Getting Ready for Single-handed Sailing

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Some offers are too good to miss! I’ve got a couple of friends who own a Neel 43, and they asked me to deliver their trimaran from Carteret, in Normandy, to Venice, Italy. The plan was a superb 2,000-nautical-mile voyage with a few tricky areas to navigate: getting clear of the Western Approaches (to the English Channel), with their strong tidal currents and heavy maritime traffic, the crossing of the Bay of Biscay, the descent southward along the Iberian coast with the potential risk of encountering killer whales, the passage through the Straits of Gibraltar, then across the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, two seas with often-changing conditions.
The good news is that the multihull had to be in port by July 1 at the latest. By planning to leave in mid-May, I could choose the right weather window.
To keep my skills sharp, I decided to sail solo for the first leg to Porto. A crewmate would then join me to continue the voyage. In this article, I invite you to join me in preparing for the trip. Later, in a second article, we’ll have a look at how it progressed!

Key Points of Preparation

Before casting off, there are several essential aspects to check:
- Safety equipment
- Technical preparation
- Provisioning
- Weather and sailing strategy
Having summarized all this information, I compile it into a “route plan.” This document is essential, regardless of the length of the voyage, and is even mandatory for insurance purposes.

Safety Equipment: See, Be Seen... and Stay on Board

In addition to the regulatory equipment for a Category A boat, I pay particular attention to the safety of the sailor, in this case... me! The goal is to avoid falling overboard at all costs. With a crew, it’s already critical, but single-handed it’s the only option. So, I prepared a 150 N auto-inflating life jacket with an MOB-AIS beacon, which is automatically activated in the event of falling overboard. This device uses AIS technology to transmit an immediate alarm to all vessels equipped with an AIS receiver within range (usually 5 to 6 miles). The aim is to enable rapid, localized, and effective recovery by nearby vessels.
In addition, I also carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon), an individual distress beacon that functions like a mini EPIRB. It transmits an alert via the 406 MHz frequency to the international GMDSS network (Cospas-Sarsat), which then relays the information to maritime rescue centers. However, unlike the MOB-AIS, the PLB does not transmit locally, and it can take up to thirty minutes for the alert to be processed before a rescue operation is launched.
The two systems are therefore complementary: the MOB-AIS allows for rapid intervention nearby, while the PLB is a reliable means of alerting the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC).
I also make sure I have a recharge kit available for the life jacket in case of accidental activation (in this case, there were actually six life jackets on board, so I was well covered).
My life jacket is ...