How long have you gone without seeing another human being on the water?

[Deep Blue Blues]

The title says it all. I'm a loner but I've never gone more than six weeks with not interacting with others. Just curious of what the struggles you might face coming home after long cruises might be.

Seems like being on a be calmed sea for a few days might be the most rewarding thing for those looking to escape the noise.

[Stu Jackson]

Some folks have no issues at all. Other folks "need" people around them all the time.

[Lepke]

4 years

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

Seems like being on a be calmed sea for a few days might be the most rewarding thing for those looking to escape the noise.

^^This

Part of the draw of sailing and anchoring far from crowds for me, is the quiet calmness of being at anchor. After 4-6 weeks of that with very limited contact with others, I find many places far to noisy.

[Deep Blue Blues]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

^^This

Part of the draw of sailing and anchoring far from crowds for me, is the quiet calmness of being at anchor. After 4-6 weeks of that with very limited contact with others, I find many places far to noisy.

I don't mind peoples noise so much but the noise they make I'm sort of tired of. I'm looking out over my property right now and there is a parked train huffing and puffing.. A moving train hauling Ass. And a parkway with 18,000+ vehicles passing by in a normal work day. Less than 400ft from my bed.

I recently tried moving to Pensacola Florida, a few hundred miles south of here, to the coast and to escape the noise. It was a huge mistake.

The navy is on crack down there and they fly jets at moch 1 all damn day at super low(read the wing) altitudes.

I love fighter jets but not every day. All day. Less than a mile away from my rental, you could hear them doing morning exercises at the base.

The noise was too much, I'd rather have the rhythm of the passing trains than the sneak attacks of the blue angels.

At this point, I'm thinking sleep tank, or sailboat.


Edit: wow lepke. Are you still solo? And did you interact at all? Like email? Message in a bottle? Nothing?

[Foolish]

Most singlehanded sailors find being becalmed to be the most stressful part of any voyage, and I can attest to that myself. When you look a the Vendee Globe the skippers will tell you that they get less sleep in the doldrums than in the storms of the far south. It mainly has to do with the unknown length of being becalmed.

There has been a lot of research done into this. For example if you have a doctors appointment at 3:00 and you arrive at 2:30, you will sit happily in your chair with no stress for the half hour. But if the doctor is even 5 minutes late, your stress level shoots up significantly by 3:05. If you recall there was an episode of Seinfeld where Elaine was on an airplane waiting on the runway. The pilot kept telling the passengers that the wait was expected to be 25 minutes. Airlines know that stress drops when people have an expected wait time.

I love sailing alone; I do it all the time. But I want to be moving, not becalmed.

[Deep Blue Blues]

If stress is part of boating, they need a new hobbie.

[thinwater]

3 days, never further than 3 miles from shore (DELMARVA).

I can find solitude in a coffee shop or on a street corner. It is attitude, not the lack of people, that creates calm. I have no need to sail an ocean for that.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Foolish

Most singlehanded sailors find being becalmed to be the most stressful part of any voyage, and I can attest to that myself. When you look a the Vendee Globe the skippers will tell you that they get less sleep in the doldrums than in the storms of the far south. It mainly has to do with the unknown length of being becalmed..

That's coz they think their rivals over the horizon are getting wot he's not.. teenage stress's all over again..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

The title says it all. I'm a loner but I've never gone more than six weeks with not interacting with others. Just curious of what the struggles you might face coming home after long cruises might be.

Seems like being on a be calmed sea for a few days might be the most rewarding thing for those looking to escape the noise.

if you sail long enough as a skipper it is easy to end up with a type of PTSD

[Deep Blue Blues]

Not exactly Thinwater, calm comes from nature as well as ones attitude. I'm calm all the time, but it's like I'm alone in the chaos so why not separate myself from the chaos. Let the problems of the world be faced by those seeking to entertain their problems. I've overcome problems, I see them as blessings now. I'm free from it all, except location.

And with that in heart, I'll further my efforts by putting myself in the calm of nature. I'd rather hear the squall blow than small talk about nothing. I'd rather be blinded by the glare of the sun than see the warm glow of someone's face illuminated by a smart phone while driving. I'd rather be a victim of a storm than to witness victims of the powers that be here in the US.

You get my drift. Political/technology rant over. ��

[Deep Blue Blues]

Atoll can you please elaborate a little. I've dealt with PTSD sufferers for a long time. I've recommended sailing to most of them as therapy.

Are you saying that one misses the ocean when they come home to land or like a shell shock towards people?

[boatman61]

I don't think its so much people as the crush and pace of civilisation after a few years of small ports where everything is within dinghy and walking distance.. its like everyone else is on amphetamines.
London was scary when I went back after 6yrs live aboard barefooting Andalucia and the Balearics.. and as for that multi, multi lane outer ring road.. sat in a converted post office van I was getting a lift in from the coast.. maybe in a car it would have been less dramatic but perched up front in a cab looking down at most other traffic... scary.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Blues

Atoll can you please elaborate a little. I've dealt with PTSD sufferers for a long time. I've recommended sailing to most of them as therapy.

Are you saying that one misses the ocean when they come home to land or like a shell shock towards people?

when you consider the long distance sailor,who is in charge of a vessel in challenging conditions,constant lack of sleep,varying sleep patterns,constant responsibility for the vessel on passage ie stress

after a years of this you develop that 1000 yard stare,and find it hard to relate to non sailors,or your normal soft landlubber.

I'm probably being a bit harsh,and my description is not good,but after 20-30 k miles at sea you will have problems sleeping for more than 3-4 hours at a strech ,wake at any noise etc

[cruisersfarm]

I'm like you op,

Somewhere between 2-3 months alone was my longest. Does internet count??

The hardest thing upon coming back is opening your mouth and talking to a human being. You sort of forget how...

Also, cars seem to move VERY fast. It's almost scary!