Passage Fatigue: How Well Do You Really Manage?

Most sailors think they handle fatigue on passage. The science suggests otherwise. This 5-minute survey is part of published, open-access maritime safety research.

About 5 minutes

Before you begin

All responses are anonymous and voluntary
Data is used for published, open-access research (DOI: 10.20944/preprints202603.1014.v1)
You can stop at any time
Data retained for 5 years. Data controller: Galvanic Works S.L.
Legal basis: GDPR Art 6(1)(a) — your consent. Privacy policy

Galvanic Works is a maritime safety technology company with a commercial interest in fatigue management solutions. This survey is conducted as part of independent research and the questions are not designed to promote any product.

Section 1 of 5

About You & Your Passages

Q1. Years of sailing experience

Less than 2 years

2-5 years

5-10 years

10-20 years

20+ years

Please select an option

Q2. Longest passage in the last 3 years

Day sails only

Overnight

2-3 days

4-7 days

7+ days

Please select an option

Q3. Typical crew size on passage

Solo

3-4

Please select an option

Q4. Primary role on passage

Skipper

Watch leader

Crew

Mixed / rotating

Please select an option

Section 2 of 5

Watch-Keeping

Q5. Do you use a formal watch system on passage?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely

Never / solo sailor

Please select an option

Q6. Typical watch length

2 hours

3 hours

4 hours

6 hours

No fixed length

N/A — solo

Please select an option

Q7. How strictly do you stick to the rotation?

Rigidly

Mostly

Loosely

We adjust based on conditions

No system

Please select an option

Q8. Do you plan watch schedules before departure?

Always

Sometimes

Never

Please select an option

Section 3 of 5

Sleep on Passage

Q9. On a multi-day passage, how many hours do you sleep in a typical 24-hour period?

Less than 4 hours

4-5 hours

5-6 hours

6-7 hours

7-8 hours

8+ hours

Please select an option

Q10. Rate the quality of your sleep on passage compared to home

Much worse

Somewhat worse

About the same

Better — the boat rocks me to sleep

Please select an option

Q11. What disrupts your sleep on passage? Select all that apply

Alarms / alerts

Boat motion

Anxiety about conditions

Engine / wind noise

Being called on deck

Temperature

Light

Nothing — I sleep fine

Please select at least one option

Q12. Where do you primarily sleep on passage?

Dedicated berth

Saloon settee

Cockpit

Wherever I can

Please select an option

Q13. After a night watch, how quickly can you fall asleep?

Within 10 minutes

10-30 minutes

30-60 minutes

More than an hour

I can't sleep after a night watch

Please select an option

Section 4 of 5

Fatigue Awareness

Q14. After 24 hours at sea with broken sleep, how would you rate your ability to make good decisions? Be honest — this is anonymous

1 Significantly impaired

2 Somewhat impaired

3 Slightly reduced

4 Nearly normal

5 Unaffected

Please select a rating

Q15. Have you ever caught yourself falling asleep or "nodding off" on watch?

Yes — more than once

Yes — once

No — but I've been very drowsy

No — never

Please select an option

Q16. Have you ever made a navigation or safety error that you attributed to tiredness?

Yes

Possibly — hard to be sure

Please select an option

Q17. During a passage, have you ever continued sailing when you felt you should have stopped and rested?

Yes — often

Yes — occasionally

Rarely

Never

Please select an option

Q18. At your most tired point on a recent passage, how sleepy were you? Karolinska Sleepiness Scale — widely used in fatigue research

1 Extremely alert

2 Very alert

3 Alert

4 Rather alert

5 Neither alert nor sleepy

6 Some signs of sleepiness

7 Sleepy, but no effort to stay awake

8 Sleepy, some effort to stay awake

9 Extremely sleepy, fighting sleep

Please select a rating

Section 5 of 5

Coping & Improving

Q19. What do you use to manage fatigue on passage? Select all that apply

Caffeine

Fresh air

Shorter watches

Music / audiobooks

Physical activity

Cold water on face

Napping between watches

Power naps in cockpit

Nothing specific

Other

Please select at least one option

Q20. What would most improve your fatigue management? Select up to 2

A tool that monitors crew alertness

Better watch rotation planning

More crew

Better sleeping conditions below

Pre-passage rest planning

Fatigue awareness training

Nothing — I manage fine

Please select at least one option

Q21. Would you like to receive the results when published?

Yes

Your email is used only to send research results. Privacy policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

Please enter a valid email address

Please select an option

Why this matters

Published research shows that after 17-24 hours without sleep, cognitive performance can decline significantly — comparable to a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.10%. Your responses help us build a dedicated dataset on how recreational sailors actually manage fatigue on passage.

Read the research paper

Share this survey

Post on X Share WhatsApp

Continue contributing to the research

⚓

Sleep at Anchor Survey

How well do you really sleep at anchor? 5 minutes, anonymous.

🚢

COLREGs Knowledge Quiz

13 scored questions. Most sailors think they know the rules. Do you?

Test Your Knowledge

21 interactive quizzes — from COLREGs to radar to anchor alarms

Test Your Knowledge