Fictional Sailing - an enquiry

[Petrimov]

Hi everyone,

Okay, so first off I should say that I'm not an experienced yachtsman, though I have had the odd run-in now and again (I competed in a leg of the 1996 Cutty Sark race), which is pretty much the basis for my posting here. Basically I'm looking for suggestions and/or opinions.

To give you some background, I'm currently in the process of completing my first novel (the culmination of 5 long years) and am struggling despite much research to successfully convey a stormy voyage aboard a Bermuda sloop. So hopefully here's where you all might be able to help. I'd like to know what, as experienced sailors, you'd like/expect of a piece of fiction containing the above. What kind of technicalities/terminology would you consider fundamental to an effective, and more importantly, believable description?

 

[highandry]

I think you have set yourself a very difficult task there. A list of just what to include could be almost endless, but perhaps others will agree the basic things like sea state, wind, what sail is being carried, is she under storm rig? Does a struggle to reduce sail come into your yarn or have they reefed early perhaps? How about the crew, are they frightened or old salts? (you still get worried..well I do if it's bad enough..) Have they got plenty of sea room or is the land close under their lee? And that's before you start on any "technicalities"
I tried to read a book recently where the author had a vessel (a whaling Brig) " Running close hauled with the wind on the quarter" and " steering the ship's head through the wind they wore her round" best of all was " the 60 fathoms of hemp harpoon line snaked out as the whale dived to 500 feet and towed the whale boat into the fog" Which was clever of the whale because the line would have parted 140 feet earlier. The book is now in the gash bin.
Good luck with your research and success with the book.

 

[sarabande]

I think the visual description has been done to death ("surface of the water steaming with the power of the wind" BLAH).

What conveys the experience of a storm at sea is the small personal bits like smells (sheltering by the funnel of a minesweeper in F10 in Torbay) and sounds (water rushing to and fro in the bilges) after we had split a garboard strake in about F8 off Harwich.

Personal details like not being able to pee for 6 hours; hands swelling up with constant immersion from salt spray; above all else the noise of the boat as wood and steel, wire and aluminium all strive to stay in their designed places,as the waves try their damndest to tear the boat to pieces. It all becomes very anthropomorphic - boat versus sea - with humans being almost irrelevant.

It's got to be real; faking it will be detected in the first sentence.

 

[SAWDOC]

Hi everyone,

Okay, so first off I should say that I'm not an experienced yachtsman, though I have had the odd run-in now and again (I competed in a leg of the 1996 Cutty Sark race), which is pretty much the basis for my posting here. Basically I'm looking for suggestions and/or opinions.

To give you some background, I'm currently in the process of completing my first novel (the culmination of 5 long years) and am struggling despite much research to successfully convey a stormy voyage aboard a Bermuda sloop. So hopefully here's where you all might be able to help. I'd like to know what, as experienced sailors, you'd like/expect of a piece of fiction containing the above. What kind of technicalities/terminology would you consider fundamental to an effective, and more importantly, believable description?

get out the video of Master & Commander and describe what you see in the scene where they are rounding the cape and the poor lad falls overboard.


Edit I had posted this before I saw sarabande's much better answer.

 

[Petrimov]

These are some really useful suggestions everyone. Thank you, Sarabande, in particular. I agree completely that the conflict between sea and boat is the most important factor here. And highandry - there'd be no point in attempting it if it wasn't difficult Writing for me is a process of discovery, learning about things I'm as yet unfamiliar with as well as things within me, which I suspect is how many of the people here must feel about sailing and the hardships it can put you through!

 

[blackdogsailing]

I have to agree with Sarabande, the descriptions of the actual sailing, the sea state, the noise on deck, the roar of a wave just before it hits you etc. etc. have all been done many a time. Some well, some not so. Similarly, there have been numerous accounts of the tired watchkeeper getting into his/her bunk fully clothed for a few hours sleep.

However, no one has, to my knowledge, come up with an accurate description of how difficult it is to go to the heads, or how it is nearly impossible to make a hot drink. How, no matter how well things have been stowed, the cabin is littered with books, food items etc. How the smell is nauseating. How the act of just holding on below is so tiring. Capture all that and not only would it be authentic but would probably read quite well too !!

Chris

 

[Talbot]

I like Bernard Cornwell's approach as in books like Storm Child, Wildtrack, and Sea Lord etc.

i.e. where used accurate, but not overused in order to bore non-sailors