Preparing for sleep
Dr. Bertrand de La Giclais is a sleep specialist and manages high-level athletes, including solo sailors and ocean racers. He helps them prepare their sleep before an offshore race. He explains that the single-handed sailor has a polyphasic sleep rhythm, i.e. he or she has very short sleep periods over a 24-hour period. However, this polyphasic sleep must be as restorative as monophasic sleep (basic sleep). Thanks to sleep tests, we could understand that during the first 24 hours, the sailors have episodes of drowsiness and light sleep phases. Restorative sleep reappears over the next three days with sleep phases of 4 to 5 naps over 24 hours, which occurs both day and night. This polyphasic sleep rhythm really starts from the 4th day ème day. Thanks to this study, sailors were able to know when, how and for how long to sleep to optimize their sleep recovery. Sailors manage their sleep debt through small episodes of productive sleep into restorative sleep. In the case of a too big sleep deficit, sailors could be victims of important sleepiness, lack of lucidity, physical fatigue, or even hypnagogic hallucinations.
Manage your sleep
Several classes of boats are competing for victory and leading an Ultime is not done in the same way as an Imoca or a multihull in the Rhum Class. For sleep, it's the same thingâ?¦ To rest, the sailors mainly take short naps of 15 to 20 minutes, especially aboard the biggest boats in the race, where it is difficult to entrust the controls to an automatic pilot. For the smaller boats (Class40) the rhythm is different, the sailors can manage to sleep one to one and a half hours. Sleep is essential on board an ocean race because the slightest maneuver is exhausting. Finally, in total, the sailors manage to sleep 3 to 4 hours per 24 hours but in a fractional way.
Weather conditions that are harmful to sleep
The weather conditions also play an important role in the sleep and rest of our sailors. During these first three days, all of them slept little or not at all, having to juggle with the raging elements and ensure their safety as well as that of their boat. Yann Guichard, on board Spindrift 2 explains " I am very tired." lalou Roucayrol ( Arkema Aquitaine Region ) in the Multi50 class adds " The fatigue is felt, I didn't sleep much." . Louis Burton ( Valley Office ) he couldn't sleep at all at the beginning of the race " Last night was really hot. Between the rough conditions, the slalom between the freighters and the fishermen and the little problems I had, I couldn't sleep at all. I will try to rest a little this afternoon" and Marc Guillemot ( Safran ) to add " The sun is coming out, but I have the head to go lie down, because I need to recover. I have a sleep deficit." Other sailors, like Benjamin Hardouin, who spends his life at sea as a captain of traditional rigs, have managed to sleep. " He doesn't have a problem sleeping, when the conditions are rough like at the start of the race, he slept in 10 minute increments. He's equipped with a large Styrofoam bead cushion that he can take out or put in depending on where he wants to sleep." explains her press officer. With the sailing conditions back to normal, everyone tried to give themselves some time to sleep in order to recharge their batteries, as it is important to have a clear head to be able to sail safely. Loïck Peyron was one of them, falling asleep at the helm I spent a lot of hours at the helm and even with this boat being wide, I almost put it on the roof when I fell asleep at the helm."
Rest as soon as it gets quiet
Erwan Le Roux explains that he was finally able to rest thanks to more favorable conditions " It's been quieter for the last 2 hours and I'm taking advantage of it to sleep. I was between two micro-naps. It's a day to recharge the batteries." Etienne Hochedé also confirms that he was finally able to rest " I'm better now, I've recovered physically. Last night, because at the AIS, there weren't many people on the road, I was able to get some sleep." All the sailors were able to rest and even get a good night's sleep for some. Lionel Régnier explains that he actually managed to sleep for an hour " It was a good night of recovery for me: less traffic, a more stable wind, so I was able to take advantage of one-hour sleep phases ."
Credit: DR
Getting to sleep
The most difficult thing is also to fall asleep because when you only have twenty minutes to rest, you must not waste them trying to sleep. Among the Ultimates, some use yoga techniques to fall asleep quickly because they are stressed by the maneuvers and can't sleep. They rarely sleep for more than 15 minutes.
Where do we sleep?
On a racing boat, it's not a question of sleeping on a soft mattress, wrapped in a comforter, in a quiet, dark room. Here, you have to deal with the noise of the machines, the boat and the outside light. Some sleep in a hammock, like Sidney Gavignet I'm grilling in the sun in my dog house, it feels good! Last night and this morning I dragged my feet a bit. I was sleeping in my hammock with the remote in my hand." Others, like Benjamin Hardouin, use a large cushion of polystyrene balls, which he moves in his boat according to where he wants to sleep.
Afterwards, everything is possible, everyone is looking for the position that will be the most comfortable or the most practical to sleep. Yann Eliès chose to sleep seated or in a dog-leg position, Ari Huusela slept in a hammock and others chose to sleep on a camp bed or on a banquette.
