Who is a 'bluewater skipper'? What is 'bluewater preparation'?

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by Chotu

There is no joke to be made about you teal/grey-blue sailors. So, sorry to say, you didn’t make the cut! LOL You are the majority. You were supposed to laugh at the oddball color sailors in my list. But I guess I stink at comedy. I’ll sticks to the facts, sir.

I laughed! I laughed!!

But I felt left out.

How about: Beige-water sailors set out on a long passage but start jonesing for mai-tais at sundown and duck into the nearest port.

[Dougtiff]

Hear, Hear.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by ChrisJHC

Recently I’ve found dehydrated mashed potato to be the go.
Simply add hot water and it goes with a wide range of things.

That hot water can come out of a faucet, and a few times, when things were difficult, i just used room temperature water, on the theory that potatoes dont have to be hot.

[PaulvR]

We did this just the other day chaps.....

Coastal sailing , in my experience of South Africa and South America, is way more stressful and challenging than blue water sailing. This is because of a combination of the following....nasty bricks, nasty shoals , nasty currents, nasty weather and changing weather and fog, nasty fishing vessels, nasty currents, shipping....mostly due to the juxtaposition of two large masses , land and water , with very differing specific heat capacities, and the propensity for ocean currents and shipping to converge and swirl on points and Capes....etc.

Blue water sailing is WAY MORE RELAXING, even in heavy weather in my experience.....Things to learn for Blue Water prep? Wind Vane, Chafe Gear, Heaving to, stowage, galley, spray dodger efficacy........

Any boat going 5 miles offshore (OK 10, or 20!) in my view, i.e. not a day sailor or dingy, is effectively at sea and ought to be prepped accordingly.

[dbraymer]

I can contribute a single thought from my various "safety and the ocean" crew preparation gatherings prior to various week long sailings:

"We can discuss politics and religion, but no yelling and no hitting. But I will tell you this; if we are out in the middle of nowhere, 100 miles from any land, nothing but water from every viewpoint, and you do not feel a sense of HUMILITY for the passage that we attempt, you should not be on my boat!"

In other words, crew preparation is equally as important as vessel preparation.

[jalmberg]

Originally Posted by beetle

It's a pretty simple definition in my book - coastal cruising means you can pick and choose the weather to move around in and plan to get back to a safe port if the weather deteriorates. Blue water sailing involves passage making when you can't call the weather and therefore have to contend with whatever comes your way.

Exactly. A Bluewater boat is one that is ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at it, excepting maybe hurricanes. A Bluewater sailor is likewise ready for anything and smart enough to avoid hurricanes.

Does it have to be more complicated?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by jalmberg

Exactly. A Bluewater boat is one that is ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at it, excepting maybe hurricanes. A Bluewater sailor is likewise ready for anything and smart enough to avoid hurricanes.

Does it have to be more complicated?

I think it is a bit more complicated than that. A bluewater boat is as you say, but it is also one that is designed and built for longer-term self-sufficiency and operation. So tankage, storage space, deck layout, rig choice and design, sail compliment... all these things also contribute to being a bluewater boat.

[jalmberg]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I think it is a bit more complicated than that. A bluewater boat is as you say, but it is also one that is designed and built for longer-term self-sufficiency and operation. So tankage, storage space, deck layout, rig choice and design, sail compliment... all these things also contribute to being a bluewater boat.

Many of those factors will be different for different people, and for what they want to do with the boat. You don’t need a lot of tankage or storage to sail from the Chesapeake to Bermuda, for example, but you still need to be ready to handle any kind of weather. Deck layout, rig choice, sails… apart from being sound enough to handle any kind of weather, the rest is personal choice, in my opinion.

[sailorladd]

Well, that's quite a question, and could take some time to answer, but first let me shamelessly say that I wrote a book about building and sailing my boat virtually around the world, and I would humbly regard what I did was bluewater cruising.

"Days of Deja vu" describes why I did this and how I set about building the boat and vivid descriptions of what blue water cruising is to me...in my opinion.

When you take a boat several miles (usually) off the continental shelf of wherever you set sail, the ocean changes to a magnificent, clear, purple blue, color, emphasizing the alarming depth below ones fragile little boat!

It is very sobering to visualize what is between you and this unfathomable abyss....! Blue water cruising and skippering means that you, your boat and your crew (if you are not sailing solo, which I describe as well) are very well prepared to set sail and cross whole oceans if need be... fortunately there are usually islands and landfalls on the way most of the time, but a blue water cruiser should be able to spend a month or two at sea without sight of land ...

The longest I spent at sea was fifty days at sea, with my twin brother as crew, sailing between the Galapagos islands and Hawaii.. I have spent over a month at sea sailing alone during the winter, below the roaring forties off New Zealand, heading back to Hawaii alone. This to me was the ultimate blue water sailing and sailing against the trades added extra spice to the journey, but that is for another time amazon carry a variety of books that describe blue water sailing as well.....

[MicHughV]

I headed off when I was a youngster. So I think age is a relevant thing. In my 20's, I was fearless. I was also broke. I had little to no modern day conveniences, solar panels, fancy electronics, etc. I never needed them, didn't know about them and never missed them.

I had only an icebox. Ice lasted maybe a week, after that, you learn to drink warm beer.....and like it.

To me, it was the " adventure" of it. I never considered any of the " bluewater sailor" aspect.

I had no weather data sources, I would ask around, if I could, and just left and adapted to whatever was out there. If the wind was strong, I reefed. Pretty simple.
Weather is never constant, it can be bad one day and good the next.

Your modern cruiser has an array of electronics and gadgets. Groups of sailors will get together and analysis the weather from a multitude of sources, but never go anywhere due to information overload.

I think age is definitely a determining factor in my opinion, a lust for adventure. I had no health insurance, no boat insurance, etc, but also no worries.

[sailorladd]

I was in the "same boat" lol, young, impetuous, spontaneous, in the mid eighties when charts were on thick paper, navigation was with a sextant and mathematics, weather was gleaned from an SSB receiver or friends at anchorages, or the alarming drop of the catgut barometer!

I couldn't agree more with MicHughV, youth certainly adds fuel to the blue water cruise, and I totally agree that the modern (young) sailor relies WAY too much on electronics and handheld computers, fancy doodads that manufacturers insist are "necessary" items to include in your boat and well being. I too had no refrigerator, no anchor winch, only had a marine VHF radio and SSB receiver... paraffin lamps down below, and masthead nav tricolor on top of the mast...sea water showers on the coach roof, (no more tears baby shampoo works well with salt water rinse off with a cup of precious fresh water afterwards.. This spartan living and unknown future was the essence of adventure and indeed "Blue water" sailing...

[MicHughV]

just finished reading your response....

ha ha, for a moment, I thought it was me that wrote it..word for word, almost exactly my experience..

[rotrax]

First Mate and I came to sailing late. Not boating, but sailing.


We both love travel, our previous careers as Motorcycle Racers gave plenty of travel, that is for sure.


I crossed the English Channel several times - perhaps eight in all - between Gosport and Cherbourg/Alderney St Peter Port with just a chart and compass. Between 80 and 120 NM's, depending on exact starting point/destination.


My mate tim was on the last dark watch one time, day was breaking as Braye Breakwater came into sight. He called down the companionway " You jammy bugger! We are bang on the Harbour entrance! How did you know what course to steer with the tide change being so big? "


I flannelled a bit, but in reallity I gave a massive correction West so we had no chance of being washed into the Raz Blanchard. If we did go too far West, we would be up tide and upwind, so no disaster. And no chance of getting in the Alderney Race, the English name.


As it happened, I fluked it


Since then we regularly cross the 150 NM's of the Irish Sea, taking up to 36 hours. Now, with a modern plotter, AIS, radar and other good stuff.


The Irish Sea is a desolate and lonely place.


The weather forcasts are studied hard!


Tom Cunliffe once said " If you can sail in the English Channel you will be able to sail anywhere! "


I think he is right.

[MicHughV]

I used "Joy" liquid dish soap for my showers..baby shampoo being a bit too fancy for me.., but the "Joy' sudsed up remarkably well in sea water..

Off course, all my sails were hank on, no roller furler for me. I used to "hunt down" rain storms, so as to wash the salt crud of the deck, bowsprit, sails, etc, and also get a fresh shower.

Learned to drink warm rum and coke too

[philiosophy]

DUMB LUCK is certainly one element of a successful "Blue Water Sailor". Depending on always having it might give you the blues. Mostly I would say a Blue Water Sailor is something learned over time...Time spent actually doing it. Continually learning from yours and others experience.
As too quick and easy hot food in a crossing. I like Top Ramen with a can of Tuna and some frozen peas or corn in it. For crossings there is always lots of Onions.
All needs to happen now is Covid to settle down and let us get back cruising...........