Rules of the Watch

When I was young, I was crew on a Shannon 38 being delivered from St John USVI to Camden, Maine. I stood the Mid-Watch (midnight to 3am) and I had to hand steer in 20 knots of wind on a reach with the wind abaft the beam while surfing the resulting waves in the Gulfstream. We had no GPS, no autopilot and maintaining the plotted magnetic course was constant work. There could not be a bigger contrast from my early experience to what anyone will experience standing watch on Sarah-Sarah.

On our last trip we had over 24 hours between one course change and the next. There was literally nothing that the boat required as all systems functioned exactly as they should. The GPS and the autopilot work brilliantly together and the workload on the watch keeper is nearly zero with the exception of scanning environment and instruments. That is actually the problem. Boredom is likely the biggest challenge anyone will face and that is complicated by radically adjusted sleep schedules. Tired and bored is not a good combination.

When making long passages there is a rhythm that the ship and crew fall into to make for a harmonious and safe trip. The transition from being at anchor where everyone eats, sleeps, and is awake at the same time, to a watch system where essentially everyone is eating, sleeping, and being awake at different times can be tough. This trip will be no exception.

We will have four people on board, and I will likely establish a watch schedule that will be 3 hours on and 9 hours off. I will discuss with the crew whether they want to rotate the shifts or maintain them for the 7 days we will be underway to Nuuk Greenland from Portland Maine. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and this will be complicated a bit if we decide to stop along the way due to weather or just plain interest in the areas that we will navigate through.

If you have been keeping up, you hopefully read Mario’s blog on why he chose the mid-watch when he first came aboard. He was the least experienced on this vessel and wanted the more experienced crew and captain to be well rested if an issue came up. This was a great lesson for me and a policy I will adopt in the future.  I had never thought about it like that before. In the past, I always took the mid-watch because I knew from experience that I could. Especially in the transition from sleeping at night and being awake during the day, that watch can be particularly tough to maintain focus. Getting distracted and falling asleep on a watch can lead to dire consequences.

So, with all that in mind, these are the rules for maintaining watch on Sarah-Sarah.

Rule 1: The Boat comes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

Said differently you must pay attention to the boat and our surroundings all the time. What that looks like is this:

Proper instrument scan:

A) FLIR camera – anything on night vision? Be prepared to take control from autopilot to steer around debris or pots

B) RADAR – Any contacts with CPAs (closest point of approach) less than 2 miles? – alter course if appropriate until clear and then resume course – If you cannot open up the CPA – Wake the Captain.

C) Engine instruments – all in the green? – engine temperature (165-175), oil pressure (45-50), fuel pressure 10.5 – 11.5psi) need to be part of your routine scan. If they drift outside specs, call it to the attention of the Captain (who also serves as Chief Engineer)

WAKE CAPTAIN IF CONCERNED. This is an important premise. While you don’t want to wake the captain every time you see a lobster pot, don’t hesitate to wake the captain if you are anxious or unsure about ANYTHING. And anything includes one last thing:

D) YOU – At all times you need to maintain an honest assessment of your physical and mental health. But alone on watch, things get harder. Problems at night can take the form of “nodding off.” We have all felt that feeling at some point where our heads pop up and we recognize we had drifted off. If you even feel like you might be getting there, stand up, do some squats, do some pushups on the dash, get a cup of coffee, drink some water, have a snack…DON’T tell yourself “I got this” and just keep sitting there.

The next time you nod off, you might wake up to the sound of the boat hitting something, or getting slapped in the head by the person relieving you (permission granted, by the way). Throughout the day or night, staying fed, hydrated and relieved (biologically) is important. During the day you can ask someone to keep an eye on the helm while you take care of business. Getting drinks or food can be done easily while on watch because of the unique design of the boat. You will always have great visibility from the helm chair and the galley.

Remember, at night, you are not allowed on deck under any circumstance unless another crew member is awake and aware of what you are doing. The one thing you are permitted to do in this case is to go to the bridge. To relieve yourself, you must still use the aft head at night.

Personal Electronics:

Your device can be your downfall. Standing watch can be boring to say the least. You might be tempted to pull out and take a quick look at your email or your texts or your favorite social media site (thepassage25). Please don’t. This is just a hard rule. Your device can be used to listen to a book on tape or to listen to music or even a podcast but only if you use just one earbud, leaving your other ear open to listen to the boat (and the radio). A change in sound can be a good indicator that something is or is about to go wrong. I personally use a bone conducting headset that allows be to listen to books but does not obstruct my ability to hear what’s happening around me.

That about sums is up. Maintaining watches is not technically difficult on a boat like Sarah- Sarah. Enjoy the peace and quiet and maintain the watch for the safety of all.