Passage Making
A passage is a voyage lasting more than one night, and when sailing, the boat is under way and moving 24 hours a day. This requires that someone should be on watch 24 hours a day. The watch consists of sailing the boat, which means keeping the sails in trim and properly adjusted, and keeping the boat heading in the desired direction. This can be assisted by an autopilot, which can maintain a constant direction, a pre-specified course, or a constant angle with the wind, as desired, and eliminates a major amount of work. The autopilot is the equivalent of an extra full time crewmember.
Being on watch also requires navigation, possible contact with the outside world by radio or satellite, monitoring the boats systems, and watching for, and avoiding other ships. Obviously, in the middle of an ocean there are fewer other ships and boats but the passage may pass though high-traffic areas, which requires constant lookout. Fishing boats present their own problems as they have the right of way when engaged in fishing operations. Each type of fishing boat, such as trawler, long liner, seiner, etc., have their own patterns of operation. And they are often oblivious to other boats around them.
Another factor is that the conditions are never constant. The wind usually varies in intensity and direction, often over a broad range. The waves and swells change in response to the winds but if the wind switches quickly the waves are sometimes not consistent with the wind direction. Swells, which are long period waves, come from long distances and are often not related to local conditions. Wind waves are superimposed upon the swells. This means the crew has to continually adjust the sails, and possibly the course, to respond to the changing wind and sea conditions. The steadiest conditions occur in the trade wind area, usually just north or south of the equator. These conditions are generally quite consistent but there are small micro cells of weather associated with clouds that are going faster than the sailboat. These cells often contain rain, and high winds, the direction of which relates to your relative positions. These can be dangerous and should be avoided, if possible. Many require sail reefing, or shortening, prior to their approach. Sailing in the trade winds also requires a good, stable downwind sail rig. On Escapade we sailed wing-on-wing, which means we have the mainsail set to one side of the boat and a polled-out yankee foresail on the other side of the boat. This is a very strong setup, which is quite fast, and we could handle winds up to 22 knots true, without furling. In the Pacific Ocean we sailed 1,200 nautical miles in six days with this setup. Thus, we achieved 200 miles a day for six days, which is very good for cruising sailboat.
All of this means that there should be an experienced sailor on watch at all times. This requires a watch schedule to permit the crew to also sleep and eat. There are many types of watch schedules used, and these depend upon the number of crew aboard, their skill levels, and the preferences of those involved. The one I like, based upon my experience, is a three-watch system with 3 hours on and 6 hours off. To provide companionship and to make sure there is always someone on deck at all times I prefer to have two people on each watch. Thus, one can go below to prepare food or drink, and to do other chores below. This requires six persons onboard, including three experienced Watch Leaders. As Captain, I am always immediately accessible even if I am off-watch and sleeping, if there are any unusual situations that the watch crew is concerned about.
The advantages of the three-watch system include a relatively short watch of three hours. This means that during the first hour all is new and exciting, and the third hour there is knowledge the watch will end soon. So there is only one hour in middle in which to be bored. But with six hours off watch, there is plenty of time to get at least five hours of good sleep, twice a day. So fatigue is not an issue unless the sea conditions make sleeping difficult. Also, the watch moves in time over a period of three days so no watch team is stuck with the same time slot each day.
Many boats sail with just two people aboard, and there are solo sailors as well. In my opinion these are potentially dangerous situations and should be avoided. A major factor is the ability of the crew to avoid seasickness. A person that is seasick is really not capable of handling the boat in a proper manor. I have had passages when three of the crew became incapacitated. This places a lot of pressure on the remaining crew. But think what it would be like if there were only four people onboard. Another factor is how well the boat is set up for sailing by one or two persons. If sail changes or reefing requires two people and there are only two people onboard, then neither one is getting sleep during these maneuvers. Sleep depravation can lead to major disaster by the crew making poor decisions. During my circumnavigation I heard of several cases where shorthanded boats were lost, even crew being lost, all a result of poor decisions being make by an otherwise experienced crew, but who were sleep deprived.
On Escapade, nearly all sailing operations can be handled from inside the cockpit. This increases the safety and comfort of the crew. Going outside the cockpit, especially at night, can be dangerous and even more so in heavy seas. This requires the crew to clip on to the boat using a tether attached to life vests. Thus, it is very important how the boat is rigged relative to normal operations when under sail to make passages feasible with few crew.
Crossing oceans and being many days away from land and possible assistance requires a high degree of self-sufficiency. All passages should be undertaken with the attitude that no assistance (911) will be available. So it is wise for the Captain to have completed in his own mind, a long list of “what if’s” and to determine what the response would be to these. These would include hitting a floating or submerged object, bad weather, sail problems, engine problems, loss of fresh water, etc. etc. Being prepared for any eventuality is very important, and this leads to confidence that the passage will be safe and pleasurable.
It is important to maintain all systems onboard at all times, even during a passage. As we were cruising in remote areas of the world, I had onboard a very large selection of spare parts for all systems on the boat. Also, I am capable of repairing and maintaining all of the systems. As a result, I was able to make repairs as required even when we were in mid-ocean. This included fixes to the engine, generator, autopilot, fresh water system, etc. so as to keep Escapade in top notch condition.
A pleasant passage is one with a happy crew. And that means plenty of food. We always took enough food for a time period half again as long as we expected the passage to take. There is an art to provisioning as it is hard to store the amount of food for six people for 30 days or so. Escapade has a large refrigerator and freezer, but not that large. So many food items have to be non-refrigerated like UHT milk, unchilled eggs, canned ham, canned vegetables, pasta, etc. We made bread underway. The fresh fruit and vegetables have to be consumed early in the passage. But we always had plenty of great food. Provisioning in most parts of the world is generally easy with grocery stores willing to freeze items overnight and sometimes deliver to the boat. Escapade also has a watermaker so we had plenty of fresh water at all times. Every crewmember had a hot shower every day and we still ended the passage with a full tank of water.
A passage is a magical experience. I have made many passages (see the section on Sailing Accomplishments), the longest being 18 days across the Pacific Ocean and 17 days across the Atlantic Ocean. Obviously, you are out sight of land for the whole way. After underway for a few days a routine sets in and there is a peaceful existence in which the only people in the world are those on your own boat. It is an incredible feeling and you join the flow of nature- the sea, the wind, the changing of sunrise and sunset, possible sea life, etc. (When sailing west we changed the clocks every three days to keep up with the time zones.) Making landfall is a great feeling after so many days at sea. And, the person who sights land first gets to cry Land-Ho. But, I always felt sad that the passage was coming to an end.