sailboat racing rules barging

BARGING AT THE START

Perhaps the most frequent breach of the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) occurs when boats "barge" at the start. This is especially true for starts with lots of novice and less-experienced sailors. The term "barging" isn't used in the 2021-24 RRS and there is no specific "anti-barging" rule. So, the relevant rules that prohibit "barging" can sometimes be a bit confusing.

Part 2 of the RRS sets forth the right-of-way rules that apply when racing, while Section C of Part 2 provides rules that generally entitle boats to "room" or "mark-room" at obstructions (RRS 19) and marks (RRS 18). When the RC boat is one end of the starting line it is a starting mark so you might think RRS 18 would apply. However, that isn't always true. The Preamble to Section C says that "from the time boats are approaching [starting marks] to start until they they have passed them" the Section C rules don't apply. In other words, when a boat is approaching the starting line to start neither RRS 18 nor RRS 19 will apply and the boat will not be entitled to "room" or "mark-room" to sail below the RC boat.

Consider Diagram A . At position 1, there is less than 20 seconds to go to the starting signal. The purple boat (W) is a windward keep-clear boat aiming to go between the RC boat and the red boat (L), a leeward right-of-way boat. Because the boats are "approaching to start" RRS 18 does not apply between them. L is on a straight-line course to start just after the starting signal. L is going to have to turn down to avoid a collision with W. When L turns down then W breaks RRS 11, On the Same Tack, Overlapped , because L had to take "avoiding action" and therefore W did not "keep clear" of her. This is the classic "barging" situation � W is taking or attempting to take room that she is not entitled to and is "barging" between L and the RC boat; W therefore breaks RRS 11 by failing to keep clear of L.

Sometimes the RC boat end of the starting line is favored, either because it is farther upwind or because it is important to be able to tack onto port right after the start. In that case, your best strategy for a good start is to sail a close-hauled course to a point just below the stern of the RC boat, as the red boat is doing in Diagram A . Boats to windward of you won't be entitled to room and are "barging" but to get a good start you are going to have to hail them early or they will ruin your start if you have to turn down to avoid a collision at the last minute.

A slightly different but somewhat similar situation arises when two close-hauled boats are approaching to start just below the RC boat. Consider Diagrams B & C . The red boat (L) and blue boat (W) are each on a close-hauled course to start. W does not need room to sail below the RC boat if she sails a straight-line course. However, L doesn't want W on her windward side when the boats start. Since the boats are approaching the starting line to start, RRS 18 doesn't apply between them and so W is not entitled to "mark-room" to pass below the RC boat. But, if L luffs W then L must comply with RRS 16.1 and give W the "room" W needs to keep clear of L and avoid hitting the RC boat. So, if L wants to luff and force W to tack away or go head to wind then L must luff early and give W "room" (time and space) to tack away and avoid the RC boat in a seamanlike manner. An early hail by L of what she intends to do helps her to establish that W had plenty of room and space to avoid the RC boat when L does luff. Of course, if there is another close-hauled boat to leeward of L then L might be in the same situation as W vis-a-vis that other boat and needs to keep that in mind when planning her approach to start.

Favored End � The RC usually sets a starting line that favors the pin end to spread the boats out along the entire length of the starting line. The advantage at the pin end might be small or it could be significant but it usually exists. However, novice or inexperienced racers tend to start at the RC boat end regardless, even when the pin end is heavily favored (and, at the start, might be 2 or even more boatlengths upwind!). In starts with lots of novice or inexperienced racers, the boats generally all want to start at the unfavored RC boat end and so with most boats trying to start in the same place "barging" is common. When the pin end is favored in a start with mostly experienced sailors, boats will recognize that the RC boat is a less-advantageous place to start so barging happens much less often.

Approaching to Start � The Part C rules, and RRS 18, do not apply when boats are "approaching to start" but can apply at other times during the starting sequence. For example, if two boats are aiming to sail below the RC boat with 2-3 minutes to go so they can sail farther down the starting line before starting then they are not "approaching to start." In that situation, a windward boat would be entitled to "room" from a leeward boat to sail below the RC boat as RRS 18 can apply.

RC Boat as "Obstruction"? � When the RC boat is one end of the starting line it is an official "obstruction" per RRS Definition, Obstruction , however it is also an official "mark" per RRS Definition, Mark . This is true all throughout the starting sequence � the RC boat is both an "obstruction" and a "mark." Per RRS 19.1(a), RRS 19, Room To Pass an Obstruction , does not apply between boats at a mark when RRS 18 applies. When boats are not "approaching to start" then RRS 18 can apply so RRS 19 will not apply. And, when boats are "approaching to start" the Preamble to Part C says that neither RRS 18 nor RRS 19 will apply. The bottom line is that during a boat's starting sequence RRS 19 will never apply at an RC boat that is one end of the starting line.

© 2018,2021 RacingRules.org (Art Engel)

Rookie move: Barging at the start

Published on July 15th, 2020 by Editor -->

Barging is the most common foul that happens on the starting line, yet there is no “anti-barging” rule in the Racing Rules of Sailing. Barging is when an inside windward boat takes mark room at a starting mark.

Why isn’t the boat entitled to room? That is clearly stated in the preamble to Part C of Section 2 of the rule book. It states:

“Section C rules do not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them.”

Therefore, rules 18 Mark Room and 19 Room to Pass an Obstruction, do not apply while approaching the starting line to start, the rule that does apply is that a windward boat must keep clear of a leeward boat.

This video shows a great example barging. Watch the Beneteau 36.7 (sail number 52464) set-up above the boats on the layline at the starboard end of the line. The Beneteau proceeded to barge…boldly!

Despite calls of protestation from the leeward boat, the windward boat barreled right around the mark. Foul, Foul, Foul! Having to do turns right after a start is never a game-winner, particularly in a light-air race like this. Getting tossed is even worse.

Now, let’s look at the leeward boat that was so flagrantly fouled. You’ll see that the boats further to leeward probably had left him a hole through which he could have sailed by bearing away from the barging boat. Instead, perhaps out of extreme caution or perhaps to reinforce the fact he was fouled, leeward boat turned sharply. So sharply that he lost a couple of boats.

A solid understanding of the rules can earn you several places in a regatta. Subscribe to the UK Sailmakers newsletter and Facebook page to learn from their rules quizzes, videos, and articles as they get published.

Source: UK Sailmakers

Tags: Racing Rules of Sailing , UK Sailmakers

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Monday 17 March 2014

Back to the basics (part 4); barging i.

2 comments:

Do the Si have to define the committee boat as a mark. What if the start line comes from it. Is it not defined as a mark. Mike b

Thanks Jos. Whilst I have been racing for 40+ years, I still very much appreciate commentaries on rules; whether they be basic rrs or more advanced. Cheers Steve

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Simplified Racing Rules

BEGINNERS GUIDE

Below are some simple right-of-way rules for racing in a very brief and simplified format. These are only intended as a quick simple guide until beginners to racing become more familiar with the Racing Rules of Sailing.

The RYA has produced some helpful videos to explain the primary rules at  rya racing rules youtube - Bing video

This document is not a substitute for the official rules.

PORT/STARBOARD:

When boats on opposite tacks meet (i.e. their booms are on opposite sides of the boat), the port tack boat must keep clear. The starboard skipper may (but can choose not to) assert their right of way by calling "Starboard". If he has right of way you must take action to keep clear (i.e. pass astern or tack/jibe).

The tack is named for the windward side of the boat, i.e. the side opposite the boom. If you face forward and the right hand side of the boat is windward, you are on starboard tack. Otherwise you are on port.

(Diagram shows right of way boat labeled starboard tack)

WINDWARD/LEEWARD:

When boats are on the same tack, i.e. booms on same side the following applies:

Windward boat shall keep clear (boat B),

A boat clear astern shall keep clear (boat C)

This rule also covers upwind downwind boats meeting.

CHANGING TACK:

While you are tacking, you must keep clear of other boats that are not doing so. If you acquire the right of way over a boat near-by with a tack or jibe, you must give that boat reasonable room and time to react. You cannot force a nearby boat to tack because you have no rights until you have completed the tack.

AVOIDING COLLISIONS:

Even when you have the right of way, you must try hard to avoid any collision.

BARGING IN:

The buoy room rule does not apply at the start line. Do not barge in there trying to squeeze between a boat to leeward of you and a mark. Note that a Committee Boat that marks the end of a start or finish line is considered a mark.

A luffing boat (A in the diagram opposite) may not pass beyond head to wind if there is another boat there.

OVER EARLY:

If any part of your boat or equipment is across the start line when the start signal is made, you must re-start. You will not be told that you were over the line by the Race Officer and if you believe you were over it is best to re-start. While returning to the start line you must keep clear of the other boats that are not returning.

DEFENDING AGAINST OVERTAKING BOATS:

If a boat tries to pass you to windward, you are entitled to defend your wind by luffing up but must do so in such a way was to give the windward boat room to keep clear. A luffing boat may not pass beyond head to wind while the other boat is there.

If a near-by boat tries to pass you to leeward on a reach or run, you are not allowed to make life even more dificult for that boat by sailing below your proper course to the next mark.

TOUCHING A MARK:

If you touch a mark, you may continue to race only after getting out of the way of other boats and sailing a complete circle (a 360 o turn).

RULE INFRINGEMENT:

You are officially racing and therefore bound by the racing rules from your preparatory signal (4 minute signal) until you have cleared the finish line.

If you break the rules you are required to do two complete circles (720o). You may continue to race after getting out of the way of other boats and completing your turns.

If there is a collision, the rules (usually) require there to be a protest or a 720o Sometimes minor fouls may be forgiven but not if there is damage. If you are fouled and intend to protest you must hail "protest" you do not need to display a red flag unless your boat is over 6m long. If the offending party does a 720 then the matter can be forgotten otherwise inform the Race Officer at the finish line whom you are protesting and once ashore fill out the protest form with in the time period specified in the Sailing Instructions.

OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE:

If you capsize and are separated from your boat and are rescued by the safety boat you can return you to your boat and continue to race without penalty provided your boat does not gain advantage in the meantime.

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BASIC RACING RULES OF SAILING EXPLAINED

Visual interactive webinar.

In this webinar, North Sails experts Zeke Horowitz and Brian Hayes explain and demonstrate basic rules according to the US Sailing “Racing Rules of Sailing”. Using a whiteboard, Zeke re-creates many scenarios that we experience on the racecourse to explain the rules and when they can be applied. The webinar was presented to Flying Scot sailors, but the rules apply to all one-design classes. Below are the timestamps if you want to jump to a specific topic of interest.

Definitions:

4:41 – Clear Ahead and Clear Astern; Overlap 6:57 – Keep Clear 8:45 – Leeward and Windward 10:30 – Proper Course 12:21 – Room 14:08 – Zone

17:01 – Starting Line Situations (Windward/Leeward, Rule 16, Rule 17, “Barging” and Rule 13) 50:04 – Mark Room (Weather and Leeward Mark) 1:22:00 – Open Water (Room to Tack, Room to Duck, Tacking too close, Rule 17, Rule 18)

If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to contact Zeke or Brian.

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What’s the Big Deal with Barging?

Picture a sailboat on its final approach to RC Boat end of the start line, reaching above the boat-end layline.  Suddenly other boats sailing on and near the layline begin shouting “No room!” “Don’t go in there!” “You’re Barging!” followed by ugly sounds of shattered fiberglas… “Bang, Ouch, Kapow, F$#st!”

A “barging” start is a risky maneuver, but the term is not mentioned in the current 2021-2024 Rules of Sailing. It is covered, however, in preamble Part 2, Section C, At Marks and Obstructions, as follows:

“Section C rules do not apply at a starting mark surrounded by navigable water or at its anchor line from the time boats are approaching them to start until they have passed them.”

So, the Section C rules concerning mark-room (Rule 18), room to pass an obstruction (Rule 19), and room to tack at an obstruction (Rule 20) do NOT apply at starting marks. However, Part 1, Section A, Rule 11, On the Same Tack, Overlapped (a windward boat shall keep clear of a leeward boat) does apply, as do the other rules of Part 1 Sections A and B.

To learn more, view the following video from UK sailmakers on the issue of barging. It shows the camera boat and a boat ahead, both likely sailing above the layline, and a third boat, a Beneteau 36.7 (sail # 52464) reaching-in to pass below the starting mark (usually an RC boat)(i.e. barging) and take a spot on the line. A fourth boat, named “Duet” is sailing on the layline intending to start in the spot taken by the offending boat. Rather than press the issue, “Duet” dips, and falls-off, to leeward, forced to accept a second-row start. Even though there is no collision, “Duet” protests the barging boat (i.e. the Beneteau 36.7) for taking room to which they were not entitled. Here’s the video:

So what can the Beneteau 36.7 (i.e. the barging boat) do to avoid this barging situation? There are at least two remedies:

1.) Do NOT be tempted to “barge in there”. Immediately round-up before the RC boat (or mark), circle around the pack of boats below the layline, look for gaps, and execute a second or third-row start. 2.) Immediately round-up before the RC boat or mark, sail to windward of the RC Boat and fall-off and do a “dip-start” below the starting line, behind the pack of boats that have already started. 3.) Preferably, set-up the final approach to the start line on, or below, the layline to the mark or RC boat, and avoid a barging approach, altogether…it’s often not worth the risk.

And, lastly, as a refresher, what is a “layline” exactly? In this situation, the layline is an imaginary line extending from the destination RC Boat or mark, which would allow a close-hauled boat to sail directly to the RC boat (or mark) and clear it on the correct side. Keep-in-mind, that the layline(s) will move as the wind shifts.

Should a boat sailing close-hauled on the layline to pass close-by the RC Boat be secure in reaching the start line unmolested? Not necessarily. Besides needing to discourage would-be bargers, a boat on the layline can be luffed-up to windward by another boat overlapped to leeward. So, they need to be alert to boats approaching from multiple directions and defend their position! A barge start is a high-risk starting procedure and starting near the RC Boat is fraught with danger…do so at your own peril! See you on the water…

Gary Simon CSYC Commodore

Colorado Sail and Yacht Club is a community of boaters and enthusiasts located at Chatfield Reservoir. All boaters are welcome, whether you are a … More>>>

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The 6 preparation rules you should follow for sailing across oceans

• Toby Heppell
• September 10, 2024

What really matters when it comes to preparing for an offshore adventure? Andy Schell distils it down to six golden rules

I completed my eighth and most recent Atlantic crossing in February, sailing from Mindelo, Cape Verde, to Barbados aboard our Farr 65 Falken with 10 crew. The 2,200-mile passage took just under 11 days — fast, comfortable and dreamy, exactly as you hope for a tradewind crossing in the tropics.

I have never, ever said ocean sailing is boring, but I had more free time on that trip than in any in recent memory. Time to get out the sextant and teach some celestial navigation, time to read, to fly the drone and mess around taking photos; time to do whatever I fancied!

To me, that’s the goal of a well-planned and executed ocean crossing: to have the time to truly enjoy it. But with so many things to think about in the preparation stage, where do you start?

What really matters?

My wife, Mia, and I hosted a 59° North small group workshop on just this topic in Annapolis this spring. The group spent the first morning brainstorming what ‘matters’ offshore versus what doesn’t. Where and how should you focus your energy?

Our group of eight sailors were all yacht owners with varying backgrounds and boats, from sailing an old-school Allied Seawind 32, to building a new performance cruiser Xp 50. Yet some common themes emerged. Each person’s ‘mission’ was to make safe, comfortable ocean cruising passages and have the knowledge and confidence to adapt to situations as they developed.

In our workshop, what stood out on the ‘matters’ list included both serious and humorous items. Coffee was high on the list, right behind understanding the weather. Boat condition (ie maintenance), comms and self-steering made it to the ‘matters’ list, while some surprising items like boat design and electronics didn’t.

Coffee features high on many offshore sailors’ must-have lists! Photo: 59° North Sailing

Perhaps the most important thing on the ‘matters’ list won’t be covered in this article as it’s such a big topic: medical. Keeping the crew healthy and managing the situation in the event of a medical emergency matters more than anything else, yet invariably most sailors leave those preparations until the last minute. Don’t.

For this article I’ve chosen a few things from the ‘matters’ list to do a deeper dive on. Plus we’ll touch on some things left off the list and why they don’t matter as much as you might think. Here I’ve tried to distil an entire weekend’s discussions into just a few key points to help you plan and prioritise.

What doesn’t matter

Several topics that seem to dominate armchair sailor discussions ended up on our ‘doesn’t matter’ list. Take boat design for example – there are so many different types of boats plying the oceans that it’s impossible to say what is ‘best’ for passagemaking. I often refer to my friend Matt Rutherford’s epic Around the Americas voyage, a solo, nonstop passage through the Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn that took him 309 days.

He did it in a 1970s 27ft Albin Vega which he refitted by diving around the boatyard skips of Annapolis. Nobody would argue that’s an ideal boat for that mission, but he did it anyway. The more skilled and prepared the sailor, the less that boat design matters. So really it’s knowledge and preparation that truly matter.

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A number of systems we spend way too much time debating didn’t make the list. Who cares what kind of battery system you’ve installed, the material in the sails, or what type of engine the boat has? What matters is less the choice of equipment but how it’s designed, installed and maintained. Any system fit for purpose and properly maintained will serve the mission, so don’t get too bogged down in brand choices and technical specs.

Sailors have been crossing oceans for thousands of years and even an average boat today is light years safer and better performing than what we’ve had for most of human history. Forget the stuff that doesn’t matter and focus on what does.

high on the list of what matters are the boat’s steering and self-steering systems. Photo: Tor Johnson

‘The more you know, the less you need,’ is one of my favourite quotes, attributed to Yvon Choinard, founder of iconic clothing brand Patagonia, himself an avid climber and outdoorsman.

I often preach that seamanship is both ‘learned’ and ‘earned’. You don’t need to have thousands of ocean miles under your keel to successfully cross the Atlantic, but you should have a wide array of accumulated knowledge. You can be the most book-smart sailor, but at some point you need to apply that knowledge in the real world by going to sea. Likewise, you can have vast amounts of experience and still not know how to be a good leader.

The more practised you are at handling a boat under sail, working in tight spaces on maintenance and repairs, reading and interpreting weather forecasts, understanding radar plots and the myriad other skills needed to safely cross an ocean, the easier it’s going to be when you actually get out there.

Understanding navigation is one of the fundamentals for a bluewater adventure. Photo: 59° North Sailing

If seamanship is all about anticipation, what matters most is understanding and anticipating the weather. With modern comms, computerised weather models, forecasting tools and mobile-based weather-routing software, a sailor should never be ‘caught out’ by a change in the weather. The ability to predict the next 24-48 hours of any given passage provides a huge advantage when it comes to positioning your boat relative to weather systems on the larger scale, and your sail plan relative to conditions on a local scale.

Understand the difference between weather ‘forecasting’ and weather ‘routing’: the former gives information while the latter provides guidance. Weather routing, whether by a human service ashore or by software on board, is an essential tool, but it’s worthless if you don’t understand both its limitations and the big-picture forecast behind it.

When we teach weather, we always start by zooming right out to what creates wind in the first place (a difference in atmospheric pressure), and what the typical seasonal weather patterns are in the ocean in which we’re sailing. As I write this, Falken is a day or two out from making landfall in Horta, Azores. The boat departed Bermuda and has been traversing the top of the Azores High, the dominant weather feature in the North Atlantic which, in conjunction with the jet stream aloft, helps to steer the depression track as they march from west to east.

Stay south of the low centres and you can expect ‘free’ winds from the westerly quadrant as the lows, spinning counterclockwise, pass to the north. Well-developed lows will have associated cold fronts, and those cold fronts will have distinct patterns as they pass over the boat – increasing south-westerly winds, unsettled, squally weather, followed by a (sometimes violent) wind shift to the west-northwest and clearing skies. On a given Bermuda-Azores crossing you can expect three or four of these lows and associated fronts to overtake you on a typical 10-14 day crossing.

Understanding weather should be one of the highest priorities. Photo: 59° North Sailing

This is where anticipation comes in. Modern GRIB models have a pretty high degree of certainty in a 72-hour timeframe, so we can predict, at least within 12 hours, when an approaching front is going to overtake us, and can set the boat up accordingly.

As the front approaches, the wind will build from the south-west. The course from Bermuda to the Azores is east-northeast, so we’d typically be sailing on a run on starboard tack, with the jib poled out to windward and the mainsail off to port.

However, were the wind to shift abruptly to the west-northwest – if we missed anticipating the frontal passage – we’d have to gybe through this wind shift, a tricky and dangerous manoeuvre in unsettled weather. Instead, we can gybe well ahead of the frontal passage and sail on a more northerly heading on port tack, continuing to shorten sail as the south-westerly increases.

When the wind shifts, the only manoeuvre required is to bear away and follow the shift, eventually coming back onto a run but on port tack as the skies clear and the wind fills in from the north-west as the low moves off to our north and east. Yes, we may have sailed 60 miles out of our way to the north, but we made a much safer and more comfortable sail out of it.

My point is that with modern weather models you’ll always know the coming trend over a 1-3 day window with a very high degree of certainty, and you can use that trend to make decisions. Is the wind lifting or heading us? Is the weather changing in our favour or against us? Is it easing off, allowing me to shake some reefs, or is it forecast to increase and might I want to reef down before dark?

What’s most interesting to us as offshore sailors is the degree of certainty in the forecast. I typically use both the GFS model, provided by NOAA in the USA, and the ECMWF (aka ‘Euro’) model. People will argue about which model is ‘better’, but that’s missing the point. All models do some things better than others and some things worse.

Photo: 59° North Sailing

What’s useful in looking at both models is how they diverge over time – if both appear more or less the same after 3-5 days, I can infer a high degree of certainty in the models and therefore make more confident routing decisions. If, conversely, they diverge significantly in the 1-4 day range, that tells me there’s a high degree of uncertainty in the models and I’d better make more conservative routing decisions.

I’ll always do a ‘manual’ route by analysing a few models myself and looking at which side of the rhumb line is favoured to give me the best sailing angles. Remember, in cruising, we’re trying to optimise for safe, comfortable passages, not outright speed.

That means playing the wind angles, not necessarily getting from A to B as quickly as possible. Then I’ll let the computer run a route for me and see if it aligns with my own assumptions. Usually it does and I’m confident. In the odd cases the computer and I disagree, that tells me I’ve missed something in my analysis and I’ll go back to the drawing board, or often, call in the experts and actually speak to a meteorologist.

By doing this kind of weather analysis during the planning stages of a passage, right before departure, and usually daily at sea, I can confidently meet the ‘anticipation’ part of seamanship because I should never not know what’s over the horizon weather-wise, and have the boat setup accordingly.

Choose a light weather downwind sail – and know how to use it. Photo: Tor Johnson

3 Sail Plan

High on our ‘what matters’ list was sail inventory. You can be the best at weather forecasting, but that’s of little help if you can’t adapt your sail plan to the changing conditions.

I think a good seagoing sail inventory, for monohull and multihull ocean-going cruising boats alike, should look like this:

• Bluewater mainsail: 3 reefs, external reef fairleads on the leech, full battens.
• All-purpose jib/genoa: ‘reefable’ on a furler, the sail you’ll use 90% of the time.
• Second, smaller/flatter upwind jib: when you really need to point high or in case your all-purpose sail fails.
• Storm jib/staysail: ideally on a removable inner forestay.
• Light weather downwind sail: gennaker, asymmetric or symmetric kite, your choice. Know how to rig your downwind sail and how to sail with it.
• Pole for wing-on-wing: modern boats almost all have bowsprits these days for flying asymmetric kites, but for real tradewinds voyaging you still need to carry a pole for sheeting headsails to windward when running, especially as the wind and sea state gets up.

Sail material matters less, but certain materials are definitely more durable and forgiving than others.

Avoid flogging your sails offshore, and take care to keep them from chafing. Just have ‘enough’ sails to deal with changing conditions, with some redundancy in case of failures, make sure they’re in good shape, and know how to use them.

Keep abreast of long- and short-range weather forecasts. Photo:Tor Johnson

4 Communications

You can’t get good weather information without good communications on board, and I feel pretty strongly about what constitutes a ‘good’ comms set up.

Starlink is ubiquitous now. As much as I hate the way it’s changing offshore sailing philosophically, it’s hard to argue against it for the ease of access to higher resolution weather data, and for connecting with doctors ashore in the event of a medical emergency. For 59° North, we’re considering installing Starlink to better be able to communicate with staff between passages when the boat is in remote harbours where it’s hard to access good wifi or a local SIM card (Starlink will be turned off at sea on our boats, except in an emergency).

But Starlink is not enough for emergency comms. It’s an integrated system on the boat, and not something you can take with you in the liferaft in a real worst-case scenario. I said the same thing years ago about Iridium Go! – that was (and is) a great tool for sending emails and downloading weather, and we use them on our boats too, but it’s not a replacement for a robust and reliable Iridium handset, kept in a waterproof case with a spare battery always charged.

Test the phone before every passage and make sure you keep the SIM active and the minutes topped up. We’ve had the same Iridium handset technology since our first transatlantic back in 2011 – it’s tried and true and won’t fail you when you need it most.

Hearty food keeps a crew happy and fuelled up for staying on watch during a long passage. Photo: Tor Johnson

5 Provisions & Water

This one seems like a no-brainer, but I recall a pretty stupid situation from an ARC rally I worked on back in the late 2000s that prompts me to mention it. One of the boats had lost electricity and with it, their fridge and freezer (see below on ‘decoupling’ systems).

They’d planned all of their meals around fresh or frozen food, taking for granted that they’d have a working fridge for the duration of the Atlantic crossing and not packing enough dry stores for contingencies. So with a week still to sail towards St Lucia, they sent a message to Rally Control asking for assistance with provisions. Not long after a nearby boat rendezvoused and passed over food to get them home. Needless to say this was a major planning oversight by the crew.

The same applies to cooking gas – would you have enough food that doesn’t need to be cooked to complete a passage in the event your propane runs out?

Most boats have watermakers these days, and with 10-11 crew sailing on Falken we literally couldn’t complete our longest passages without one. We run our watermaker each night during dishwashing after dinner, always ending the day with full tanks. If the watermaker fails beyond repair, we can then start rationing from a full supply. And we carry emergency rations in plastic gallon cans in the bilge.

A well-maintained boat will always do better on the ocean than a new but poorly looked-after yacht. Photo: 59° North Sailing

6 Maintenance

If boat design and systems choices matter little, then maintenance does. A poorly designed but well maintained boat will do much better on an ocean passage than a perfectly designed but poorly maintained one.

When it comes to tools we follow a simple axiom – if you need a tool once, borrow it; if you need it twice, buy it. There’s nothing worse than facing a relatively easy fix at sea but not having the right tool for the job. Spend a lot of time figuring out what tools you’ll need; buy the highest quality you can afford (and take care of them); test them to make sure they work for the intended purpose; and keep them organised and inventoried on the boat.

We discovered, thankfully in port, that Falken required a custom-welded impeller puller to change the impeller on the engine’s cooling water pump, thanks to the secondary alternator mount interfering. What should be a five-minute job turned into a three day bonanza, but now, through much trial and error, we have the right tool.

Maintenance has to be prioritised into ‘mission critical’ systems versus ‘luxury’ systems, and you have to be honest about what makes up the two lists. Hull, keel, rudder and sails are ‘mission critical’; cosmetic repairs, many electronics and instruments, even the engine in some cases, aren’t.

At the outfitting and planning stage of a voyage, think about what systems are ‘coupled’ – ie co-dependent to function – and try to uncouple them. A modern problem is that more and more boats have converted to lithium batteries which can power induction hobs and electric ovens. These are wonderful conveniences and absolutely increase the joy of life aboard. However, you’ve now coupled your hot meals with a working electrical system, which itself is already coupled to a working charging system. Should the charging or electrical systems fail, you’ve lost the ability to make a hot meal on top of it.

Make sure PLBs or other devices are correctly registered and check Iridium phone is active and charged. Photo: Tor Johnson

You might decide it’s worth the risk, and put more effort into making sure the electrical and charging systems are properly maintained as the stakes are higher. But these decisions should be made consciously and ahead of time.

Think also about what needs maintaining at sea versus what can wait until after a passage. Any watch system will work so long as it’s adhered to and everyone is able to get rest. But when the crew is working overtime on maintenance items at sea, the watch schedule breaks down and a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation begins. The less sleep each watch gets, the more likelihood for mistakes.

There’s a fine line between making small improvements to the boat at sea and wrecking the watch system. Splicing strops, whipping rope ends, even servicing the odd winch are great activities on watch on a sunny day.

But this becomes a problem when a non-mission critical item is confused for a critical repair, and too much time and energy is spent at sea trying to fix it. Marine electronics are a favourite culprit, and one I’m guilty of spending too much time fiddling with.

We get so used to having all the data at our fingertips – wind and boat speed, digital compass, AWA, XTE, etc – that we sometimes forget we can sail without them. And networked electronics are notoriously fussy. One bad connection in a NMEA2000 backbone can wreak havoc across the entire network, and you can spend hours tracing wires trying to get it back online when a paper chart and handheld GPS would navigate you across any ocean quite happily.

Back at the planning stage we can mitigate the risk of losing a mission critical system by installing redundancies. Two alternators on the engine for charging, for example, or even an ‘A’ and ‘B’ N2K backbone if instruments are critical to your passage. But once you set off, really think hard about what systems you will deal with while on passage, and which can wait until landfall.

The rewards

After that tradewind crossing on Falken, my first mate Manot and I had 10 days to kill in Barbados. The boat, after a thorough cleaning, was in tip-top shape and beyond the normal rig checks and routine maintenance, we didn’t have any issues to fix so could enjoy island life.

This is how a good ocean crossing can be – mellow and philosophical at sea, with time for adventures on landfall. Keep things simple and make conscious decisions about how you fit out your boat and execute a voyage to focus on what really matters.

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