Sailing Off Shore

At Sea
N 40 50 W 072 00

Today we are beginning a 3-4 day passage from Block Island, RI to Norfolk, VA. We are following a rhumb line course (a straight line for land lubbers). That will keep us 100 miles or so off shore for most of the time. You may be interested in what we do differently to prepare for and to execute off shore passages. Bear in mind that ocean crossing passages, which we haven't done yet, may be something entirely different.

BEFORE LEAVING:
* Top off fuel and water tanks.

* Do oil and/or fluid changes if they are near do.

* Poop readiness. (Land lubbers – getting pooped does not mean what it sounds like. It means having a big wave come in over the back of the boat. It can fill the cockpit with water in a fraction of a second.) Securely bolt down the cockpit sole. If the floor to the cockpit washed away with a big wave, the boat could fill with water and sink. We have never yet been pooped, but we try our best to be prepared for that eventuality.

* Make sure that the Monitor self-steering system is ready for use.

* Stow away anything on deck that doesn't need to be there. For inland sailing we typically keep our bicycle and our docking lines on deck. Those go below deck for off shore sailing.

* Prepare food that's hearty and easy to warm up and easy to handle. A batch of chili or peanut butter sandwiches, for example. We often forget to do that, including this time.

* Put in the boards in the V-berth compartment so that things can't fall on the floor. The V-berth is sometimes like a cocktail shaker when off shore. As long as the loose things up there stay in the V-berth and off the floor, it does no harm.

* Put lee cloths in the pilot berths. A lee cloth is a piece of strong canvas that one attaches to the side of the bed, and then to the ceiling. The lee cloth in the upper berth lets us stow loose things in the cabin without them getting loose and falling to the floor. The lee cloth in the lower berth allows a crew person to sleep without fear of falling out of bed. Another Westsail owner tells me that he just sleeps on the floor whenever off shore.

* We also use a seat belt at the stove. A rail in front of the stove lets you hold yourself away from the stove, and the belt behind your back prevents you from being thrown backward. That happened to Libby once before we had the belt and it hurt a lot.

* Take seasickness remedies in advance if needed. Libby also wears a back brace when off shore. It helps to prevent lower back pain when we get bounced around.

* Tell family that you will be out of cell phone contact for a while. Some people file a float plan with the Coast Guard. I view blogging while at sea as a better alternative.

* Request weather forecasts needed for the passage. I get weather forecasts at sea on our SSB radio. I requested text-version forecasts to be delivered to my email once per day every day for a week. I also requested a GRIB file (a file that gives a graphical picture of wind direction and speed) to be sent twice per day. When I send out my blogs, the radio automatically downloads any forecasts available.

* Make sure all rechargeable batteries are charged up. We must run the engine while at see to keep the main batteries charged, but the less we run it the better.

* Plan your route. A good plan includes a backup plan in case weather turns bad. Today, we are heading for Norfolk, but we could easily divert to put in at Atlantic City, or Cape May, or Ocean City if need be. Program your route in to the GPS chart plotter. That gives the helmsman an easy quick reference.

* Turn the cell phones off. You won't get a signal off shore anyhow.

EN ROUTE:
* Mark your position on the chart or in the log book every 4 hours. That way, if you loose GPS navigation you know about where you are and your approximate course and speed. Then you can use dead reckoning navigation to substitute.

* Make a crew change schedule that fits you. Talking to other cruisers, we find that very few of them follow strict 4 hours on 4 off schedules. They switch every two hours or every hour. Libby and I switch every two hours during daylight. At night, I watch 16-20, and 00-06. Libby watches 20-24 and 06-10. We found by trial and error that fits us best.

* In the fall, like now, nights are colder. Further, southward passages are done when the (cold) wind blows from the north. Cold night time temperatures means that night watches may need to be shortened.

* Wear thermal long underwear, gloves and hand warmers at night.

* Take aspirin. Both of us experience lots of sore muscles from bracing ourselves against the roll, and from wrestling with the tiller if the self-steering doesn't do a good enough job.

* Bananas make excellent energy snacks.

* Make it a point to kiss and hug when changing watch. Belay that order if the other crew person is not your spouse or at least blonde :) When at sea, we spend almost 100% of the time we are not on watch laying down in the bunks. That makes it rather lonely, leaving very little time for conversation or togetherness.

* Leave time to write a blog. I think that many of my blog readers especially like the articles that begin with the At Sea byline.

* Turn the automatic bilge pump to manual mode. Then remember to pump it with every shift change.

* Keep a sharp eye out for ships. When one is spotted, take a bearing with the binoculars and recheck the bearing every 5 minutes. If it gets too close, get all crew on deck and try to call the ship on VHF radio. Be prepared to start the engine and take emergency evasive action if necessary. Those dang ships just plow on, oblivious to everything in their path and oblivious to calls over the radio. Worse, they might not plow on, they could make a course change toward you.

* Peak fatigue from lack of sleep happens about 36 hours into the passage. Be on guard making critical decisions when fatigued. If you are fatigued and forced to decide anyhow, then choose the most conservative choice as a matter of policy.

* Avoid sail changes at night. That might mean reefing the main sail or taking down the whisker pole before sunset, even if the weather forecast sounds mild.

MORE
I bet my cruising friends could add other good points to this list. Feel free to email me suggestions. I work them in to a future blog post.