Jim, wrote:

New Conservative wrote:
Hi all,

I haven't actually sailed a boat yet but plan to later this year. I am
therefore still a bit green when it comes to the intricacies of the
subject.
Say I'm keen to visit the West Indies and I'm leaving from say
Southampton, England. I'm on my own and will need to sleep every day,
even if only for a few hours. Is it safe to let a boat 'sail herself'
while I catch some shut-eye, or is this a no-no? Can it be done safely
or would I have to drop all sail and just bob around in the dark for a
while until I've awoken? Obviously it'd make for a shorter passage if
I could somehow keep going 24/7. And ideas? Thanks.

One of the many rules of the sea is to maintain a proper watch 24/7. I
don't know how the racer hotshots get away with it, but consider how far
a freighter can travel in an hour while you're napping. Yes their
supposed to maintain a proper watch also, but a little boat is hard to
see (assuming their looking) and a freighter is hard to turn, and has no
brakes.

Solo is Ok for day sailing, but that's about it.

The answer is: 1. set a radar watch within a prescribed distance, then
set the alarm; 2. crash.

--
Regards, Shane
"A closed mouth gathers no feet!"
Website: http://www.wonk.demon.co.uk/

Steve Firth wrote:

New Conservative wrote:

Is it safe to let a boat 'sail herself' while I catch some shut-eye,

No.

Depends where you are

or is this a no-no?

Yes

Depends where you are

Can it be done safely

N

Depends where you are.
This is getting boring!

or would I have to drop all sail and just bob around in the dark for a
while until I've awoken?

No, that's just as bad.

Depends... Yawn...

Obviously it'd make for a shorter passage if I could somehow keep going
24/7. And ideas? Thanks.

You need crew

I give up... Consider what the op asked?

--
Regards, Shane
"A closed mouth gathers no feet!"
Website: http://www.wonk.demon.co.uk/

Lauri Tarkkonen wrote:

In "FMac"
writes:

How about a windvane in place of an autopilot.

For a small boat a windvane that is not dependent of electricity and is
mure reliable than a autopilot is certainly to be recommended.

Of course a good windwane costs about 10 autopilots.

- Lauri Tarkkonen

"Falky foo" wrote in message
om...
You need crew.

That would make sailing solo around the world pretty tough.
Realistically,
if you don't have an autopilot I would recommend a drogue.



How about an an autopilot linked to GPS?
Depends... no, this time - where you are going!

--
Regards, Shane
"A closed mouth gathers no feet!"
Website: http://www.wonk.demon.co.uk/

Steve Firth wrote:

Falky foo wrote:

You need crew.

That would make sailing solo around the world pretty tough.

I'd say anyone who is thinking of having their first lesson shouldn't
really be thinking of solo around the world.

Yup!.. but we all dream...

--
Regards, Shane
"A closed mouth gathers no feet!"
Website: http://www.wonk.demon.co.uk/

I'd say anyone who is thinking of having their first lesson shouldn't
really be thinking of solo around the world.

Yup!.. but we all dream...

If I had a dollar for everyone who read the National Geographic articles
about Robin Lee Graham and thought about doing the same...

So let the fellow dream. Maybe someday he'll have learned enough to do
it.

otnmbrd wrote:
Armond,

Those are "high speed ferries", not ships. They involve a whole
different set of operating parameters than ships, including
stopping distance. In dealing with them and discussing them, you
need to realize and understand that comparing them to normal
commercial traffic is comparing "apples to oranges"....., same
applies to standard tugs and Z-drive or Voight Schneider.

Well, I won't defend a statement I never made. Still, I wonder how much
difference it makes to the target whether he or she is killed by a "ferry"
or a "ship" (ignoring for the moment that many folks cannot accurately
define "ship.")

I can tell you from my own experience that contacting and staying
out of the way of commercial vessels, no matter what their type or
classification, is not at all simple. What it boils down to, it seems to
me, is that the small boat operator should get out of the way and worry
later about the effectiveness of lights, communication devices, warning
systems, etc. In the interim, one should treat the rules as just what they
a rules.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/

None of the above would be possible were I below not keeping a watch.
"They can't see you" is my default assumption. COLREGS might help my
widow get a better settlement, but I will get out of the way of
shipping unless I have positive proof they've seen ME.

That sums up my view of the Colregs too.
TonyB

In article ,
renewontime dot com wrote:


Fascinating. I'd like to learn more - can you point me at any web
sites? I can't find anything much over 25kts.

Our site has a news section, or try
http://www.marinelink.com/main/main.asp but I did a quick search on the
net and didn't find much. Better to get a subscription to "Maritime
Reporter" and "MarineNews", in the current issues there are several
articles about "high speed" vessels.

The only ships around here that run 30+ knots are the ones that are painted
gray and have assorted pointy things sticking out from various parts of their
superstructure.

Oh yeah, if you approach at a closing rate which they determine to be
potentially hostile, they will use the pointy things.

That will definitely ruin your day.

When I'm offshore my radar is up and operating. That's the best visibility
enhancer that I've got.

I can see SHIPS out 8-10nm or so (visually) on a clear day/night, and on
radar quite a bit further. Land disappears 10ish nm around here, in no
small part due to the elevation of some of the buildings (which helps)

Small boats are usually not visible to the naked eye much beyond 4nm or so,
although I will often tag them on radar significantly before that.

All this from my flybridge.

--
--
Karl Denninger ) Internet Consultant & Kids Rights Activist
http://www.denninger.net My home on the net - links to everything I do!
http://scubaforum.org Your UNCENSORED place to talk about DIVING!
http://www.spamcuda.net SPAM FREE mailboxes - FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME!
http://genesis3.blogspot.com Musings Of A Sentient Mind

In article ,
Wayne.B wrote:


On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 21:58:42 +0000, Andy Champ
wrote:

Fascinating. I'd like to learn more - can you point me at any web
sites? I can't find anything much over 25kts.

==========================================

We have a ferry service running between here and Key West that uses
large, high speed catamarans. They can run at 40 kts or so and are
quite spectacular to watch at close range.

http://www.keywestshuttle.com/catgallery/default.htm

What's even more impressive is seeing one of those come over the horizon and
doing a double-take at their closing rate if you're on a recip course.

Been there, done that.

--
--
Karl Denninger ) Internet Consultant & Kids Rights Activist
http://www.denninger.net My home on the net - links to everything I do!
http://scubaforum.org Your UNCENSORED place to talk about DIVING!
http://www.spamcuda.net SPAM FREE mailboxes - FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME!
http://genesis3.blogspot.com Musings Of A Sentient Mind

We have had discussions here in the past about this type of thing. I call
it "improvisational lighting" and I don't see any difference between
making
up the lighting rules as one goes along, and making up the crossing or
overtaking rules as one goes along.

This kind of thing is largely why most commercial operators have such low
opinions of recreational sailors.

* Perhaps with some reason. But *my* first duty is to survive and if
breaking the rules means I do that rather than getting mown down by a big
ship who should be giving way to me under the same rules then that's fine.
There are many cases of yachts being mown down when completely innocent and
abiding by the rules which is why recreational sailors have such a low
opinion of commercial operators.

I know of no commercial ship that has been run down and sunk by a yacht,
whether or not it was in the right ( or wrong!)
TonyB