What are some opinions and methods sailors are
utilizing these days, in open ocean/offshore
anti collision measures? Are folks/sailors using
good radar systems with alarms (if so what brands)
or just post and conduct regular watches, utilize
radar reflectors, etc? ... Ween i say "open ocean/off
shore" i mean crossing oceans, 20-30 days of straight
sailing, etc...


thanx...

In article .com,
~^ beancounter ~^ wrote:
What are some opinions and methods sailors are
utilizing these days, in open ocean/offshore
anti collision measures? Are folks/sailors using
good radar systems with alarms (if so what brands)
or just post and conduct regular watches, utilize
radar reflectors, etc? ... Ween i say "open ocean/off
shore" i mean crossing oceans, 20-30 days of straight
sailing, etc...

Well, not exactly crossing an ocean, but 10 days out of sight of land
(100-200 miles off) seems to be offshore enough for my taste. For that
we used a combo of radar (at night and only if we weren't sure about
something) and regular watches, with two people on deck at all times
(day or night). We only had one encounter with a tanker, and she
changed course to avoid us. Yes, we had a radar reflector. Don't know
if it was that or she saw us with a visual scan. It was during the
day.

We did encounter another sailboat who clearing had some sort of radar
alarm, but it only alerted him when he was about 3-500 yards
off. Plenty of time for both of us, but....



--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

One radar reflector, A torch to flash over sails in low visibility
condition, and "eyes". Nothing better than someone on deck with a hand
compass taking a bearing on the approaching vessel.. Rememeber, if the
bearing doesnt change you are going to collide. Simple!

Definately, definately post watches around the clock unless you are sailing
in the southern ocean perhaps. If you are in shipping lanes or anywhere that
has "traffic" you need a good watch keeping system. And people who go to
sleep on watch should still be keel hauled. (personal opinion there).

I woke up once to find a watch keeper asleep in the cockpit. There was a
ship only 500 meters away. Sleeping beauty could have killed us all. This
raises a couple of interesting points. Watches should be made so not to
fatigue the crew any more than nessesary. Tasks and challenges can be set at
night to keep the crew busy durning the watch to prevent them from "nodding
off". Peel tomorrow vegies, Entrys to personal logs, cleaning, safety
inspections around the deck- what ever.

DP
"~^ beancounter ~^" wrote in message
oups.com...
What are some opinions and methods sailors are
utilizing these days, in open ocean/offshore
anti collision measures? Are folks/sailors using
good radar systems with alarms (if so what brands)
or just post and conduct regular watches, utilize
radar reflectors, etc? ... Ween i say "open ocean/off
shore" i mean crossing oceans, 20-30 days of straight
sailing, etc...


thanx...

What I go by, 1- Dont expect the big boats to see you, often there is
no watch and if they actually hit you, they will NOT stop. Even if they
know there was a collision. This is a universal reality. Cold but true.
If you don't believe this your living in fantasy land.
2-Radar with an alarm is a must if your in
shipping lanes Headed to the Bahamas at night on a well travelled
route? A watch and radar, a must.
3- Lots of navigation lights beyond the usual,
4-Dont **** your pants if they get within 500
yards, to actually have a collision requires actual contact. Thats
where that boat hits yours????? Their big and scarie looking when
they get close but dont panic if they get real close as long as you
take evasive action you can avoid the problem just fine. Closer they
get the easier it is to calculate your desired course of steer. Just
use your brain and dont freak out like your wife. And give her a shot
of thorazine or prozac what ever you have on hand. Keep the boat crew
calm.

In 1982 (as a beginner) I was going upstream with no wind on the Saint
Laurent river toward Montreal in my brand new 27 foot sailboat when I lost
the diesel engine. I went down to investigate the diesel engine while the
wife was hosting the sales. Suddenly I raised my head to see the bow of a
huge container ship coming at me. Then with the sails up with no wind and
no engine I said this is the end of my family. I had no time to pray. The
bow of the container ship was right on my stern. As I saw the bulbous of
the ship the wake pushed my little sailboat aside and the 6 - 7 current took
me away from the freeboard of the ship. I still thing it was a miracle.
The lesson I learned is when your engine breakdown in heavy current on a
dead calm sea
is to broadcast your position and situation. Today I have a radar and I use
the range guard alarm and I plan my course within a safe distance from the
ship lane. When the location permits I like to contact Maritime traffic and
make my intentions known. The other thing is I always leave the VHF on
scanning. When entering heavy commercially fished and whales watching areas
I broadcast my course and speed.
Last year a 44 foot sailboat was hit by a container ship in the same zone.
The sailboat sunk and everyone on board drowned.

"Meye5" wrote in message
oups.com...
What I go by, 1- Dont expect the big boats to see you, often there is
no watch and if they actually hit you, they will NOT stop. Even if they
know there was a collision. This is a universal reality. Cold but true.
If you don't believe this your living in fantasy land.
2-Radar with an alarm is a must if your in
shipping lanes Headed to the Bahamas at night on a well travelled
route? A watch and radar, a must.
3- Lots of navigation lights beyond the usual,
4-Dont **** your pants if they get within 500
yards, to actually have a collision requires actual contact. Thats
where that boat hits yours????? Their big and scarie looking when
they get close but dont panic if they get real close as long as you
take evasive action you can avoid the problem just fine. Closer they
get the easier it is to calculate your desired course of steer. Just
use your brain and dont freak out like your wife. And give her a shot
of thorazine or prozac what ever you have on hand. Keep the boat crew
calm.

"Part of the problem is many people are not only following the
trades/currents but using the same GPS routing info so everyone,
The above is true however careful route charting will not guaranty that you
are on a safe course. Night ocean sailing is one thing coast night and heavy
fog sailing is another.
Most of the commercial fishermen are programming their GPS's to retrieve
their cages and nets and rely on Autopilot. They have licenses for a given
territory and they do not expect other fishing vessels to enter their area.
Not to mention that some fishermen do not have permits and do not want to be
seeing by others. In the summer when the sailboats are cruising the coast
unless the visibly is good your chances of be seeing by them is slim.
Normally they are 2 -4 fishermen on board busy working and no one is assign
to radar watch or any watch. Most of them leave the VHF on scan and have a
speaker on deck.
When I enter such a zone I feel safer to broadcast my course and position.
Other thing that you can not plan for is submarines and sleeping whales.

"ahoy" wrote in message
...
On 17 Oct 2005 11:57:15 -0700, "~^ beancounter ~^"
wrote:

What are some opinions and methods sailors are
utilizing these days, in open ocean/offshore
anti collision measures? Are folks/sailors using
good radar systems with alarms (if so what brands)
or just post and conduct regular watches, utilize
radar reflectors, etc? ... Ween i say "open ocean/off
shore" i mean crossing oceans, 20-30 days of straight
sailing, etc...


Part of the problem is many people are not only following the
trades/currents but using the same gps routing info so everyone,
especially power boats, is on the same "shortest distance between two
points" route. It seems this would create a sort of traffic lane even
in ocean travel, especially for folks who have this wired into an
autopilot. Maybe just slack off the main vector for starters. Figure a
watch everyone can live with if you have the crew. Radar alarm if you
have the money and DC to spare.
I spoke to someone who works on freighters and he said they have no
watch, that the radar isn't even on and whoever is "on duty" is
usually watching a DVD anyway. A 200'+ boat is now manned by 4 people.
Turning or stopping the thing takes forever. Happy sailing.

thanx...

Denis Marier wrote:
In 1982 (as a beginner) I was going upstream with no wind on the Saint
Laurent river toward Montreal in my brand new 27 foot sailboat when I lost
the diesel engine. I went down to investigate the diesel engine while the
wife was hosting the sales. Suddenly I raised my head to see the bow of a
huge container ship coming at me. Then with the sails up with no wind and
no engine I said this is the end of my family. I had no time to pray. The
bow of the container ship was right on my stern. As I saw the bulbous of
the ship the wake pushed my little sailboat aside and the 6 - 7 current took
me away from the freeboard of the ship. I still thing it was a miracle.
The lesson I learned is when your engine breakdown in heavy current on a
dead calm sea
is to broadcast your position and situation. Today I have a radar and I use
the range guard alarm and I plan my course within a safe distance from the
ship lane. When the location permits I like to contact Maritime traffic and
make my intentions known. The other thing is I always leave the VHF on
scanning. When entering heavy commercially fished and whales watching areas
I broadcast my course and speed.
Last year a 44 foot sailboat was hit by a container ship in the same zone.
The sailboat sunk and everyone on board drowned.

"Meye5" wrote in message
oups.com...

What I go by, 1- Dont expect the big boats to see you, often there is
no watch and if they actually hit you, they will NOT stop. Even if they
know there was a collision. This is a universal reality. Cold but true.
If you don't believe this your living in fantasy land.
2-Radar with an alarm is a must if your in
shipping lanes Headed to the Bahamas at night on a well travelled
route? A watch and radar, a must.
3- Lots of navigation lights beyond the usual,
4-Dont **** your pants if they get within 500
yards, to actually have a collision requires actual contact. Thats
where that boat hits yours????? Their big and scarie looking when
they get close but dont panic if they get real close as long as you
take evasive action you can avoid the problem just fine. Closer they
get the easier it is to calculate your desired course of steer. Just
use your brain and dont freak out like your wife. And give her a shot
of thorazine or prozac what ever you have on hand. Keep the boat crew
calm.




We have to be careful here also, although the ships do slow down a bit
once in the harbour. (Halifax).
I bought my Sandpiper 565 from a guy in Cap de la Madeleine, Que and he
told me he found the wake from the passing freighters very high out in
the St. Lawrence River traffic lanes. He also had a scare trying to
re-start my Evinrude Yachtwin 6hp outboard to avoid a ship. He warned me
not to tilt the motor. I'll have to find out what that problem might be.
BTW, even when sailing on my friends Mirage 33, I always brought my
handheld VHF along and tried to monitor traffic, over his stereo and
boisterous crew.

Don White wrote:

We have to be careful here also, although the ships do slow down a bit
once in the harbour. (Halifax) ... I always brought my handheld VHF along
and tried to monitor traffic,
over his stereo and boisterous crew.

A few years back I entered Halifax for the first time, and unfortunately it
was a real "thick-o-fog." I could not see the dink I was towing.

It was roughly 0300 and I had been in contact with Halifax Traffic and
learned that a commercial ship was outbound and that we would meet in a
rather narrow stretch about 2 or 3 miles in from the mouth of the harbor.
Frankly I was a bit spooked.

In any case I used radar, my eyes, my ears, my GPS(s), and a few assorted
pieces of electronics and miscellaneous body parts to proceed into harbor.
At the appointed time I could both hear and feel the ship's horn off to
starboard and close aboard. I eventually made it into the Northwest Arm and
grabbed a RNSYS mooring I could barely see to calm myself down and get some
rest.

I am not sure what point I was trying for when I started this post, other
than to say that even the best-prepared boats will at some point be severely
tested.

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

Denis....damm...that was close..nice to hear the
wake or displacement pushed you to the side !!

I would be a singlehanded 38 foot sailboat...doing the
SF Bay to Hawaii and onto NZ or Perth...so...i would
be in open ocean most of the time....not being able
to post 24 hr watches, I would be dependent on radar
and electrical devices to alarm me.......And pure
lick, of course......



"I had no time to pray. The bow of the container
ship was right on my stern. As I saw the bulbous
of the ship the wake pushed my little sailboat
aside and the 6 - 7 current took me away from the
freeboard of the ship. I still think it was a miracle......"

Lennn...when you say "broadcasting",
what freq or wave are they brodcasting on...
the "water/marine vhf channels", say 16 or 13 or
whatever ?... thanx....


"broadcasting commercial
vessels over 300 tonnes"