s/v 'Flight of Years' Solo Circumnavigation

[Mike Banks]

Only one impellor and anodes, spare belts, alternator, regulator and filters etc. Not a lot--but it is not a Volvo. I also carry jury rudders, pintles and spare propellor and nuts.

Getting dismasted is not fun for anyone and good effort rigging a jury mast. Getting injured as well as dismasted can be fatal. Was this on your twenty five footer or one of the larger vessel you mention?

[cathyoz]

[quote=Mike Banks;147658]Only one impellor and anodes, spare belts, alternator, regulator and filters etc. Not a lot--but it is not a Volvo. I also carry jury rudders, pintles and spare propellor and nuts.

Getting dismasted is not fun for anyone and good effort rigging a jury mast. Getting injured as well as dismasted can be fatal. Was this on your twenty five footer or one of the larger vessel you mention?[/quote
----------------------------------------------------------
on a 30fts cat
sinec then i NEVER , never stay long ..under the wind of a mast
always up wind if i can ....i nearly got the mast on my little head , few minutes before i was clearing some sheets ..
i wonder if i have by now used my 9 lifes..
got a crach with an engine failure on a motorise ULM , luchy i knew how to land the thing without an engine and used my commun sens to choose a muddy path of grass to lend , because i had a passager behind me ( and this down down fast real fast ..), and we both survive to tell the tale , not the ultra light ,alas !!!! Ultra light is like a hanglider but with a engine , when you sit , not lying ,
now , great Mike , we can be mate then gald te met you ,
i make sure i cat up with you , along the coast and when the S ---- hit the fan with my engine ..
happy sailing

[Mike Banks]

Ok--looking forward to it--

[Southern Star]

I've been away for a period and have missed most of the recent posts in regards to Heather's unfortunate situation. It certainly gives me further pause about the advisability of cruising in US waters.

Frankly, the callous analysis by some about her situation leaves me stunned. JZK, your sarcastic comment concerning nationalized health care that "if someone is in need of other people's services, someone else should pay for it" could be applied to everything from public education to the service of police when you are the victim of crime. Yes, we could all move to gated communities and pay for our own policing...or could we? We could tell the poor that if they cannot pay for their children's education, their children can't go to school. No sweat off your brow, right?

And Therapy, please don't attempt to scare people off from crusing in Cuba. When was the last time you were there? Their health care is NOT only for the elite. I have visited there several times. and while I (and much of their urban populous) are no fans of Castro, they rightly take pride in their health care system. On one trip I unfortunately suffered a serious cut that required sutures and was provided free, quality health care at a local facility. Not because I am indigent, but because health care IS universally available and free of charge.

Sadly, Heather was a resident of the only developed nation that does not consider health care to be on a par with policing and pre-university education in terms of public need/funding. That fact is apparently now necessitating the sale of her boat and the end of her dream.

And as to the criticism of her dream as being ill-advised in the first place, I can only hope that she is NOT reading this site. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. I know, some of us have an irresistible urge to engage in armchair quarterbacking. But I have always thought that sailing is the stuff that dreams are made of. Some of the greatest voyages ever made were no doubt ill-advised in any practical sense at the time they were undertaken. Should Columbus have ever left on his incredible voyage of discovery in 1492? Were the ships adequate? What about his navigation skills? Wow, he had no charts!

Can we learn from her mistakes? What mistakes - accidentally suffering an injury? Falling prey to seasickness - the same condition that plagued Admiral Nelson throughout his incredible career? What additional preparation would have alleviated these circumstances?

Please people, although it may be hard for some of you to imagine, this story is NOT about YOU! It is not something to provide smug satisfaction about having a better boat, a better private health insurance plan, or greater experience at sailing. It is about a woman who took an incredible chance at pursuing a dream - a dream that many of us share, and who failed because of circumstances that were largely outside of her control.

Brad

[sailndoug]

I couldn't have said it better. You are right on all counts Southern Star. It amazes me that the people who critisize have no doubt left their "dreams" behind. They are those that walk with scissors in hand.

[Pelagic]

[quote=cathyoz;147657
the wind came back , and they did make it to Port Steven ..
she dump him ..he did not make her feel secure ( i wonder why )..[/quote]

CathyOz
I love your stories and the way you tell them… which I hear with a tough French accent.

You certainly are a Sailor who knows that the Sea is a Harsh Mistress…… and so is your friend!
Too Funny! (lol)

[Pelagic]

Can anyone remember the name of an early days single handed sailor (either French or South American I think) who was quoted by others as saying: “I want to be the first person to sail around the world without writing a book about it!” ?

The small point I am making SouthernStar is that if someone chooses to document such a journey and distributes it to the public, they should be prepared for criticism, good and bad!

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

And Therapy, please don't attempt to scare people off from crusing in Cuba. When was the last time you were there? Their health care is NOT only for the elite. I have visited there several times. and while I (and much of their urban populous) are no fans of Castro, they rightly take pride in their health care system. On one trip I unfortunately suffered a serious cut that required sutures and was provided free, quality health care at a local facility. Not because I am indigent, but because health care IS universally available and free of charge.



Brad

One does not have to go to Cuba to know some things about it.
Ergo - cruising guides.
Not much different than you typing "I have been there, have you?"
I am not trying to scare anyone. I know if I get the chance I will be in many places with "poorer" health care (or none).
If you cut yourself here in the US and go to an ER you will get sewn up. If you can't pay you still get to leave and it will be written off. Happens every day. Not govt. funded but end result is the same.
But............whatever.....................

[cathyoz]

Vito Duma was the first argentinian to sail around the world
and Bernard Moitessier the first french
there both did beautifull books, that i read so many time since i was a teens , and learn so much from..and I am so glad we have now great warm clothes ( and medecine , and social security ), and preserved foods , because , in both case they where always hungry and cold and wet , always wet, and they have to saw they cuts themself !!!! Brrrrr.........
when they left , no really one knew , they did they book after, but then they did not really look for sponsor and the like ....
i relate more to Vito Duma mind his beautifull book " la route impossible " for his more human kindness and exposed weakness, and his boat was an ex-racing boat and he was a minimalist.
He died alone , and forgeten and destitute , this is a type of person i wish i could have listen "live" to his stories, and life ..but he is still there through his book and he does reach little human beeing like me in a little anchorage somewhere in the world ..

[cathyoz]

a dream that many of us share, and who failed because of circumstances that were largely outside of her control.

Brad[/quote]

Brat , shall we agree to disagree on this point
we , you in the States , and "little me" in Beautifull Australia , WE are in control of OUR life ..
and if we fail any entreprise , business, sailing, relationship ..it is only OUR own doing.
a ill prepared business person lose money and their business, a ill prepared relationship lose their relationship , a ill prepared sailor lose their boat or get hurt ..
How many time did you get your hand burn with the sheet , until you remimber not to be to closed to the winch , or wear gloves ? how many times did your get the boom in your head ?
how many time did you bang your head on the compagnon way , especialy because you are wearing a cap ?
and then when you cap took off with the proprela of the wind generator , your learn to mounted higher next time !!!!
how many time you lost tools overboad because you where lazy to put a little rope to attach them ?..as with the sunglasses ??
sorry , but , we do learn by our own mistake , and we are responsible for it..
Alas , and if you have children , you will know , no one can transfert experience , but we can tell about it and writw about ir ,,and then when the time comes , people or your children can take the informations if they wish..
i read a lots of books about surviving in life raft and how they become resoufull ..ect ..and how they make fishing hook ..ect.. maybe all theses infos goes goes my mind "hard drive" , and if or when the times comes , hopefully , i could retreive them ..
but i do prepare a "Grab bag" even just to cruise along the coast , and i always take in my kayak ( that i used for my dinguy ) a torch , radio , telephonne and flare , and sun and mozzies cream ..even on a beautifull calm day ..
as i learn than the wind comes up 25 nds in 2 hours and i can not get back to my boat !!! and got stuk on shore ,been eat alive by the mozzies and sand flies...!!!!!!
or i can not find my boat in pinch bloody dark night ,,or it is so windy than some people miss their boat , lose they paddle and dissapear at seas , and the last time we saw them , they where climming the dinguie to go back to their boat just "there "...at the anchorage
if they had had some flare....they will be still alive..
sorry mate , we do learn by our mistake and by reading about alas other people mistake ..

[cathyoz]

now , of course
there are always thing happen that we are not prepared for ..
like beeing attach by an Emu ( big Australia native ), in the middle of nowhere ...

and she try to crack your slap in two,,so you really grab her neck both handed , ..cose , you see this large beck trying to get you , and she kick you with her legs...
then you real shout loud ,"HELP "..
hoping for the guys over the hill, drinking beer in the back of their ute( Australian for pickup car ) could hear you !!!!!!!!!
the french accent , i must admit does wonder in Oz , they do come running down..and rescuis you ..
they do explain to me that she is a bit 'tempemental ' especialy i was turning around her male mate , trying to position him for a good picture , when his lady came running from a distance , "glop ..glop...glod , they make a funny drum sound when they run" , push her mate , and went strait for me !!!!!!!!!!
she was taller than me ..
well , now , even near a little emu ..i keep stay causious ,,,,I grab a stick..just in case ..

[Pelagic]

Thanks CathyOz I have read both Duma and all of Motessier, who I knew when he was in Cabo san Lucas.

Motessier has always been my sailing mentor and inspiration.

I think the “unknown” singlehanded circumnavigator must have been a friend of theirs. (Should have written a book I guess)

And yes! you were lucky, those Australian birds are really territorial of their men and are known to attack viciously at the threat of any feral French!.....(lol)

[dcstrng]

<the callous analysis by some about her situation leaves me stunned…>

Yep – that gave me pause as well… At some level, Heather’s endeavor reflects on aspirations of most of us, I suppose, but some of the only mildly veiled, carnivorous commentary gives me pause … on the other hand, potential circumnavigators aren’t likely to fit some preordained mold (even among recreational sailors) and, to use a tired metaphor, are clearly marching to their own drummer… keyword: “their…” the fact they may let us look over their should via a website doesn't change that.

As for cruising Cuba and US healthcare – good grief… what is it: I think WHO placed the US around 40th or some such – probably right down there with Turkmenistan or something… The US certainly has some major warts, but health care ain’t one of `em… I live in a somewhat rural (fairly modest, economically – US standards) area; I can fall and stub my toe (or have a stroke), dial 911 and a bunch of EMS volunteers will be here lickity-cut, they’ll stabilize me, whisk me off to the nearest emergency facility in a vehicle they’ve dutifully polished and maintained themselves, drop me off and never inquire who I’m insured with… the hospital will do their thing and get me on my way… when all is done, then they will probably inquire as to my insurer, but it won’t effect the level of emergency care I get – and remember, this is rural US… there are certainly facets of other western systems I might think are laudable, but given a choice of changing the whole package for any other I’ve seen (years around much of Western Europe, some in SE Asia, Central America, not to mention Sub-Saharan Africa and a few of the former Soviet Republics), I’m more than content to stick with what I have…

Cuba – yep, good idea… hope it opens up for us pretty soon…

Heather: good show – great call, given the confluence of rather distracting/debilitating circumstances, shows poise, good judgment and more wisdom than some seem willing to acknowledge… would that particular state of affairs have frustrated an old-salt; maybe, maybe not… but that was the skipper’s call… she took an option available to her and lives to fight another day…

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by dcstrng

<the callous analysis by some about her situation leaves me stunned…>

Yep – that gave me pause as well… At some level, Heather’s endeavor reflects on aspirations of most of us, I suppose, but some of the only mildly veiled, carnivorous commentary gives me pause … on the other hand, potential circumnavigators aren’t likely to fit some preordained mold (even among recreational sailors) and, to use a tired metaphor, are clearly marching to their own drummer… keyword: “their…” the fact they may let us look over their should via a website doesn't change that.

As for cruising Cuba and US healthcare – good grief… what is it: I think WHO placed the US around 40th or some such – probably right down there with Turkmenistan or something… The US certainly has some major warts, but health care ain’t one of `em… I live in a somewhat rural (fairly modest, economically – US standards) area; I can fall and stub my toe (or have a stroke), dial 911 and a bunch of EMS volunteers will be here lickity-cut, they’ll stabilize me, whisk me off to the nearest emergency facility in a vehicle they’ve dutifully polished and maintained themselves, drop me off and never inquire who I’m insured with… the hospital will do their thing and get me on my way… when all is done, then they will probably inquire as to my insurer, but it won’t effect the level of emergency care I get – and remember, this is rural US… there are certainly facets of other western systems I might think are laudable, but given a choice of changing the whole package for any other I’ve seen (years around much of Western Europe, some in SE Asia, Central America, not to mention Sub-Saharan Africa and a few of the former Soviet Republics), I’m more than content to stick with what I have…

Cuba – yep, good idea… hope it opens up for us pretty soon…

Heather: good show – great call, given the confluence of rather distracting/debilitating circumstances, shows poise, good judgment and more wisdom than some seem willing to acknowledge… would that particular state of affairs have frustrated an old-salt; maybe, maybe not… but that was the skipper’s call… she took an option available to her and lives to fight another day…

> keyword: “their…” the fact they may let us look over their should via a website doesn't change that.
Promote, ask for donations and hype on the web is a little different than the introspective, solo sailor, who marches to his or her own drummer.

>they’ll stabilize me, whisk me off to the nearest emergency facility in a vehicle
> they’ve dutifully polished and maintained themselves, drop me off and never inquire
> who I’m insured with… the hospital will do their thing and get me on my way… when
> all is done, then they will probably inquire as to my insurer, but it won’t effect the
> level of emergency care I get – and remember, this is rural US…
This all true. It is the after affect of all this that is the real problem. Far too many people end up in bankruptcy due to medical bills in the USA. You should not have to lose a life's work because of a medical issue or an accident.

>Heather: good show – great call,
I can appreciate those that are here supporting Heathers trip and those of others who want to take off. I just don't think in the end it is doing Heather any good by telling her that she made a great calls or cheerleading her on. She would have been a lot further along in this adventure if she taken things a little more realistically and a step a time. Maybe that's callous, don't know.

Paul L

[cathyoz]

She would have been a lot further along in this adventure if she taken things a little more realistically and a step a time. Paul L

[/quote]

this quote , in my opinion, resume well .
we all have project and idea..
and the best help to ourself and from other people is to be informed and well prepared,and honest with our habilities and limitations.
i do not call sailing a 'dream" , as it is just in my opinion just part of life , and choose of lifestyle .
i can not really relate to this "dream stuff " , .
i beleive goal and determination , and focus make us create, progess ..ect...yes.
Differents people choose differents domain..and diversity is great..
but this 'dream' tag about sailing "into the sunset " to "escape" own self at the middle life crise years, ........
humm.......
yes maybe , BUT ..it take few years and lots of knowledge to get there...and it is not just "fitting" a sailing boat for few months who would be the answers to our "existencialism".
I do not want to broke anyone dream , but i expect from my best friend and mate and sailing experienced people to be Totaly honest with me , it is why i am always asking people opinion in my idea and endeavour..
i don't not get it , why people are so affraid to tell other people their opinion?
Why do some still promote "cinderella stories " cyndrome ?
who gives inrealist expectations to naive little girl ,and heavy unfair responsabilities on little boys..
sorry mate, if i was too direct and honest..so i move on to a more , productive sailing topic....like
" mistake and error" ..and what can we ( I ) learn from it..
maybe "DR PHIL" ..will know ...
gonna semd him a email....