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Safe, Easy, Relaxing Passages
Checking the horizon
frequently is important. On an
offshore passage, it is easy to forget or get distracted. The
Watch Commander won’t let you.
Connect to the ships batteries, select your desired time interval and it
is on duty for the entire passage. There is no danger that you will forget
to set it like a kitchen timer or sleep through it like a watch. Every
time you check the horizon, push the button to restart the timing cycle.
If you forget, are hurt or have fallen overboard, the Watch Commander will beep, gently at first so as not
to wake up the off watch, but after 30 seconds, a siren sounds loud enough to
wake up everyone on board. On Watch
You are more relaxed
knowing that the
Watch Commander will remind you to check the horizon.
You are free to get involved in a project, catch up on email or relax and
enjoy a good book. Some people even catnap on watch, especially the
singlehanders. The
Watch Commander will
keep you honest even if you get distracted. Off Watch
The off duty crew will sleep better, getting the proper
rest for safe passage making, when they know that a proper watch is being
kept. It is especially comforting, whether sailing with your regular crew
or those you barely know, that the
Watch Commander will wake you up if the person on watch has fallen
overboard or been hurt/disabled somewhere on the boat.
Watch Commander coordinates Horizon ChecksThere are times during the
day when we don’t have an official watch.
We both feel free to get involved in projects, email, cooking or just
fixing something. We don’t have
to rush because we know that the
Watch Commander will call one of us to look around and check the
horizon History
We've sailed Sea Witch 60,000 nm since 1991. At a women’s offshore sailing seminar, Gail noted that 80% of the women expressed fears about not being able to stay awake on night watch. The Watch Commander was born out of this concern. We found out that their male partners had the same concern. We have tried kitchen
timers. They worked OK but we never slept well when catnapping.
I kept jumping up to make sure I had set the timer.
And, I didn’t sleep well off watch wondering if Gail remembered to set
it. We built the first
Watch Commander – originally called
Blinky – in the Galapagos and first tested it on the run to the
Marquesas in 1999. With it, we slept better off
watch, catnapped better on watch, relaxed more while reading and had time to do projects always knowing
that Blinky - now the
Watch Commander – kept us safe. So many
friends asked us to build them one – they actually got a bit pushy – that we
decided to manufacturer them. Kitchen timers are loud
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![]() | Many people are more complacent during the day, believing that night is the more dangerous time. |
![]() | Many keep a more relaxed watch during the day. |
![]() | Most people only use their kitchen timers or wrist watches only at night. They are too much trouble to use during the day |
![]() | It is very easy to get distracted during the day with projects, meals, a good book, etc. |
![]() | At night, a ship's lights are continuously visible from the time they break the horizon. During the day, a ship is visible when the vessel outline is on the horizon but it may be much less visible once it is closer and no longer breaking the horizon. |
![]() | Smaller vessels such as work boats, large and small fishing boats, etc. may get lost in waves and spray during the day. |
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