Trepidation

[gjordan]

Since your sons wont be with you and I am not clear if you are talking about single handing or with a mate, I would suggest taking an experienced offshore crew, or even a Captain with you on your first off shore passage. Seriously discuss with the more experienced person how to deal with nerves or your reactions to the first few days on the passage. Everyone gets nervous about a first long passage, and most get a little nervous/excited, about casting off on any long passage. Having lost your father to the sea is enough to make anyone nervous and it might be a good idea to have a couple of sessions with a professional grief counselor. I lost a loved one to suicide many years ago and every once in a while, I would react to something in an emotional way that surprised me. It took years to realize that it was because of an event decades before. Even now, I am much more sensitive to certain things, but because I know why, it is not too hard to deal with. Just a suggestion. _____Grant.

[double u]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Oh, that eases my mind considerably!

to be brave or courageous does not mean that one is not afraid! it just means that one overcomes one's fears. he who knows no fear isn't brave - just stupid!

[donradcliffe]

I'm sure that you are comfortable sailing the boat when you are awake, but you have to sleep sometimes. When I started making passages with my wife as crew, I didn't sleep well the first few days. Eventually fatigue wins, and the passages become more enjoyable. After over 100,000 miles of doublehanding I have built trust in my wife to wake me in the event of squalls or traffic. When I do passages with my mates, I trust them to not only wake me when needed, but make their own judgements about weather and ships and do limited sail adjustments.

Singlehanding is different. You know that there will be times that there will be no one on watch. You can get by with setting a timer and waking up every 15 minutes for a few days, but without REM sleep (2 hr minumum) you will eventually go batshit crazy. With modern radars and AIS, you can minimize the danger of collision, but squalls can sneak up without warning. While the statistics show that most singlehanders are successful, my own feeling is that singlehanding is an order of magnitude more dangerous than maintaining a watch, and I never accepted that risk.

Singlehanding a catamaran on a long passage adds the risk of capsize. Its pretty minimal if you reef deeply before you sleep, but cats are less forgiving, and I have had the wind go from 15 to over 60 knots in seconds. I don't hear much about people singlehanding cats on passages.

[boatman61]

The best you can do is prep your boat as best you can.. then go.
It makes no difference if soloing or crewed as far as failures on the boat are concerned.. how many are aboard matters not if she's going down.. or the rudder/keel fall of.. apart from maybe dying in company..
Regarding sleep management.. grab what you can when you can.. reef the main right down before you do then there's only the Genoa to deal with from the safety of the cockpit.. its tough the first time but it gets easier.
If it did not there'd be no one crossing oceans solo..

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by double u

to be brave or courageous does not mean that one is not afraid! it just means that one overcomes one's fears. he who knows no fear isn't brave - just stupid!

Definitely, that's what courage is. I only got asked the other day by a newbie that's fearful if I worried, he assumed I didnt,,,lol. I said of course I do, in fact I probably do more than most, im a worrier. The way I deal with it is I thoroughly prepare or prepare the best I can. I think of the potential situations that can occur and don't stick my head in the sand, I set to taking mental and physical action to put things in place or make modifications or purchase equipment that will/may moderate the risk.

Now the other way I deal with my fear is acceptance. After I've done all I can to prepare and are comfortable I've done my best I then accept things will be what they will be, I can't prepare for everything because I cant know the future. Also faith, ive find this before and dealt with issues that have presented themselves and will do again.

Im a bigger believer that life rewards action. Taking no risk is the greatest risk of all.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[44'cruisingcat]

One thing we did when we decided to go offshore was to do more coastal sailing in stronger winds. As coastal sailors we had tended to wait for nice weather, so hadn't much experience in 30+ knots.


After a few passages in 30-40kts we knew the boat and the crew could handle it. Actually we were surprised how manageable, even comfortable it was.


The fact that you have turned back before isn't a bad thing. It shows you're willing to change your plans if conditions change.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

I don't hear much about people singlehanding cats on passages.

Selective hearing... I know several people who singlehand cat's regularly. Then of course there are all the singlehanded RTW and passage records, round Australia record, trans-Tasman record, set in either big cat's or more recently big tri's.

[boatman61]

Well here's a guy that circumnavigated this boat solo via New Zealand and has been a regular contender in The Jesters Challenge for many years on the same boat.. Respect..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rrtbiAk2JA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMmZ9gCht7U

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

One thing we did when we decided to go offshore was to do more coastal sailing in stronger winds. As coastal sailors we had tended to wait for nice weather, so hadn't much experience in 30+ knots.


After a few passages in 30-40kts we knew the boat and the crew could handle it. Actually we were surprised how manageable, even comfortable it was.


The fact that you have turned back before isn't a bad thing. It shows you're willing to change your plans if conditions change.

I am just now getting my first taste of ocean sailing. A couple of days ago we went out with an experienced sailor who took us on a sail with 2-3 meter waves, breaking seas and a bit of wind. These were not conditions I would have chosen on my own to sail. He kept the boat over powered for a time and he flashed us through the waves like we were on a roller coaster. Wheee! Anyway, he also showed us the right sail plan and how to execute it in order to get a calmer ride. It was like night and day! I have less fear now because I feel confident we could sail in similar conditions on our own and what to do if the weather changes.

[JPA Cate]

Cooking Fat came through Gladstone, Qld., when we were there one time: that is one tiny catamaran!

Fear and anxiety are different beasts. Fear is of real things, like the cat's corkscrewing around, and something breaks, the seas are large, and the motion not good and the boom's flailing around, and you're trying to make things right. Anxiety is worrying about a fantasy like the above.

I think that for as skilled and experienced a catamaran sailor as catsketcher, the problem is anxiety. And that, just may have to do with his father's death "falling off a cat." It may be that if he can actually unravel at this distance in time what did occur, that that might help him sort out his anxiety from his fear.

For me, dealing with fear has been a process of asking myself why I am avoiding dealing with something, "oh, i'm scared." Oh, heck, better get the harness and tether and deal with "it" before it gets worse.

As it happens, after we had our bad knockdown, followed by dismasting, Jim accomplished his healing from that event by effecting the repairs, but I got depressed and anxious. I went for counseling, not that I think catsketcher needs it, it is only what I did, and it helped immensely.

The thing is, if catsketcher really wants to go offshore, and still feels inhibited, he needs to look into himself for the causes. He needs to become self-bolstering, as it were. The internet is not always available where he wishes to be.

To me "offshore" is a pretty vague goal. When you know you want to see it all, now that's a goal! or you want to cruise in Chile? or circumnavigate?

Good luck with this one, catsketcher, and happy sailing.

Ann

[MLOI]

Have you done any offshore passages on other peoples boats?
If not, that might be a good start, as you don't have the full responsibility for the vessel to deal with, just being there, and doing your stuff.

We are leaving Melbourne in a month to head North, and I have a lot of concern about crossing the paddock to Eden - as it will be my first time sailing that stretch, plus my first long overnighter on our boat with the kids. The hop down to the Prom is much less stressful as I've done it half a dozen times on other boats, and can visualise it happily.

Going into the unknown is stressful - and doubly so if there are two unknowns to deal with. Removing one (ie doing an offshore passage on another boat) should make the unknown of doing it on your boat as the captain easier.

Or just jump in :-) Flooding is an entirely respectable psychological technique.

Mike

[DumnMad]

To leave NZ you have to have someone on board who has done it before. Almost impossible to get anywhere without getting one gale.
The inspector ticks off a long list of boxes on his check sheet including the experienced crew. A lot on safety equipment, communications, (and identifying your safety gear to help identify your body) but no warrant of fitness on engine or electrics or rigging
After our 1st trip across the Tasman incurred both motor and electrics trouble and gusts over 50knots, I realised the confident and experienced crew was the only safety feature that really counted.
500nm from land, 50knot winds, cold weather and our old age meant EPIRBs, VHF, life jackets, life raft, flares etc, were all a bit superfluous.

Go for it man, and take some bored, laid-back old salt with you. Make sure he leaves when a gale is forcast so his confidence can rub off on you.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Selective hearing... I know several people who singlehand cat's regularly. Then of course there are all the singlehanded RTW and passage records, round Australia record, trans-Tasman record, set in either big cat's or more recently big tri's.

Yes, I'm impressed with some of the big tri's, but I don't think they are comparable to Catsketchers cat. The Big Wave Rider that set the single-handed round Australia record is more comparable. Big Wave Rider capsized in sheltered waters last year, which probably doesn't reduce Catsketcher's anxiety.

[JPA Cate]

If it hasn't been emphasized before, the hard bits are coastal, mostly, so after you get a little offshore (past the continental shelf), there's less to worry about than coastally.

The cat that flipped in the Derwent, well it was a high performance cat, and there were gusts off a headland. Gusts off headlands are common, but do not happen on the open ocean.

There are lots of geographical effects that we leave behind when we start an ocean passage, and will not encounter again till we find geography!

Send us a PM if you'd like to have a phone chat, catsketcher.

Ann

[catsketcher]

Thanks everyone for all the thoughtful input, I am gratified. I found it hard to type the initial post but the suggestions and advice are very helpful and thought provoking. It is also nice to know that some other people have worries when heading offshore.

I don't need to singlehand and will be taking some crew when I head away. I want to get to another bit of land not close to Australia and certainly don't have plans to circle the globe. Fitting a trip into my holidays is the crunch at the moment, maybe Lord Howe later in the year, although a trip to Tassie might get in the way.

cheers

Phil