Anxiety from Offshore Cruising

[Eder]

The fear of off shore cruising will pass with experience to be replaced with a fear of coastal cruising.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^

Yup, got that right. You said it, you wanna explain it? [and get the credit, so to speak.]

Ann

[Lepke]

Once the depth of the water is over your head, it doesn't matter how far out you are. It's usually safer farther from shore than close. Better ride, too. No ground swell.

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Lepke

Once the depth of the water is over your head, it doesn't matter how far out you are. It's usually safer farther from shore than close. Better ride, too. No ground swell.

Concur, there's a lot more reason to get anxiety from costal cruising. Once on the open ocean the risk of a hazard diminhes to 1 to 100 or something against costal, anyway I feel safe when there's nobody else around to screw things up and deep enough not to worry about it.

Teddy

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by boatingnewbie

Did any of you initially have anxiety or minor fear when you first started boating and went offshore? (i.e. couldn't see land anymore).

If so, how did you get over it? Does it just get easier the more you do it and the more confident you feel in your vessel and in your abilities? Thanks!

Yes and yes, but the initial anxiety is offset by the Euphoria of making your first land fall in a foreign country as a skipper.

Pete

[SV Bacchus]

When planning our 1st overnight sail with two full days of no land on each side, we were planning with a buddy boat. Not sure how much the buddy boat played into it but we found we were excited about the trip, not scared.

Cautious, yes, but excited. Probably all the safety checks and pre-planning helped quell any fear that may have been there.

[Mr B]

50 years of motor boats, up to 25 foot ski and speed boats, Zilch on sailing boats,
I flew into Fiji to buy my sailing boat, Retirement live aboard vessel,
It came with all the Bells and whistles, Of which I knew nothing about,
I didnt even know how to turn it on, let alone what it did,
A day and a half later, The PO flew out to Hawai and I was on my own,

But he did give me a good education on the workings of it, The Basics of every thing,
I spent six weeks in Fiji learning how to sail and drive it,
At night, I went to the local Bar with all the international sailors and learnt from them,
Island 12 miles off Fiji called Mololo, About 40 boats were moored there,

They knew I was a novice sailor and learning, With the intention of sailing my boat to Australia,
I kept them in fits of laughter, But they didnt give me any bum steers,
They were factual and very helpfull in teaching me to sail, They were learners once too,

I was using only the Genoa up till then, ,
The main sail, I took the covers off the main for the first time after two weeks, WOW,
What do all these ropes do, I had no idea, So I sat there and looked at them,
I finally figured out what most did, Put the main up and away I went,

Into the pub Nightly to keep the sailors in fits of laughter, I thought it was funny too,
What does this do, What does that do, What are all these ropes I have left over,
There is 4 hanging out the boom,
Information at night, Learn to sail in the day, Put their words into practice,
I finally got it all happening, I was pleased with my self,

Six weeks later, The big question, Can I sail this boat to Australia or not,

Second choice, Hire a local Captain to sail it to OZ for me and I can learn on the way,

I am pretty resourcefull, and very capable, Your not in my shoes and dont know what I am capable off,

Plan B, was I can drive it to OZ by Island hoping, I have 750 Nmiles of diesel on board, Driving it to OZ is not a problem if I cant sail it,
But approx 2000 Nmiles of open ocean is a big challenge even for me,
Due to a customs hiccup, I drove the boat out of Lautoka at night, I should have left in the morning and sailed out during the day, , not driving it at night,

I was too busy to worry, looking where I was going and hoping that the electronic gismos were accurate with where the islands and reefs were,
My life was in the hands of the GPS, and I didnt trust it, I didnt know how accurate it was, or wasnt,
My hair was standing on end if I had any,

The scary part was going thru the gap in the reef and out to sea, It was around midnight or after by this time,
Two lights to steer thru, But are they the right lights, and am I going thru the gap in the reef,

I then set the autopilot away from Fiji with the prevailing winds, Dragging the drive leg and the Genoa out about a foot to give me 3 to 5 knots, North west,

I then went to sleep as I was buggared,
The next morning when I woke up, I had no land in sight, Whoo Whoo,

Thats when the penny dropped, Have I done it this time, Bitten off more than I can chew,
I made a coffee and thought about it,

This is one hell of a spot your in Brian, Im totally on my own now,,
Well, Australia is that way, So set the auto pilot and away we go, Its not going to get there on its own,
Thankfully the PO had all the books and manuals for the boat in a small box,
So I spent a lot of time reading them,

Its open ocean and nothing in it, The boat is driving itself, The Genoa is giving me between 3 and 12 knots,
But as I progressed, I cut that down to 5 to 10 knots, By going across the waves, I dont want to go fast and break some thing,
The scary part of sailing to me is being close to shore, Reefs, Boats, very shallow water,
Middle of the Ocean is a breeze, Its 10,000 feet deep, But just be aware out there, Never forget where you are,
The weather can do strange things,

Hope it helps, We were all learners once,
And 21 days later, I sailed into Bundaberg in Qld Australia,

Cheers, Brian,

[danielamartindm]

Anxiety has survival value, and we need it when we do potentially dangerous things. It doesn't feel good, and it temporarily undermines our confidence in ourselves; but it moves us to prepare ourselves and our vessels for worst case scenarios. Would you feel comfortable placing your life in the hands of a captain who was completely devoid of worry or concern about the voyage to come? Think of it as appropriate concern, rather than anxiety

[CatNewBee]

I would not call it anxiety, I would call it respect of the elements. That is what makes you think about it, prepare and go, anxiety is something that makes you stay away.

[S/V Illusion]

I remember the skippers meeting just before the start of one of the ARC crossings to Antigua when someone asked all those who have some fear or anxiety to raise their hand. Everyone did.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Lepke

Once the depth of the water is over your head, it doesn't matter how far out you are. It's usually safer farther from shore than close. Better ride, too. No ground swell.

The greatest hazard one has to deal with isn't the Deep. It's the hard stuff around the edges or, within 20-30 miles of the edges, the lameo's booming along on auto and not keeping a proper watch. We actually feel less anxiety once we're well away from the shore than we do making landfall (and particularly when we're approaching a coast/locale we haven't been to before or one heavily trafficked!).

FWIW...

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

I would not call it anxiety, I would call it respect of the elements. That is what makes you think about it, prepare and go, anxiety is something that makes you stay away.

I like the way you put that, Respect of the elements,

Coming home I will be crossing the great Australian bight, Perth to Melbourne,
3000 Miles across the southern ocean,
It is one ocean I am very wary off, It is known for some very big waves and very strong winds,
But I have planned it out in stages, 200 miles max from point to point,
Thats from safe harbour to safe harbour, Then wait for the right winds,
I have already planned the trip and where I can find sheltered harbours from the waves and winds of the Southern Ocean,
I need a 3 day weather window to accomplish it safely,
I dont fancy sailing in 40 foot plus waves, Like others have done,
But if im out there when it goes bad, I will just go with it, Ride it out,
Most storms blow over in 3 days or so,

[roland stockham]

When you get so experienced that you feel no anxiety GIVE UP SAILING. On my first ocean passage it was more moderate panic than mild anxiety. It is normal natural and healthy, makes you more careful. Sailing involves going into a hostile environment and being self reliant there. You don't know whats going to happen but have to be prepared to cope anyway. It IS a safe thing to do but only because of all the preparation and training you do to make, and keep it that way. Anxiety is the motivation to keep doing that.

[wizoc]

The more you learn the anxiety increases. But once you are off it tends to decrease.

[FionaJC]

Some anxiety is actually a good thing in my view. I have lists for everything, pre-journey checks, leaving the boat etc. my lists have been built up over the years from knowledge and experience. It makes me focus and check everything.



I get instant relief when I leave the pontoon and get the sails up and Im on the journey.


I still check everything as we go and I have self built electronics that I trust to check everything, engine temp, cooling flow, exhaust temp, bilge alarms, and much more. It enables me to relax and enjoy the trip following the chartplotter.


I can still do it all without the "extra's" but it makes it more enjoyable.


The reasons for the anxiety? Events I coped with we now have a new engine and gearbox but I prefer anxiety to either fear or nonchalance.