"NE Sailboat" wrote

Did she not know that this weather was approaching? And if she knew, why
didn't she stay south of the front..

I've been reading her reports daily since just before Cape Horn and it's
interesting to follow her thinking. She could have easily been in Bermuda
before the storm but didn't want to extend the length of her trip. She had
weather reports but thought, how bad could it be after the roaring 40's?
She was basically making some of the same judgement errors as S&L which
shows how much less forgiving rocks are than waves.

The kind of voyage she is making is much easier in some ways than coastal
crusing and much harder than others. Despite all the miles behind her, I
wouldn't charter her my boat for a cruise along the coast of Maine. That
takes a lot more navigation and piloting skill as well as boat handling in
confined waters. She still doesn't have the experience for that. Offshore
sailing generally requires less skill but the toughness to keep functioning
in extreme fatigue and apalling conditions are absolutely essential. You
can get the skill with experience but the toughness is harder to come by.
You have it or you don't which is why so many are banging on keyboards
talking about cruising instead of being out there. Skill in offshore sailing
is a big factor at times. With more experience, she probably would still be
riding on her sea anchor. Still, this mistake just means she has lost an
option. She isn't banging on rocks.

My concern for her now is making the landfall in Bermuda. She will be
coming from the direction of the extensive reefs that she could hit before
getting any good visual references. She carries few charts and may not even
have one for a place she didn't plan to visit. She managed to run into
South America (which she presumably knew was there. If it were not for
the extensive kelp beds and padding it provided against the rocks, the story
would have ended there.

--
Roger Long