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DeepFrz · 05-11-2012, 21:57

I think the OP should write it up, polish it a little, get a few pictures and send it in to Cruising World...

pillum · 05-11-2012, 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'm a turd?

Well that works for me. I'm a turd sitting on a nice happy boat in Mexico with my nice happy family. Had steak tonight, some shrimp, and I think we're doing huevos rancheros in the morning. My big obstacle tomorrow is deciding whether or not I should take the two diesel cans with me on the way to the laundry or if I should make two trips out of instead.

There's a "reply" button when you start a thread and there are no rules that say everyone has to agree with you. I'm not a fan of message boards that crap on everyone as a matter of practice, but nor is there any reason to sugar coat and pat people on the back when they make poor decisions.

"Buy the biggest boat you can" ? Really? That whole "sailing isn't that hard thing" is going to get a lot more interesting when you're behind 50' of boat, nevermind your wallet.

Hear Hear

cheoah · 05-11-2012, 22:34

It is not for everybody, and we all do it for various reasons. I had one guy tell me his sailing time is purely social. As a frequent singlehander, I can't relate. I mean, I enjoy interacting with people while out cruising, but staring at the water for three days, or charts, or books, or sleeping is all pretty appealing.

There's a babe on my boat from time to time, but since many of my cruises are like deliveries, they aren't my wife's cup of tea. She sometimes meets me at the destination. If you're babeless, I can see how a small sailboat is no chick magnet, but I can't imagine there's no sensible women out there that don't want to hang out with a sensible guy in a well founded cruising yacht. More miles, more ports

Not everyone is cut out for solitude, but some of us thrive on it and look forward to it. I'm taking my boat out as a mothership for some duck hunting this winter. I think you might hate that. We'll see what the 13 yo thinks...

So you've been there done that, find something else you like to do, or change your approach and learn from experience. I mean, I've been stuck for days lots of times, and I always have a loaded ice box of food, plenty to read and do. My boat is a universe unto itself, and I have yet to get bored piddling around. That said, I have a mate who is totally ADD, and has to be doing something all the time. Often that is rigging ballyhoo and reeling in pounds upon pounds of mahi, or digging clams, oysters, etc. IT takes all types, but it is not for everyone. Thank god-

**Seaworthy Lass** · 05-11-2012, 23:38

The fantasy of a cruising life has many people dreaming of going to sea. In reality this life suits very few, the OP being just one of the overwhelmingly vast majority I think, so he doesn't need to be knocked for this.

I live with little fresh water, little power, limited refrigeration, no hot water, no heating or A/C. All laundry is done by hand. The floor space I have is definitely much less than my old bathroom had at home. Its easily a week and sometimes two or three between having access to fresh provisions. Bad weather occasionally has me unable to leave the boat not just for 3 days as the OP grizzled, but a week at a time. Sometimes the motion at anchor escalates to the point of needing just wedge myself in somewhere and endless hours of this can get weary. When the force 7 wind is howling and has flipped 180 degrees within an hour and we now find ourselves with the worry of a rocky lee shore not that far behind our stern, when it is blowing 60+ knots and the hail and stinging spray are horizontal and damn painful, I occasionally wish I was elsewhere. Sailing is not all roses.

Having said this I absolutely love it. Maybe the hardships really don't bother me much knowing they are entirely mine by choice and I have other alternatives in life.

Yesterday was just one example of the perfect days at sea. Two dolphins played at the bow for ages as we sliced through flat water on a broad reach during a ten hour passage. They were a sheer delight to watch as they zig zagged back and forth, did barrel rolls and leapt out almost within touching distance.

At anchor we were treated to a stunning sunset washing white cubed homes with pastel shades, and then the jewel like lights of town started to twinkle. After a swim we cracked open a bottle of bubbly and had dinner in the cockpit under the open sky. I felt so very, very lucky to be here.

The size of the boat helps, but I think you either just love it at sea or you don't. Our previous boat was 25 foot, no standing headroom, not a lot of anything in fact (our water tank held just 40 litres!!!). We spent several weeks a year on board. A long as we weren't fighting a headwind against tide, I thought windy conditions were nothing short of exhilarating (15-20 knots was "mild" in my neck of the woods). There was usually a struggle to get me to let go of the tiller

. Sitting round at anchor doing "nothing" suits me perfectly too

.

So, each to his own.

David_Old_Jersey · 06-11-2012, 03:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by flink

But don't just jump on a guy and trash him for getting into something that he basically admitted he didn't know what he was getting into when he did it.. He just wanted to share with those who may be considering the same and tried to warn them that it ain't all rainbows and sunny beaches.

+1

Whilst I can understand folks throwing in their own differing experiances, I am kinda surprised that some of the responses have been so vehement

.......especially as IMO OP did not come anywhere close to cr#pping into anyone else's Cheerios (to carry on with the turd talk

).

Da internet is a strange place........

sailorboy1 · 06-11-2012, 03:31

You guys are looking at it all wrong. Think more about the positive side of the whole thing, the more people who read stuff that scares them off the more room there is for the rest!

**Seaworthy Lass** · 06-11-2012, 03:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

You guys are looking at it all wrong. Think more about the positive side of the whole thing, the more people who read stuff that scares them off the more room there is for the rest!

Oh! I didn't think of this

I forgot to mention the man eating fish here in the Med, the constant force 9+ winds and the lack of decent anchorages. It rains all the time too. Better stay at home.

**carstenb** · 06-11-2012, 04:19

Well Lassie,

Since it's that bad down there in the MED, how about you jes' sell me that ole schooner of yours for say a couple of hundred dollars? Lets you off the hook and you can get back on land.

Just think of me as your knight in shining armor saving you from all the "man-eating" (don't they eat women?) fish down there.

**Seaworthy Lass** · 06-11-2012, 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by carstenb

Well Lassie,

Since it's that bad down there in the MED, how about you jes' sell me that ole schooner of yours for say a couple of hundred dollars? Lets you off the hook and you can get back on land.

Just think of me as your knight in shining armor saving you from all the "man-eating" (don't they eat women?) fish down there.

No, I am a sucker for punishment, so I will just grin and bear it here

(and its a cutter rigged sloop, not a schooner LOL, are you suffering from diplopia Carsten?

)

Rakuflames · 06-11-2012, 04:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'm a turd?

Well that works for me. I'm a turd sitting on a nice happy boat in Mexico with my nice happy family. Had steak tonight, some shrimp, and I think we're doing huevos rancheros in the morning. My big obstacle tomorrow is deciding whether or not I should take the two diesel cans with me on the way to the laundry or if I should make two trips out of instead.

There's a "reply" button when you start a thread and there are no rules that say everyone has to agree with you. I'm not a fan of message boards that crap on everyone as a matter of practice, but nor is there any reason to sugar coat and pat people on the back when they make poor decisions.

"Buy the biggest boat you can" ? Really? That whole "sailing isn't that hard thing" is going to get a lot more interesting when you're behind 50' of boat, nevermind your wallet.

Sailing is hard. It's learnable, but take it from someone who's been on the "fast track" for 4 years and remembers the first day very clearly -- SAILING IS HARD. Which is to say, running on a broad reach is EASY and WONDERFUL, and so is seeing the dolphins, but getting to the point that you can do that EASILY and SAFELY and be able to execute all the other things needed for that easy part is H-A-R-D. ASA just scratches the surface. NO ONE who has just completed a couple of ASA courses should view themselves as prepared to sail solo ANYWHERE, and they should have a (more experienced person) with them for *any* kind of destination sailing. Toodling around on a small boat in a protected bay? You're probably ready. Ready for a storm, or 5' seas in a small boat, or crossing the Skyway Bridge in 20k of wind? Nope.

Guess how I know.

The bigger the boat is, the safer you will be on calm days, but if things go bad, you may rapidly end up in even worse conditions. It's one thing to take a basic sailing class, buy a small boat and explore calm waters. It's quite another to take a big, complicated trip in waters known to present challenges to highly seasoned sailors.

If you're smart, you learn that toodling around in that little bay or lake or whatever. Big winds don't take down boats (or ships), and neither do big waves. What sinks boats and kills people, usually, is hubris.

On top of sailing hubris, there's the issue of maintenance. Sorry, another story. A family I met set out for a weekend sail through safe water with about 10 other boats. They hadn't been sailing long but felt up to the task.

They probably were, but the boat was not, and they didn't know enough about their boat to realize that. They went through the bridge under power and tried to deploy the headsail, but it wouldn't work, so they turned around and came back. They were chatting with club members afterwards, including me, also a real greenhorn (for some reason I didn't go on that trip, don't remember why.) "Yeah," they said. "We came back because the roller furler wasn't working right. Really weird -- then we noticed the backstay was loose, too." A couple of guys SHOT out of their chairs and raced to their boats. Probably some here have guessed what happened.

The forestay had snapped, and the roller furler had hidden it ... and was supporting the mast. The fellows got a halyard on as a temporary forestay.

Good thing they came back. They knew more about sailing than they did about their boat -- which, IMO, is true about a lot of sailors, esp. newer sailors.

**Seaworthy Lass** · 06-11-2012, 04:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Sailing is hard. It's learnable, but take it from someone who's been on the "fast track" for 4 years and remembers the first day very clearly -- SAILING IS HARD. Which is to say, running on a broad reach is EASY and WONDERFUL, and so is seeing the dolphins, but getting to the point that you can do that EASILY and SAFELY and be able to execute all the other things needed for that easy part is H-A-R-D.
......

Actually it is 99% easy and fun and 1% difficult and terrifying. You learn more from the terrifying bits, so they are good value

.

**carstenb** · 06-11-2012, 04:55

No lassie, I'm not suffering from diplopia LOL. But since you so lovingly have refused to call you Aluminum Sail Boat a "yacht" I assumed it must be something other than a mere bermuda rigged sloop - ergo - A Schooner! But I'm like you - a masochist when it comes to sailing - go on - whip me! beat me! freeze me to death!

Ref: your answer to Raku - yes, sailing is 99% fun and 1% terror. Assuming you survive the terror - you can have more fun!

**Seaworthy Lass** · 06-11-2012, 05:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by carstenb

......since you so lovingly have refused to call you Aluminum Sail Boat a "yacht" I assumed it must be something other than a mere bermuda rigged sloop - ergo - A Schooner!
......

"Mere" Bermuda rigged sloop? My little boat is feeling insulted and I must rush to her defence

. She is "home sweet home", sturdy, reliable and ever dependable. Size is not everything. And anyway, some of the best things come in small packages