Sailing Couples - Redundancy in Skills

[Kettlewell]

One thing I do is to label various things onboard, both as a reminder to me and in case someone else needs to take over who is not as familiar with things. For example, I have an instruction label next to the GPS with the steps to mark a MOB position. My battery switches are labeled. The engine start and stop procedures have labels. The battery cables and fuses are labeled. Etc. Thinking back I now recall a couple of instances of people I knew being severely injured onboard, but the other crew took over and brought the boat in and/or help was able to reach them.

[thomm225]

Still, if your wife or crew can sail the boat, they should be able to get home or to the nearest port.

Knowing how to navigate by sextant if well offshore also might come in handy.

This is what Tami Oldham Ashcraft did after her fiance was lost overboard during a hurricane.

She had to sail 1500 miles alone with no electronics and no main mast which took 41 days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Oldham_Ashcraft

https://allthatsinteresting.com/tami-oldham-ashcraft

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Knowing how to navigate by sextant if well offshore also might come in handy.

This is what Tami Oldham Ashcraft did after her fiance was lost overboard during a hurricane.

This is a tall order nowadays, not so much in 1983. I have used a sextant but confess I would have to get out the books, find the almanac (which is digital). Given the availability of nav aides today we would probably relay on our emergency hand held GPS with spare batteries, this is in addition to the 11 GPS's I counted on-board, fixed instruments, phones, tablets, watches even. Doesn't account for the recent bouts of jamming should that occur at the same time and place.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Iron E

Among the sailing couples here, how many of you feel confident that both partners possess the skills necessary to safely bring the boat to port if something were to happen to the other?

My Wife would be very hard pressed in even the most benign conditions.

Yet, sometimes she surprises me.

There is:
What she knows
What she lets in she knows
What she dosen’t know she knows

If that makes sense to you then you are less confused than I.

All that said, we live aboard for extended periods, on the hook, and have done two 13 day open water passages.

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Still, if your wife or crew can sail the boat, they should be able to get home or to the nearest port.

Knowing how to navigate by sextant if well offshore also might come in handy.

This is what Tami Oldham Ashcraft did after her fiance was lost overboard during a hurricane.

She had to sail 1500 miles alone with no electronics and no main mast which took 41 days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tami_Oldham_Ashcraft

https://allthatsinteresting.com/tami-oldham-ashcraft

In 1983, I was using Loran C and knew a small bit of Celestial Nav, though almost all of my navigation was done by charts and compass.
I can't picture ever needing a sextant today.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Tupaia

This is a tall order nowadays, not so much in 1983. I have used a sextant but confess I would have to get out the books, find the almanac (which is digital). Given the availability of nav aides today we would probably relay on our emergency hand held GPS with spare batteries, this is in addition to the 11 GPS's I counted on-board, fixed instruments, phones, tablets, watches even. Doesn't account for the recent bouts of jamming should that occur at the same time and place.

I have a Davis Mark 3 Sextant onboard and could possibly get close on at least Latitude if needed and then guesstimate on longitude.

I think Tami Ashcroft's main concern finding Hawaii was Latitude as she knew she would need to head West after reaching that correct Latitude. She was concerned though if she had done the sites correctly so continued to do those.

The movie skips all that, but it's in the book which is quite good.

Red Sky in Mourning: The True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/red-sk...dition=1933013

As far as GPS, I have 4 onboard. (plus 2 Suunto Handheld Compasses)

[JPA Cate]

I can't picture ever needing a sextant today.

Last time we used ours was to watch a solar eclipse, for the filters.

Ann

[thomm225]

I use mine to verify our Sun angle of around 77 degrees noon site during the Summer Solstice and at other major Sun points throughout the year.

It's sort of fun to play with.

If I ever sail longer distances than 100 miles or so at a time in one direction, I'm thinking it would be a fun project learning celestial navigation and comparing that to your GPS.

It would also give you something productive to do during those long and boring passages.

[JPA Cate]

Long and boring passages? I've had long ones, but not been bored. It's hard to be bored when you're seasick. I guess I don't require a whole lot of external stimulation, and am content to watch for traffic, log bird sightings, check the meat line, and of course, I have Jim for company. It is a huge change, though, from land life, and something I liked is that all you have to do is take care of yourselves and pay attention to the weather, like a great weight has been lifted from one's shoulders. If you enjoy solitude, you'd probably enjoy ocean passages away from the land. For our singlehander friends, it is the approach to land at the end of passages that is stressful, so much more to watch out for.

Ann

[thomm225]

Near land is not stressful for me (locally and in places I have lived along the ocean or Gulf) since I have done that on boats since age 16.

I did a day sail on Saturday of 48 miles, and I was not in sailing shape. It was a great workout though. Got a sun burn also. I don't have a bimini.

Was planning to anchor 20 miles from home but since the wind was near 20 knots and was a reach to close reach, I turned and sailed home thinking the whole time about the power boat I would buy after selling my Bristol 27.

Sailed out about 15 miles into the ocean, and it was very nice. First 2 hours there was almost no wind then it came in and cranked up to 20 knots plus.

Sailed out over the Southern tunnel Virginia beach side, and reentered the Bay under the high rise bridge section Eastern Shore side. then turned for home ......VA Beach/Norfolk on this day. (home is on the Eastern Shore side.)

New tunnel is under construction at this time also.

https://www.wtkr.com/transportation/...-bridge-tunnel

When I went forward to lower the main, I almost fell overboard due to slick decks.

Just ordered some EZ-Poxy non-skid so guess I'll keep the boat until deciding to sell again on my next trip when I anchor out and don't sleep well.

I figure the only way to get used to sleeping on the boat is to stay on it for a couple weeks which will occur after I retire in a year or so at 70 plus.

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Iron E, no problem on our yacht. The kids and wife make it well known if I want to be grumpy bugger then they can happily leave me on the beach, and I can make my own way home.
The wife and I now have the issue of our 17-year-old son wanting to borrow the yacht for the weekend. We have been avoiding the issue so far......
Cheers

I never had the opportunity to borrow my dad’s boat, but I am sure he would have let me borrow it after my age reached double figures. 😂 unfortunately we didn’t have a boat at that age for a good few years. Once when I was about 5 or 6, he had to swim out to sea after me as I took the dingy for a row off a beach with permission only I spotted a friends house in the distance, and was off to see him, thinking about it now it must have been a close call on needing the authorities for a rescue.

my wife would know about just enough to start the engine and point it in the right direction, and know how to press the DSC if the need should ever arise.

I guess if that ever happens that fact the sails would be destroyed would be the least of my worries.

[Pcpete]

Another powerboater here. Some years ago my Yacht Club ran a series of classes called “Suddenly In Command” where the focus was making sure that should the skipper be incapacitated the crew had the skills to get home safely.
The course included a destination cruise-in where positions were rotated and the “First Mate” would navigate the boat slip to slip for the entire trip.

[gulfislandfred]

I'm a single hander, and an inland cruiser, mostly in sheltered waters. I can sail and motor my boat by myself. (I sometimes think of the auto pilot as crew)

I probably have guests or crew aboard half the time.
Guests are friends who don't have much experience on boats. Sometimes they're eager to learn, sometimes not. I've invited them along, to enjoy their company, with no expectations.
Crew are friends with varying degrees of competence. Some are invited because I want/need help with particular tasks, like taking a watch on the wheel, rigging some different gear, or sail handling if wind is predicted.
I pretty much always run the boat when we leave or return to a dock.

I had eye surgery a month ago. In order to recover well, I am limited in how much I can lift or pull. I have invited friends to come along on day sails (no overnights until I'm fully recovered). My only qualification for these folks is that they will take instructions, and can lift and pull as needed.


If I become incapacitated, with some of these folks aboard, it would be the same as if I was alone. With some, they could take over, and bring the boat to dock as well as I could.

[pbmaise]

I seem to have a knack for picking a romantic partner who gets seasick. So my question is going forward...how do you broach the subject of getting seasick on the first date?

[Iron E]

Originally Posted by pbmaise

I seem to have a knack for picking a romantic partner who gets seasick. So my question is going forward...how do you broach the subject of getting seasick on the first date?

Pick an easy and calm day to introduce sailing. Don't overdo it... a few hours is fine.

I introduced my girlfriend to sailing on a beautiful spring afternoon. There were light breezes and gentle seas for a couple of hours. We then headed back and ate a dinner I prepared. I married her one year later, 25 years ago.