Confident or Crazy?

When I first started posting about my trip plans, Barbara Drennen (a cousin) asked if I had solo sailing experience. I guess the answer is no and yes.

Remember that I grew up on boats, and Cathy and I had boats our whole married life.

So, for the last 50+ years, I wasn’t saying solo; I always had someone with me – Cathy. But, she always trusted me to plan the routes and captain the boat. She was happy to help with other tasks (handling the lines, etc.) but she was happy to let me be the captain.

So for all these years, I have always felt the responsibility of command. Not to over-dramatize it, but to plan the route, make the right decisions, and get us to the next destination safely.

I believe that the MOST IMPORTANT role Cathy played was as observer – we always ensured that our boats had a seat for her right next to mine, because she was constantly on the lookout for other boats or hazards. She was also always there for advice and consultation.

The new boat, however, has increased my confidence that I can go solo:
– It has auto-pilot, so that I can set a course and then spend the travel time on the lookout as Cathy used to do
– The auto-pilot means driving is much less stressful
– Bow and stern thrusters mean I don’t need Cathy’s help to guide Freedom into a slip.
– Freedom is a heavy, well-built boat that can handle wind and waves.
– And of course it has a chart plotter (GPS), depth sounder and radar.

My only real SOLO experience was bringing Freedom down alone (with Guinness, of course) from Nantucket. It took two weeks. There were several spots where we were out of the sight of land, relying entirely on instruments. We dodged a hurricane simply by holing up in a protected marina, and we became proficient at planning and executing each day’s trip. We got in and out of multiple harbors and multiple docking situations. We also encountered some very sloppy seas on Buzzards Bay, and she handled herself admirably. Not bad weather – we don’t go out in bad weather, but it often blows 25 knots on Buzzard’s Bay.

The Nantucket trip turned out to be the shakedown cruise, and it increased my confidence in the boat and my ability to handle her.

Importantly, I also realized the importance of careful planning; perhaps we’ll talk more about that in our next few posts.