Have you ever turned back ?

[LONG_KEELER]

Or perhaps wished you had done, or you regret having done so.

Most notable for me was an attempt to leave Flushing in Holland to the East Coast. After a number of attempts to eat cornflakes it became clear that approximately 18 hours like this was going to be difficult. I later spoke to a pilot . He said that if I had only stuck out another hour or two, I would have cleared the shallows and things would have been manageable.

Just a follow on from the F8 thread.

 

[Clancy Moped]

Yep, from Ibiza to Formentera, the weather made the entrance untenable, last, and only time I've been seasick, we signed up for a heavy weather course, and boy we got it?

 

[mjcoon]

... After a number of attempts to eat cornflakes it became clear that approximately 18 hours like this was going to be difficult.

That reminds me that there is a parallel measure of wind speed based on what can (or not) be kept on a plate in the cockpit. It works from something like cornflakes or salad leaves, up to, say, lasagne.

On a flotilla years ago we went SE from Fethiye down to Kaş. Coming back was a bit boisterous and the flotilla leader instructed us to turn back. It became apparent that we were going to have to go nevertheless so the flotilla set off again and made it round the "seven capes"...

 

[LittleSister]

Had bought a Hurley 22 near Falmouth. After a few days fettling it and sailing around the Falmouth area to check it out and get used to it, I headed off on my single-handed 'delivery trip' to the Exe, stopping the night at Fowey. Next day, leaving Fowey for Plymouth, the wind was on the nose. It was a long hard slog. Wind gradually increased to get very uncomfortable indeed (though it was a boat that inspired great confidence - I knew the boat could handle it, but could I?). After many tiring hours I'd made it as far as Whitsand Bay - about 90% of the way to Plymouth. The dinghy I was towing became swamped. I pulled it up to the stern to try to empty it, but was getting nowhere, and risked smashing the transom or my hand or arm with the very heavy full dinghy. Thought better of it. Cast the dinghy adrift (later notified the Coastguard of this). Turned back. Shot back to Fowey in a fraction of the time it had taken to come the other way. Decided to get the sails down outside the harbour as I wasn't confident of being able to manage it in the wind in the confines of the harbour. Fell into the cockpit, breaking the tiller - it split along its laminations and was bending about alarmingly and threatening to fall completely to bits. Made it into harbour, completely shattered, and slept.

I didn't for a moment think (then or since) that turning back was the wrong decision. Perhaps I should have turned back sooner.

 

[Bru]

Yup

Sailed out little 21 footer all the way from Lowestoft to about 12 miles away from Wells next the Sea overnight. The forecast was most promising when we set out but by the time we got to within spitting distance the wind speed had got up to F5 and rising and the direction had gone round into the North West. To cap it all, this had slowed us down and we were going to really struggle to make the tide

Had to turn around in the early hours of the morning and sail (actually motor) all the ruddy way back to Lowestoft. It was, to date, the only time I've ever really really wanted to get off and give up!

Oh and then there was the time we left Nieupoort heading for Harwich and had to be towed back into Nieupoort but I'd rather draw a veil over that little faux pas!!!

 

[LittleSister]

I've just been reminded of the time we had been storm bound in St. Peter Port for many days and desperate to leave. The wind seemed to have eased somewhat, so as soon as the tide height over the sill permitted it we headed out. (The First Mate remembers well the sound of the fin keelers who tried to follow us hitting the sill - we had a shoal draft long keel.) We headed out from the harbour, but 10 minutes of being thrown about very violently convinced us that we didn't want to go anywhere in that, so we returned to the same berth we had left (but now outside the raft) with our tail between our legs.

 

[Kelpie]

On our trip to Ireland in our Vega a few years ago, we tried to cross Donegal Bay from Frenchport. Taking an optimistic reading of the Irish Coastguard weather forecast, we found the wind right on the nose and the best course we could lay was for Iceland. We did cross the bay, but ended up 40 miles too far West. After about ten hours of this, with gusts reaching 37kt at deck level and the boat turning in to a washing machine, we called it a day and sailed back to Broadhaven, which was 13 miles from where we had started. We had covered 60 miles through the water.
Turning back was probably the right decision, although I'm sure Iceland would have been very nice...

The only other times we've turned back were both quite recently, when our 4yr old son was not enjoying himself. That thwarted this year's plans for Shetland, turning round just off Sule Skerry. Orkney was a good consolation prize.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Or perhaps wished you had done, or you regret having done so.

I once left the sealock at Ardrishaig. motored out to the end of the breakwater, saw my intended route to Ardlamont, turned round and motored straight back into the sea lock again for what turned out to be three more days in the basin. No regrets at all. It was foul, my crew was very small and I do this sailing lark for fun, not to build character through suffering.

 

[CLB]

More times than I care to remember. The fact that I am so willing to turn back, frees me up to take a look if I am not 100% sure. No shame in turning back if things are not to your liking.

As well as turning back, I have diverted quite a few times too. Same thing really, the only difference being that it was easier to go somewhere else than back to where I started from.

 

[Minchsailor]

Left Cherbourg one evening for an overnight sail to the IoW, ran into a peasouper. Decided discretion was the better part of valour; turned round and was tied up by 2300. Got underway again at first light for a very pleasant crossing.

 

[25931]

More times than I care to remember. The fact that I am so willing to turn back, frees me up to take a look if I am not 100% sure. No shame in turning back if things are not to your liking.

As well as turning back, I have diverted quite a few times too. Same thing really, the only difference being that it was easier to go somewhere else than back to where I started from.

I've been known to turn back when sailing my boat for pleasure but delivering is a different kettle of fish.

 

[webcraft]

Three and a half hours trying to beat round Ardnamurchan from Kilchoan. Too cold and wet, turned round when pretty much at the lighthouse and back on the mooring in an hour.

 

[CLB]

Thinking about it further, sometimes it can turn out for the better. I once left Cherbourg bound for Guernsey. Just after clearing the lee of Alderney in the Race we hit a huge Atlantic swell. The decision to turn back was easier than deciding when to do it as the gap between then was quite short. Once successfully heading back north, things settled as we entered the lee of Alderney again so we decided to head for Braye. Turns out it was Alderney week so we had a few lovely days on the Island that we wouldn't have otherwise had.

 

[RupertW]

A few times I’m sure. I remember leaving Falmouth in a 24 footer aiming for the Chenal du Four and grabbing a mooring bouy instead because the fog was too thick. Last year in a bigger boat we were aiming for Madeira from Gibraltar and the seas were a very lumpy 25-35 knots on the nose and 2 days in the boat started taking in a lot of sea water in the bilges and I couldn’t work out where it was coming from and the electric pump even assisted by hand pumping wasn’t coping after 9 exhausting hours. Turning downwind towards Casablanca 18 hours away seemed the prudent thing to do even though we had no pilot info or chart information for Morocco - and getting the boat upright worked as hoped to stop the leak whilst we rested in turn and thought about what could be causing it.

 

[davidaprice]

I was once browbeaten by First Mate into attempting the 30 mile crossing from the Stockholm Archipelago back to the Åland Islands when the weather marginally improved after three days of stormbound tedium. An hour into the crossing, our Maxi 999 close-hauled and fully reefed, First Mate was steering to avoid seasickness, but sadly the boat is equipped with only one tiller and I'd already had my head in the heads. I was told to man up, but when the windward cabin window sprang a leak onto the sofa, it was decided to return. The next day the weather was much better and we had a very easy crossing.

 

[JumbleDuck]

As well as turning back, I have diverted quite a few times too.

Same here. Decided not to go to Portpatrick once (having left Lamlash) as the NW rose, and rose, a rose. Ended up in an entertaining sleigh ride down Loch Ryan, 4 knots under bare poles and unable to contact the marina by VHF or phone. Wheeeee.

 

[[2574]]

Bound out from SPP Guernsey to Beaucette in a 30' Nimbus motor boat. N wind. N bound tide. Washing machine conditions. We turned back for SPP. Called the HM on VHF - he relayed to shore crew "the little boat wants to come back in again". Those words have haunted me ever since.

 

[Stemar]

Never in my Snapdragon, but a couple of times from planned Cherbourg runs on a mate's boat, a Dufour 385.

The first time was a late night departure to get a bit of water leaving Chichester Marina. Thick cloud, so VERY dark and I couldn't get the radar working. Mate was elderly, other crew, my son, useful, but inexperienced. I didn't want to try and find my way through the moorings at Emsworth without the radar, so attacked a bottle of Port and went to Yarmouth next day. Chicken? Probably.

The second time - similar crew, the wind had too much south to get a heading from Chichester, so we went to Yarmouth and anchored overnight. Next day was a tad breezy, but no was clearly the wrong answer, so we set off. As we got out of the Shingles channel and turned left, there was another boat a little way ahead of us us, an HR 36-ish footer and she came out from the shelter of the island, she was showing far more of her bottom than I considered decent, so I made an executive decision and we had a boisterous fun trip round the south of the island back to Chichester instead of a hard, close hauled grind to Cherbourg. Chicken? Possibly. With a full, fit racing crew the decision would probably have been different, but no regrets.

 

[Stemar]

he relayed to shore crew "the little boat wants to come back in again". Those words have haunted me ever since.

Maybe, but if you'd kept on going, it might have been you doing the haunting.

 

[SaltIre]

Chickened out of rounding Mull of Kintyre one morning, heading west, with a rising north-westerly wind. Had sailed overnight from Largs and didn't fancy wind against tide off MoK. Anchored at Sanda, slept, then went ashore to the pub and had a lovely sail to Rathlin then Ballycastle next day.