Common knowledge is that sailing is a healthy thing to do. Away from the working stress. Idyllic, romantic, close to nature and healthy food (fish!). An escape of living in a busy society where there are more rules to obey then is healthy for you…
Sailing and Stress
Everybody that takes the decision to go sailing for an extended period has this idea. But this doesn’t mean that there is no stress. On the contrary. You live more intense, and tensions will come in a more basic way and harder to cope with.
Some people don’t feel at home in a different place then where they used to be. It can be the language, difference in money, different things to eat or the feeling to be a stranger. Some feel the sailing by night as a nervewracking experience. Some cannot sleep while their boat is at anchor and some think that a blow will result in a hurricane-force wind that will take their boat and themselves down to Hades as soon as they leave port.
My personal stress factor was that the boat or essential parts would break, without being able to repair it.
After a very nice sail of 5 days (and nights) with lots of winds—usually this is not nice—I wrote the following…
My “Sailors” Stress
I have to admit that being thrown in the water (by myself BTW) to go sailing and living on a boat was sometimes less then agreeable. Not because of bad weather, outrageous prices or being seasick but just because I permanently had this voice in my head that ‘something bad’ would happen in near time.
It is no fun being on a boat in the middle of nowhere and feeling scared that something will break. The engine won’t work, the mast will fall down, the sails will tear, the GPS will stop working. Something will go wrong, I was sure of that. And you have to be ready for that.
This is not an attitude to relax and enjoy, no, this is guaranteed a stress-attitude that will bring you in danger. If you don’t relax you are not capable of handling a situation when you need to.
How did this start?
Insecurity, a strange environment and not being in total control about everything on the boat were starters for this stressed feeling. On top of this, I didn’t handle the boat the best way and there were a lot of unpleasant surprises in the beginning (there were a lot of things that broke).
The following things happened:
The boat was leaking as a sieve, the sails could not be tuned, the gooseneck—the thing that connects the boom with the mast—broke, several parts of the standing rigging broke, the two electrical pilots broke in the same night, both GPS’s stopped working within the hour, the engine was overheating, the sweet-water tanks were leaking, the boomkin broke.
Luckily, not all those things happened on the same trip or the same time, but on every trip there was something essential that would break down.
I remember a saying of the guy I was buying the boat from: “You sail from point A to B, and then you start repairing what broke down. Next voyage the same pattern…”
I heard him and thought that a thing like that would not happen to me. I worked like crazy to get the boat in sailable condition and still they happened.
For sure it took away the fun in sailing for me. What I got back was stress, every time I sailed away.
It took me a long time to think different. Things will break down, but don’t wait till they happen. Have the self-assurance that there is no need to worry, only cope with the situation at hand and nothing more. And yes, to the maintenance of your boat. Preventive.
How finally my attitude changed to a more relaxed one
It took me 10 years, so experience is part of it. I also did everything on the boat myself. That also had the negative effect of doubting my craftsmanship. Was I handy enough to really repair the things?
Obviously, sometimes my handy-work got me in more trouble. Most of the time because I was trying to be innovative, using cheaper materials or making ‘funny’ constructions that would not work in the end.
I remember a construction I made the first time we were in Guanaja. I constructed some heavy wooden poles on the bowsprit to have a more secure access there. (That time we didn’t have a roller-furling Genua or Yankee). After a night of close-hauled sailing with terrible waves only some holes were the prove of that those poles had been there…
Once I though to use the same stuff as they use in these tropical countries to stop leaks in their roofs for the boat. Tar. It didn’t work and I won’t tell you how much time it cost me to get rid of that stuff that was suddenly everywhere.
Finally we did a refit of the boat in the USA. We spend half a year in the most unpleasant climate you can imagine (Demopolis/Alabama summertime) and a lot of money. I was stubborn enough (and poor) to do everything myself, but only with quality material. After that—knock on wood—no more unpleasant surprises. Yeah, the usual things still happen. Water-cooling not working or a leak that took me a year to trace down where it started, but generally speaking, a trouble-free boat.
But, the stressed feeling was still there and it didn’t go away until 2 more years and a good fast sail in difficult conditions.
What did change in my attitude?
Do the things you have to do good. Other things will follow. Don’t worry about them all in the same time.
Right now, if we go sailing, I focus on making it a ‘luxury trip’. I don’t have the attitude any more that sailing is tough, I make it nice. We wait for a good wind, when we leave everything is prepaired. Nothing falls down any more, no strange noises on the boat. And, as soon as we lift the anchor, I start fishing. Good food is important.
I don’t worry any more about what might happen, I enjoy the moment. I have the feeling that whatever happens, a solution will be found.
Do things, instead of nail-biting behaviour. Put a lure out to catch a fish instead of being paralysed by the worry that the mast might fall down.
Have order on the boat. Know where things are.
Be prepaired, but don’t expect things to happen.
How do I know my attitude changed?
I used to be so stressed that I could not eat. This had nothing to do with seasickness in the traditional sense of the word. My stomach just felt very small. Nervousness. Now, I have a good appetite and the fishes we catch are better then anything I have tasted in my life.
When I’m off watch I do something. Reading, writing, playing chess, listening to music or study another language (right now Portuguese) . I don’t look to much at the progress any more. I used to do that every 15 minutes.
Do you still get stressed?
Yes!
The sounds of badly tuned sails,
the breaking of the waves,
the smell of diesel-fumes and no engine running.
