Roger ,, ,, on the single handed sailing ..

According to the folks on the singlehanded_sailing group for yahoo ... it is
against the maritime laws because a watch must be maintained at all times.

Now I'm off the hook ( get it ). I can stay in port and bother people.


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"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
NE Sailboat wrote:

If single handing is as easy as you make it out to be ....... why are
the above folks (Slocum, Chichester, Robin Knox-Johnston) so revered.

Good agents? Lots of people we've never heard of have sailed long
distances single handed.

I'm not for a minute saying that single handed offshore passage making is
as easy as what I do, any more than long passagemaking with a crew is as
easy as coastal cruising with a crew. We're talking here about coastal
cruising which is essentially daysailing except that you anchor or moor
somewhere different every night.

Obviously it's more work and effort to do everything youself but, from the
tenor of your post, I don't think effort is what we are talking about.
"Difficult", as I read your post, means anxiety about how to accomplish
the tasks, worry that effects your decisions, (anchoring instead of
docking because you might damage another boat), getting frustrated, etc.
This is supposed to be enjoyable and rewarding in the way that challenging
things can be. If it's only enjoyable when you're sliding along with the
sails set and a beverage in your hand, you are doing something wrong.

I'm not saying that I never did and never will bump another boat or have
something go wrong but my level of confidence and expectation of
successfully performing the various evolutions and tasks is about the
same, and often slightly higher, when I'm alone than with a crew. The
feelings and events that seem to be diminishing your pleasure in boating
occasionally comeup but it has nothing to do with how many bodies are on
the boat.

You say you always sail alone. What you may be overlooking is that you
will end up feeling just as frustrated and out of control if you start
taking people with you. It may have nothing to do with single handing at
all. If you need to rely on the crew to perform in a way that will
prevent the feelings that you have described, you will be putting pressure
on them that will hurt their enjoyment and make you feel even less in
control when they give you that "which cleat?" look. There is an art to
command that, it it's way, is even more difficult than single handing.
Even with a good and experienced crew, if you can't handle a boat of this
size by yourself, you probably are going to find it difficult to direct a
crew in a way that makes it less stressful.

31 years? You should be able to handle a Bristol 32 with one hand tied
after wringing that much water out of your socks.

--
Roger Long