Logistics and Safety on Passage
“Batten down the hatches!” Although not necessarily preparing for a storm (as this naval term originally implied), there are many aspects to consider when preparing and planning for a passage; getting from A to B safely and in one piece is always at the top of the list.
Once the process of planning our route (see previous post) is complete, the next thing to consider is the weather. There are numerous APPs available to assist with making an informed decision on when is a good time to safely depart and eventually make it to the next destination without any unforeseen nasty weather events getting in the way. Seabreeze, BOM (Bureau of Meteorology), Predict Wind and Windy have been our go-to APPs. However, as with anything in life, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing! Cross-referencing the data within each platform can become confusing, especially when they are at different stages of updating and are telling you different things.
Something we have learnt early on is that even with the incredible amount of technology available to forecasters, predictions can often be a fair way out. This is particularly true in regards to localised wind. This alone can have a massive impact on our comfort levels during a passage. Basically, it determines whether we can be productive on route (reading, cooking, updating the blog etc..) or whether we spend the majority of time at the helm, soaking up the fresh air and gazing out to the horizon to avoid the onset of any sea sickness. Downloading a collection of podcasts and audiobooks is at the top of our 'to-do’ list so that we have something productive to fall back on if things don’t go quite to plan. Mother Nature swings to the beat of her own drum, so it’s always good to be prepared for anything that she throws our way.
Once we are comfortable with our route planning and the weather forecast (both short and long term) is good to go for a smooth and favourable passage, we are able to make a start on preparing the boat (and ourselves) for departure. Gone are the days of hopping in the car, strapping on the seat-belt and off you go. No, things are quite different these days! Luckily, we have all the time in world.
With safety being our number 1 priority, the first thing we organise is our life jackets. We each have our own self-inflating jacket that contains a personal locator beacon (PLB) which can emit a distress alert and location data to search and rescue authorities if needed. This data is linked to our vessel, Singularity. Our jackets also come with a safety tether and clip which we can use to secure ourselves to the vessel. This is particularly important when moving around on the front deck. Our general rule of thumb is to don our jackets whenever we’re sailing offshore. We also have a rule that you never leave the cockpit without telling anyone. Accidents are called accidents for a reason; there’s no planning involved when it comes to “man overboard!”
Before departing, we go through the process of making sure everything is secure, both inside and out:
Inside: this involves rearranging anything that has the potential to fall over / spill.
Pot plants moved to the kitchen sink.
Kettle & coffee percolator secured on the stove top.
Bathroom hand wash etc.. placed in the bathroom hand basin.
Emptying of the toilet bowl to avoid any runaway slops if things get a little bouncy.
Outside: making sure everything is secured in place to prevent anything going overboard or fowling the sail lines (sheets).
Dingy (Bob) secured and snug in its elevated sleeping place under the solar panels.
Inflatable SUPs deflated, packed away and stored on the back deck in their handy carry packs.
Safety straps set up across the back of each transom to provide us with additional hand-holds / limit likelihood of falling off the back.
Surfboards secured safely on the cabin roof.
All ropes (sheets) are neatly stowed / tied up in their designated position.
Winch and hatch covers removed and stowed.
All front facing hatches secured and locked.
Swimming ladder folded into its ‘up’ position (you’d be surprised at how many times we’ve failed to do this) to limit drag.
Once underway, we either thank or curse the weather gods for the conditions we find ourselves in. If we’re thanking them, it means we can enjoy the passage (in Pete’s words, “Champagne sailing”) and be productive throughout. If not, we ride it out and hope for better next time.
