How long before you're bored on a saily boat

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fireball

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All this sailing is all well and good - but don't you get bored going at such a slow pace?

I mean - it's ok looking at the scenery - but they're usually on mobos zipping past at 25kts - or trees ... which don't move at all - and look the same as they did yesterday, and the day before ...

So - once you've got your sails set and Autopilot (or helmsman) on course - what do you do? I suppose you can have a conversation - bit difficult if singlehanded .... and some of us have known our SWMBOs for quite some time ... so what else do you do on a >4hr trip?

Wouldn't it be better to get a mobo - blast to somewhere to drop anchor for coffee - blast somewhere else for lunch - blast somewhere for an afternoon swim then a quick trip to a nearby place to overnight - or if the forecast is rubbish then you can quickly head back home ... at 20+kts you get quite a bit of range in a day ... ;)
 
fireball said:
All this sailing is all well and good - but don't you get bored going at such a slow pace?

I mean - it's ok looking at the scenery - but they're usually on mobos zipping past at 25kts - or trees ... which don't move at all - and look the same as they did yesterday, and the day before ...

So - once you've got your sails set and Autopilot (or helmsman) on course - what do you do? I suppose you can have a conversation - bit difficult if singlehanded .... and some of us have known our SWMBOs for quite some time ... so what else do you do on a >4hr trip?

Wouldn't it be better to get a mobo - blast to somewhere to drop anchor for coffee - blast somewhere else for lunch - blast somewhere for an afternoon swim then a quick trip to a nearby place to overnight - or if the forecast is rubbish then you can quickly head back home ... at 20+kts you get quite a bit of range in a day ... ;)
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over 40 yrs so far not bored to date
 
I guess hanging on whilst heeling over adds to the excitement and keeps you on your toes.

Add in the excitement of actively aiming for mobo bows and the hours must just fly by. ;):D
 
fireball said:
Wouldn't it be better to get a mobo - blast to somewhere to drop anchor for coffee - blast somewhere else for lunch - blast somewhere for an afternoon swim then a quick trip to a nearby place to overnight - or if the forecast is rubbish then you can quickly head back home ... at 20+kts you get quite a bit of range in a day ... ;)
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that's as long as they can still afford the fuel :D

Maybe someone will invent auxiliary mast & sails for them to fit.

Never bored. Always something to do.
 
It has been said by far wiser men than I that sailing is about the journey, motor boating is about the arrival. I'm inclined to agree, even after sixty years of sailing and motor boating.

As for those mobos that fly past at speed, how boring!
 
You lot don't get bored?

You've set the sail, the course is set and now there is nothing to do for hours on end ...
Ok - you might go and put a dot on the chart every now and then - and there'll be the passing Mobo's to shout at ... or the tankers to fume at because they've not ducked your stern ... but there's nothing to do except sit there and wait ...

You can't read a paper ... you're out of mobile signal - therefore no internet (plus side is thankfully no phone!) ... books just get wet from the spray, the kindle fries in the wet ...

just what do you do?!
 
fireball said:
You lot don't get bored?

You've set the sail, the course is set and now there is nothing to do for hours on end ...
Ok - you might go and put a dot on the chart every now and then - and there'll be the passing Mobo's to shout at ... or the tankers to fume at because they've not ducked your stern ... but there's nothing to do except sit there and wait ...

You can't read a paper ... you're out of mobile signal - therefore no internet (plus side is thankfully no phone!) ... books just get wet from the spray, the kindle fries in the wet ...

just what do you do?!
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You just enjoy it...simple
 
Cantata said:
Oh dear oh dear, you just don't understand....
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Ahaaa.. you mean, you dont actually get bored by doing nothing for hours on end?
I had a colleague once whose favourite joke was
Sometimes I sit and think
Othertimes, I just sit.
I hadnt thought that maybe he owned a sailing boat!

I dont think it is true about sail/power/the journey/the arrival. I cant say I find crossing open water very interesting (sea state permiting); it is far more enjoyable along a coastline. In a mobo, we do get to see alot more coastline within a given time, and we can always slow down at the interesting stretches !
 
fireball said:
So - once you've got your sails set and Autopilot (or helmsman) on course - what do you do? I suppose you can have a conversation - bit difficult if singlehanded .... and some of us have known our SWMBOs for quite some time ... so what else do you do on a >4hr trip?
Click to expand...

Tweak - as if you didnt know being a racy sailor type yourself. And if you see another boat a reasonable distance ahead, you race them.

TBH I find I never sit down when the boat is sailing, whether it be on a cruise or a race.

What would I do on a mobo? Two things. Listen for odd engine noises wondering how much the bill would be. And secondly, doing the mental arithmetic of x knots at y miles per litre at z £ per litre = what total cost just to get somewhere where SWMBO is going to want to be taken out to dinner.
 
As I'm trying to earn to play the bagpipes, I have a practice chanter on board. I usually get that out and practice. So if you ever hear the sound of a cat being strangled when out on the Solent, then it could be me.

I never get bored when I'm sailing, even though I'm usually alone, in the Solent, there is always something to look at. On long passages, there is always marking the position on a chart, keeping the log up to date, doing a bit of rope work and small maintenance jobs.
 
Not Surprised At The Responces...........

being that there's so many purists on this board, only using 2 gallons of fuel a season to heat their boat and never motoring because the three types of wind that are available to the hardened sailor are always absent:rolleyes:,(too strong, too weak and of course the perennial favourite, wrong direction:D)but nevertheless, sailors are usually found with sails up, covering the ground at max hull speed against tide exhaust chuffin' away at the stern, but hardly ever with a cone showing, true sailoring indeed:D.

I'd place a bet that if the truth were ever to be found about the usage of the diesel donk on a sailboat, it'll be about 50% of the time, and a lot more across the Solent area.

Only IMHO however.
 
Penton Hooker said:
It has been said by far wiser men than I that sailing is about the journey, motor boating is about the arrival. I'm inclined to agree, even after sixty years of sailing and motor boating.

As for those mobos that fly past at speed, how boring!
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Spot on,

As I get older, I do however get bored of explaining why I enjoy something, to people who clearly don't get it.

Yes I do sometimes fire up the engine and motor sail, still better than just motoring in my book.

If it were about getting somewhere wouldn't we all need our heads examining for using a sailing boat, you can sometimes walk quicker than I sail.
 
The best part of sailing is the peace and solitude you get when you switch the motor off (hopefully with the confidence of knowing it will start again).

It doesn't last for long before you hear a hum and then a roar of fast moving mobo and then have to suffer the wash.
 
dleroc said:
The best part of sailing is the peace and solitude you get when you switch the motor off (hopefully with the confidence of knowing it will start again).

It doesn't last for long before you hear a hum and then a roar of fast moving mobo and then have to suffer the wash.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct, as the engine goes quiet to be replaced by gentle shooshing of the sea I can feel my whole body relax so enjoy the day...

until I see another yacht to try to overtake!
 
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