The Ships Company

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Safety

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Fire

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Engine

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Personal Safety

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Sails

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Communication

Personal Space/Privacy

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Galley/Food

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Household

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Watches

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Landfall/Anchoring

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Environmental Energy

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System failure

The Ships Company:

Sailing the world's oceans creates a more defined relationship among crew members than exists on local outings. International maritime regulations places great responsibility on the captain of a vessel and endows him/her with the authority to fulfill this responsibility (the captain "going down with the ship" has some basis in fact). The authority of the captain can be seized by the crew under extreme circumstances, but subsequently requires a heavy burden of proof under maritime law. It is expected that the small group of co-adventures aboard Shepherd Moon will interact rather informally, but still respect the necessary discipline for the safe and efficient operation of the vessel. Some of the crew are captains of their own boats and plan to eventually sail the oceans on their own. Although the vast majority of shipboard procedures are intuitive and identical among boats, operations peculiar to a particular vessel or voyage or captain do exist. Crew are encouraged to speak up about any procedure felt to be unsafe. On other matters, it is expected that a variance in style from that which they might chose for their own vessel will not interfere with the camaraderie aboard Shepherd Moon. Crews have been selected because of their experience, commitment, and potential to become part of a compatible sailing team. The boat is insured. Please don't abuse it, but feel free to break anything if necessary to keep from going overboard or being injured. The major accountability of the captain under international maritime law cannot be released; however, there will be an assumption of risk/release/waiver/indemnity between crew members testifying and acknowledging an informed consent with respect to the inherent risks of a major adventure of crossing an ocean. The captain can be held responsible for any illegal item brought aboard by crew and reserves the right to inspect all items aboard the vessel.

Each crew member will be responsible for a proportional share of provisions and consumables for the voyage. Crew will not be paid, nor will they be paying for the trip; and they are responsible for their transportation to and from the location of the vessel for their leg of the voyage, including unanticipated expenses associated with itinerary changes in time and place. If necessary, it should be possible to contact Great Getaway Travel (who has experience with refundable onward tickets which are sometimes required) or other travel agencies from the boat while on a passage. Crew will be responsible for all personal expenses while ashore before, during, and after their crewing leg. Crew will not be responsible for unintended damage to the boat while following prudent procedures or directions, costs for short (postcard) e-mails while aboard or for customs/marina/anchoring fees specifically associated with the boat.

Safety:

A first order danger sailing offshore is other ships, They travel in excess of 30 knots, sometimes don't have their radar on or a watch posted, and aren't identified on even the most detailed charts. Shepherd Moon has a radar enhancer (transponder) at the top of the mast which will be left on at all times offshore. It also has an alarm should we be interrogated by the radar of another vessel. In addition Shepherd Moon has a self leveling radar reflector (stays in the "catch rain" position) mounted under the self leveling radar scanner. At sea, ships these days usually travel great circle routes and aren't limited to traditional shipping lanes. Consequently, they might be encountered anywhere. On Shepherd Moon, the horizon will be scanned every 20 minutes with compass bearing binoculars during the day or while on autopilot at night. Should anything uncertain be sighted, the radar will be switched on and evasive action considered. While hand steering, the nav/support crew will come into the cockpit to do the binocular scan (during daylight) and scan with radar at night. (To conserve energy the autopilot and radar should not normally be used at the same time without identified reason.) The VHF radio will be on at all times offshore and used to communicate with uncertain radar targets. Reference material for identifying the lighting schemes of ships at night will be at the nav station on a plasticized card. Masthead strobe light, horn, and a 25 mm signal kit can alert another vessel or attract a rescue.

A second order danger is running aground. Shepherd Moon will carry detailed charts, pilot and light guides, tide information, and cruising guides covering all planned areas of passage. Three GPS's are also aboard (one will be kept in the oven for lightning protection). Within sight of land, GPS boat position will be plotted on charts each hour (more often in unfamiliar waters). Offshore GPS boat position will be logged and plotted every three hours. When approaching unfamiliar land, radar and compass bearing binoculars will be used to verify the "position of the land" (the best charts available for some parts of the world have mis-located islands by miles). Shepherd Moon also has an alarmed depth sounder.

A third order danger is storm/sinking. Shepherd Moon has an Inmarsat-C through which we can get very detailed NOAA weather information four times daily with 24 and 48 hour forecasts. Unless there is an impending storm, we will usually access weather reports every two days and plot the information on a plastic coated chart that stays on the nav table, with an overhead pen (that can be wiped off to update information). Shepherd Moon was also weighed by a single point in-line digital scale claimed to be accurate within 200 pounds. Using this weight, the captain (a mathematician) carefully added foam and computed displacement until it is strongly believed that the boat has positive floatation (will become a raft if filled with water). Two inflatable floatation bags will also be aboard for a margin of safety (with one kept inflated underway and the other at the ready). It will be wise for the crew to treat the boat as if it can sink (as if the scale and/or the mathematician were in error). Should the vessel begin to take on significant water, pre-designated tasks will be assigned: two crew will search and contain the leak; and one crew will tack the boat (possibly putting the leak above waterline), start the engine and valve the engine to assist the 2700 automatic pump in pumping the bilge, and pump up the spare floatation bag. The fourth crew will respond as if the boat is sinking, by inflating the dinghy and assembling ditch bag(s). The dinghy has been equipped as a life raft (without automatic inflation). It has a sail/canopy, rudder, sea anchor, a small watermaker, and some emergency supplies. A waterproof GPS, waterproof VHF radio and an Iridium cell phone will be in the ditch bag(s). The Inmarsat-C has a distress "EPIRG" feature which will be explained aboard. The speed log and depth/temp transducers are in a watertight "sea chest" leaving only four below waterline seacocks, which the crew will be trained to locate and turn off, even in the dark. There is a Plexiglas window to view the bilge with an LED light to be left on at night; and a water alarm. Emergency soft wood plugs are attached to each seacock for plugging the seacock if necessary. A tarp for use as a collusion mat and a thin sheet of repair fiberglass are also aboard (behind the toilet in the head). A manual bilge pump at the helm, extra cockpit drains, and four buckets complete the equipment. A bolt cutter is strapped to the mast (inside the cabin) should the unthinkable occur (dismasting).

Fire:

Fire is a very real fear aboard Shepherd Moon as it can not only drive crew off the boat, but also destroy the dinghy that they hope to escape to. The boat has an automatic fire extinguisher in the engine compartment, a 9 pound Halon extinguisher at the companionway, and an ABC extinguisher in the forward cabin. Also, no smoking will be permitted on the vessel at any time. Both the propane locker and the outboard gas tank locker drain directly overboard. Two multi-vapor sensors are in the bilge and under the outboard motor storage in the cockpit locker. A bilge/engine ventilating blower has also been installed to be used twice daily (to freshen air in the boat) and to be used before use of the propane stove. The propane will be turned off at the deck storage tank to allow the propane to burn out of the line after each use. The ship's water pressure system will normally be turned off to prevent accidentally pumping the main tank water overboard; however, in case of fire, it should be turned on to provide shower/sprayer water in the head, galley, and cockpit.

Engine:

A second seacock/strainer can be used for the engine by opening a valve. Likewise a second primary fuel filter has been installed. The engine is protected from following seas by a valve in the exhaust line (make sure that it is open before starting the engine and closed after stopping the engine). This valve is located in a compartment just behind the engine. Should the main engine fail, the outboard motor will attach to the top step of the boarding ladder (for getting into an anchorage or dock). The engine has a high-output alternator with the stock alternator carried along as a spare. A scavenger bulb pump was designed to enable crew to siphon contaminated fuel/condensation from the bottom of the fuel tank. Soy diesel is used in the engine, which requires no modification to the engine (normal diesel can also be used). 60 gallons of fuel will be aboard (50 gallon tank plus 10 spare gallons strapped to the pedestal) with about a 450-500 mile range. Except for running the engine a half hour every week, fuel will be reserved for safety near land, storm tactics, and emergencies. It will be assumed that calm winds will not normally prompt the use of the engine. Calm will be part of the adventure…..bring a good book. While the engine is running and for an hour before, AC charging will be available through the inverter. DC charging for AA and AAA batteries (metal hydride batteries are best); laptops, etc. will usually be available during sunny daylight hours. The engine shaft has a circular cutter just ahead of the Max Prop, should a line wrap the prop (take care if diving under the boat).

Personal Safety:

Safety harnesses and PFD's will be required to be worn while above decks while underway except under some near shore conditions in daylight (Sospenders seem like a good combination choice). A tether must be attached to a jackline before stepping into the cockpit from below. A second tether will also be required to get to the mast and foredeck. Some sailors claim that they can just hang on while they switch their tether, but if the boat lurches, hundreds of pounds of force can be put on that handgrip which will cause it to fail. A whistle, light with strobe feature, and a knife capable of cutting a tether or 5/8 inch line are required to be on person while above deck. Some sailors take along bike helmets to prevent head injuries in really rough weather. There is a helmet aboard which will need to be worn by any crew going forward of the mast to operate the whisker pole. Do not stand on the cockpit seats forward of the helm as a swinging boom (preventer failure) could be fatal. Bare feet are okay in the cockpit under calm conditions, but the better protection and traction of shoes will normally be needed on deck. Overboard crew: immediately hit the MOB key on the GPS (and radar if it is on); then execute MOB procedures with other crew (one crew must keep the overboard person sighted).This includes immediate release of the MOB pole with float (white so that the person overboard can better see it at night). A drag line with line ascender will always be trailed behind the boat for self rescue at lower boat speeds (self rescue would be difficult at 5 knots which is less than the average sailing speed of the boat). The success rate of retrieving a person overboard at night is not high (turn on your strobe immediately). Be particularly aware of any distracting circumstances while in the cockpit and on deck. I recently heard of a helmsman who went below to help put out a small galley fire and returned to the helm forgetting to clip in. Unbeknownst to his crew, he slipped overboard at night within sight of the lights of Hawaii…and was never found.

Sails:

Shepherd Moon is equipped with five sails: a 130% high clue Genoa with foam luff to maintain shape when partially furled, a staysail/storm headsail, a full battened mainsail on a batt-car system (with two jiffy reefs), a storm trysail to be stowed hanked on it's own track while underway, and a cruising spinnaker (with artwork). All sails were made or reinforced by Carol Hasse. A whisker pole will be used on the Genoa as needed. In general, headsails provide power while sails aft of the mast provide control. When raising, lowering, or furling a sail, relax the sheet a bit to reduce pressure on the sail; and if you encounter difficulty, pause to identify and resolve the obstruction. The exact sequence of storm tactics will depend on the particular circumstances and assessment, but the following is likely as conditions worsen:

Communication:

Shepherd Moon has a 25 watt VHF radio with masthead antenna, waterproof portable 5 watt VHF, and an Inmarsat-C. Crew will be able to send and receive short messages (no attachments or forwards) on even numbered days (exact time window will be established before departure) through a relay person (to be established before departure). The cost to the vessel is a penny a character, sending and receiving, so be brief. An Iridium satellite cell phone will also be aboard as a back-up. It will have voice messaging which will be checked on odd numbered days

Personal space / Privacy:

A crew member's berth and stowage area should be respected as personal space. When in their berth, it should be assumed that a crew member wants lone time without conversation unless they indicate otherwise. Music and/or musical instruments should not be played openly when mates are sleeping (earphones are encouraged). It is expected that crew keep their personal space uncluttered (especially with items that can become projectiles) and that laundry be kept bagged and inoffensive to others. With seacocks and engine valves located throughout the boat, it will be required that cabin doors remain open at all times while underway. The only real personal privacy will be in the head. As on mountain climbing trips (which most crew have done), it is likely in close quarter living that crew may glimpse others in their underwear as they retire to their berth or get dressed. Any casualness beyond this should assure that the modesty of crewmates is not offended. A person on watch, who needs to urinate, will have the option of using a container in the cockpit (sorry guys, no macho leaning off the stern). Again this activity needs to be communicated to avoid surprising or offending others (the nav-support watch will take the helm if a visit to the head is needed). There should be no toilet seat issue in the head as guys will be expected to be seated for all activities. Boat toilets fail often, leaving crew to resort to buckets. The problem is almost always toilet paper. To avoid the unpleasantness of toilet repair underway, used toilet paper will be placed in a biodegradable paper bag (with a clothespin closure) instead of down the toilet (please wrap in a dry layer to avoid odors). These paper bags will periodically be tossed overboard. Between showers, each crew member will have a designated spray bottle for hygiene. These will be refilled every couple of days from the water maker galley tank. Drinking water will be hand pumped from the main tank through the Sea Gull filter. This drinking water will not be rationed, but will be logged (be sure to mark it down on the nav station calendar). Each crew will have a designated water bottle. On odd numbered days, crew can shower. First soap up in salt water (there is a saltwater pump in the galley…..be sure to bring salt water shampoo); then rinse with fresh water metered from the main tank (one gallon per person per shower). A sun shower is available to warm rinse water before a shower. Showers may be taken in the cockpit, but normal safety precautions must be taken. Shower water taken from the main tank must be marked on the nav station calendar so that an accurate count of remaining water in the main tank will always be known. Should there be enough house energy to make extra fresh water; a small amount of laundry can be done once or twice during a passage. Rain water catchment will allow for more frequent laundry (and more fresh water for showers). There are clothespins aboard……..laundry may be hung from lifelines, but not jacklines. If "couples" should crew on Shepherd Moon, it will be assumed that they will function with independent equal camaraderie during a passage. At landfall stops when cabin doors may be closed and anchor watch schedules facilitate, there should be some opportunity for relationship privacy.

Galley / Food:

Each person will be assigned a cereal container (above the galley sink) and storage space for refills. You will be responsible for bringing your own breakfast (there will be hot water if you prefer instant hot cereal). Discard the boxes and bring your cereal in plastic bags to save space. Milk for cereal will be available for breakfast (additional Milkman milk will be taken if there is pre-trip request for more for drinking). Available 24 hours a day will be hot water in a large pump thermos, tea, coffee singles (used like tea bags), hot chocolate (regular and non-fat), cup of soup varieties, wheat crackers, peanut butter, jam, honey, catsup, mustard, mayo, salt & pepper, sugar (probably unbleached), creamer, low cal sweetener, electrolyte replacement drink and/or Tang, and a bar mix of seasoned crackers and nuts. Somewhat more rationed will be fruit. A piece of fresh fruit per day for each person for the whole trip is hoped for. This may be more as the soft fruit of the first part of the trip ripens….apples and oranges may be the fruit for the last part of the trip (if there is room in the fridge, grapes will keep for at least half the trip). If necessary, a comptroller will be assigned to keep the rest of us from eating all the fruit the first week. There will be designated foods for lunch prepared as a regular chore of one of the crew. Raw carrots and cookies will also be available for lunch. Early in the trip, there will be bread, tomatoes, and lettuce for sandwiches (pita bread or crackers latter on). Because of differing watch schedules, breakfast and lunch may be taken at different times by different crew. Dinner will have a serving of hot food prepared at a common time. Crew will head into night watches with a ration of chocolate or fudge. One pot dinner dishes will be prepared usually over the ethanol-gel stove and some dinners will be prepared in the microwave. The propane stove will be used infrequently and primarily for baking. The propane system has several safeguards: however, mechanical failure and tired crew can defeat most of these. Since fire (or explosion) can do us in quickly, the bilge fan will be run for two minutes before lighting the propane stove and after use the propane will always be turned off at the deck storage tank to allow propane to burn out of the line. The propane stove is slated to be replaced by one using renewable energy. Before re-lighting ethanol gel, shake or stir the can and it will light better. Each crew will be assigned a bowl-plate, spoon & fork, and a thermo-cup for the trip. Each person is responsible for the care and cleaning of their items. (Your cup can be sparkling clean or it can look like the one at your work station.) Who tends the cooking and/or cleaning will be assigned based on watch schedules. The galley has a salt water pump for dish washing. Drops of salt water left in the sink will cause rust, so apply a squirt of fresh water (spray bottle under sink) and wipe with a paper towel. Consider using half a paper towel for some things to conserve. Maintaining hot water in the thermos will also relate to watch schedules. Care should be taken to sit the large thermo jug in the sink when it is not strapped in and when pouring hot water into it. When preparing to heat water, any warm water in the thermos jug should be pumped back into the tea pot for re-heating as part of a full pot. Frozen meals will be place in the fridge for a day or so before using to assist in cooling the fridge. Reducing the number of fridge openings to a handful per day will be a great help. Access to the freezer will be limited, so that energy consumption can be established and managed and to assure that the double seal is dry and seated. Shepherd Moon will be a dry boat in terms of alcohol (unless small quantities of celebratory spirits are provided by the captain). If you bring any personal snack food on the voyage, you may want to avoid foods that could break a tooth of dislodge a filling (popcorn, taffy, etc.). Ginger can relieve symptoms of seasickness.

Household

Antibiotic hand soap (Phisohex) will be available in the head and should be used sparingly The upkeep of the boat requires that the crew do routine chores such as vacuuming; cleaning the cockpit, cleaning the head, cleaning the kitchen area, and sponging dry the bilge. Also crew may be assigned to keep track of a consumable (fuel, main water tank, food, paper products) and to get specifically involved in some operation of the vessel (navigation, instruments, weather charting, watermaker, production of energy). NOTE: navigational waypoint locations must be independently arrived at by a second crew member before they can be considered verified for use. Of course, crew are encouraged to learn about other and all boat systems. Red LED lights in the head, galley, and nav station will provide ample light to get around at night without disrupting the night vision of the helmsman. Small LED reading lights are at each berth and may be carefully used at night. No other cabin lights should be turned on while underway. The LED bilge light will be left on at night. Spares for most boat systems are aboard as are most of the tools used in outfitting the vessel. The boat does have a well considered and compact first aid kit, but crew need to bring their own standard first aid items, a broad spectrum antibiotic that they know is safe for their use (ill timed abscessed tooth, etc.), treatment for seasickness, and medications that might be specific to themselves or an area of passage (malaria). Be sure to attend to small cuts and insect bites as they can easily become septic in the tropics. Fans should be used sparingly, such as if they are needed for sleep. No food or drink on the nav table/charts (ships have been lost on charted reefs concealed by coffee stains). Only easily biodegradable waste will be discarded overboard. Other waste/trash will be bagged for shore disposal.

Watches

Each crew member will have a three-hour watch at the helm during the day and a three-hour watch at the helm at night. The boat will be hand steered for half the time (total of three hours for each crew each day). The autopilot's name is "Spirit". For three hours just prior to each of his/her helm watches, the crew member will serve as a navigation/support person. The helmsman is in charge of the vessel and can call the nav/support person topside for help in trimming or changing sails or request a cup of hot chocolate. When hand steering, the nav/support person is responsible for stepping into the cockpit (tethered) every 20 minutes for a binocular scan of the horizon (at night the nav/support person would scan by radar instead of binoculars). When Spirit is steering, the helmsperson may stand watch under the dodger and is responsible for binocular scanning (day and night). This releases the nav/support person to complete the ships log for the three-hour watch. This is also time in which chores can be done by the nav/support crew…..or reading. The nav/support person must be alert to instrument audio indicators, communication alerts and hailings, and be able to hear the helmsman clearly. The nav/support watch should not use earphones; however, use of earphones by the helmsperson normally should not compromise attention to the boat. Before relieving the helmsperson (only at dawn and dusk……twice each day), the nav/support person should go forward and inspect the jack lines, preventer, inspect the drag line, etc. Crew is expected to be ready for their watch duties 5 minutes early. Standing watch on a long voyage can become monotonous, but like driving, one must stay alert for the unexpected. For 12 hours in each 24 hours, a crew member will have no responsibilities in operation of the vessel. Two crew will have equal breaks of six hours each. Two crew will have unequal breaks of 3 hours and 9 hours. This watch schedule will allow each crew member to team with each of the other three crew members during the course of a day. It is very important for the safety of the voyage, to get adequate rest/sleep while off watch. There are several frequent boat and instrument noises, so bring earplugs or muffs. Frequent rotation of times for watches can be fatiguing, so such rotations will be limited. The watches will be modified if someone is incapacitated (standing watch while seasick is usually helpful). In very bad weather the watches may be shortened and be more frequent.

Landfall / Anchoring:

Navigation and landfall in a reef area ideally would be done under rather calm winds with the sun behind and on a rising tide; and planning will try to optimize these favorable conditions. Landfall/anchoring will normally require the alertness of the entire crew; a helmsman, a bow and/or spreader observer, and a nav crew calling out depths to the helmsman. Shepherd Moon has three anchors. Both the 45 pound CQR with 250 feet of 10 mm short link stainless chain rode (on windless); and the 22 pound Delta on 30 feet of 8 mm stainless short link chain and 220 feet of 9/16 megabraid rode are at the ready on the bow. A Fortress FX-37 disassembled anchor is secured in the head with 25 feet of 10 mm stainless short link chain stored in the chain locker and 300feet of ¾ inch megabraid stored in the cockpit locker. In retrieving chain a windless shut off switch is located at the chain locker should the chain jam, etc. Take care around windlasses, winches, and blocks. They have been known to eat fingers and toes, so observe procedures before trying it yourself.

When making landfall in a new country, the yellow quarantine flag will be flown from the starboard spreader until clearing customs. It will then be replaced by a courtesy flag for that country. (Usually only the captain will go ashore with crew passports and other information to clear customs.)

While at landfall, if the boat is in an un-secure area, a person will be left aboard on anchor watch at all times (probably two people after dark). The anchor watch should be frequently visible in the cockpit to monitor the boat and discourage curious mischief (most theft in the areas we will be cruising is opportunistic). The dinghy will be secured at night……probably by lifting it from the water. In the very unlikely event that the boat in boarded by an aggressive or armed thief, do not forcibly resist (items on the boat can be replaced).

Environmental Energy:

Shepherd Moon has been designed to operate entirely on environmental energy. Wired directly to the house battery bank are 390 watts of solar energy (200 watts folded out of use while offshore) and a 100 watt wind generator (the wind generator is called "Whisper"). Wired directly to the electronics battery bank are 180 watts of solar and a 100 watt hydro generator (yet unnamed, but its low growl reminded one crew of a junk yard dog). 6 watts of solar are wired directly to the engine battery. The ebb and flow of battery energy.will be carefully monitored and determine the allocated use of boat systems. In particular, using boat systems such as freezer, watermaker, microwave when the sun is shining or engine is running results in "load reduction" - being able to use available energy, most of which, would not have gone into the batteries. At times the course of the boat might be adjusted a few degrees to gather more solar energy (if panels are in the shadow of sails). (Vessel course may also be changed a few degrees to enhance satellite communication.) LED running lights, anchor light, bilge light, and reading lights use little energy. A couple of public school classrooms may have interactive e-mail communication with the vessel during the voyage. Crew are expected to support the environmental aspects of the voyage including appropriate communication with students. Shepherd Moon will fly an Earth Flag.

System failure

Something on the vessel is bound to not work as expected. A failure of a boat system will most likely result in some revision of boat operation (dependent on the failed system). A significant amount of redundancy has been built into the vessel.