New Sailor's guide to Ocean work.

[s/v Beth]

It seems that we are always reinventing the wheel here. There is always someone new who want to sail around the world solo on a 20 something boat. We try to talk some sense into him/her. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Perhaps we could build a thread so that they would get a idea of what they are getting into. So I am going to put out a few points- others experienced in this area please contribute. If it gets good enough perhaps the mods will make it a sticky in the proper area.
1. The water is inherently hostile to man, large water (ocean) more so. You cannot live on the water without a boat. If you become separated from that floaty thing, you can tread water for a while but eventually you will die. To be out in the ocean alone and find another floaty thing, (or it finds you ) is extremely unlikely. If water is cold and you are dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, death comes quicker.
2. To remain a viable home for your fragile, thin self (look at the whales and seals for comparison) a boat has to remain afloat. All those things going through the hull can pop, resulting in sinking. All devices in the boat can break, resulting in alot of grief if not sinking or breaking up on the rocks. Redundancy and robust build helps alot, and that is usually found in larger or more expensive boats. That is why we don't sail around the world in a Catalina 22 pop top. So don't ask us why you cannot sail a 26 ft xxx around the world. You can, but if it breaks and sinks, you are back to topic 1.
3. Not all the ocean is the same. As you get closer to the equator, things are usually more mellow, more north and south, more violent. (exception: hurricanes and tropical storms)A small boat may do great in the Caribbean and Florida, but I don't recommend it for the roaring 40's and 50's (see latitude measurements). If you get caught in a big blow with a little boat and get thrown off, you are back to 1. So please, just because you have sailed from Tampa to Naples (Florida) do not think you can sail from San Francisco to Alaska.
4. Finally, sailing is suppose to be fun. Fun usually involves good food and good company. Soloing is neither. You want to eat cold out of can soup while shivering in the fog and hoping not to die any moment from being run down by a tanker? I don't. So I only solo when I have to, and that is after sailing for 30 years. To think that you can just pick up a boat for 5 thousand, launch it and solo out in the ocean is stupid at the least and probably suicidal. You cannot learn everything you need from the sea. And you cannot just fix everything that breaks on an old boat while your sailing. That type of thinking will quickly bring you back to #1.
Do be careful. And your not stupid. Its just that sailing is not one of those easily mastered skills. It is not a quick do. It is a worth while do.