Strategies for Proper Lookout while single handing?

[Captain Smollett]

I was going to ask about this 'five miles from the bottom' thing.

1 mile = 5280 feet
5 mi = 26,400 feet

The Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is deepest spot on earth.  From The Mariana Trench Web Site,

The deepest point in each of the earth's oceans are as follows; the Arctic Ocean's Eurasian Basin at 5,450 meters (17,881 feet) deep, the Indian Ocean's Java Trench at 7,725 meters (25,344 feet) deep, the Atlantic Ocean's Puerto Rico Trench at 8,648 meters (28,374 feet) deep and the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench at 11,033 meters (36,201 feet) deep.

which makes the deepest parts of both the Atlantic (by 0.37 miles) and the Pacific (by 1.86 miles) Oceans deeper than five miles.

Or, do we mean nautical miles?

1 nm = 6 076.11549 feet
5 nm = 30380.6 feet.

The Challenger Deep is therefore 0.95 nm deeper than five nm.

So, maybe the slogan should be "you are never more than SIX nm from the bottom" or if you wish to use statute miles, 7.

In fact, the manned vessel dive record is 35,810 (set in 1960) which is likewise more than both 5 statute and 5 nautical miles.

Just a thought ... :)

[starcrest]

I read that too.they used gasoline as positive bouancy.soo I stand corrected.give or take a mile-----your really never more than.......

[AdriftAtSea]

on my first crossing to hawaii on the ariel the way there was double handed.at the last second a friend of a friend showed up wanting to go.since this was to be my first such crossing I figured I shouldnt go alone.half way in the middle I awoke from a deep sleep and actually forgot that I had left .....I saw my friend in the cockpit.... the vane gear doing its thing.... the compass  on course.... and that was a real mind game.I forgot that I had actually left on this voyage,the same thing happened on the return.... I woke up tied up the the slip and forgot that it was over.

Exactly how do you forget you went on a voyage?  Just curious... :D

Although the strobe is technically illegal, I'd use one too.  The masthead unit I have is a combination tricolor, anchor and strobe for that very reason.

[Joe Pyrat]

My system is kind of a combination of what was suggested by Jack Tar and CapnK.  Kitchen timer and get as far out of the way of traffic as possible while you are fresh and awake.  But I also use my radar which has a system which allows you to establish a safety bubble around your boat which if the radar's computer calculates will be entered by any object the radar can see, sounds an alarm.

Mostly I try to avoid the necessity to do this and either have a crew, coastal cruise or island hop.