Sailing questions from a novelist

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

and just a thought: sailors love to read stories about ships and boats and adventures and storms, but, please know, for us, authenticity is fundamental. it is a total turn-off for us when the info is wrong, when it doesn't happen that way.

for this reason, i suggest that you ask a seasoned and knowledgeable sailor (lots here on CF!) to look over your transcript and make the needed changes.


hope this helps

wolfie

This is the most important part and the more technical you get, the more difficult it is.

Now, is there anyone other than me who wants to know the name of the boat in your novel so I don't book passage with them any time soon? Or, for that matter, ever?

[Snore]

First assuming an HR is disabled is a stretch. I have moved a few and they are built like the proverbial brick outhouse.

HR44’s have electric winches to drive the roller furling and I believe a deck hatch over the owners berth aft.

Suggest the owner is 200nm west of Azores becalmed and low on fuel (been there, done that). He has been sitting rocking for a few days and goes below to sleep in cabin with hatch open. Since he is not operating under license, he could have a drink or 5.

Large wave (breaching whale?) sends a wall of water that floods into aft hatch and floods batteries shorting them out.

No batteries means he could only sail using manual by-passes on winches. But after pumping out water and taking other actions to make boat seaworthy.

[Gadagirl]

And also.....the suggestions to watch the Redford movie "All is lost". Watch it for how not to be authentic. There's plenty of criticism about details and fantastical feats that don't match reality in that film. Read criticisms here and on other sailing forums.

[FantasyIsland]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

I'm with Boatie. +1

Oftentimes, bad weather [...]

Wow, thanks for all the detail and the movie recommendations. I never heard of the Redford film, but I think "Adrift" is where her partner turns out to be a ghost at the end? Definitely good references to check out.

I truly appreciate all the advice and responses on this forum. Very welcoming.

[rockborn]

Spoken like novice novelist

[hpeer]

Two rudders means the steering is somewhat complicated.

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/hallberg-rassy-44

Here is the instruction manual.

https://www.hallberg-rassy.com/filea...Manual-Eng.PDF

Warning!
When going astern, please make sure you are holding the wheel or tiller firmly with your hands! The rudder will give a huge kick to the wheel/tiller when going astern and if you do not hold the wheel or tiller well, damages will occur to the steering system.

See section on steering.

[FantasyIsland]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

as far as masts go, there are masts (deck-stepped masts) that actually sit right on the top of the boat (on the cabin top) and are held in place by those wires that go down on each side (shrouds). those wires can be very dangerous as they come down and swing around with the weight of the mast. someone could get very hurt, thrown overboard, lose a member, or killed.

if the seas are up, most will not try to recuperate a heavy, dragging mast that has fallen overboard, sometimes the shrouds must be cut quickly so to regain control of the boat. i've only seen one boat dismasted in the real: a deck-stepped kind that went overboard very quickly and thereafter recuperated

Good points. The boat I have in mind is a Hallberg-Rassy 44, which seems to have a deck-stepped mast, but I could be wrong. I've read that HR generally has a preference for deck-stepped masts for practical and aesthetic reasons.

Originally Posted by wolfgal

and just a thought: sailors love to read stories about ships and boats and adventures and storms, but, please know, for us, authenticity is fundamental. it is a total turn-off for us when the info is wrong, when it doesn't happen that way.

for this reason, i suggest that you ask a seasoned and knowledgeable sailor (lots here on CF!) to look over your transcript and make the needed changes.

Definitely. I try to research the hell out of things I'm unfamiliar with before writing about them. (So y'all will likely see more questions from me soon ) I think most readers appreciate a sense of authenticity, even if they're unfamiliar with the subject. We all hope that a writer knows what he or she is talking about. But there's a threshold: how much detail should be given without boring the non-sailor readers? That's the trick of it, and I've found knowing more than I need to know and understanding as much as possible is key to knowing what to include and (especially) what to leave out.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by boatman61

That's funny.. When I sailed NC to UK I went over the top of Bermuda to the Azores then NE to the UK.

But, didn't the Carolinians call you "wrong-way Phil"?

[FantasyIsland]

Originally Posted by rockborn

Spoken like novice novelist

Meaning...?

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by boatman61

That's funny.. When I sailed NC to UK I went over the top of Bermuda to the Azores then NE to the UK.

Boatie! You are a pain in the patootie!

Lest we forget, you are a Delivery Skipper! You sail anywhere, anytime - even in the "wrong" direction.

Stop being such a contrarian for entertainment value. Fantasylsland is attempting to accumulate some useful info to write something close-to-authentic.

Although, Fantasy, that might be the set-up for your storm or mishap... that they chose to sail Bermuda to Azores off-season...

LittleWing77

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Robert Redford's All is Lost
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2017038/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_16

We seriously thought this movie was a dark comedy, kind of like Fargo. We laughed all the way through it. And the ending was hilarious! I mean, who would do that? lol The other people in the theater kept looking back at us like we were being rude. Our sincere apologies, but the harder we tried to not laugh, the funnier it became.

If it wasn't meant to be a comedy, the writer did a great job of making everything unbelievable and the captain a complete idiot with poor decision making skills. Or perhaps it was supposed to be a subtle suicide mission? If so, the poor chap couldn't even get that right.

Watch it again from a comedy perspective. It's pretty funny!

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by FantasyIsland

Meaning...?

Write what you know.

[FantasyIsland]

Indeed. This isn't my first stop, folks. Why Bermuda to the Azores? This came recommended from other sources:

According to Cornell, as early as March and as late as mid-May there are reasonable chances of favourable south-easterly and south-westerly winds on leaving the Eastern Caribbean. The advice he offers is to track north-easterly towards the Azores and stay south of 30°N until 40°W.
Tortola in the British Virgin Islands or St Maarten are the most popular starting points – they are well positioned and good for provisioning, spares and repairs. But many crews make an intermediate stop in Bermuda [...]

Also...

Someone who has probably the most comprehensive overview of North Atlantic weather over 25 years is former SSB radio net controller and weather forecaster Herb Hilgenberg who, until he retired in 2013, operated a free forecasting and routeing service to cruisers as Southbound II.
The theory is that the low pressure systems tend to lie further south earlier in the season and if you go north you end up north of the Azores in headwinds. The more you move towards summer, the further north the lows lie and the bigger the Azores High so that you get lighter winds as you make your way towards the Azores. In July, some people might even be able to head straight to the UK.
For that reason, Hilgenberg says the best time to leave the Caribbean or Bermuda is May or June “or even early July if there are no developing tropical waves or hurricanes”.
Larger yachts and those with bigger crews may wish to go further north for a faster crossing – see the range of tracks taken by ARC Europe yachts (above). Bear in mind the average boat size on the rally was 47ft.
Hilgenberg tends to be cautious. “I advocate the southerly route to the Azores. I recommend that boats head east and stay south of 35°N until I see that nothing significant is developing,” he says. “You can stay at 32-33°N until a few days out from the Azores and then head north. I would not go north of the area north of 35°N or west of 45°W until June.”

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by GordMay

But, didn't the Carolinians call you "wrong-way Phil"?

No.. It was turn around Phil..
1st time Bad fuel led to no engine so had to sail back up the ditch to Oriental..
2nd time picked up sunken mooring when leaving Taylor's Creek led to bent prop shaft and need to sail up the ditch a second time to the yard to be lifted out so I could fit a new prop shaft.. takes ages to cut stainless steel with a Junior hacksaw blade..

[FantasyIsland]

Originally Posted by Sailor647

Write what you know.

Ah. An odd bit of cliched advice for lazy writers, ultimately limiting and unimaginative.

Better advice: expand what you know to write what you want.

(You can thank me when you've tried it. )