Preparing for the High Seas

Just about everyone in Australia knows about the disaster and tragic loss of life that cursed the famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht race in 1998. And many remember the graphic TV coverage of the amazing rescue by the Australian Navy, of Tony Bullimore from his capsized yacht in the Southern Ocean when he was sailing the Vendee Solo Round the World race in 1997. These horror stories can make one regard the Ocean as a terribly dangerous place and ocean sailing as madness - indeed I think that is probably most peoples perception of it. In reality of course, thousands of sailors have criss-crossed the oceans of the world with little or no trouble, just as mountains have been scaled, motor races won, parachute jumps made and all manner of other risky endeavours undertaken without adverse outcome. Nevertheless probably every worthwhile human endeavour that involves an element of risk has claimed a few lives. Sailing is no different - and remember even sitting at home getting fat and depressed about an inactive mundane existence results in many premature deaths, maybe even more than sailing! I know what I would prefer to be doing!

The challenge for the ocean sailor, as it is for every adventurer is to be aware of the dangers and to anticipate what problems my be encountered along the way, to adopt strategies that minimise risk and be as well prepared as possible to meet them. And this is what I have been trying to do for the last couple of years, preparing myself and preparing Sapphire, trying to transform her from a coastal sailboat into what my friend Laurence called a "Pocket Cruiser". Its a really interesting challenge, because reading about what other sailors have done one learns quickly that there is no one easy solution that fits all- every sailor has to decide what level of risk is acceptable and what his budget will allow. Would it necessarily be ideal to have a brand new boat with the latest of every possible piece of equipment on board - or would you need two of everything ? And whose to say what the ideal length is for an ocean cruising yacht - 34 feet or 54 feet ? Or something even bigger - or smaller? The answer is that it all depends. It all depends on what you decide is important - I frequently heard people say a faster boat was better because if bad weather was approaching you had a better chance of getting out of its way. On the other hand the design of older slower boats often means they are more seaworthy in heavy weather. If budget is a limiting factor - and lets face it the only two people on earth for whom that is not a consideration are Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli ( BMW Oracle and Alinghi ) then all kinds of interesting compromises have to be made.

My own personal "programme" is ongoing, as I learn every time I get out on the water. But I also continue to read widely, and talk to anyone I can about their experiences and their solutions to problems, their advice and tips. In addition, I have been to three seperate courses to gain additional specialised knowledge, the first of which was the Marine Radio Operators Course. The course was a weekend day long series of lectures on everything from Power Supplies ( without which the radio doesnt work!) to practicing making a MayDay call on a VHF Radio, to learning about the physics of radio waves that makes HF radio possible. A few days later we sat our test and this time I passed, 98% !

The next course I attended was the Safety of Life at Sea course, which is run from various Sailing Schools. This was a wonderfully informative and relevant combination of theory and practice, delivered by a guy called Gerry Fitzgerald, a man with vast ocean sailing experience and a huge store of anecdotes and wisdom to share. You get to fire off Flares, you inflate a life raft and spend a couple of hours in a pool learning about survival in water. This course is an absolute must.

The other course I attended was about Diesel engine maintenance run by Marine Stainless in Sydney. You learn about the way diesels work and are cooled, about the various bits that need watching, and about what spares and tools you ought to keep handy. Since doing it Ive felt less intimidated by the motor in Sapphire and one day, inspected the impeller without incident! Soon I'll change the oil. The only other thing Ive been trying to do to prepare myself is some exercise to try and stay fit. I had a rowing machione for a couple of months but now I go everywhere on a push bike.

My next Blogs will be about what Ive done to Sapphire.