Single Handing: 'Offshore' or Not ?

[swagman]

Originally Posted by John A

As a singlerhandler I can give four or five examples where boats with four or five people on them, had freighters ran them down because nobody was on watch. Go figure!
We single handers are well aware of the dangers of our actions are are willing to take responsibility for those actions. After all if we screw up it's our fault.
One of he attractions of singlehandling is that I am totality responsible for everything I do and everything that happens to me.
You'll also note that singlehandlers rarely pass judgment on others for their choice

Errrr.....
Did you not pass a form of judgement in your first sentence?

I agree not all 'crewed' boats keep an adequate watch, but not all solo sailors keep one either.

Facts are some do, some don't. So it is totally wrong to pass judgement on everyone.

IMHO if one can get crew and use them to maintain a watch system, it has to be better than no watch at all.

JOHN

[highseas]

Strange, because my friends caught one in their prop,had to dive down to cut it free,guess what,...full of lobsters.The other reason daysailng may be safer IS because you are solo.

[John A]

Originally Posted by swagman

Errrr.....
Did you not pass a form of judgement in your first sentence?

I agree not all 'crewed' boats keep an adequate watch, but not all solo sailors keep one either.

Facts are some do, some don't. So it is totally wrong to pass judgement on everyone.

IMHO if one can get crew and use them to maintain a watch system, it has to be better than no watch at all.

JOHN

I agree with all your statements.
John

[slomotion]

I don’t know how common solo offshore sailing was prior to Joshua Slocom, but it’s certainly commonplace today. It is also not for everyone. For me the issue is psychological.

When I was young and foolish, I spent 6 months solo sailing a 27' sloop around New England. That’s when I learned that I am one of those people who cannot sleep while a boat sails itself. My personal record was a 26 hour passage to Boothbay Harbor. Of course, I would have passed out eventually. But thanks to coffee and cigarettes, I was able to keep my eyes open and vibrate my way into the anchorage. After 12 hrs of sleep, I realized that I really wasn’t having any fun at all. Of course, I didn’t have any self steering and maybe with all the modern bells and whistles, I’d react differently and be able to sleep or catnap. But I don’t think so, and it’s not something I’d like to discover for the first time on a multiday solo passage to Cabo.

[John A]

Originally Posted by highseas

Strange, because my friends caught one in their prop,had to dive down to cut it free,guess what,...full of lobsters.The other reason daysailng may be safer IS because you are solo.

Where were your friends at? I was basing my statement on first-hand observations.

If you cast a fishing line or put out a trap there's no telling what you're going to catch.

One of the downsides of open forums/chatrooms is that every statement is challanged.

[highseas]

Not to challenge anyones input here, just to add my own experience.I'm sure there are fish traps also.I saw many lobster fishermen on Baja,usually willing to trade for cold drinks or whatever.

[John A]

I stand corrected. I was never inside Baja. My obervations were south of PV, El Salvador, Costa Rico, Panama, and the Caribbean.
I'll concede that lobsters are caught in traps.

[captainlinda]

I mostly singlehand and as a rule I stay well offshore. It is easier, safer and far less stressful. Bad weather blows up or the passage took longer than you anticipated (sound familiar!?) and you are in a world of trouble if you are close to shore. Good luck to you.

[glas]

If the damage is on your bow - you hit someone. If the damage is to the side or stern you've been hit.

It's pretty simple really.

Your state of mind at the time - uber alert, delerious, sound asleep, engrosed in a book, meditating, screaming at the approaching boat waving your hands in despiration, etc. - has no bearing.

[Brent Swain]

I cruised that coast by staying about 100 miles out between the good anchorages. I'd do the same again. While I began to find the NW wind at about 30 miles out, those who stayed along the coast at the same time , ended up motoring the whole way in flat calm. Great NW wind 100 miles out and far less shipping, which follow close inshore .
I wouldn't consider single handing along that shoreline. Shallow water and surf a long way out, and lots of boats. Plenty have been lost that way.

[sailorboy1]

When it comes right down to it:

If you could get crew, but decided to do it solo instead it stopped being about safety!

[hoppy]

This is a bit off topic but still relevant to the discussion. I can't imagine a single handed sailor could screw up as badly as the crew of this ship did.

2006 Nightmare - Full Speed Ahead -- MV Alva Star

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Sorry if my example ruffled your feathers in any way. That wasn't my intent.

No problems whatsoever. I was actually going to send you a private message stating the same. I have to admit though that I do get a bit annoyed when these side arguments cloud the original question and make it difficult for the poster to get the information they need. This is mostly covered in Ocean Girls thread about rudeness at CF. Likewise, I really appreciate the way Paul just split one of my threads.

Back to the original question, I really think it is up to Everman to weigh up different factors like his own experience, confidence and preferences, the suitability of his boat, the availability of RELIABLE crew (my grumble), weather patterns and currents, suitable anchorages, etc, etc……,,,,,,,,, The great thing is that this forum provides a perfect platform to brainstorm these factors.

For instance, my boat might be easier to hove-too than a catamaran? I really don’t know and I don’t know what kind of weather he can expect in that part of the world?

Nevertheless, here is another of my little anecdotal stories. When I was coming down the coast into strong front I gave myself heaps of room to reach the safety of a decent harbour. So I get there and end up tied against this fishing boat sharing a beer. Next minute this 40’ or so yacht with numerous crew comes into port and takes about five goes to tie up at the adjacent marina. Despite their handsome boat they had been smashed by the weather; we thought it was totally amusing.

Then this other boat arrived a bit latter that had also attempted to run with the weather. I had a talk to an obviously experienced crew member and all he could say was “mountainous seas”! I just looked at him thinking “wow mate, did you even look at the weather map? I would have expected no less’.

Just goes to shows that even single-handed if you put a bit of thought into a passage you can be sitting around drinking beer in good company while others who thought they could outrun nature are learning a hard lesson!

[Brent Swain]

AIS is a huge improvement

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by captainlinda

I mostly singlehand and as a rule I stay well offshore. It is easier, safer and far less stressful. Bad weather blows up or the passage took longer than you anticipated (sound familiar!?) and you are in a world of trouble if you are close to shore. Good luck to you.

Totally agree with the above