Predeparture worries (cont.)

Handling medical issues

• Jack and Marcia Spiess had owned their 44-foot cutter Tracen J for four years before they set sail. They had been cruising off and on since 1988, but this was their first foray across oceans.

“Handling medical issues, heart attack, fractures, and major injuries. That is what concerned me,” said Marcia. But Marcia and her crew, like all of those with whom we spoke, had not had any serious medical troubles.

None had heard of any other voyagers mentioning problems other than two cases of tropical infections caused by cuts that were not treated properly.

• Marilyn Middleton, who cruises with her husband, Glen, and son, Jaryd, on Tin Soldier, a 50-foot steel boat, said health problems at sea had been her worry, too.

Tin Soldier’s medical supplies were rarely used until they reached Neiafu in the Vava’u Islands of Tonga, where Glen decided to join friends on a racing boat for one of the Friday night races organized by a local restaurant owner.

During the race, the boat gybed and the traveler block, which runs on a track across the middle of the cockpit, hit Glen, throwing him against a winch. A broken nose, blackened eyes, and several stitches were much in evidence as we all discussed how much safer ocean voyaging seems to be than living on shore or racing under sail.

Seasickness

• Linda Levy, with her partner Michael Gilbert, left from Florida on board B’Sheret, a 37-foot Najad sloop they bought at the Annapolis Boat Show. Linda listed seasickness right after nasty weather and pirates as a worry that was now relegated to a more comfortable place in her mind. “I was lucky,” Linda said. “I heard all the horror stories but I never got further than anxiety nausea.”

• Interestingly, when I asked others about seasickness, about 60 percent of the interviewees had found they either felt fine or suffered only for a few hours during the first day or two of a passage. The other 40 percent (me included) had found ways to control or cope with seasickness.

Although we met several people in Apia and Tonga who were planning to end their cruises sooner than planned, not one of them said it was because of seasickness.

Running out of food

Market scene in Western Samoa

• The crew of both Tracen J and Argonaut listed “running out of food” as something they worried about before they set off.

• But when I look over the answers to the next question we asked, “What did you put on board that was not used?” I realize that this was an almost universal concern. Many lists included comments about carrying too much basic food.

Marcia Spiess stated, “I overprovisioned. All of it took up too much needed space and we ended up giving much of it away. We found that basics, such as flour, rice, etc., were usually available, even in the smallest island shops. Same with meats, fruits, and vegetables. Maybe they were not what we were used to, but it was fun to enjoy the local items.”

• On the other hand, two couples wished they had carried more “comfort foods”—things that would be easy to grab for a snack, specialty items to make real at-home-feeling meals, favorite cookies or dried fruits for nibbling on night watches. These definitely are hard to find or very expensive once you sail far from home.

• Linda Levy from B’Sheret said, “Yes, we overprovisioned, but even without a freezer we were able to eat quick meals from a can and have hot soup all the way to New Zealand. That made me happy when the seas were not happy and all I had to do was open a can, throw it in a pot, heat and eat.”

Most favored gear on board

• Eight out of 10 couples listed their windvane self-steering as the “most favored gear on board.”
• The other two listed their autopilots.
• Six listed their watermaker.

When there was any discussion between husband and wife as to whether the self-steering gear or the watermaker was most important, the answer seemed to split clearly along gender lines, with women strongly in favor of the watermaker.

Best memory

The most enjoyable part of each interview was asking, “What is your very best memory so far?” The answers proved to us that even though there are a lot more folks out here than when we set off 42 years ago, cruising is still a grand adventure.

• Tom Collins and Colleen Wilson, who sailed on 8-ton Mokisha, a handsome 1980s-style S&S 38 built by Catalina Yachts (see fig. 18.1), said, “Nothing compared with the awe of being out at sea, far from land, on a starry night.”

• Linda and Steve on Linda repeated this sentiment, adding, “Catching mahimahi! And we loved Penrhyn Island. It was just about a hundred miles off the normal route, yet we were the only cruisers there and we were shown a wonderful time by the island folks.”

• The Middleton family spoke of spending time at one of the isolated atolls of the Tuamotus and staying with a Polynesian family for a week “There were only two families on the atoll, yet there was a church. The three of us made the Sunday congregation 30 percent larger than normal.”

Marilyn and Glenn Middleton with their son Jared wanted to get to know more about the real Tonga. They invited a woman who befriended them at the market place to come out for a Sunday sail. Big Mary arrived with 8 children plus husband. (Marilyn and Jared are wearing the orange T shirts in this photo). This was the beginning of an amazing friendship.

• “The Pacific Arts Festival,” stated Jack and Marcia Spiess, “It was in American Samoa—only happens once every four years and 27 island nations sent their dancers and singers for 10 days of performances.”

•  Several others said, “Beautiful anchorages,” mentioning places as diverse as Hiva Oa in the Marquesas, Niuatoputapu in Tonga, and the eastern side of Bora Bora. “Suwarrow Atoll,” said Michael Gilbert. “It was described as magical by everyone we’ve spoken with and we all believe that the most magic was due to the Cooks Island caretaker and his family who live there.”

The boats they chose to cruise

The boats in which these 10 interviewees chose to cruise ranged from 28 feet in length to 50 feet on deck. All but two had been bought secondhand; two were more than 30 years old. The purchase prices listed ranged from $35,000 to $400,000.

But in spite of their divergent boat choices and budgets, these folks all had one financial reality in common: The cost to upgrade and outfit the boat once they decided to go cruising ran an additional 25 to 35 percent of the purchase price of the boat.

Other advice for those waiting to set sail

What other advice did these cruisers add to their questionnaires for those dreaming of setting off across oceans? Here’s the list:

• Do it sooner rather than later.
• Quit talking and get out here!
• Know your boat, test your gear.
• Buy the best dinghy you can afford.
• Have confidence in your boat.
• Don’t overload your boat or you will feel cramped and uncomfortable.
• Weather will become your life; study and learn about it.
• Once you have prepared thoroughly, relax and enjoy it all.
• Keep a realistic perspective on being out here—far from family, far from easily available materials, equipment, and skilled labor.
• Be mentally prepared for being at sea a long time. “It was better than I thought it would be,” said one cruiser.
• Slow down!
• Learn a few words of the local language. Even saying hello, thank you, and good-bye can open new worlds to you.
• Be wary of the herd mentality. Remember that it’s your dream, your itinerary, and ultimately your decision.
• Get away from other yachties so you experience the local culture.

The last two suggestions are possibly the hardest ones to put into practice. As our three-week stay at the marina in Apia showed us once again, the cruisers you meet “out there” can be a fascinating group of people. Someone will always be coming up with an activity to add to the day’s entertainment—be it a potluck, a diving expedition, a night on the town, or an evening of sharing stories and singing shanties or old favorites. At many cruising crossroads, there are special places where cruisers gather. The Yacht Club restaurant at Vava’u was one. Unfortunately, it can be so easy to spend the majority of your time at places like this, that you have no time left to meet local folks. Over the years, Larry and I have often written, “Go small, go simple, but go now!”To that, we both would like to add: “Do anything necessary to split your shore time 50/50 between getting to know local people and enjoying the company of other cruisers.” No matter how fine your voyaging turns out to be, if you don’t occasionally break away from your newfound cruising friends, you could look back later and find that there was one thing you didn’t worry about that did actually happen. You could come to realize that the only Polynesian people with whom you had contact were customs and immigration officials and vendors at the local marketplace. Larry and I had been to Tonga 23 years previously. At that time we were adopted by a wonderful family. On our return we joined them for the village feast. Though we invited several of our new cruising friends to join us, almost all had made previous commitments among the fleet. They missed some great food, enjoyable people who were ready to welcome them into their lives and homes.

About Lin and Larry Pardey

Lin and Larry have voyaged more than 200,000 miles together on self-built engine-free wooden boats. Their voyages have taken them around the world, both east-about and west-about, including counter-to-the-prevailing-wind passages south of the great southern capes.

Their 11 books and four DVDs include narratives as well as highly useful information on voyaging, storm tactics, boatbuilding, and seamanship.

The Pardey’s have been credited with launching thousands of dreams by inspiring and empowering generations of sailors. Together and separately they have been honored with many awards for their contributions to cruising and sailing. Most recently, in 2010 the Pardey’s were awarded The Cruising Club of America’s prestigious Far Horizons Award.

Currently they have just returned from exploring the waters of New Zealands Hauraki Gulf and will be flying to the US to present seminars and introduce Lin’s newest book – Bull Canyon, A Boatbuilder, a writer and other Wildlife. Monthly newsletters and cruising tips can be found at www.landlpardey.com.

Capable Cruiser

This revised and expanded third edition of The Capable Cruiser includes 10 completely new chapters with such advice as: sixteen ways to encourage your lover (partner) to share your dream; strategies for turning sudden engine failure into a minor incident; choosing safety equipment; repairing rigging at sea. All of the original chapters have been updated to ensure that the information will be helpful for everyone who dreams of cruising—whether now or soon.

The Capable Cruiser is a logical extension of the Pardeys’ Self Sufficient Sailor, with more emphasis on seamanship underway, including careful analysis of extreme anchoring situations and solutions for mitigating them. Underlying each and every chapter is the warmth and encouragement that spurred Herb McCormick, former editor of Cruising World magazine, to label Lin and Larry Pardey “the enablers.”

Read also on this website

• First-time voyagers — What did they worry about that never happened? (Part 1), by Lin Pardey
• Join Lin and Larry Pardey at US West coast seminars as they introduce new book
• Seasickness (Admiral’s Angle column #18): The most asked-about issue of cruising! What are the realities and how can you combat it?

More information (external links)

• Capable Cruiser is available at Lin’s website: www.landlpardey.com and amazon.com

Arriving in Apia, Samoa

It felt wonderful, no concerns about a wind shift turning our anchorage into a lee shore, no rattle of anchor chain across coral heads, the boat lying still enough to use long-stemmed glasses instead of tumblers for our wine.

Even better, arriving in Apia, Samoa, meant we had woven our way past the hurricane belt between Hawaii and Mexico, through the doldrums and south of the equator. Now we’d completed the longest passages of our voyage from Ventura, California, through the Line Islands and back to our home base in New Zealand.

As Larry and I savored this latest landfall in our 42 years and 185,000 miles of wandering together, I mentioned my sense of relief at arriving here. “If you feel so good about it,” Larry commented, “can you imagine how pleased some of these first-time voyagers must feel?”

I already had some idea. In only a few hours alongside in the first marina we’d seen in several months, I’d met half a dozen of these newest voyagers and enjoyed their excitement at having made the break from life ashore and safely crossing a major ocean.

The idea for this story came after a fun dinner with seven cruising couples in Apia, Samoa.

“They all tell me about the things that worried them before they set sail.” I said to him.

“But they went anyway didn’t they?” Larry countered. “These folks are the crème de la crème, the ones who got organized enough to break free and then actually cut the ties and kept going beyond the first landfall. It has been a long time since we were in a place where there was a whole group of new voyagers fresh from their first long passages, their first time away from easy access to marina facilities.

Why don’t you ask some of them what they worried about that never actually happened? Might give you some interesting ideas to share.”

With his urging, I made a short list of questions, and 11 pairs of willing volunteers shared their thoughts on predeparture worries, the gear that worked, failures that occurred, and thoughts they wanted to share with those waiting to set sail.

Predeparture worries

Heavy weather

Close reaching in about 45 knots of wind

• “Really bad weather,” stated Linda and Steve Maggart, echoing a worry that was at or near the top of the list for almost everyone we questioned.

Among the first timers we interviewed were Linda and Steve Maggart on their Rhodes 40. Their biggest fear had been storm force winds.

Linda and Steve had spent about 30 separate nights at sea before they set off from Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, in March 2008.

This was to be their very first offshore passage on their vintage sloop Linda, a 40-foot Rhodes Bounty II. With five charters in the Caribbean, plus coastal cruises from Seattle through the Inside Passage to Juneau, Alaska, and south to Cabo San Lucas, their experience level was above average among the group of first-time voyagers we met at Apia.

They, like the majority of sailors along the Pacific routes this season, had encountered stronger-than-average winds, especially near the very active South Pacific Convergence Zone. The system seemed to linger for weeks between Bora Bora and Tonga, stretching as far north as the Penrhyn Atoll in the Northern Cooks, where we also sailed through its 35- and 40-knot gusts. This, plus the reinforced trade winds caused by a La Niña year, had not been what folks expected along the “milk run.”

But Linda and Steve both gave their boat full credit for handling these conditions comfortably and they felt they had done a good job of making sure they had ways of securing everything on board for such conditions.

•  John Boggs on Don Pedro, a 47-foot Beneteau sloop, had sailed from Victoria, Canada, through the Panama Canal in a smaller yacht 28 years earlier. This was to be his wife Linda’s first offshore voyage on the boat they had owned for six years.

In spite of his previous experience, he too worried most about extremely bad weather. When we asked, “What do you wish you had more of now that you are out here?” John answered, “More bad-weather experience.” This must be one of the hardest things for new cruisers to acquire. Very few potential voyagers are willing to—or have the time or opportunity to—head out into a gale just to see how it feels. They rarely get a chance to try reefing their sails and moving about on deck and below to learn how their gear really works when the sea gets snarly.

•  Two boats owned by interviewees had suffered full knockdowns while running between Bora Bora and Suwarrow Atoll.  One suffered serious mast damage, the other had damaged lifeline stanchions. Neither had excessive water get inside the boat and no one was injured, and once each of these crews was able to repair the damages and continue onward, they, like all of the other interviewees, felt they had been pretty well prepared for the heavier winds they encountered.

Interestingly, both of the men on the boats that suffered knockdowns expressed their concern that they had let down their female partners. One said candidly, “When the boat came upright and I saw the damage, then I looked at the fear on her face and felt so terrible. This is definitely not what I promised her cruising would be like.” Women, please take note: No matter how much we may feel we are equal partners in any sailing situation, men will always feel they are personally and ultimately to blame if something major goes wrong on board.

•  Two people mentioned that they wished they had spent a few days at sea not only in strong winds but also in moderate running or reaching winds. Had they experienced the constant motion of being at sea, each would have made changes to the cockpit and accommodations to create more comfortable seating and lounging positions.

One commented: “My ass was sore after a few days of running. The inch-thick cockpit seat cushions were too darned hard. I couldn’t find a decent place to wedge myself in and read in the cockpit or down below.”

Being becalmed

Interestingly, none of the sailors we interviewed had been concerned about light winds before they set off. But when we met several of these sailors after they’d voyaged further, they wanted to know more about the light wind sails we carry.

Interestingly, Liz Strash and Mike Scott on Argonaut, a well-maintained Cal 40, worried almost as much about being becalmed as they did about encountering heavy weather.

“The crewman who sailed with us really freaked out when we actually did get becalmed a week out of Cabo. He started counting our food supplies, figuring out how long we could survive out there if the wind never came back. We tried to reassure him, but he was like a caged tiger for a day and a half—until the winds filled in. After that, he never felt as excited about the voyage.” (Larry and I wondered whether he had just read Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner.)

Liz and Mike continued on their own after reaching the Marquesas Islands.

Gear failures

•  They were delighted with their voyaging, eager for more, and able to laugh at all the concerns they’d had about breaking things. “We worried that the mast might come down, that the sails would get ripped up.”

But by the time they reached Apia, their gear failures turned out to be, according to Mike, “nothing we really couldn’t do without. Our head stopped working while we could still see Mexico, the refrigeration quit three days later. The watermaker seals leaked and had to be replaced and the block holding the gimbals on the stove broke.”

•  John and Nancy Powers, on their 48-foot sloop Meridian, worried about “through-hull fittings letting go, major engine problems, and someone falling overboard. Knock on wood, none of these happened,” John said. “In fact,” he added, “not much went wrong. But I am glad I had the spares I needed to keep things working. I’d tell new voyagers, if you need one, get two. There are no West Marine outposts here. So get the stuff now!”

•  Craig Compton, who made this voyage with his wife, Kay, on their 28-foot BCC, Little Wing, echoed Mike’s worries about “everything breaking.” In contrast, however, he feels he carried far too many spares. “I installed everything on the boat other than the engine by myself. I used new parts as I did the installation and kept the old parts as the spares. I didn’t need backup spares for the spares.”

The late Hal Roth first wrote about installing new parts and keeping the originals as a way to be sure the spare parts fit and the right tools were on board. It’s a practice we have always followed for vital equipment, such as bilge-pump diaphragms.

•  Although the group of sailors we interviewed was small, their list of gear failures does parallel what we have seen since 1968. Refrigeration was mentioned the most often, engine fresh-water pump impellers came a close second, and watermaker problems were third.

John on Don Pedro mentioned that his watermaker problem was caused by using tap water to flush his system. When he contacted the manufacturer, he learned that the chlorine in city water was responsible for ruining the membrane. John suggested that we remind people to use only distilled water for flushing. (Seven of 10 interviewees had watermakers.)

About Lin and Larry Pardey

Lin and Larry have voyaged more than 200,000 miles together on self-built engine-free wooden boats.  Their voyages have taken them around the world, both east-about and west-about, including counter-to-the-prevailing-wind passages south of the great southern capes.

Their 11 books and four DVDs include narratives as well as highly useful information on voyaging, storm tactics, boatbuilding, and seamanship.

The Pardey’s have been credited with launching thousands of dreams by inspiring and empowering generations of sailors. Together and separately they have been honored with many awards for their contributions to cruising and sailing. Most recently, in 2010 the Pardey’s were awarded The Cruising Club of America’s prestigious Far Horizons Award.

Currently they have just returned from exploring the waters of New Zealands Hauraki Gulf and will be flying to the US to present seminars and introduce Lin’s newest book – Bull Canyon, A Boatbuilder, a writer and other Wildlife. Monthly newsletters and cruising tips can be found at www.landlpardey.com.

Capable Cruiser

This revised and expanded third edition of The Capable Cruiser
includes 10 completely new chapters with such advice as: sixteen ways to encourage your lover (partner) to share your dream; strategies for turning sudden engine failure into a minor incident; choosing safety equipment; repairing rigging at sea. All of the original chapters have been updated to ensure that the information will be helpful for everyone who dreams of cruising—whether now or soon.

The Capable Cruiser is a logical extension of the Pardeys’ Self Sufficient Sailor, with more emphasis on seamanship underway, including careful analysis of extreme anchoring situations and solutions for mitigating them. Underlying each and every chapter is the warmth and encouragement that spurred Herb McCormick, former editor of Cruising World magazine, to label Lin and Larry Pardey “the enablers.”

Read also on this website

• First-time voyagers — What did they worry about that never happened? (Part 2)
• Join Lin and Larry Pardey at US West coast seminars as they introduce new book

More information (external links)

• Capable Cruiser is available at Lin’s website: www.landlpardey.com and amazon.com