but I just wonder what precautions others take when and if they go to sea alone. My boat is registered with the CG but I don't as a habit call them with my passage details. Maybe I should.

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[Davy_S]

A couple of years ago I went to the bow of a small mobo to pull in a loose painter. The boat was stopped in the water in the Lune deeps, and I fell in. I had always thought myself fit (for 50) and a passable swimmer. It was March, and when I hit the water I could not get my breath because of the cold and shock. The boat was slowly driffting away and I had to get my act together and swim after it as I was alone. It took me ages to struggle and climb up an outboard motor and over the stern. It really gave me a fright what happened, and when sailing alone I always wear a lifejacket and clip on. I realised after that things could have gone badly wrong and I could have been a gonner.

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[hlb]

Most raggies found after falling overboard have there fly's open, or so I have read. Expect they were just having a pee over the side and fell in.

I dont have any trouble about sailing alone. Always manage to find a willing crew.

Maybe you should concentrate on being more amicable or join a dating agency...../forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1> Get Yer Flags ear</font color=red>
Haydn

 

[jimi]

Apparently the surgeon who chopped his leg off was a bit of a wild slicer (as well as being crap at golf) and chopped his dick off as well .. hence his solitude .. poor pirate!


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[claymore]

Oh Please...

The ageing parrot-stand puts up a sensible post for the first time this century and all you two can do is hi-jack it.
Did the surgeon really do that?

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
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[BrendanS]

Re: Oh Please...

Oh! - I was just going to post some funny rubbish, and now you've tickled what little conscience I have left.

Single hand a lot in quite rough conditions over quite long distances for a small fast boat. Kill cord kills engine if I go more than 2 feet from helm.

I aways wear auto-inflate life jacket when underway. Inside the jacket is a small pack of mini-flares. Attached to my belt is a waterproof VHF with a speaker/mike attached to life jacket collar, so it can be operated single handed in any conditions with mike already in correct position to talk. This gives me a fighting chance of alerting someone if I go overboard.

The life jacket is of type with safety harness with attachment point, and I carry a lifeline which can be clipped on in such a way that if I need to hang over the stern (eg to check leg for fouled rope etc), my body would be held mainly out of water if I get knocked over.

Always make sure someone on shore is aware of route and etc - while you can use CG66 to file a passage plan,coastguard will only start searching if someone actually reports you missing.

In very rough cold conditions I might take further precautions.

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[claymore]

Re: Oh Please...

With LongJohn being willieless, is this why he's on about being single handed?

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>regards
Claymore<font color=purple>
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[longjohnsilver]

End of term blues........

Oh dear, is this the best our raggie bretheren can do?

Have you not read Kimattollahs warnings of a fate worse than death for this type of drift? I demand that all scuttlebut be removed and clapped in irons and then be keel hauled under QM2.

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[BrendanS]

Re: End of term blues........

Pah! they'd love to be keel hauled. Traditions and all that stuff.

Make them stand down wind of Mucky Farter while it's being started. They'd die of apoplexy about smoke being blown over all the saily boats

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[longjohnsilver]

Re: End of term blues........

They wouldn't die of apoplexy, more like asphyxiation!!

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[BrendanS]

Re: End of term blues........

Hopefully both! /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

Would make more room for us stinkies

I do sincerely hope you didn't take any of that safety guff seriously (please note non use of ****** words as per recent instructions), I have a reputation to maintain.

What I actually do is hang off the back with no safety line, with a 20l container of petrol (usually 3, one after another) and balance the container on the bathing platform, while I syphon the petrol into the filler. I don't cut the engine, as I'd rather keep it on tickover than worry about restarting engine when miles out at sea /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif


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[Tomsk]

Re: On the serious side of this post ;-)

Brendan..

How do you cope with berthing when single handed? I berth 'beam on' to a pontoon - if wind blows me on hard I can JUST get my lard arse down of the flybridge and snag a sternline, then back up to the bridge drive on and leave in ahead whilst scrambling back down again to to fix a bowline... etc etc

All well and good with the right breeze, but anything on the nose, up the chuff or worse blowing me of pontoon, and I'm too scared to move!

Any advice?

<hr width=100% size=1>Tomsk -

Can I leave the planet please.. this one is broken!

 

[Roy]

Re: On the serious side of this post ;-)

If its of any help ...... I keep our berthing lines on the berth, fixed and with eyes in. I always come in with a line fixed to mid cleat on boat and taken back up to FB. I lob that onto the pontoon just before going down to get the first line on and if we miss that line due to wind or wash, then we have the line we threw down to work with. Proved invaluable last weekend with high winds swirling around in no particular direction. We have a couple of those 'handy hookers' but they are of little use single handed when you only have a few seconds to make fast, great for some piers and swinging moorings though. Roy

<hr width=100% size=1>What does this mean then?

 

[burgundyben]

Re: Oh Please...

"In very rough cold conditions I might take further precautions" - such as?

<hr width=100% size=1>I didn't knacker TCM's copper it was Trazie

 

[longjohnsilver]

Re: Oh Please...

Think he might carry two full hip flasks rather than just one /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[BrendanS]

Re: Oh Please...

Avoidance of hypothermia for one (or at least avoiding being wet, cold and miserable, cos that's when you make bad decisions) - not a problem for peeps who drive inside, but a real possibility mid winter in freezing conditions in driving rain while doing 30knts for a few hours in an open sports boat.

Then I put on breathable drysuit, so I'll stay totally dry and cozy, with wicking thermals and fleece midlayer. Really good warm hat that won't blow off, and is waterproof (most of your body heat is lost through your head) and gloves.

Having the drysuit on also means if I do go overboard, I'll also stand a bit more chance of surviving for a while, but hope not to ever have to test this!

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[BrendanS]

Re: On the serious side of this post ;-)

There have been a lot of posts on this subject, and some very good advice in them, regarding use of springs, big round bouys etc, and it will be worth your while to do a search and read a few of them, as everyone has their favourite tactics, and some will appeal to you more than others.

The biggest tip I can give you is practice - I single hand nearly all the time, and in all sort of conditions, and you just get used to coping. If you don't fancy taking the plunge yourself, then think about having an instructor come out with you and spend a day practicing berthing in all sorts of directions and types of mooring - it will give you more confidence to try it yourself.

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