Staying awake

[jimi]

Re: Hallucinations

listen ya ugly mug .. ah wiz ill and hadnae slept for 36 hours afore gettin oan ra boacht!

<hr width=100% size=1>.. when's that again, but ..

 

[Twister_Ken]

Twisters at sea

You'll not find many Twisters crossing the Channel.

The risk of getting brained by the masts of flattened Benjenbavs is just too high. Also took me ages to peel off the remains of someone's dodgers from my rigging last time I did it. I tried to piece it togeether to work out which yoghurt pot it came off of. Is there a uni-dodgered boat called Anglesor out there anywhere? Or maybe it's Nora's Leg?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[jimi]

Re: Twisters at sea

I was going to say it was maybe mine but no I could'nt be as I lost mine well past St Caterine's Point .. in fact about 50 miles past it so I can't see how it managed to get into the Solent. Maybe you did'nt collect all the letters and there was also a Y?

<hr width=100% size=1>.. when's that again, but ..

 

[ianwright]

"Yes oh course, takes a bit of confidence to sleep in areas of heavy trafic...but sometimes no alternative for the singlehander...from my own experience have found that a bright deck light, i.e. visible 5 miles is the answer.. as for fast moving trafic a bit disconcerting, for sure but am confident that they are keeping an extra sharp lookout in particular with other ships about. "

Bloody Hell Fire! All of your message is the reverse of the truth.

IanW.

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[wpsalm]

Hey there mister ian bloody hellfire wright. reverse of the truth ???

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[ianwright]

> takes a bit of confidence to sleep in areas of heavy trafic.<


Yup, same sort of confidence it takes to play Rushan Roulette.

.>...from my own experience have found that a bright deck light, i.e. visible 5 miles is the answer<

It's not the '60s and we are not the Hiscocks. these days a nod in the general direction of IRPCS is a good idea.

>.. as for fast moving trafic a bit disconcerting, for sure but am confident that they are keeping an extra sharp lookout <

Not where I sail. The best you can hope for is that the radar is on, a guard zone set, and the watch keeper can hear it buzz from the gally and the heads.

IanW

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[wpsalm]

Yes Ian....as for nod in the general direction of the colregs...this casual attitude is unfortunatly quite common with amateur sailors and for some reason commercial fishermen. as for myself am willing to believe that the majority of profesional seafarers know the rules and obey them, so as a single hander when my vessel is underway and I am asleep there is a possibilty that I could be in a colision with another singlehander but I,m willing to risk it....for all the advantages and pleasure of singlehanding..
As to your asertion that the professional seafarers are in the galley and may or may not hear the radar alarm...as a life long professional seafarer I can assure you that this is total complete utter rubish...no doubt you have read of or heard of an accident that has occured due to this happening but the odds against must be astronomical...
As to the bright light with 5 miles visability...of course we,re not in the sixtys anymore, the tilly lamp has been replaced by a neat little unit powered by camping gaz...and have used it on a few occasions when its no longer possible or sensible to stay awake....approaches to the straits of Gibralter being the worst example I can think of...and I,d like to ephasize the importance of having the boat stopped all sails down....and I assure you, you will be seen and the officer on watch will find you on the radar and take apropriate action...

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[BrendanS]

Uhhmm! after the Tricolour went down, Navigation bouys were put in place, regular radio warnings, a fleet of vessels on site, and patrol ships radioing and flashing lights at vessels heading towards the wreck.

And still two ships managed to ram it. Rather suggests they weren't paying a great deal of attention

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."

 

[jimi]

Erm .. whilst privately of the opinion you may be dwelling in the ethereal vaporous heights of a certain songbird. I would venture to suggest that if you are incapable of staying awake then two red lights instead of a single white might be more appropriate!

<hr width=100% size=1>.. when's that again, but ..

 

[wpsalm]

Yes indeed jimi...good sugestion but have already tried the not under command lights...and found them to be not very effective problem is the colour red and the 25 watt bulbs that are available for them, give a range of visibility of 2 miles in perfect conditions. and I don,t think this is enough also note that they will be blanked out for a considerable segment of the 360 deg. by the mast and rigging..the advantage of a bright white light is that it does,nt fit in any catagory of the colregs...yes I know could be a stern light...but I,m talking bright... and stopped and the fact that it does,nt fit in any particular catagory tends to draw the attention of the watch keeper. makes him think, makes him look at the radar, ..This is my opinion and it is based on first hand experience I,m not advocating this proceedure for casual use ..but comes a time for every singlehander either through sickness or exhaustion some action must be taken.


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[wpsalm]

Yes Brendans you are right they were,nt paying attention..... I,m not very familiar with the incedent but beleive it happened in a busy part of the channel and wonder how many hundreds if not thousands of ships managed to avoid the Tricolour which kinda confirms my argument re professional seafarers maintaning a proper lookout...

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[ianwright]

>I assure you, you will be seen and the officer on watch will find you on the radar and take apropriate action... <

How I wish that were true. My own experience suggests otherwise.

IanW.

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[BrendanS]

So, let me get this right. You are saying the fact that two vessels, despite every attempt to contact and alert them, hit a wreck, surrounded by a small fleet of vessels, and with guard ships trying to signal them away, proves that professional seafarers maintain a good look out.

I also understand that several other vessels were near misses, responding to attempts to communicate with them at the last minute

I think your talents are wasted. The labour government would love to employ someone able to put such amazing spin on a story

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."

 

[ianwright]

I used the NUC signal from time to time in years past.
Sadly the IMO have determined that such use is not permited.
It would be nice to have a "solo sailor" signal just to inform others but you can bet that if we had one it would get used as a 'right of way' badge or an excuse to ignore rule five.

IanW

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[wpsalm]

Ian sugest you have another look at the colregs....the rule against using not under command lights is only in conjunction with a mast head tri light.....perfectly alright with side lights, in fact a requirment under the following conditions, a large ship has lost power and steering she is not under comand but still making way and continues to do so for a couple miles...during this time NUC and side lights must be shown...and of course when the vessel has come to a stop the side lights must be turned off...NUC lights perfectly acceptable on a small boat under certain conditions, such as hove to in a gale. but as I,ve already mentioned not of much practical use....

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[pugwash]

What sort of 12v light can be seen for five miles? Or do you mean a Camping Gaz job as somebody mentioned? Can it be blanked off so it doesn't illuminate the deck and kill your night vision when you wake up?

There's been a lot of astonishment at your suggestion but it seems sensible to me PROVIDED the only alternative is profound fatigue and hallucinations. As a last resort it has a lot to recommend it. A bridge lookout would at least be alerted that there was something to bit. Might even be a lighthouse. What he'd be unlikely to do is ignore it.

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[ianwright]

Tell me, are there any Neils in your family?
You're consistant, I'll say that for you, consistantly wrong....

IanW

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[mickshep]

Surely if single handing you would try and get some sleep before entering an area of high traffic? Not having a go but personally if no alternative I'd heave to before entering a high traffic area and try to get some rest at least, To be frank the idea of sleeping in an area such as you describe would be totally irresponsible and to be quite frank, Bloody scarey. AIMHO of course. Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me."

 

[wpsalm]

Yes Mike ...but heaving to , to sleep before entering an area of high traffic would require planning ahead and this is not always possible for a sailing vessel due to ever changing wind and weather conditions..
as for being irresponsible...if you read my post again you,ll note that I emphasize the importance of being stopped...so I won,t run into anybody of course there is a possibility that other vessels could find themselves in a close quarters situation as a result of trying to avoid me.....but I think this unlikely. further to irresponsible I am a single hander and reserve the right to live my life and risk it as I see fit....Brock

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