Sailing vs Motorhoming , parking up (1 Viewer)

[tinkertaylor]

It is obvious that we are approaching this discussion on sailing from very different ends of the spectrum i with my own boat in Greece for 30 years and you not wanting your own sailing boat.

On a general point about responsibility, which several posters have raised, maybe as an airline pilot I found it easier than others, in terms of planning, weather aspects and always having a diversion plan, i.e. the 'what if' approach to both flying and sailing.

Now I will deal with some specific points you raised :-

Anchoring stern-to in the Med is not impossible single-handed. I must have done it about 400 times over 30 years, and without an electric windlass - I had a line to the cockpit to release the clutch and a bungee to snub up.

In Greece the islands are quite close. I think the longest passage was 13 hours daytime in a F6/7. I hove-to for 15 mins. for lunch. Have you practised heaving-to? I did some night passages but usually short.

I had no problem having relaxed passengers who were happy to let me skipper the boat.

I have done no skippered charters - why would I when I had my own boat?

Were your 40 years of power boats cruising boats for long passages or just local use?

Suppose flying sort puts things in perspective on the stress front,.my instructor was a tornado pilot, he was chilled. Everyone has their own idea of fun and yours and mine are different.

Hove to in a.dinghy, for practice but never in anger/storm conditions.

Done loads of distance in various RIBs I have owned, 30 knott covers a fair amount of distance in a short time. Ireland and back in a day from.Neyland springs to mind,.outer hebrides as well, St kilda. What I cover in 8 hours you cover in 36 hours? I haven't got the time to do that,.work.

When I do Greece will be my destination, island hopping and staying on land overnight......in a power boat.

 

[nicholsong]

Suppose flying sort puts things in perspective on the stress front,.my instructor was a tornado pilot, he was chilled. Everyone has their own idea of fun and yours and mine are different.

Hove to in a.dinghy, for practice but never in anger/storm conditions.

Done loads of distance in various RIBs I have owned, 30 knott covers a fair amount of distance in a short time. Ireland and back in a day from.Neyland springs to mind,.outer hebrides as well, St kilda. What I cover in 8 hours you cover in 36 hours? I haven't got the time to do that,.work.

When I do Greece will be my destination, island hopping and staying on land overnight......in a power boat.

No stress in flying or sailing if one is in control.

 

[robnchris]

But there are no potholes in the sea!!
Cheers, Dave

Oh yes there are, Admiralty Charts call it “Confused Seas”.

 

[robnchris]

Suppose flying sort puts things in perspective on the stress front,.my instructor was a tornado pilot, he was chilled. Everyone has their own idea of fun and yours and mine are different.

Hove to in a.dinghy, for practice but never in anger/storm conditions.

Done loads of distance in various RIBs I have owned, 30 knott covers a fair amount of distance in a short time. Ireland and back in a day from.Neyland springs to mind,.outer hebrides as well, St kilda. What I cover in 8 hours you cover in 36 hours? I haven't got the time to do that,.work.

When I do Greece will be my destination, island hopping and staying on land overnight......in a power boat.

30 knots in calm waters maybe, you certainly aren’t going at that pace in anything over a F4.

Heaving To in a long keel boat in gale force winds can & is a life saver, gives the crew time to close the hatches, put the kettle on and wait out the storm.
Sailing to St Kilda & dropping anchor in Village Bay does require some skill & a whole lot of luck, but well worth the effort.
Sailing isn’t about rushing to get there, it’s that special moment setting the sails turning off the engine, feeling the boat lift in the wind anywhere between 4 & 10knots with just the sound of the water lapping the hull.
We consider ourselves so lucky to have experienced just that.

 

[Bartyfixedit]

But there are no potholes in the sea!!
Cheers, Dave

they are called "troughs" at sea.

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[Jake Royd]

Interesting comments.
We sold our boat because the years had got behind us and all those dreams had gone as well.
We were never going to do more than our long weekends or 3 week cruise.
But nothing beats coming into a new harbour and mooring up safely.
I follow many sailing links , hear's one.

 

[Pausim]

I tried sailing but arrived too late to meet my friends in the pub for a meal. Power boats overcame this problem, I even got bought several drinks for rescuing a becalmed sailer who couldn’t start his engine. Great fun for about 15 years but now I can visit hills, forests, mountains, rivers and lakes as well as the sea.

 

[TDub49]

To stretch this analogy a little further, Sailing in the Solent and channel is like driving in the UK, whilst sailing in the Med is like driving in Europe. One can be quite challenging and tedious, the other is generally a breeze (pun intended). I'll leave the reader to guess which is which.

 

[Spriddler]

To stretch this analogy a little further, Sailing in the Solent and channel is like driving in the UK, whilst sailing in the Med is like driving in Europe. One can be quite challenging and tedious, the other is generally a breeze (pun intended). I'll leave the reader to guess which is which.

Ah, but the similarity between U.K. and Europe is that no matter how much space there is available someone is bound to park their motorhome/drop their anchor right next to you. If faced with such a situation I crank up the volume on my 'Best of Des O'Connor' album.

 

[Pausim]

'Best of Des O'Connor'? Does not compute!

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[dunnah01]

Just watching the Monaco F1 procession and wondering why those multi-million pound gin palaces moored up in the marina don't need 6m between them

 

[TDub49]

Just watching the Monaco F1 procession and wondering why those multi-million pound gin palaces moored up in the marina don't need 6m between them

They have their own fire crews . . . .