Quarters have at least three functions:
- Avoiding collisions
- Adjust sail settings and heading
- Organising life on board
To be effective and sustainable, these watches must ensure :
- Sufficient sleep or recovery time for everyone
- The presence of at least one competent crew member for the watch on deck
- The ability to maneuver quickly if necessary
While these requirements still leave some flexibility, it is advisable to take into account the affinities of the crew members among themselves and their personal sleep cycles (some are morning, others evening) to build the shift schedule.
Duration of shifts
It varies according to the difficulty of the navigation
- density of traffic
- weather condition
- coastal proximity
It is also related to the number of crew members available and their resistance to fatigue. Some people can tolerate being awake for 4 hours very well, others find it difficult to stay up for 2 hours before taking a nose dive.
With a reduced crew (2-3 people), the watches will be carried out alone with a second crew member ready to intervene quickly if conditions require it. Under these circumstances it is better to reduce the duration of a shift to a maximum of 3 hours.
With a larger crew, it is interesting to have two people on watch together and increase the duration to 4 hours. To reduce fatigue, the solution generally adopted is to replace a crew member on watch every two hours. The fresh one takes an active watch, while the one who has already been here for 2 hours can rest in a foul weather gear, ready to intervene at the request of his watch teammate.
If a crew member starts out completely, he'll have to be overtaken for his first few watches. Then he needs to know who to wake up if he has any doubts about the safety or operation of the ship.
Beyond 4 people, the skipper can go off watch. In this case the crew knows that they can wake him up at any time to clear up any doubt or manoeuvre.
To help you fill out your shift sheets, here is an example to copy:
Safety and comfort of watchkeeping crew members
To make the experience as pleasant and serene as possible, equip yourself as well as possible (especially at night).
Watchkeeping crew members should wear their vests and harnesses at all times, as well as a means of identification (AIS beacon + cyalume stick or flashlight). At night they must be tied up as soon as they're out. No matter how good the weather is. An exemption can be granted in good weather to those who read under the hood, but outside this well-protected place: we get attached!
Remember, of course, that everyone should have a charged headlamp. Keep cereal bars, dried fruit, hot water in a thermos and ready to infuse bags handy in the evening.
Finally, show everyone how to operate the high beam, AIS, radar and VHF. Set up alarms even if it means waking up everyone... or not: you'll have earplugs for your nights on board!
Good quarters to all!
