Tell me about Solo Sailing

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Might be a bit of an exaggeration re the 30 knots don't ya think or are you using 'literally' figurtually

Usually you bounce along the surface for a while so it doesn't seem that hard. Think water skiing.

On a racing cat, you may still have your trapeze line hooked up which will slow you some and if it isn't a complete pitchpole maybe sort of sideways the boat will slow considerably due to lack of sail performance just before you hit the water

I usually had time to unhook from the trapeze before going in at speeds of 20 plus.

Most of these boats will hit speeds of 30 knots during their races and some of them still don't bother with a helm. Plus many of these guys are not that young anymore.

https://vimeo.com/139221229

Glen Ashby actually goes in at a high speed in the video below at around 3:45, drags along behind the boat for a bit but stays with it and never comes out of the harness. Of course, those wave piercing bows helped to save him. On an older style cat, he would have pitchpoled in a heart beat

They are on the last downwind leg to the finish it appears. Check the lead he and the runner up have over the fleet.

https://vimeo.com/139455209

[Blue Crab]

A-Cat sailing is like solo sailing as a fish is to a bicycle. (With apologies to
Irina Dunn.)

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

A-Cat sailing is like solo sailing as a fish is to a bicycle. (With apologies to
Irina Dunn.)

It was a response to the guy talking about hitting the water at 30 knots not necessarily about sailing solo.....

But if you race small cats for a while you will know the sailing part of solo sailing at the very least

[Rustic Charm]

Another solo sailor gone

Yacht belonging to man who vanished after setting sail from Hervey Bay found floating empty in international waters - 9news.com.au

[GILow]

Originally Posted by reed1v

anyone sailing at 30 knots will find even a helmet will not save them from decapitation. The water at that speed is literally as hard as pavement. Most likely will snap the neck or crush the rib cage and then liquefy the heart. Tom Gentry, of racing boat fame, entrusted his survival in case of a crash at 140 knots to the capsule he was encased within.

Oh, really...? Lucky I have only come off the windsurfer at 30 mph then. :^)

Not saying I want to do it again, because I don't. I didn't even mean to go that fast but a wind gust got me and I was too scared to de power. Got two thirds of the way across lake Albert and was starting to seriously worry about how I was going stop before I hit the other side. Luckily I fell off and skipped twice before the water grabbed me. Spent the next five minutes clinging to the board in the middle of the lake wondering if I was ever going to breathe again. Came back to the camp site a lot slower that's for darn sure.


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[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

Another solo sailor gone

Yacht belonging to man who vanished after setting sail from Hervey Bay found floating empty in international waters - 9news.com.au

I wonder what happen to the dog. Did he fall overboard also?

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I've hit the water at more than 30 kts. A cup would have helped more than a helmet, and fortunately, water is not literally as hard as pavement.

I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that I'm trying to picture the crabfiguration of cup deployment...

[Blue Crab]

A sword sheath might be a better term. I was dumbing it down for "Doc Reed" to avoid his heart liquifying. I mean, this is a family show amirite? Nor do we speak of decapitation lightly when discussing the nether regions. But I digress.

Here's a selfie of my latest squeeze ...er ... pinch ... sook showing my business* side:



* My dad, Big Jimmy Crab, was an even 10" ptp. I have ... ahem ... outgroan him, malapropism intended.

Jes sayin'

[groundtackle]

Acceleration of gravity is 9.8m/second2
That means a diver who spends 2 seconds in the air is doing roughly 19.6m/s or 38 knots
Not a velocity I'd want to belly flop at but let's not forget that you would not hit the water at 30 knots just because your boat is going that speed. Your actual vector toward the water would only be a few m/s assuming a height of say 2m above the water it would actually be about 6.2m/s or about 12 knots the same speed you'd hit the water at if you walked off a 2 m diving board. Furthermore as far as 30 knots is concerned a diver jumping from a 10 m board (or cannon balling as we used to do as kids) will hit the water at about 27 knots and a 15 m cliff diver will be travelling at over 33 knots on impact.
Not for me me but it is done.


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[jheldatksuedu]

Originally Posted by nshawdvm

Acceleration of gravity is 9.8m/second2
That means a diver who spends 2 seconds in the air is doing roughly 19.6m/s or 38 knots

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In that 2 second fall one would travel 1/2 a t^2 = 19.6 meters, = 65 ft. Not a height an average person often jumps from. 2 seconds is a long, long time when falling through the air waiting to go splat.

[scheherazade]

If you can imagine it you can do it. I imagined in a romantical spur of the moment ( I needed a place to live) I bought a yacht to live aboard. It's been eight years , I haven't sailed a lot cause been scared to go alone on my 41' loa ,13'beam 26000 lb. ketch. I'm retired now and it's sail or sell it. I'm always looking for crew you are welcome to come sail explore southeast Alaska . She is tied up in Petersburg now crazy tides ( we can only go with the tide) the winds are variable I've spent more time motoring than sailing. I'm getting closer to the ocean I think the winds will be picking up.

[Mtngeo]

I'm also in Colorado, heading out in two years. I bought a MacGregor/Venture 25 for practice on lakes here and will go for a 30' Pearson or Catalina (or something similar....not llimiting my options...) for coastal living/sailing...I'll be solo sailing as well for similar reasons...For income, I'll have a small pension and am a musician of nearly 50 years....I can always play for burgers and beers!

My plan is learning navigation, reading/researching to gain from others' experiences and more researching....It's totally doable.

[Sonny69]

Originally Posted by Coloradoveto

Hi there. Total newbie. Thinking of retiring in 7-10 years and the idea of solo sailing is appealing for many reasons. I enjoy solitude and would love to explore the world or park at my own pace and discretion. I am not misanthropic and wouldn't mind a companion, but I'm not counting on it and don't expect it. Is it realistic to go into this with the idea of solo sailing from the start? Should I plan on having a crew, etc.? I plan on learning to sail over the next few years, chartering, etc. I'm just wondering if this is nothing but a pipe dream.

Cheers,

Veto

Same dream here!

[Don C L]

It is certainly a doable dream. Build up skills, get good at sailing a small boat locally in all kinds of conditions alone. See if you like it. Many folks like it for a few days, others really take to it completely. For some folks though, they may get a week away from land and then they start to miss having some company to talk to, bounce things off of, or just to share some amazing sight with, because there are lots of amazing things to see, in spite of it being a lot of blue water, blue waves and blue skies. IMO its nicer to have someone along you get along with and trust, who knows how to sail well (alone,) who is comfortable being quiet, and who doesn't panic easily. It may seem like "ugh, I'll be stuck on this tiny boat with this person?" but actually you find that one is usually resting while the other is on watch. So in a way you can have the feeling of sailing alone, when they are sleeping, and the comfort of having them along if you get injured or sick or just plain tired, or you just want to have a conversation.

[SF Bay Dude]

Sailed solo from Morro Bay, CA to Zihuatanejo and back in a 26ft Pearson Ariel. Of course I was all of 23 years foolish. Had a whale strike, a couple of storms, a fish almost pull me overboard, and heard about another being lost at sea. I got the exact adventure I was looking for.

I wouldn't ever want to solo again. It's brutally exhausting and dangerous. I often had audible hallucinations and made poor decisions when dead tired. That said, I had wanted to 'solo' and was not to be stopped.

Oh, and I left port with about 50 hours of real sailing time, but years of theoretical book knowledge. It's a steep learning curve for sure. But I knew my boat in and out, had replaced much of her, and safety (beyond soloing) was my paramount concern (2nd and 3rd were waves and lobster).

You can do it if you want to.