Sat Jun 18 2022 08:49:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Sleep deprivation is a tricky subject to write about without sounding like a whiny bore. There is always someone worse off.

Tired Yes but Not Like When COVID Shut the Doors to a Solo Sailor

Like, let’s pity the solo sailor who recently sailed from Panama to Easter Island. He had all his COVID and landing permissions in place. But when he arrived, the port authorities had to turn him away. Mainland Chile had nixed his visit. He left Easter Island and sailed to Costa Rica without stopping. He spent more than fifty days at sea.

Every Boat Manages to Sleep and The Methods We Tried

Of course, sailing continually means different things to different people. Every boat a different skipper. A rousing evening of good company, music and fresh tuna would not be complete without discussing watchkeeping and sleep management.

On our boat, we have tried four methods of managing sleep while watching for tankers. But we are still damn tired, yet not to the point of hallucinating. Laugh if you wish. The effects of sleep deprivation are real. I have met at least one solo sailor who has left the helm, comforted to know that a deceased friend is manning their boat for the evening.

Sleep Method One: Delegating Watch

I’ll start with our first method, and that is delegating watch. Betty has started taking three-hour night watches, which is very helpful. As well, Betty and Henry have been taking turns keeping daytime watches at the helm. The challenge is that sometimes the other kids misbehave during their shifts. That means that Rick and I generally cannot sleep at the same time. One of us has to be awake to manage safety as well as unruliness. That’s Method One.

Sleep Method Two: Drifting Off, Literally

Method Two was implemented for about three hours and I will call it sleeping while drifting. I slept. Rick did not. In short, a windless day looked like it would be an equally slow, windless night. We tried dropping the sails and turning on our brightest lights for visibility, and going to sleep. This did not work because the weather had other plans. Rick did not want us to be hit broadside by big waves.

Meanwhile, sound asleep in the belly of our boat, I could have cared less about the waves — I was sleeping. I woke up to the sound of shifting sails, and the sensation of water rushing beneath our boat. Rick had raised the sails and we were on our way by midnight.

Method Three: Alternating Sleep Patterns, for One Hour at a Time

Method Three was attempted over two nights. The plan was for Rick and I to sleep for an hour each. We would offset our alarms by thirty minutes. We slept on the couch. The first night, I was on pins and woke up every ten minutes to check at the helm. The second night, I was so sleepy from the previous evening that I am not sure I held up my end of the bargain. This method has been abandoned because it was erratic and unreliable.

Method Four: Regular Shifts and Regular Life

The last method seems to be what works on our boat: regular shifts. Generally, a shift lasts for about five hours. I read a novel or a medicine-at-sea-type book and I watch for tankers. Rick likes to watch movies, read about mathematics, and he watches for tankers. We listen to music. Sometimes I tidy the boat as I keep watch.

Our daytime routine is pretty demanding. We are homeschooling our four kids. Betty and Paul are finishing their school year with the American School of Correspondence. We have to eat and keep the boat clean. We make water with our reverse osmosis machine. We manage the battery levels, and repair things as needed.

We do not have a dishwasher or breadmaker. But, thank goodness for our Miele washing machine. That’s our second washing machine as the Splendide (aka Captain Greyskull) died months ago. The Miele washing machine has been essential for our family. It made cleaning a full-sized blanket a breeze after a flying fish had been found in it.

The Importance of a Positive Attitude

I would give us a 7/10 in terms of managing sleep with our other responsibilities. We are eating but some days are better than others in terms of culinary excitement. I should clean a bilge, but I also need to manage my expectations. A positive outlook goes a long way and makes the difference between being an aimless grouch and enjoying the moment.

Bird Sighted

Plenty of sea today. No boats sighted. We saw a bird. Then we thought we saw another bird. But it was just the same bird circling.

Only about six more nights before we reach French Polynesia and return to regular sleep habits. By that point, we will have sailed continuously from the Galapagos for seventeen days. Our last fresh onion was eaten three days ago.

Written at: 7º 24.554 S 129º 14.456 W

And, so ends the blog posts in the curated reading series: Galapagos.