Thinking too much about Danger

[tuffr2]

I have been spending time on youtube trying to learn about living aboard. But when I watch sailing videos sooner or later I run into danger (sailboat fails). So those of you that are out there doing it what dangers have you faced? Whales, Lightning, Pirates, Giant octopus, Bermuda triangle, Rouge waves, scary storms, hitting a shipping container, hitting a log or other debris, running aground, getting lost, no wind, too much wind, or is your nightmare danger running out of rum?

[Celestialsailor]

[Strait Shooter]

Bad ass

[JPA Cate]

I'm only one person, so what has been for me may not be how it has been for others. When we left the US, I thought what we were doing was far safer than driving on the freeway, so there was little that frightened me.

I realized it was unlikely I could swim to shore from 5 miles out. (This is even more true if there are no mountains, because then you couldn't see anything but the horizon, which is about a 4 mi. distant circle around your boat.) So I got more serious about not falling off the boat.

I try to make it a practice to not worry about what is out of my control, so don't worry about hitting containers, being struck by lightning. I'm careful about when and where I swim, so I don't worry about crocodile or shark attack. In fact, I once scared a shark!

I suspect that most long term cruisers are somewhat similar, in that we consider what to do in the event of something bad happening and don't worry about what you can't defend against.

A.

[bobconnie]

Gee, with all the auto and truck wrecks, house fires, crazy folks holding up everything ! I guess the only thing to do is sit at home all locked in and maybe you might be safe ?? Maybe so, but I know I feel a lot safer at sea where Im at least somewhat in control of what happens to us ! Fear is just another type of mind control !! Did not somebody famous say all we have to fear is fear it's self ?? Yall better never go to a convenince store or late night booze store !! There a lot more unsafe then a well maintained boat ! Just my 2 cents

[StuM]

I'm more worried about the green waves with white tops than the rouge ones .

[Coops]

Originally Posted by StuM

I'm more worried about the green waves with white tops than the rouge ones .

They are the cross current waves. Not sure which way to go.

Coops.

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I have been spending time on youtube trying to learn about living aboard. But when I watch sailing videos sooner or later I run into danger (sailboat fails). So those of you that are out there doing it what dangers have you faced? Whales, Lightning, Pirates, Giant octopus, Bermuda triangle, Rouge waves, scary storms, hitting a shipping container, hitting a log or other debris, running aground, getting lost, no wind, too much wind, or is your nightmare danger running out of rum?

Hahaha..... You think way too much. In a good way, it is good.

I thought about them too, so I have Plans A, B, C, D and etc. I am not going out of my way to kill myself, but when the time comes, I am ready to go. Today's sailing the ocean is far safer than those in 1900's. I feel we are so lucky.

[svseachange]

The scariest times on our boat happen when we are exhausted and make stupid decisions. We have been the most scared going into a new inlet in rough conditions tide opposed to wind, at night. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

The most scary and painful thing for me lately was pulling a hook out of my hand while holding my breath underwater removing a trolling line from our prop. The hook did not come out of my hand with the first yank... but I sure as hell was not going to drown either! In retrospect, I should have taken the pliers down first and cut the hook off the wire leader first.

I think overcoming your fear and continuing to operate in terrifying situations is an essential cruising skill. You need to know that no matter what happens you are not going to ever close your eyes and curl up in a ball when a difficult situation needs your immediate attention. In modern life, it might be easy to go through life not knowing whether you have this skill or not.

[fishin4bogey]

Tuff, don't feel bad, I'm the same way. Like my flight instructor used to say " Fly the @$%&*@#% plane!" We would do loss of power emergencies, and a ton of other cheek clenching stuff. Lose an engine, trim the stuffing out of it, and find a nice place to set her down. You literally have a few seconds to get it all in order. After reading a lot of boating accident reports, you'll find that a lot of them could have been prevented with a smidge more planning.

[MarkJ]

If I wrote a book it would be called "My circumnavigation. It was Nice. Nothing Bad happened"
I wonder if I would sell any copies?


If you want to know what really happens cruising have a look at a video I made

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r3HwEBD2Ias

[Delancey]

We were very fortunate to survive Hurricane Sandy without a scratch.

Immediately after the storm temperatures plummeted and while many of our 8 or 9 million friends and neighbors were shivering in their apartments without electricity for several weeks, we were secure and comfy aboard our floating home with a hundred gallons of fresh water, plenty of 12v lighting and a couple months supply of food.

I am frankly more afraid of the tenuous web our society depends failing than I am afraid of dangers afloat. Unlike our friends and neighbors, we had the option of leaving the disaster area and taking our home with us. We almost did.

[SVAndante9]

Great video MarkJ! Funny and true. Our kids used to say sailing was 99% boring and 1% sheer terror . . . They like it now. When I went off shore the first time I told my husband that I thought the idea of having so much water underneath us would freak me out. I kept picturing the cover of "Jaws". My husband said, "Well you can drown in 7 feet of water just as easily as 700 feet." Point taken.

The best way to overcome fear is feel like you're prepared! Take baby steps. Get experience, learn and have fun!!

[Macblaze]

LOL

One of the things my partner repeated over and over when studying our first sailing courses was something like "This book should called "My Boat is Trying to Kill Me!" —Man overboard, hypothermia,heavy propane fumes, broken thruhulls, gas fumes, rocks... the list seemed endless.

I couldn't help thinking though, that if we were as wary of our cars and highways as they were trying to make us of the water, the roads might be a tad bit safer.

[HappyMdRSailor]

I don't excessively worry.... Of course there's lots to be "concerned about" as in .... "I would really rather not have X... Y... or Z happen"

Tops on the list are weather AND... limited visibility vessel/shore proximity...

The best plan... is to have a PRE-PLAN....