Singlehander's danger: Sleep deprivation

[Frank]

 I'll throw this out there to those more experienced than I. For the last 5 years I've done some cruising envolving many 50-175 knm passages.Only a few times was I worried. Once after battling the storm and again during the end of my 85knm crossing last year. Both of those times it was the  total 'exhaustion' that got me. You get REALLY tired in either case.  I was up over 33hrs both times and must admit to 'blurred judgement'. The ole brain just ain't functioning right. On a VERY long passage solo....it just HAS to be considered. Ya have to reef 'just one more time'...but too tired so figure 'I think I'm OK for now'.  The other danger is seasickness. I have NEVER had it until the last failed crossing attempt, but I'm hear to tell ya...it is DRAINING!!! While I never got to the 'head over the side' thing..the nassious state I was in made even a simple task seem like running a mile.After adjusting the main or simply checking around with the binocs...ya'd HAVE to rest. 1st time and I had no idea how debuilitating it is !!   OK...any other experiences/advice out there for us 'solo guys'??

[mudnut]

Don't ya think 33hrs is a little bit to long to stay awake,and drug free of course,for most people.On land in the lounge room sounds safe or in the shed on a mission,but not out at sea,you have discribed what ya went through dosen't that tell ya something.Two crew could have done that skip very comfortably with less bad judgements.mudnut.

[Captain Smollett]

Don't ya think 33hrs is a little bit to long to stay awake,and drug free of course,for most people.On land in the lounge room sounds safe or in the shed on a mission,but not out at sea,you have discribed what ya went through dosen't that tell ya something.Two crew could have done that skip very comfortably with less bad judgements.mudnut.

Not really sailing related, but 33 hrs without sleep is not all that uncommon in some professions.  I did that often enough in my previous job, and my wife did 36+ at least once per week in her previous job (on top of 3-4 regular 8 hour days; her work weeks were typically 80-90 hours) .  In my case, I carried a gun and in hers, she made life/death decisions in the care of patients.  When she was younger, it was not uncommon for her to go upwards of 50 hours without sleep between work and school.

There's no doubt two crew can handle watch keeping more 'comfortably' than one.  Not everyone has that option.  Lots of singlehanders have made successful passages and even circumnavigations.  There are whole distance races built around the idea of solo sailing.

What I took from Frank's comment is not that one should not singlehand, but that you should be diligent of the added danger of exhaustion setting in (hard to recognize in one's self) and plan ahead accordingly.  It's like we used to say when rock/mountain climbing - you have to rest when you can.  You don't go full-out all the time; you cannot last.  Or, as the author Robert Ludlum wrote in The Bourne Identity: "Sleep is a weapon."

[Frank]

Thanks Capt S....that was my point. That 'IF' you singlehand long enough,AND actually 'leave the bay',situations WILL arrise that exhaustion will set in and to be aware of the effect on your judgement. The 1st time I was not truly 'singlehanding'.....but may as well have been. When the storm started, my buddy quickly became seasick and was either becoming close friends with the head or laid out on the cabin sole....as I type this, I guess even 2 people should be 'aware' and prepare. The 2nd time it was an 84knm crossing. The 'window' opened for a relatively short time. I had prepared to leave the next AM, but left at 7pm instead as a front was coming thru.That time I took a 'cooking timer' (will now always carry it) around 3am when I was feeling tired, I set it for 10min 'cat naps'. Would have a quick look for ships,set it for 10min again and doze off. I realize that none of this is 'proper' or 'seamanlike', but if you single hand sooner or later these things happen.

[Norm]

Frank:  The timer is a good tool.  One always "thinks" one will wake up every 10-20 minutes for a look around.  The timer assures it!  I don't ever recall cursing the alarm because it woke me for a look-see.

I bet none of us will see kitchen timer accessories at boat shows!  (Biz idea:  The Single Handers Shop)

One thing I do when planning a single handed coastal trip is look for stopping places that are no more than 18 hrs apart.  I have found that I can stay awake longer but am not cogent after about 18 hrs.  I don't need a full-on marina, just a place to anchor, make  a meal, wash up, and nap for a few hours.  Often the tide plays a role in where and when.

Rest/sleep is a tactic for survival not to mention enjoyment.

We had a CARD System aboard a J30 two of us sailed back from Bermuda.  A stunning device.

Best, Norman

[Frank]

Norm...what's a 'CARD' system?????

[Captain Smollett]

Collision Avoidance Radar Detection

It's a radar receiver only (no emitter); kinda like a fuzz buster for the speeders among us, but with directional info (no range info).

[BobW]

The Singlehanded Sailing Society of San Francisco has forum on their website addressing many issues, questions, dangers and concerns for singlehanded sailors.  Obviously many of these issues also concern all sailors, so it is a good source of information.  My experience with this group is they are a bunch of helpful guys willing to assist whoever needs it - much like the Sail Far community!  :)

Here is a link to the SSS Forum.

http://p4.forumforfree.com/sss.html

[Godot]

Singlehanding is a funny thing.  I mostly single hand as I really don't have suitable and compatible crew (my wife hates sailing).  I haven't done any long passages as you describe so take my input with a grain of salt; but I have sailed for as long as 16 hours at a stretch and many a time worked 24-48 hours, so maybe there is some value here.

It is all a balancing game.  Theoretically, and legally, you are supposed to maintain a watch at all times.  For the mind and body to work efficiently you need rest.  If you are really tired you might not recognize a threat, or react properly to it and you will be more prone to accident.  On the other hand, if you are asleep you will never see the threat.

I find that I can be reasonably alert for up to 24 hours without medical stimulants if I'm kept busy.  Far less if I'm just sitting there looking around (a typical watch I would think, especially if you are on autopilot).  So, I think on a long watch, especially at night, I would try and have some kind of project to take care of.  Maybe some varnishing?  Bread baking (would you do this on a 24 hour sail?  If it helped keep you awake?  I wouldn't).  Solitaire?  Perhaps just listening to a book on tape (cd) or a decent radio show (music puts me to sleep; but I get a kick out of listening to Coast to Coast AM while watching the sky for invading E.T.'s).  Anything to keep the brain active.  Doing any project at sea is going to be tougher than doing it in port, especially while trying to maintain night vision.

For the second 24 hours I need caffeine.  Lots of it.  That is in addition to keeping myself busy.  After that I'm going to sleep whether I like it or not.

I've tried cat naps of 10 minutes each while driving long distance (as a rule, I DO pull over at a rest area or something), and found that for every 10 minutes nap, I could usually remain alert for another 10 minutes.  Not very useful while driving, and probably far more hazardous than sleeping at sea.  However, if you are only up for 60 seconds or so to look around, it might not be too bad.  Heck, you might be able to return to your dream.  I have read, though, that it takes most people several days to really acclimate to the 10 minute thing.

For long passages risk balancing would seem to be the key.  If you are well outside the normal stomping grounds of fishing boats, tankers, freighters, and pleasure boaters, perhaps sleeping for several hours at a time and remaining fully rested is the better of two bad choices (sleep during the day and stay on watch at night?).  Of course, if something goes wrong you will be severely criticized for not maintaining a proper watch.  But I tend to think that exhaustion is worth avoiding if at all possible.  Apparently lots of single handers, and some double handers, think this way.  It is a form of Russian roulette, though.  Where you are likely to run across other vessels this is probably an unacceptable risk.  Cat naps may be the only way to go.

A radar with watch mode is really cool and would provide a bit more comfort during a nap.  I can't afford it, and don't know where I would put it on my little boat.  The C.A.R.D. sounds really cool, though.

[AdriftAtSea]

Of course the CARD does nothing about many of the clueless powerboaters that are found in coastal waters... :(  Many of whom don't have radar, and wouldn't know how to use it if they did.

[BobW]

I wonder about the big powerboats running radar on the Delta under bright sunny skies and 10 mile visibility.  Every time I'm out I see these large (40'+) cruisers with their radar on and I can't image why.  They're on a river system with water no more than a couple a miles across at its widest spot.  Funny thing is, like any body of water, the worse conditions are the fewer boats there are out and about.

I also wonder if those operators have any idea how to use the radar.

[Frank]

Good point Bob...I'll stick to my 'cooking timer' with a quick 'once around' every 10 minutes and back to sleep....and at $5.95....way cheaper too. In all fairness they would be great on an offshore passage after dark...not so great in local waters.

[Captain Smollett]

Every time I'm out I see these large (40'+) cruisers with their radar on and I can't image why.  They're on a river system with water no more than a couple a miles across at its widest spot.

IANAL, but isn't,

Colregs Rule 7(b) Proper use shall be made of radar equipment if fitted and operational, including long-range scanning to obtain early warning of risk of collision and radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of detected objects.

usually interpreted to mean that IF you HAVE radar aboard, you HAVE to run it?  It does not say anything in that rule about only in adverse conditions...

I also wonder if those operators have any idea how to use the radar.

That, of course, is a separate issue completely.

[BobW]

I would imagine if a powerboater knows  the regs well enough to know he is supposed to have it on (assuming it is operational), he would also know how to use it.

Maybe not.

Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious to me.

[skylark]

For those who singlehand and go on multiday passages, how do you deal with sleep deprivation?

My method is to be very lazy all day. In open water during the day, I lay on the cockpit seats and relax, but still listen for anything odd.  I always try to look around every few minutes.  I slow down at night by reducing sail and at times will heave to, under the theory that the slower I go, the less potential I have for hitting someone else. 

2AM to 6AM is quite difficult, and when the boat is in an area where vigilance is required, I try to make a comfortable seat and cover up with blankets in a place where I can see, and I try to relax.  Basically I try to meditate but in a sitting position so I can't fall asleep without falling over.

I will admit to heaving to, turning on lots of lights and sleeping for a couple hours when well offshore (15 miles or more) when visibility is good, the winds are not pushing me ashore and when there is little traffic. 

I have tried the egg timer 10 minute sleep - look around - 10 minute sleep cycle and it works, but if you once sleep through the timer you can be out for hours, so I would never use this method anywhere close to land or in traffic.

After dealing with sleep deprivation on overnight passages, I greatly prefer to be on the anchor by dusk.  However sometimes you can't get around an extended passage. 

[Godot]

Never had to worry about it at sea.  On land sleep dep is a regular part of my life.  As long as I keep busy I'm ok.  When I stop I get in trouble.  Reading a real page turner will keep me awake all night, so I guess it could work.  I am hoping to circumnavigate the Delmarva Peninsula single handed this summer so I may have time to try out the thoughts here  (I'd be offshore for a couple of days).

One thing I have at home is a nifty stop watch that I think came from Radio Shack.  It has a clip, an electronic compass (cardinal points only), clock, regular stopwatch function, and a feature which will beep it repeatedly at a certain frequency.  I accidentally set it for two hours once, and it took me a week to figure how to turn the darned thing off.  Kept waking me up every two hours at night, even when it was in the next room.  It might work better than an egg timer.

[AdriftAtSea]

In this respect I'm pretty lucky... most of my life I've needed less sleep than most people...and can get away with cat napping off and on around the clock if I need to be mostly awake for something.  Working in the news media, on 24-hour news cycle probably also contributed to this... When I'm single-handing, I prefer to get most of my rest during the day... and stay up at night... The reason for this is two-fold.... one, the watch on other boats is likely to be better during the day than at night, and two—I love watching the stars... :D

[CapnK]

Adam - sounds like a neat gadget, have any more particulars about it?

Like skylark, if it comes down to it, and everything is copasetic, I'll heave-to and sleep for a couple hours after dark while well lit up - but only very late PM/early early AM. More generally, I'll be dozy on purpose during the day, especially between 10 AM and 3 PM, and fully awake most of the night. Any time I can tell I am in danger of falling asleep, I'll shorten sail and slow the boat down. It seems that if I can get 4-6 hours of sleep in a given 24 hour period, with 2 hours of that in a fairly deep sleep, I think I could go on for weeks without too many ill effects.

Around here, the most dangerous hours for a collision are probably between sunset and midnight, and then the two hours before and 1 hour after dawn. Nighttime hours due to party-ers, and the morning hours due to fisherman hauling butt to get out 50 miles by sunrise. :) I always try to be fully alert during those times.

[Godot]

Adam - sounds like a neat gadget, have any more particulars about it?

It's a Radio Shack stopwatch/timer/Digital compass (with real bearing, not just cardinal points like originally indicated).  It has a rotating compass bezel; although I don't understand the point with a digital compass.  Time and date, too.   It is water resistant to 10 Meters.  It uses the indigo style back light.  The catalog number on the back is 63-5027. 

It is a neat device but it is a bit non-intuitive to use.  It took awhile to figure out how to turn the darned timer off, for instance.  I checked the online Radio Shack catalog but it doesn't appear to be currently stocked.  Mine is probably three or four years old.

(sorry for low quality... camera phone picture)

[oldsalt_1942]

I single-handed from Fort Lauderdale to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala and back in a Kaiser 26, an honest "pocket cruiser." The trip from Key West to Isla Mujeres is 350 NM against a 2-1/2 to 3 knot current. You can't stay awake that long.

I also know that a container ship can go from horizon to horizon in about 15 minutes, and in the Middle of the Yucatan Channel I once had 7 ships in sight at one time.

Essentially I tried to stay up as long as possible in the dark hours to keep watch for ship lights working on the hope that a pretty red-hulled sailboat would be relatively visible during the daylight.

But you still need to sleep and this is how I handled it. I had two LOUD wind-up alarm clocks. I set the wake up time to 12:30. Even in the dark it's easy to set the hands to 12 straight up. I would wedge them into a crevace between the dodger and the side of the trunk cabin and lay down on some throwable seat cushions and nap for a half hour. When the alarms went off I'd get up and check the horizon. If there was nothing visible I'd reset the clocks and doze again. If I spotted something I'd ascertain it's direction and if necessary I'd fix a cup of coffee and see what developed.

Made it both ways with no incidents.