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Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:38:22 -0600
Skills of a Sailor
Without stating the obvious, sailing is not for the faint of heart. You may go from a placid, glass-smooth ocean with a whisper of a breeze one day, to a day that blasts foaming seas in your face at 35 knots. You never know what to expect and I'm finding that flexibility and resourcefulness are excellent qualities for a sailor to have. Other skills are more physical, like being able to climb companionway stairs at a 35-degree angle that, at the same time, are pitching forward and back. Mental skills and decisiveness are important also for keeping your cool. Like when you reach a waypoint and the intended buoy or marker is missing, or the water is suddenly much shallower than recorded on the charts. What to do? You need to decide something-NOW! Another mental test is trying to sleep while bouncing up, down, and sideways while listening to the water tanks gurgle, the hull creak, and the diesel fuel slosh. Will it all hold together-you must trust that it will, get some sleep, and make your way again tomorrow. But that's the thrill of it!
Differences between Coastal Cruising and Blue Water Cruising-It's Not Just The Color! Those of us with a gullet-full of sailing experience along our coastal shores should not get too cocky when it comes to traversing Blue Water. It's not just the color of the water that characterizes Blue Water from our relatively tame coastal water, but along with wind strength and direction, the dimensions of swell and wave height must be added to the mix. Having just crossed from the shallow Berry Islands over to the depths of the "Tongue of the Ocean", I learned the hard way why it is important to pay attention to the forecasted 'swell" direction in combination with wave height in addition to the typical weather information reported. While the direction and strength of wind may indicate the makings of an easy passage, swells coming from broadside may hinder you from getting a good angle on the wind if those swells place your boat at an angle precariously close to a broach. My recent passage had NE winds about 20 knots gusting to 25 on a course of 101 degrees with waves about 7 ft. Not too bad for "the Tongue", but add a southwest swell to this, and the combination has the makings of a bumpy bucking bronco ride. I'll characterize it as "a white knuckles" helm as I held tight to the steering wheel while the rudder groaned from the force of the swell hitting it, while the bow plunged between oncoming waves. Under these conditions, the white knuckles feeling also applies to those handling on-deck responsibilities including raising the mainsail. Even secured with a tether, its hard to keep a smile on your face, and lunch in your belly, when getting a shower over a pitching bow, hanging on to wet deck hardware, and trying to perform even the most perfunctory task.