Quote:
Originally Posted by w1651
You cup half empty people really impress the heck outta me.
And you wouldn't/ Couldn't kick my A$$ you'd be to busy trying to save your boat from sinking tough guy... 
Let's see 600 amp hour battery bank to LED'S that burn about 5 watts a night hooked to solar panels and a wind generator and using propane to boil water for coffee.
Ya your right I don't know what could have happened to make the batteries discharge like that, or all the bulbs including the solar lamps (with upgraded batteries so they will last the night) that burned out all at once.
Come on people most sailors are more then careful out there. Some times life just throws you a curve ball.  It's a PITA but it happens.
And you didn't answer the question presented by our OP. A drunk captain tripping in an anchorage doing 100 mph. Remember?  I'm waiting! |
As any rational person can see... (IF they look back at the reference I made to what happened to my first boat, and put the comment into context), is this:
When I was told by a previous poster that: "the odds of a
collision at sea with another
small boat were a million to one", I told my
anchor disaster story as an example of something that also seems like a million to one against... Yet it happened! YOU DON"T REALLY KNOW THE ODDS! Repeatedly making fun of my comment, as if I thought it had any "direct bearing" on
single handing at sea, falls into the same category as those who made light of the worst financial loss of my life, (taking many years to recover from)... That category is: petty, irrelevant to the conversation, and mean spirited.
The "original point" I tried to make, was that what was once considered a really cool "adventurers stunt", in an open ocean with ships, but VERY few small pleasure boats, is now in an ocean with perhaps 1,000% more boats.
GPS changed everything, VS 35 years ago! The odds of
collision at sea have gone up exponentially. I have almost been hit on more than one occasion, by a boat with no one on watch. It was a week out at sea, and NOT on a
cruise ship, as was suggested... (Which I've never been on). Some of these guys that sleep underway have very little
electronics or even reliable running lights! In fact, of the dozen or so
single handers I have met personally, NONE have had fancy
electronics to help stand watch. They just go to sleep when they feel like it, and take their chances. They double MY risk too when they do this! THERE IS A LOT OF TRAFFIC TO AND FROM, AS WELL AS UP AND DOWN BOTH SIDES OF THE
CARIBBEAN, even several days out.
It is clear from many posters here that this is true. Several have said that they do this, and with ritciousness indignation, they feel justified! (NO
RADAR guard zone... nothing!)
When operating ones boat... Avoiding collision is the responsibility of the skippers of BOTH boats. Sometimes one boat's "watch" has gone below to get a cup of soup, for one or two minutes at the time. Sometimes they are sick & disoriented, or the
weather and visibility very bad. Sometimes ones batteries are low, and lights out or dim. Sometimes a boat (like mine), is made of thin 3/8"
plywood, making it both very vulnerable to even minor collisions, and a poor
RADAR image. It might well not show up, if the other guy tweaks out his RADAR's sea clutter, in 10' seas.
If both boats have someone more or less "on watch", then the odds of one of these circumstances making BOTH of them unaware of the approaching boat, AT THE SAME MOMENT IN TIME, are quite slim. Regardless, it is the best we can do, if both boats have someone on watch!
To state that sailing your boat on
autopilot, while you sleep, doesn't increase the risk for "the other guy" as well, is pure rationalization! To do this puts 100% of the responsibility to avoid collision, on the other guy. IMO... it is selfish and irresponsible to make the decision for them. It isn't just your risk. it is a shared risk.
I was never directing my comments to you guys determined to do this. (I'll just be more vigilant looking out for you, since you aren't looking for me).
I was directing my comments to those who were on the fence about this, in hopes that they would look at alternative plans. Otherwise they are doing what so many people do... living their life at other peoples expense.
When we are traversing one of the Earth's "shared spaces", we DO have a responsibility to one another,
weather you acknowledge that or not...
For those "few" single handers who REALLY HAVE found a reliable way to get around the sleep issue, have tested their RADAR's guard zone when passing even small wooden boats, know that they will set it off, the
alarm is close & loud enough to wake you, and your system REALLY is close to "being on watch"... I sincerely apologize to you! It is not fair to lump you in with the majority, who have not determined these things in any way, don't stand watch, (single handed or otherwise), and just don't care.
I have nothing more to say on the subject. M.
Re: Long Distance Solo Sailing
Re: Long Distance Solo Sailing
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions