Singlehanded sailing book recommendations

[hd002e]

I did a 300 mi off shore sail for the first time and absolutely loved it. Do you have any reading recommendations for building my skills for singlehanded sailing?

[moctrams]

https://www.amazon.com/Sail-Power-Co...3MRT76P9NT8YB9

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by hd002e

I did a 300 mi off shore sail for the first time and absolutely loved it. Do you have any reading recommendations for building my skills for singlehanded sailing?

Free for you:

http://sfbaysss.net/resource/doc/Sin...irdEdition.pdf

[dfelsent]

The books are awesome but can really only cover technical skills. Something you already have that the books do not cover is the stuff that happensp inside your head.
That for me, is the real challenge.
Alone at night offshore It is beautiful but you have to be ready to deal with the storms from inside your head as well as the storms in the physical world.

Beats the crap out of any therapy I’ve experienced.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

The books are awesome but can really only cover technical skills. Something you already have that the books do not cover is the stuff that happensp inside your head.
That for me, is the real challenge.
Alone at night offshore It is beautiful but you have to be ready to deal with the storms from inside your head as well as the storms in the physical world.

Beats the crap out of any therapy I’ve experienced.

You hit the nail in the head (pun intended). Lines to the cockpit single reefing line, etc, are like exact science.

To be able to do it, you first need to like your own company, then have a lot of confidence in yourself. You cannot prepare for these, you have to do it and determine if you are fit for the task.

Of course you need to do your homework about weather, routes, etc. This is basic seamanship, but risk and crisis management and the ability to deal with whatever is thrown at you without anyone to assist is pretty dam hard but amazingly satisfying. You come out feeling so good that is hard to describe and no one would understand anyway, they think you are a lunatic, but who cares.....

Anyone contemplating doing it alone must read Moitessier.

[Fore and Aft]

Try Donald Crowhurst's book if you want more information about mental issues. Bernard Moitessier was also a good author about singlehanded sailing. There is thousands off sailing books out there you just have to find the ones that apeal to you. For me My Old Man and the Sea by David and Daniel Hays (Father and Son around Cape Horn in a 25 foot yacht) is brilliant. The best bit is the two authors two perspectives.
Cheers

[Steven UK]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Free for you:

http://sfbaysss.net/resource/doc/Sin...irdEdition.pdf

Nothing really helpful to add except this text is awesome and covers the whole gambit of singlehanded sailing... well I think it does I haven’t done that much yet. But I will one day... Pretty soon in fact! joking aside read it twice, and then again, and take it with you when you go.

There are some views in the book that go against the popular views that you will read on here (CF). Such as hanked on fore sails, lines at the mast and my favourate the single jibsheet. The alternative views will drive further research... have fun.

[hamburking]

I recommend the one that started it all: Sailing Alone Around The World, by Josh Slocum. He did it all with no motor, electronics or crew. Many lessons to be learned from his experience, even today. And when reading, keep in mind that there were many things he could not say outright in print, but alludes to them with tongue in cheek humour. Recognized as both a great sailor AND a wonderful writer.

[Paul Kelly]

You might find Stress-Free Sai;ling by Duncan Wells useful. He's a UK author and sailor and his book and videos have lots of useful practical tips.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stress-free.../dp/1472907434

[Paul Kelly]

You might find Stress-Free Sailing by Duncan Wells useful. He's a UK author and sailor and his book and videos have lots of useful practical tips.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stress-free.../dp/1472907434

[thinwater]

I have learned it boils down to two things:


Planning. Every task should be broken down into steps where only one thing is done at a time. There are exceptions for things that can easily be done at the same time. This makes things take longer, but it is safe. Never do anything important without this sort of plan.


Contingency planning. Have a second and third plan for all of the above, so that when the first plan hits a snag, you can calmly move on to the next plan.


There's no magic, just the avoidance of doing two things at once.

[ohgary]

Originally Posted by hamburking

I recommend the one that started it all: Sailing Alone Around The World, by Josh Slocum. He did it all with no motor, electronics or crew.

Thats a great book, very narative style writing. Can be found in paperback, ebook or audio book, There is a free audio book on librivox

https://librivox.org/sailing-alone-a...joshua-slocum/

Its a couple of bucks on amazon ebooks

[waeshael]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

The books are awesome but can really only cover technical skills. Something you already have that the books do not cover is the stuff that happensp inside your head.
That for me, is the real challenge.
Alone at night offshore It is beautiful but you have to be ready to deal with the storms from inside your head as well as the storms in the physical world.

Beats the crap out of any therapy I’ve experienced.

You are absolutely right about that.

To the OP: After about the tenth day at sea, it is easy to forget you are on a boat at all, and at night I found I sometimes in light winds I couldn't tell if the boat was sailing backwards or forward and had to spit in the water and shine a light to see if it went backwards or forwards. My mind would play tricks at night. Perhaps it was the anti sea sickness pills? I get deathly sea sick the first three days.

By the twentieth day or so I felt I wanted to stay offshore and never get back to land, it was perfect temperature and weather, apart from a few short squalls, and I loved the isolation and the fiddling with charting and mechanical stuff around the boat.

But I did talk a lot to inanimate objects. Thank God for he Ham rig and the Sat phone so I could occasionally talk to other yachties safely at home.

As far as single handed advice goes, most of the books written on the subject are a bit scary, and it's not scary at all if you are in the right part of the Ocean, below about 30 degrees N, outside hurricane season. The safest place ever is a boat slipping through a moonlit night a thousand miles from land, with the kettle on, and a good book to read. Sometimes I watch movies in the cockpit while I keep an eye out for traffic. I always have a fifteen minute egg timer alarm, so that when I sleep it is only for fifteen minutes, then I check for shipping, check the heading of the wind vane and boat speed, and nod off to sleep again. I did this for a month straight. Felt a bit groggy at the end and slept like a log for a couple of days.

Good food you like is important. Knowing how to forecast weather from NOAA charts that you download several times a day is important, because you can tell where to go to avoid weather you don't like the look of. And it gives you something to do.

Practically speaking the biggest problem is dealing with having no-one to talk to, for me at least. Some people love the aloneness. One sailor had a dog for company all around the world. I think the dog is a good idea.

I would say, just go sailing single handed a lot more to find out what your weak spot is, then fix it when you get home, and go again.

I was thinking of going out like the Vikings, alone on my boat drifting through the Oceans until my time is up. Gruesome thought? Nicer than dying in a rest home, though. Only single handers can even think this way.
So you are joining a very small group of eccentrics. Not many around the world these days. You can probably start a book yourself on what you find out. I am sure it would make interesting reading.

Cheers

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Try Donald Crowhurst's book if you want more information about mental issues. Bernard Moitessier was also a good author about singlehanded sailing. There is thousands off sailing books out there you just have to find the ones that apeal to you. For me My Old Man and the Sea by David and Daniel Hays (Father and Son around Cape Horn in a 25 foot yacht) is brilliant. The best bit is the two authors two perspectives.
Cheers

Sometimes it isn't wise to know too much about mental illness. Your brain might "lock on" to it and delve too deep into the subject

I read a book/novel loosely based on Crowhurst (Oiuterbridge Reach) and I'll never read it again or at least not as long as I single hand sail

[Steve.g.p]

Originally Posted by Paul Kelly

You might find Stress-Free Sailing by Duncan Wells useful. He's a UK author and sailor and his book and videos have lots of useful practical tips.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stress-free.../dp/1472907434

I agree, this book has given me a few pointers on techniques to use in some singlehanded situations. links to videos of techniques in practice have been especially helpful in singlehanding plus explaining to my better half what the hell i'm talking about. Multiple resources are the best but time on the water ties the knot.