It seems that the plug in for our subscriber database “Readygraph” has decided to stop displaying our list of subscribers or possibly has deleted them all…..in an effort to be certain that we don’t lose anyone…if you get this update notification you are still in the list but the list just isn’t displaying in the admin settings……a comment to this post would be tremendously helpful in identifying the issue….
Update….the good news is I was able to export the subscriber list so I can at least view it…..I am still trying to reach the plugin developer to remedy this permanently….
Update….I received an email from a subscriber so the post notices appear to be going out …..however, the list isn’t visible on the admin page….hopefully the plugin designer can remedy this issue sooner rather than later…..
Recently, while standing on deck, I realized how spending more and more time on our boat has created a new way of looking at situations for me. I saw this boat on that particular day and I immediately began to think about the conditions that were present. In this instance, the pictured boat is anchored, the rode for the anchor (which appears to be rope) has a very steep angle, which seems to indicate that there isn’t much scope deployed. The boat is facing South as both the wind and the current are running North at about 5kph. The boat is anchored <100′ from the swing bridge located to the North, off the stern. Sunset was about 60 minutes away so I assumed the skipper planned to spend the night. There wasn’t a dinghy visible, so either the boat didn’t have one or the maybe some, or all, of the crew was ashore….this image made me think….what would I have done differently if anything?……What do you think?
I recently learned something interesting about CO detectors which has prompted me to post this…..
I didn’t realize that newer CO detectors (made in the last decade) have a built in timer, powered by a small lithium battery that counts down the service life of the detector. This service life was recently shortened to five years due to UL standards. This timer starts at the factory when the unit is assembled. A detector I purchased about 18 months ago, that I installed, began malfunctioning and I sent it to the manufacturer for testing. As it turns out it was manufactured over seven years ago and had reached its “timeout time”. I wish I could recall where I purchased it so I could avoid buying from that place again since they are obviously selling units way past their shelf life with very little service life left. I didn’t realize how pricey those things have become ….MSRP of $166 ….ouch…if you buy one be sure to check the circuit board for the manufacture date before you leave the store or install it. Fireboy/Xintex did offer me a unit for $120 but fortunately I can buy one at West Marine for $119 minus the holiday discounts so that’s not much of a deal. Hope this helps someone else avoid this issue….
It seems that a great many aspiring sailors are hesitant to go and do things that might result in a potentially embarrassing but otherwise harmless bump with another marine object. It saps their enjoyment of otherwise glorious experiences. I am here to tell you that it happens, is happening as I type this, has happened and will happen to everyone who spends a significant time on a vessel of any significant size (over 25′) and in any significant wind or current…(sometimes even not so significant). While there are techniques to minimize these occurrences…..it happens and is inevitable so don’t stress over it…please. Is it fun? No….Would you prefer it didn’t happen? Of course….Does it diminish your experience and value as a part of the sailing and boating community? Absolutely not. Do you think that guy or gal doing 30kph in the no wake zone stays awake at night worrying about when he will do that again? Haha…they certainly don’t seem don’t stress about it (or even notice) and neither should you. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t continually strive to improve your skills…that will always generate a sense of pride in your accomplishments……just realize that you weren’t (as one of my close friends pointed out after a particularly grueling docking maneuver) “born with a rudder hanging out your rear end, were you?”
Where does this obsession come from and how do you deal with it?
I continually find myself obsessing over when my next “collision” will take place. My nightmares are filled with images of me crashing into a variety of fixed and mobile obstacles, pilings, shoals, freighters, mermaids…some at speeds our boat could never dream to attain…..doesn’t really matter what it is, I do it in my daydreams, regular dreams and in my visions of landfalls and docking maneuvers. I’m not really sure what the particular psychology is behind this haunting condition but it is apparently rampant in the sailing and boating community. I have seen enough forum posts about getting in and out of slips, around marinas and down fairways to fill a fleet of dump trucks if they were all printed out. I have read about others obsessing over the embarrassment of rebounding from a piling in a marina basin or while leaving a slip with a crowd watching. Then there’s always that “one guy” (in real life or a forum) who has done it all, seen it all, docked every boat in hurricane force winds and never made contact with anything….anyone know this guy? I am coming to the conclusion that this “guy” and his unidentified cohorts will stand around in a marina relishing their schadenfreude while denying ever having done the same exact thing are the ones responsible for this anxiety. There are simply some people incapable of admitting their faults or mistakes, who feel the need to bolster themselves by bringing others down just to shore up their own self image. Don’t listen to, or even worry about, these folks.
By whom is it are we worried about being judged? Is there anyone out there who hasn’t hit something ? The short answer is NO. If anyone claims that I’d have to seriously consider that they are either dishonest, inexperienced or just have a boat that never leaves the marina. I’ve seen sailing instructors with decades of experience bounce off a piling in a slip that is in a marina and on a boat they use EVERY DAY. I recently saw a video of an 20+ year owner of a sailing magazine with several licensed Captains on board hit a dock with ZERO fenders out. It is a part of the risk you accept when you venture out onto an ever changing, sometimes unpredictable liquid surface and inject an object that is designed to be moved by the wind and currents with limited means of propulsion or resistance to those forces.
I have certainly been a victim of this particular neurosis. I originally believed that once I experienced a few bumps and jolts that the contemporaneous and lasting feelings of stress and despair would dissipate…..I was wrong, but I am recovering.
My first experience was in Charleston, SC. I had enjoyed almost a week of (mostly) very successful docking and un-docking maneuvers, mooring ball arrivals and general navigational successes. We had purchased our boat about 6 months prior and were attempting our first long distance (460nm) trip to our home slip in North Carolina. I may have become a little cocky. We had spent the night and were planning to take on some diesel prior to our departure. The fuel dock was about 400′ down a fairway (some call it the fuel alley) lined with powerboats, …(cue the ominous music). I pulled away from the transient dock and made a large turn in the channel so I could be centered as I entered the fairway. It was necessary to move slightly to starboard in order to make the turn and come alongside the fuel dock. There was only about 60′ open to get our 44′ boat into…I was worried. I was using the pilings as points of reference for my course. About halfway down the fairway I began to drift to starboard in preparation for the turn to port. Just as I was starting my turn to port I heard the dock hand call out “watch your stern”. My heart sank as our dinghy transom caught the bow pulpit of a power boat that was hanging about 5′ beyond the line of the pilings and out of the slip where they were docked. I had been focusing on the pilings hadn’t noticed how far this particular boat extended into the fairway. There was quite a clang….the dinghy swung violently as I eased the helm to center and then back to port once we cleared the pulpit. The remainder of the docking was uneventful. The dock hand went over and inspected the power boat for damage and thankfully reported none. The woman who owned the boat was on board with her mother and her daughter. They were very, very nice and understanding. She also told me it was the fifth time their boat had been struck!!! She had asked to be moved out of the fuel alley due to the length of their boat and that hopefully this incident would make that move a reality. She was the polar opposite of what I would have expected from someone jolted awake by a loud clang that wasn’t her fault. Fortunately, “that guy” wasn’t around.
How do we address this and reduce our stress?
1. Have a plan for each docking and un-docking, discuss it.
2. be familiar with the “pivot point” of your particular boat.
3. We have found that communications is essential so we currently use Motorola waterproof handheld FRS radios with voice activated headsets. They have been fantastic. We are considering upgrading to some even nicer ones, these take a second or two to activate the microphone but have proven to be very valuable.
4. Have backup hand signals.
5. Put out too many fenders….put some on the non dock side as well…just in case you have to change your docking plans from port to starboard or vice verse.
6. Control your speed…just enough to maintain steerage will reduce any damage in the event of a collision. About 1kt is all we need. Also, try and stop just after entering any area (basin,marina) to see how the wind and current is affecting your boat in that environment.
7. Have a “roving fender” or boat hook equipped crew member on deck to fend off.
8. Have predetermined and thoroughly understood throttle/rudder descriptions for the amount, direction and duration of their use.
9. Have a “bailout” plan if things go wrong, the wind or current changes, increases or some other unforeseen incident takes place…(boats always seem to arrive and depart unexpectedly when we dock)
This is a great seminar I like to watch regularly as a refresher….(credit to the Maryland School of Sailing)
As always comments, feedback and personal stories are welcome….Don’t forget to follow us!!! Thanks
While writing this blog, I hope to be honest about the occurrences and emotions we experience during the ups and downs of our journey. Some of these, I understand, may not paint me in the best light or make me look like the most skilled or adaptable sailor…but what good is this blog of our journey without honesty? It seems that, in this day and age, too many people are concerned about sharing their failures and foibles for fear that no one will take them seriously or respect their opinions. If anyone pretends to have never had a bad day, an oops moment, a low speed (or high speed) dock collision or a “duh” day….they, in my opinion, are more worried about their image or reputation than they are about making sure others are comfortable learning as we all do….by making mistakes.
When you own, or are living on a boat of any kind, backups to your systems are not the same as they are on land. If your furnace at your house goes out, just grab a space heater at Home Depot, turn on the fireplace or stay with a neighbor for a day or two. On a boat, you are extremely dependent on your hardware to keep you “afloat” both literally, figuratively and at times, more importantly, emotionally. A failure of emotional confidence can end a cruising or boating dream as fast as any real failure of gear.
Your feelings and confidence in your floating home are as crucial as the reality of the condition of your boat. If you don’t have a fair amount of confidence in your boat and your abilities to maintain and care for your systems you’ll be less likely to take that trip, venture into (or out of) that inlet, brave that rough sea or drop anchor in a rough or unfamiliar anchorage. I, for one, have experienced the feeling of depression and failure that comes with a perceived breakage or ruination of a system or major on board component. These feelings can be exacerbated when they happen in a series, potentially costing you a lot of money and time especially if you are on a tight cruising/boat budget. Do not despair!!!
Recently, while performing some maintenance on our boat and patchwork on our dinghy (that’s another story about why the dinghy needed patching) and removing a damaged…(haha!! to call this sail “damaged” is an extreme understatement….let’s just call it a destroyed or shredded) sail….(yet another story)…. we had a power failure to our inverter and charging system. I was caught completely off guard by this failure and after having recently replaced our house batteries (which set us back about $1500) I was literally inconsolable when I thought our $1800 inverter now needed to be replaced. This was on top of not knowing if our $3500 dinghy was going to require replacement and losing a $1000 sail to a random windstorm. Our particular inverter unit is an OLD Trace U2512SB inverter/charger (so old that I couldn’t find anyone at Trace/Xantrex tech support that worked there when this unit was being sold……it will probably need to be replaced in the next few years (fingers crossed that it lasts longer) but now is not a good time for that. I started with the simple things…check the on/off switch, check the built in breaker, check the shore power connection at the boat and on shore, check the shore power breaker and yet nothing obvious presented itself. I, mistakenly, began to assume the worst….a bad idea when dealing with boat systems. Take my advice and don’t fall into this trap.
So, we went to dinner and had a good time, despite the fact we were Googling every inverter manual and troubleshooting guide we could find during our meal. We found no answers that made me feel any better during dinner. We returned to the boat and while I was taking a look at our dinghy patch job, I noticed the smallest gap in the shore power cord and the 110v pigtail connection that was plugged into the dock outlet…despite the fact that these components have locking tabs, a separate locking collar and the power indicating light was on….. they were loose….I reconnected them and all was functioning normally……duh. So much for ruining our dinner by worrying about it.
The lesson I learned from what will forever be known as the dinghy/house battery/inverter debacle is that just because things look or feel like they are failing all around you does not mean that they are. Don’t get discouraged. Sure, at times, things might “pile on” and your dream will feel as if it has been skewered on the petard of abject failure and bad luck, but don’t assume the worst or give in to that mindset. A little patience (and luck) will go a long way to making your dream a reality. HANG IN THERE!!!
