Some people seem to sail small cats alone out on the ocean, others seem to use the buddy system even on smallish inland lakes.

When is it safe to sail one boat with one or two people on it, without buddying up with another boat?

Is this ever safe on the ocean? On a sound like the Pamlico Sound? Only when you use certain precautions? Never? Only with a skyhook?

Jonathan

This is just one sailor speaking, but here's my philosophy: I don't race offshore (or much of any non-closed-course) singlehanded. Additionally, I don't sail any distance singlehanded (out of the sight of buddies) if conditions are such that I may not wash up on dry land, even if unconscious, before the onset of severe hypothermia. I had a Nacra 5.5u for a year, which I loved, but I wanted to race offshore...so I had a chance to pick up a P19 for a good price and did so. I really miss sailing a boat designed for one, but oh well...that's my philosophy, and I love racing offshore. In a year or two, my brother and I will get an I-20...


sail fast (and safe)

Jonathan,

Good question, but the answer can get pretty complex. Certainly there are a lot of folks who sail without the company of other boats, as well as the many singlehanded racers who take on challenging waters such as the Southern Ocean. Whether it be Open 60's or Waves, I think that safety boils down to a hierarchy of four basic factors:

1) [color:"blue"]Judgement[/color]
This is the most important. Based on experience, good judgement allows us weigh factors such as the body of water we'll be sailing, current conditions, predicted conditions, boat capabilities, sailing skills, etc. and determine if they all compute to a level of acceptable risk.

2) [color:"blue"]Skills[/color]
This is a measure of our ability to sail the boat in a variety of conditions.

3) [color:"blue"]Recovery[/color]
How well can the boat/sailor recover from a capsize?

4) [color:"blue"]Signalling[/color]
When all else fails, what means do we have to bring in outside assistance?

I usually refer to these factors as our "Rings of Defense". First and foremost is good judgement. It is what keeps us from getting out into water/wind that exceed our skills and equipment. If judgement fails, however, we have to rely on a solid skills base to try and keep the stick pointing toward the sky. If skills fail, we rely on our capsize recovery techniques to get the boat back on its feet. Finally, if all else fails, we turn to signalling devices (EPIRB, VHF, flares, etc.) to try and bring outside assistance.

I'm sure that this thread will stimulate a lot of discussion, so I will keep my comments to these basic thoughts (for now).

Cheers,

It would be silly to have a boat for recreational use if you could not use it without having to always find another boat to go with you. There are just certain conditions when it is safer to have other boats around -- like cold weather/water, strong winds, threatening conditions, sailing on open water with an offshore wind.....

But even in the best of conditions it is important to let somebody on shore know the general area where you will be sailing and approximately when you will be back to shore. If you can't make it back by your target time, it is nice if you have a cell phone on the boat so you can call your contact person and let them know that you are becalmed or whatever, so they don't call out the Coast Guard to search for you.

The thing I love most about sailing is being alone on my boat and alone on the water. But when I am sailing my Hobie Wave on our sound, I tell someone how long I plan to be gone and I try to stay within a line of sight from our dock. When I am alone on the boat, I also tether myself to the boat in case I fall overboard, because becoming separated from the boat is a major concern when singlehanding.

Kevin,
Excellent answer to the post.

In my case, I almost always sail solo because it's not always that easy to come up with crew. Plus, I like being alone 'cause the boat is faster!

I sail in Socal, generally out of local harbors on the ocean. I keep within a reasonable distance to the sand, never out of sight of anything. If the wind is strong, I'll opt for inside the harbor or just slightly ducking in and out of the entrance, playing the puffs and swell. Did that in Ventura one day and had a blast doing reaches in a close enough area to feel safe, despite heavy winds and seas.

Think of your worst case scenarios and figure out how to mitigate them.

Sheldon
P-18

In my opinion thinking you are safe on a catamaran is like saying I know the gun isn't loaded. You are only as safe as whats surrounding you allows you to be. Here the weather can change with almost zero warning. If you haven't sailed in a storm or a serious blow then you don't belong offshore. If you are going to tether your self make sure you have a knife strapped to you to free yourself. Also make sure it goes around your chest and not your waist. Watch how well your main comes down everytime. If it snags find out where and fix it before you go out next. If you haven't righted your boat singlehanded; find out if you can. If you don't have a bag of spare everything and a tool to install it get one. If you are going to have a contact person on shore make sure they want to do it and understand its important they keep the phone with them turned on and the battery charged. Have a yellow life jacket. Carry some water and energy bars in case you have to spend the night away. Carry a compass as well as the normal survival gear.

There's bound to be more...

thom

I live in the Virgin isalnds and sail an FX-One so Im solo pretty much all the time....I sail in a reef protected bay or in a channel between Buck island and St Croix ....when its really blowin and nobody else is out I will stay in the bay...good wind and the sea isnt too big I will go into the channel...theres always somebody out on the water around the island......

Besides taking into considerations all of the points above (weather, experience, location, etc...) a solo sailor needs to carry the proper safety equipment. You should really make the effort to have most, if not all of these items:
VHF Radio (in waterproof bag)
Cell phone (in waterproof bag)
GPS (Tell help where to come get you)
Knife (on lifevest)
Whistle (on lifevest)
Small first aid kit.
Light sticks
Anchor
Righting pole (helps conserve strength while righting)
Towing insurance
Flares
Duct tape
Towing rope

In the past few years we have seen sailors drown under sails and rigging and die from hypothermia while sitting on an overturned cat. You should always wear your lifevest while sailing solo. All of this gear can be purchased for under $500. a small price to pay for insurance if something goes bad.
Earlier this summer I had a dismasting while racing with our club. Although I was in protected water with other sailors I could have just as easily been out 5 miles in the gulf that day.
A little bit of preparation can save a lot of grief or prevent a tragedy.

One thing I've come to accept after a lot of time on large lakes and oceans is that you must never go out with the thought, "If I get in trouble, someone will save me." This is especially true if conditions are rough.

It has become more and more common, in these times of rapid technological advances and cool gadgets, for inexperienced folks to head for the great outdoors with an array of computer chip-laden products that'll keep the credit card/debt management companies in business for years to come. In the back of the mind, those hapless folks may be thinking, "I won't get lost because I've got this GPS," or "If I get into trouble, I'll just call for help on my VHF or cell phone."

While there will always be the heroes who risk their lives when others are in trouble, you just can’t let that enter into your thinking when it comes to the decision of, “Do I go out there today?” The mindset should always be one of self-reliance. Use good judgment before setting sail, and be prepared to get out of any situation on your own.

Earlier this year, my wife and I were sailing our N6.0 on the “broad lake” section of Lake Champlain. (The large middle section of the lake, with a north/south fetch that stretches to 70 miles of the lake’s 120 mile length.) South winds were blowing steady at 25 to 30 knots (Force 7). A steep breaking chop rolled through at four to five feet, with crests being blown off into long streaks of foam. When sailing five miles from shore, it had the distinct feeling of a survival situation. (Quite often the aft 3 to 5 feet of the leeward hull was the only part of the boat touching the water.) Friends of ours were sailing their N5.8 behind us. Other sailboats on the lake were heavily reefed with rails buried. My wife and I realized that if we got knocked down, there wasn’t much our friends could have done except notify the Coast Guard once they made it to shore.

Back on the beach, we took the time to run through scenarios of what could have been. We both agreed that assistance from another boat was not something we would count on. (The few boats that were out there were having challenges of their own.)

I don’t intend to downplay the importance of leaving a float plan with a reliable person, or carrying appropriate signaling devices, etc. I just want to stress that calling in outside assistance should always be considered your weakest defense. Good judgment, sailing skills, and the ability to recover from a capsize are much more important than the gadgets that are tucked into your boat or PFD.

Except for the trouble of getting out through heavy Atlantic surf unassisted, I enjoy sailing my H16 (w/jib) solo. With or without crew or passengers, I do not customarily "push the envelope" by flying hulls (or even cleating the mainsheet). At 6' 1" & 225-230 lbs., I have been able to right my boat alone (but not easily!). In high winds or rough seas, I never risk going out alone. I have been fortunate enough to have had at least one other adult with me during most of my capsizing events, and I have not yet capsized with children aboard.

However, I frequently do take out my own kids and my nieces and nephews, ages 5 to 15 years old. Everyone wears appropriate floatation devices. If I have young children on board, I never sail as a "solo" adult, even with calm seas or on a lake. If I capsize alone and have problems, I have only myself to worry about. On the other hand, while it might be possible for me to take the time needed to position my boat for a solo righting, while also ensuring the safety of young (likely frightened, hopefully unhurt) prior passengers now bobbing around in the ocean, I would prefer never having to find this out.

Whenever I sail with young children, I use a child:adult ratio of 1:1. I consider sailing-experienced teenagers as adults. So my old Hobie often sails with 3 adults and 3 kids aboard--and it still sails great!


Mark
1976 H16 sail # 19857

It seems like no one has thought of the sinario of loosing contact with the boat. If a trapeze wire breaks or you capsize and for what ever reason loose grip of the mainsheet or any other part of the boat, it will blow away without you faster than you can swim. On large cats you will still need that second person to help you right it.

We never sail without a rescue boat or many other boats in close proximaty because you never know when this could happen. A rig might also come down.

Once, in a 40 knot blow we capsized and my crew twisted 3 vertabre in his back. If it wasn't for an experience rescue boat on hand he may never have been recovered alive and I also would not have got the turtled boat back up myself.

I know sailing in 40 knots is crazy, but you never know when it will happen to you. I have also seen guys badly injured in less than 10 knots.

Sailing, even in extreems is fun but never risk you life in doing so. Always make sure there is assistance on hand in a hurry if the absolute worst happens.

Regards
Stephen Medwell
Team Tornado 'ALIVE'
AUS-260
www.tornadoalive.com

Sailing solo in a Beach Cat, from my frame of reference - retired US Freestyle/Extreme Ski Competitor/Coach of 30 years - is tremendously similar to any sport endeavor which exemplifies man's propensity to continually challenge himself, and in doing so, engage in life threatening practices. All the questions, as well as the answers are very familiar to me, and are appropriate to most of the challenges I have readily accepted over the years. Whether ice climbing in Vermont's intense mountain "notches, or the "canyons" of the Wasatch range of Utah, skiing the desolate snowy and avalanche prone peaks of the Tetons, trekking by horseback across the desert wastes of Nevada, climbing to and skiing the glaciers of "grizzly" country Montana, Hobie sailing the Great Salt Lake, and the vast Florida Bay, flying hulls in the Gulf Steam, surfing the "closed out" beaches of the Hawaiin Islands, passagemaking the largest wooden schooners of old across the Pacific depths, or even riding the old Harley chopper into the bandito infested regions of Mexico, I inevitably find myself alone. At least, for me, this seems to provide the ultimate in challenge and concomitant satisfaction. I always believe that there truly exists the possibilty that I may not return from any of these sorts of adventures. My only practiced safeguard is that I go to great pains to ensure that no other being is adversely affected in any way by my actions. In doing so, I at least have the satisfaction of knowing truly that I am doing exactly what I want, am capable of, desire, and which makes me happy.
Therein lies my only justification for such blatant disregard of the omnipotent forces of nature.