On Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:17:41 -0000, Skip Gundlach
wrote:
Hi Skip,
Welcome to cruising. Sod's law always prevails. The trick is to think
and act quickly and learn how to get along without the gizmos when
they fail. In close waters, especially at night, it doesn't hurt to
maintain a constant mental dead reckoning log of where you are and
where you will head if things go wrong.

For example, when closely approaching a headland or point (the damned
things always seem to attract either strong winds or contrary
currents), have a good idea where you will go to deep water with
regards to the wind and the seas if things don't go as planned - such
as an unexpected strong current, the appearance of a buoy not on your
charts or the engine suddenly stops - these happen to us all over
time. It becomes second nature after a while to think of an escape
plan without really being conscious of having dome so.

Also, every now and then, get your wife to unexpectedly turn off all
instruments except perhaps the compass light and the depth. These are
all you really need and this exercise will give experience of suddenly
managing in a crisis and better, will build your confidence so that
you will not panic (easy to do) if and when things do go wrong such as
a lightning strike taking everything out.

"Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."

Habit
A man who's active and incisive
can yet keep nail-care much in mind:
why fight what's known to be decisive?
custom is the despot of mankind.

Aleksandr Pushkin in "Eugene Onegin"

regards and good sailing
Peter

Stay tuned...

L8R


Skip

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