Just to finish the story - the above-mentioned experience gave me a
quasi-mystical insight into the awesome power of the sea. For anyone
who's never heard the obscene shrieking of triple screws unsheathed
from the brine at full power for minutes at a time as a gargantuan
vessel pitches, rolls & yaws simultaneously to the extremes of the
envelope; followed by the thunderous explosion of a flat-face bow
smashing into a bottomless trough at thousands of tonnes mass ...then
loop the sequence for hours on end; it's probably difficult to conjure
just what horrors the sea can deliver I now understand why
coconuts-in-husk are probably the only *_truly seaworthy_* design.

However the 'takeaway' from all of the exceptionally good advice on
offer in this thread appears to be that 'seaworthiness is a
multi-dimensional challenge' & preparing for the worst involves
garnering a wide range of skills & resources ...including a first rate
liferaft & epirb.

If "fear of the sea" inspires one to take every precaution possible
right from the getgo, in order that others will not have to put their
lives at risk in order to extract one from what would otherwise be
one's watery grave; then surely its not such a bad thing?

I agree with you, it's not a black and white situation. I have respect for
the sea but too often,
questions about seaworthiness reflects a fear of the unknown.
I lost a few friends at sea, one very close and after that loss, for while,
I had a real but irrational fear of making any passage longer than 50 NM.
It's gone know but respect for the sea is still there.
My attitude is more of a "Inch'Allah" type: I do all what I can to have a
good boat and be well prepared, to a point and after that, I'll handle it as
it comes.
Your words: "quasi-mystical insight into the awesome power of the sea" are
exactly how I feel.

Respect for the sea doesn't mean that passive safety should be an
overwhelming priority in choosing a boat or a design, that's what I wanted
to say.

--
Jacques
http://www.bateau.com


"Peter Ward" wrote in message
...
Just to finish the story - the above-mentioned experience gave me a
quasi-mystical insight into the awesome power of the sea. For anyone
who's never heard the obscene shrieking of triple screws unsheathed
from the brine at full power for minutes at a time as a gargantuan
vessel pitches, rolls & yaws simultaneously to the extremes of the
envelope; followed by the thunderous explosion of a flat-face bow
smashing into a bottomless trough at thousands of tonnes mass ...then
loop the sequence for hours on end; it's probably difficult to conjure
just what horrors the sea can deliver I now understand why
coconuts-in-husk are probably the only *_truly seaworthy_* design.

However the 'takeaway' from all of the exceptionally good advice on
offer in this thread appears to be that 'seaworthiness is a
multi-dimensional challenge' & preparing for the worst involves
garnering a wide range of skills & resources ...including a first rate
liferaft & epirb.

If "fear of the sea" inspires one to take every precaution possible
right from the getgo, in order that others will not have to put their
lives at risk in order to extract one from what would otherwise be
one's watery grave; then surely its not such a bad thing?

Hi

"Jacques Mertens" wrote in message ...
Respect for the sea doesn't mean that passive safety should be an
overwhelming priority in choosing a boat or a design, that's what I wanted
to say.

Now if a junior in a boxy Optimist capsize usealy nothing bad happen
except some wet clotches, but if some 60 year old stand up in the 8
feet dinghie at a cold evening with a bit wind , the boat will soon
drift away before the guy reach the surface again, and if you prepare
a jurney with the clotches you would use for a ride on a bike or think
you can use clotches that will soak and get heavy in water , you are
not preparing any passive safety, realy _that_ is where you shuld
remember the "respect" ; with those small things ,like knowing that
you can proberly not alone get back on land while after a short time
in cold water you lost your pover, and can not maneage alone.
What I want to say is, that it is strange spending lots of money on
trivial everyday things , and still have a life jacket that is 20
years old that you never tried if realy work and is impossible to tie
right. ------- As when you are there in the water, you only can think
_one thing at a time_ if you even can think, and things must be _easy
and work.

P.C.