in message , Larry W4CSC
') wrote:

"Dan" wrote in
oups.com:

Well you can equally say in a boat you just pop into shelter.

Hmm....let's test that theory. It goes 6-8 knots when things are
going
right. We're 397 nautical miles from shore. 397 divided 7 equals
56.71 hours to the nearest point of land, not safe harbor....those
rocks on the Irish coast come to mind....so let's add a few more hours
to find a harbor entrance....say 60 hours.

60 hours?! That's 2 1/2 DAYS! WE COULD DIE IN A STORM AT SEA IN 2
1/2 DAYS!

Nope....wrong thinking. When you're "out there", even only 397 miles
"out
there"....YOUR STRANDED OUT THERE!! It's FOREVER to "shelter"....in
25' waves crashing over the broken mast stub, the mast and its sails
long gone....Not fun.

Rule 1 - It is ALWAYS better to be standing on the dock, wishing you
were at sea....than to be at sea, wishing you were on the dock!

You really know nothing about the sea, do you? If you're 397 miles west
(or north west, or south west) of Ireland you're pretty much safe in
any conditions. Just drop the para anchor over, lash everything movable
down, go to sleep, get up every four hours or so to check the warp
isn't chafing, get some more sleep. It'll be damp, noisy, and pretty
uncomfortable, but it won't be dangerous. Only continuous severe
westerly gale for sixteen consecutive days is going to give you any
worries at all, and that's pretty rare.

The 'risks' aren't, by and large, in deep water. By and large, and
excepting wave-action capsizes (which are themselves pretty rare, and
usually related to special conditions like continental shelves), you
can ride out anything if you have enough sea-room.

The risks are close to the coast. Lee shores, offshore rocks and
shallows, strong tidal currents, overfalls, these are all coastal
phenomena. They are what make sailing in bad weather dangerous. 400
miles west of Ireland, none of them exist. The old rule used to be
'when in trouble, get out to sea and stay there'.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; I'll have a proper rant later, when I get the time.