Right after this happened, I was telling myself that I was never going
to tell a soul and glad that I was alone on board. Later, I realized
that, if it had happened in an airplane, I would have been posting it
immediately in one of the aviation groups. Pilots spend a lot more
time thinking and talking about safety than boaters. Back (not very
far back) when I was flying planes, I was very interested in the human
factors. So, in the spirit of aviation, here is this story which
illustrates some of them:

Http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Sailing0606.htm

When I was flying, I noticed that my best performance was usually when
a late passenger or other delay gave me time to hang around the plane
doing a leisurely preflight and just getting into the mental space of
flying. This shows that it applies to boats, at least in the other
extreme.

It also shows the insidious effects of cold and discomfort which begin
creating mental tunnel vision and deteriorating performance well
before the onset of actual hypothermia.

I haven’t had a lot of experiences like this on the water. My first
thought when I got settled down and on course again was that I had
experience exactly the state of mind many pilots were in just before
they took a perfectly functioning and on-course aircraft and either
flew it out of control or into a mountain. It can happen on the water
too.

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
Right after this happened, I was telling myself that I was never going
to tell a soul and glad that I was alone on board. Later, I realized
that, if it had happened in an airplane, I would have been posting it
immediately in one of the aviation groups. Pilots spend a lot more
time thinking and talking about safety than boaters. Back (not very
far back) when I was flying planes, I was very interested in the human
factors. So, in the spirit of aviation, here is this story which
illustrates some of them:

Http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Sailing0606.htm

When I was flying, I noticed that my best performance was usually when
a late passenger or other delay gave me time to hang around the plane
doing a leisurely preflight and just getting into the mental space of
flying. This shows that it applies to boats, at least in the other
extreme.

It also shows the insidious effects of cold and discomfort which begin
creating mental tunnel vision and deteriorating performance well
before the onset of actual hypothermia.

I haven’t had a lot of experiences like this on the water. My first
thought when I got settled down and on course again was that I had
experience exactly the state of mind many pilots were in just before
they took a perfectly functioning and on-course aircraft and either
flew it out of control or into a mountain. It can happen on the water
too.

Thanks Roger - Good story and good analysis. We do indeed need
something like "I learned about boating from that"


bob
s/v Eolian
Seattle

Thanks,

It also shows the effects of over confidence. The first time I ever
saw that river, I sailed up it in a northeaster, in the dark, alone,
with a dead engine, and docked under sail. There will be a magazine
story in "Points East" about it in the fall.

So, what could possibly happen in broad daylight?

--

Roger Long

The only thing I actually hit this time was the fog in my brain.

--

Roger Long



"Dave" wrote in message
...
I had a similar experience leaving Pt. Judith last year. I had come
in the
night before, and was sure I knew the way out so didn't check the
chart. But
I wasn't so lucky as to hit soft mud. Struck a rock at 4-5 kts.
which threw
me all the way from the cockpit down the companionway. Luckily,
there was no
damage to the boat, but I was pretty uncomfortable for a few days.

"Roger Long" wrote in newsr1ig.10338$3B.7321
@twister.nyroc.rr.com:

It also shows the insidious effects of cold and discomfort which begin
creating mental tunnel vision and deteriorating performance well
before the onset of actual hypothermia.



See? Another great reason to move out of the 2-week boating season in
Maine, no matter how quaint it is, to Charleston, which is equally
quaint, but where you can boat 365 days a year...(c; True Chaostoniuns
don't prounounce Rs eitha, so you'll feel right at home. Just swap Ayah
for Y'all. They're very nice and most have forgiven Yankees for the
"unpleasantness" of the 1860's....except General Sherman, of course.

Google Earth to the area around Charleston and see if you see any
uncluttered waterways to explore.... Geez, make sure the GPS is working
so you can find your way out! Both Northeast and Southwest of here it's
wilderness for over 50 miles!

From NOAA:

"OVERNIGHT...SW WINDS 20 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS.
WAVES 1 TO 2 FT.
..FRI...NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON.
..FRI NIGHT...S WINDS 5 KT.
..SAT...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT.
..SAT NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT.
..SUN AND SUN NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND TSTMS.
..MON AND TUE...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
TSTMS.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED...WAVES 1 FOOT OR LESS.

CHARLESTON HARBOR WATER TEMPERATURE...81 DEGREES."

Falling overboard is damned near like taking a bath at 81. The bikinis
on the beach have bloomed and many are already in breeding condition...

I know where there's good dockage for the beast....

Larry wrote:

See? Another great reason to move out of the 2-week boating season in
Maine, no matter how quaint it is, to Charleston, which is equally
quaint, but where you can boat 365 days a year...(c; True Chaostoniuns
don't prounounce Rs eitha, so you'll feel right at home. Just swap Ayah
for Y'all. They're very nice and most have forgiven Yankees for the
"unpleasantness" of the 1860's....except General Sherman, of course.

Google Earth to the area around Charleston and see if you see any
uncluttered waterways to explore.... Geez, make sure the GPS is working
so you can find your way out! Both Northeast and Southwest of here it's
wilderness for over 50 miles!

From NOAA:

"OVERNIGHT...SW WINDS 20 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS.
WAVES 1 TO 2 FT.
.FRI...NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON.
.FRI NIGHT...S WINDS 5 KT.
.SAT...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT.
.SAT NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT.
.SUN AND SUN NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND TSTMS.
.MON AND TUE...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
TSTMS.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED...WAVES 1 FOOT OR LESS.

CHARLESTON HARBOR WATER TEMPERATURE...81 DEGREES."

Falling overboard is damned near like taking a bath at 81. The bikinis
on the beach have bloomed and many are already in breeding condition...

I know where there's good dockage for the beast....

Got room for more snowbirds down there?
Getting tired of this...
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44258

Nah, I'm going to Newfoundland. I like this stuff. Besides, if I
lived down there, when would I work on my boat?

--

Roger Long



"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Roger Long" wrote in newsr1ig.10338$3B.7321
@twister.nyroc.rr.com:

It also shows the insidious effects of cold and discomfort which
begin
creating mental tunnel vision and deteriorating performance well
before the onset of actual hypothermia.



See? Another great reason to move out of the 2-week boating season
in
Maine, no matter how quaint it is, to Charleston, which is equally
quaint, but where you can boat 365 days a year...(c; True
Chaostoniuns
don't prounounce Rs eitha, so you'll feel right at home. Just swap
Ayah
for Y'all. They're very nice and most have forgiven Yankees for the
"unpleasantness" of the 1860's....except General Sherman, of course.

Google Earth to the area around Charleston and see if you see any
uncluttered waterways to explore.... Geez, make sure the GPS is
working
so you can find your way out! Both Northeast and Southwest of here
it's
wilderness for over 50 miles!

From NOAA:

"OVERNIGHT...SW WINDS 20 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS.
WAVES 1 TO 2 FT.
.FRI...NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON.
.FRI NIGHT...S WINDS 5 KT.
.SAT...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT.
.SAT NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT.
.SUN AND SUN NIGHT...SW WINDS 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS
AND TSTMS.
.MON AND TUE...SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
TSTMS.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED...WAVES 1 FOOT OR LESS.

CHARLESTON HARBOR WATER TEMPERATURE...81 DEGREES."

Falling overboard is damned near like taking a bath at 81. The
bikinis
on the beach have bloomed and many are already in breeding
condition...

I know where there's good dockage for the beast....

Don White wrote in news:lY5ig.19682$A26.449800
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

Got room for more snowbirds down there?


Plenty of room. There's 3200 miles of navigable waterways that DON'T have
a Florida condo on them, yet. You can spend a whole weekend up some creek
and barely see a soul, if that's your bag, or you can raft up with friends
for a great party weekend just lazing around jumping from boat to boat as
the party moves, mysteriously, from deck to deck...(c;

Oh, and South Carolina has ALWAYS loved the Canadian dollar!

Roger,
I did the same thing this spring w/ my battery/temp guages in my truck, for
gods sake! Been driving this rig, often long distances, for almost four
years; couldn't understand why my engine temp kept dropping as the trip went
on.
"Brain fart" is what a friend calls it, and as you say, in an airplane it
can kill you, and is usually a product of fatigue, but also a distracted
mind as in my case; I was preoccupied with a problem outside the present.
Having experienced such a shift, I'm slightly more capable of analyzing a
puzzling circumstance, at least when I'm rested, warm, dry and concentrating
on the task at hand! lol

Brad Snow
s/v Aldonza



"Roger Long" wrote in message
news
Right after this happened, I was telling myself that I was never going to
tell a soul and glad that I was alone on board. Later, I realized that, if
it had happened in an airplane, I would have been posting it immediately
in one of the aviation groups. Pilots spend a lot more time thinking and
talking about safety than boaters. Back (not very far back) when I was
flying planes, I was very interested in the human factors. So, in the
spirit of aviation, here is this story which illustrates some of them:

Http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Sailing0606.htm

When I was flying, I noticed that my best performance was usually when a
late passenger or other delay gave me time to hang around the plane doing
a leisurely preflight and just getting into the mental space of flying.
This shows that it applies to boats, at least in the other extreme.

It also shows the insidious effects of cold and discomfort which begin
creating mental tunnel vision and deteriorating performance well before
the onset of actual hypothermia.

I haven't had a lot of experiences like this on the water. My first
thought when I got settled down and on course again was that I had
experience exactly the state of mind many pilots were in just before they
took a perfectly functioning and on-course aircraft and either flew it out
of control or into a mountain. It can happen on the water too.

--

Roger Long