"New Conservative" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I haven't actually sailed a boat yet but plan to later this year. I am
therefore still a bit green when it comes to the intricacies of the
subject.
Say I'm keen to visit the West Indies and I'm leaving from say
Southampton, England. I'm on my own and will need to sleep every day,
even if only for a few hours. Is it safe to let a boat 'sail herself'
while I catch some shut-eye,

No.

or is this a no-no?

Yes.

Can it be done safely

No.


or would I have to drop all sail and just bob around in the dark for a
while until I've awoken?

No difference. Might as well keep moving while awaiting to be run
down while sleeping.

Obviously it'd make for a shorter passage if
I could somehow keep going 24/7. And ideas? Thanks.

Singlehanders do it all the time. Yes, it is dangerous but is just a risk
you
accept when singlehanding on long passages.

Good Luck!
Doug


Martin Smith, the New Conservative Party.

http://www.newconservativeparty.org

Hopefully this post is a joke.

If you haven't sailed before, then simply forget any attempt to sail such a
distance single-handed.
Only when you really know what you are doing should you consider it.
Any attempt to do so when inexperienced, and you deserve everything you
(will certainly) get.

Chrisssss.....




"New Conservative" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I haven't actually sailed a boat yet but plan to later this year. I am
therefore still a bit green when it comes to the intricacies of the
subject.
Say I'm keen to visit the West Indies and I'm leaving from say
Southampton, England. I'm on my own and will need to sleep every day,
even if only for a few hours. Is it safe to let a boat 'sail herself'
while I catch some shut-eye, or is this a no-no? Can it be done safely
or would I have to drop all sail and just bob around in the dark for a
while until I've awoken? Obviously it'd make for a shorter passage if
I could somehow keep going 24/7. And ideas? Thanks.
--

Martin Smith, the New Conservative Party.

http://www.newconservativeparty.org

in message ,
Chrisssssss................ ')
wrote:

Hopefully this post is a joke.

If you haven't sailed before, then simply forget any attempt to sail
such a distance single-handed.
Only when you really know what you are doing should you consider it.
Any attempt to do so when inexperienced, and you deserve everything
you (will certainly) get.

Errrmmmm...

I suspect this guy is a fantasist.

However, several now-well-respected long distance sailors set out on
their first long singlehanded passages with little or no sailing
experience. Sir Chay Blyth comes to mind. And everyone involved in
short-handed passage making once did their first short-handed passage.
Sailing is not desperately difficult, and these days navigation is not
desperately difficult either.

If ten beginners in ten reasonably sound boats set out to cross the
Atlantic, I'd estimate that four would make it, five would give up
because it was too tough for them (but would get safely back into
shelter without much help) and one would either kill him (or her) self
or cause massive problems for the search and rescue services (or, of
course, both).

It would be extremely irresponsible to advise a total beginner to 'just
go for it', of course. But it isn't _that_ dangerous, either. I
certainly wouldn't want to live in a world where people were prevented
from undertaking significant personal risks and challenges.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; "If I were a Microsoft Public Relations person, I would probably
;; be sobbing on a desk right now" -- Rob Miller, editor, /.

New Conservative wrote in message . ..
Hi all,

I haven't actually sailed a boat yet but plan to later this year. I am
therefore still a bit green when it comes to the intricacies of the
subject.
Say I'm keen to visit the West Indies and I'm leaving from say
Southampton, England. I'm on my own and will need to sleep every day,
even if only for a few hours. Is it safe to let a boat 'sail herself'
while I catch some shut-eye, or is this a no-no? Can it be done safely
or would I have to drop all sail and just bob around in the dark for a
while until I've awoken? Obviously it'd make for a shorter passage if
I could somehow keep going 24/7. And ideas? Thanks.

I suggest you read the book 'Desperate Voyage' by John Caldwell and
then ponder whether you want to leave this life early. (He did exactly
what you are proposing)

Regards

Wali

On 2 Mar 2005 02:43:38 -0800, (Wali
Woll-Nutbrayn) wrote:

I suggest you read the book 'Desperate Voyage' by John Caldwell and
then ponder whether you want to leave this life early. (He did exactly
what you are proposing)

Okay, guys, well thanks for all the feedback. I'm building up a better
picture of what would be involved now and there's clearly more to it
than I imagined. The problem for newbies like me is that we keep
seeing amazing feats accomplished at sea (you will know the kind of
stunts people have got away with) and to a newcomer it seems to
'shrink the world' and give an unrealistically easy impression of what
can be pulled off. I think the most outstanding example of this was
that guy who rowed single-handed across the Pacific! I'd have thought
that was *impossible* until some nut actually did it. Once a feat like
that and others like it sink in, though, the newbie tends to think,
"well if that guy did the 'impossible' then I should at least be able
to handle the theoretically feasible." I guess what I'm saying is that
it's just all too easy to underestimate the ability, strength,
experience and determination of people like the Pacific rower (whose
name escapes me), Chay Blythe and Ellen McArthur. The sheer
*challenge* of going it single-handed with zero experience is still a
deeply compelling one, though, I shudder to admit. :-|
--

Martin Smith, the New Conservative Party.

http://www.newconservativeparty.org

On Thu, 03 Mar 2005 17:53:41 GMT, New Conservative
wrote:

Your New Conservative website isn't working well with the Firefox
browser, by the way. It just produces a bunch of source code.

R.

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 16:24:04 -0500, rhys wrote:

On Thu, 03 Mar 2005 17:53:41 GMT, New Conservative
wrote:

Your New Conservative website isn't working well with the Firefox
browser, by the way. It just produces a bunch of source code.

Thanks; we'll look into it.
--

"Suffer no one to tell you what to think."
Martin Smith, the New Conservative Party.

http://www.newconservativeparty.org