Who is a 'bluewater skipper'? What is 'bluewater preparation'?

[bobnlesley]

There are two types of Skipper: Those who worry when the land goes out of sight and those who worry when the land comes into sight.

In almost every respect I've found 'bluewater' sailing easier than coastal sailing, but you are 'on your own' out there; the RNLI/Seatow/local marine engineer are not just a phone/VHF call away, nor is the shelter (and bar/restaurant) of the local marina handy if tomorrow's weather forecast looks a bit unpleasant.
All that's required 'extra' of a 'Bluewater Skipper' is the ability to cope with that independence/self reliance/personal responsibility, so it's primarily a psychological rather than physical/technical requirement; other of course than needing to be better at mathematics - calculating the beer requirement for a day or weekend sail is easy, but you're getting into some big numbers when crossing an ocean.

[Joli]

Originally Posted by double u

..it used to be somebody who planned his/her way around the world with "Ocean Passages for the world" & Pilot/Routeing charts & found it using a sextant & tables & paper charts...
alas, no more...

I don't miss using a sextant or sight reduction tables. GPS, predict wind and communication with a shoreside router is pretty nice to have.

[double u]

Originally Posted by Joli

I don't miss using a sextant or sight reduction tables. GPS, predict wind and communication with a shoreside router is pretty nice to have.

...the question was not "what is nice to have?"...

[carstenb]

to me - blue water skipper means being on a passage of a long enough duration that you are on your own if something untoward happens - weather, repairs etc

[jackdale]

Bluewater sailing. Long periods of tedium punctuated by episodes of terror. You need to be prepared for both.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Joli

I don't miss using a sextant or sight reduction tables.

I like to use my sextant to keep mentally active and keep me in touch with the universe. The last paragraph of David Barrie's book Sextant inspired me to get get serious about sextant use. I read it on a delivery from Cape Town to Brazil. We had a sextant and tables on board. I managed to get a whole load of sun sights.

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Our first offshore passage was from San Francisco to Oahu in Jim's Yankee 30. We deemed it necessary to take a 20 lb. sack of onions with us. This was based on an estimate of 1 onion per day per person, for all the days at sea. No idea why we didn't buy separately, for the trip over, and then for the trip back (Maui onions are super).

Here's another chuckle for you. That boat had an ice box. Well, the ice was always gone by day 7. Here's a question you may never have asked yourself: what happens when the lid to the tomato juice pitcher comes off, the pickle jar spills, and the lid comes off the mayo while you are beating to weather to get around the Pacific High? It was a pretty disgusting mess, I can tell you, and Jim volunteered to clean it up by himself. The icebox had a teak grating in the bottom, so it required sanitization, too. Yes, we learned about making sure everything has been secured.

Ann

excellent post Ann!

firstly, your 20lb of onions reminds me of that Annie Hill book... (cannot recall the title now...). read a borrowed copy a while ago, and since, am always keeping my eye out for a copy to read again. such a useful book!

secondly, Jim offered to clean up the picked-tomato-yuck-mayo mess. wow, girl, you've got it good!!! (hats off to Jim!). i once helped prep a boat on the hard for friends in italy, (yes, my on-the-hard stories are definitely adding up...) and opened the cold box only to find... grief, what ever it had been, i'm not sure, but i named it the dead raccoon!!! and well, my sleeves were already rolled up...

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

excellent post Ann!

firstly, your 20lb of onions reminds me of that Annie Hill book... (cannot recall the title now...). read a borrowed copy a while ago, and since, am always keeping my eye out for a copy to read again. such a useful book!

secondly, Jim offered to clean up the picked-tomato-yuck-mayo mess. wow, girl, you've got it good!!! (hats off to Jim!). i once helped prep a boat on the hard for friends in italy, (yes, my on-the-hard stories are definitely adding up...) and opened the cold box only to find... grief, what ever it had been, i'm not sure, but i named it the dead raccoon!!! and well, my sleeves were already rolled up...

There isn't too much that bothers me, but long green hairy mold -- jeez, I get the shivers thinking about it. I'm not good with spiders, either.

Yes, definitely a "chapeau" for Jim!

Ann

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

excellent post Ann!

firstly, your 20lb of onions reminds me of that Annie Hill book... (cannot recall the title now...). read a borrowed copy a while ago, and since, am always keeping my eye out for a copy to read again. such a useful book!

secondly, Jim offered to clean up the picked-tomato-yuck-mayo mess. wow, girl, you've got it good!!! (hats off to Jim!). i once helped prep a boat on the hard for friends in italy, (yes, my on-the-hard stories are definitely adding up...) and opened the cold box only to find... grief, what ever it had been, i'm not sure, but i named it the dead raccoon!!! and well, my sleeves were already rolled up...

There isn't too much that bothers me, but long green hairy mold -- jeez, I get the shivers thinking about it. I'm not good with spiders, either.

Yes, definitely a "chapeau" for Jim!

About the onions, part of it is that American canned food at the time was not very good, salty but not terribly flavorful, and almost anything canned would benefit from an onion being fine-chopped into it, sometimes lightly sauteed (just to transparency), made a huge difference to flavor and texture.

Ann

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

There isn't too much that bothers me, but long green hairy mold -- jeez, I get the shivers thinking about it. I'm not good with spiders, either.

Yes, definitely a "chapeau" for Jim!

About the onions, part of it is that American canned food at the time was not very good, salty but not terribly flavorful, and almost anything canned would benefit from an onion being fine-chopped into it, sometimes lightly sauteed (just to transparency), made a huge difference to flavor and texture.

Ann

Having been raised on such gallery offerings as Spaghetti-Os, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, and Campbell's Chunky Soups, I heartily approve of this idea, and retroactively wish I could've suggested adding sautéed onions to the admiral and skipper.

[Uricanejack]

Who the heck knows?
Apart from a thing else. What does “Blue Water” even mean.

My personal preference is sailing in “Blue Water”, As Opposed to “Green Water”
Brown water is often quite pleasant. If adjacent to blue water.
Definitely prefer the above options to “Grey Water” and definitely avoid “White Water”
Although I did quite enjoy a raft trip down the Kicking Horse river.

Now my preference these days, is to leave after breakfast, lunch or brunch for an Anchorage or Berth within a short row and walking distance of some kind of establishment where there is a reasonable choice of dining and refreshments. By supper time. Or at least before closing time. On special occasion I may go overnight.

So I pick days when the water will be blue, Sometimes when the water is to blue, the sailing is a bit dull, So prefer Blue with some speckled white bits.
Green can still be quite enjoyable particularly with a few white patches here and there.
When it’s Grey it’s generally best to stay where I am and put the kettle or coffee pot on.
White, best avoided.

If planning further adventures, best to plan to stay where the water is most likely to be blue.
Green can be tolerable for a while, but blue is definitely more pleasant.
If it’s like to be Grey, go some other way.

Don’t go where it’s white.

[Uricanejack]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

Having been raised on such gallery offerings as Spaghetti-Os, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, and Campbell's Chunky Soups, I heartily approve of this idea, and retroactively wish I could've suggested adding sautéed onions to the admiral and skipper.

I find Campbell’s chunky soup is one of the best choices when things is bouncing. Always keep some on hand.
Campbell’s chunky Beef is a particular favourite with some rice, easily made hot.
Sharing a hot can of chunky can make a really nice changeover of a night watch.

I was really unpopular as chief cook when I produced a huge pressure cooker full of tinned corned beef. tinned tomatoes with onions and potatoes.
I think I added a can of tennents as well for good measure.
Most of the crew found there appetite was missing. I think the problem was the sea colour. Which was kind of grey.
But I quite enjoyed it.

[Uricanejack]

Originally Posted by DMF Sailing

Having been raised on such gallery offerings as Spaghetti-Os, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, and Campbell's Chunky Soups, I heartily approve of this idea, and retroactively wish I could've suggested adding sautéed onions to the admiral and skipper.

I find Campbell’s chunky soup is one of the best choices when things is bouncing. Always keep some on hand.
Campbell’s chunky Beef is a particular favourite with some rice, easily made hot.
Sharing a hot can of chunky can make a really nice changeover of a night watch.

I was really unpopular as chief cook when I produced a huge pressure cooker full of tinned corned beef. tinned tomatoes with onions and potatoes.
I think I added a can of tennents as well for good measure.
Most of the crew found there appetite was missing. I think the problem was the sea colour. Which was kind of grey.
But I quite enjoyed it.

[ChrisJHC]

Recently I’ve found dehydrated mashed potato to be the go.
Simply add hot water and it goes with a wide range of things.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

Recently I’ve found dehydrated mashed potato to be the go.
Simply add hot water and it goes with a wide range of things.

In Afghanistan, we found that there were many dehydrated things you could carry with you that were delicious, but wasn't I happy when we started getting drops of food with pop tarts. Even smushed after a 30,000-foot fall, they were still fantastic.

I have not yet achieved the status of blue-water skipper that I've needed to explore dehydrated meals for sailing, and probably never will. But good on you, Chris!