Losing your nerve

Everyone has it happen to them at some time.

You would have to be very stupid and/or irresponsible if it did not happen to you.

As you get older and experience teaches you more about the risks and their likelihood of happening whilst at the same time your physical ability to deal with emergencies is declining, anyone can suddenly feel anxious or inadequate.

If your confidence gets dented, then prepare a bit better next time, go slower, think it out beforehand. Read up what you may not know. If you have been on boats for some years, you have the knowledge, just use it calmly and sensibly thereby minimising risk and controlling the situation.

Good luck. It's normal, and healthy!
Mike
 
happened to me about 2 months ago - a bit of wind over the bow blew me into the jetty as i was coming alongside, not a major hit and no damage done but still not a nice experience. spent the next day or so majorly p****d off with myself for not dealing with the situation quickly enough and more so for getting into the situation in the 1st place (theres usually at least 1 boat on the jetty so i was lucky it was just me this time). but we live and learn so i asked the yard owner for advice and spent a few hours practising coming alongside from different directions and angles. now i know what i did wrong (expected the wind to stay constant in an open bay and came up to close to the jetty instead of allowing room to move and drift in) and also how to do it 'right' next time.
 
powerskipper said:
I know this can happen as it did to me at one point, but how many have lost their nerve or lost their confidence in their boating or ability to handle a boat at some time.
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Lost my nerve or confidence in my ability to handle a boat, never, never, ever, perish the thought, I never had any to lose in the first place.

I think you can have good and bad days in any of your talents and tasks, driving, presenting, golf, report writing, selling, buying, etc. etc. etc.

Actually since I had my lessons my confidence is better, one reason for that is you are unable to blame the boat or lack of enhancements when you see how it should be done.
 
Not sure what you mean about losing your nerve.

When we bought our first boat, I decided to go on a couple of familiarisation/refresher days out with a good skipper before I took my boat out myself as I had not sailed for a few years (and never as skipper). The intent being that I would not be over cocky with my "old, but not used for a couple of years, abilities" and not get into a situation that would make me lose my nerve.

This was done without SWMBO aboard, just me and the skipper. One to one refresher course. (cost a few quid, not that much really but well worth it, he threw the second trip in for free as his own boat was still out of the water and he was desperate for a sail himself, we had great days out)

Then we went out again with the same guy with him as skipper and my wife as crew ( I was just additional spare crew and tea maker) She had not sailed before, I did not want to have a husband/wife/trainer/pupil conflict. Best decission I ever made.

First time on our own with friends aboard we were over cautious when approaching our mooring, yes you can be too cautious, we were too slow and lost directional stability and were caught by a gust, we should have had just a tad more speed.
Did not lose my nerve, just pissed off at my mistake. Went out again next day in the same wind, a few more rpm and no problems mooring this time.

Some days we plan to go out, drive down to the boat, but conditions have changed, I have no problems cancelling the sail, always something to do on the boat anyway. Often see others going out, but it is my choice as I am responsible for all aboard. I do not call this losing my nerve, just sailing within my limits and experience.

If I did go out in conditions that I was not 100% happy with then I would be both stupid/irresponsible and most likely frighten the living daylights out of all aboard, then completely lose my nerve, sell the boat and buy a caravan instead.

We are fortunate to have a place by the sea in the Aegean, just 5 mins drive from the marina, wind at our place on the hill is completely different to that at sea level, also we are just around the peninsula from the marina.
I have a spare set of binos at hand and try and judge the conditions from the white horses that I can or can not see from the villa irrespective of the weather forecast. Usually my best guess of it looks slightly more windy through the binos works, often a couple of hours later, when we WOULD have been out at sea, the wind/swell has picked up to what would have been above my comfort level.
 
What happened, when as a kid, you fell off your bike for the first time? You got back on it!! Same thing. Learn from your mistakes and you won't go far wrong.:)
 
pande said:
What happened, when as a kid, you fell off your bike for the first time? You got back on it!! Same thing. Learn from your mistakes and you won't go far wrong.:)
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Mind you, at 30 knots its bloody hard work catching the boat up again..........

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oh you are such a girlie! Secretly tho, i know you are hard as nails. And not fingernails but hard as actual nails made of metal. Actually, i remember once i completely lost my nerve when this fenale pro powerboat skipper arrived at my door and er, oh, that was you...
 
Back now, not a lot wiser, or know what we could have done differently.
Unable to learn from mistakes? Now that IS serious, for most boating is basic book-learning.

At the end of a season I used to go through Log entries underlining anything that didn't quite add up. Sometimes it took several years before the explanation emerged - but an answer there will be. And that's when you're able and qualified to move on.

However, losing one's confidence in old age is quite natural; just travel on a bus with OAP's using their freebie passes and most have difficulty retaining their balance. Sadly that's linked with mental deterioration and is irreversible - an unpleasant future for us all!

As for Powerskip's blackouts, IMHO boats don't do what you expect either because something has failed OR because you haven't worked it all out, including allowing for the unexpected.
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careful, mr barfly, HLB may post in a haphazard & jocular manner & often claims to know nowt. But it is all a cover for a very experienced & competent matelot. He may not be the world's best mechanic, but Debs & he can certainly manage MF extremely well.

If he says there is nothing he could do differently, then that is probably true. Hindsight is wonderful, but it seldom prevents the event that offers the insight. I agree it might prevent similar events in the future, but MF hasn't sunk since, so it is likely that remedial action has been taken.
 
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As for Powerskip's blackouts, IMHO boats don't do what you expect either because something has failed OR because you haven't worked it all out, including allowing for the unexpected.
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But experience teaches you this and to a novice its not all that easy.


As for Powerskip's blackouts!!!!!!??????????????

where did this come from LOL.
 
My first season after doing PB2 & getting the boat was horrendous. I was in the 'wrong' marina for the sort of boating that I wanted to do (sorry, Liverpool) & the boat, bought from new, had numerous faults - not all of which were rectified as the dealer was close to bankruptcy. By early last year I was at my wit's end & close to giving up. Thankfully, through these forums I met Kawasaki. He helped me move the boat out of Liverpool & into N.Wales. However my confidence was so shot that even on a calm, sunny, day I couldn't take the wheel of my own boat for more than 5 minutes on the Liverpool / Conwy transfer - that's how bad it was! Now, thanks to Kawasaki & others amongst the North Wales possee the confidence is returning but it has taken a long time. So yes, it is very easy to suffer a crisis of confidence in boating, but a lot harder to recover that confidence. Confession over.
 
We lost our nerve, SWMBO & me, after losing all power on an ebbing tide in a f5 (felt like a gale!)
Bought a bigger boat with two engines and enjoy once more going to sea. Stil get a bit nervous when I feel the swell around the breakwater!
But I know the boat ain't going to break down, turn turtle, sink or disintegrate - so now feel a lot more secure!
Took a bit of time (12 mths?) to rebuild the confidence.
 
Searush said:
careful, mr barfly, HLB may post in a haphazard & jocular manner & often claims to know nowt. But it is all a cover for a very experienced & competent matelot. He may not be the world's best mechanic, but Debs & he can certainly manage MF extremely well.

If he says there is nothing he could do differently, then that is probably true. Hindsight is wonderful, but it seldom prevents the event that offers the insight. I agree it might prevent similar events in the future, but MF hasn't sunk since, so it is likely that remedial action has been taken.
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I got a PM from Mr barfly. Is this what he was on about.:confused:



Don't usually go back to old threads - probably a pathetic attempt to persuade myself I'm not an addict!

Please could you organise my fan club too?
Whatever your knowledge of HLB his public image is one of an indifferent boater who is barely literate (or much worse can't be bothered), sells a burgee that is rubbish, and drives a boat whose name alone shouts ignorance and bad taste.

Didn't he recently inflict details of a Westcountry trip? I was doing more enterprising sailing down there in the Sixties!

Yep. am a grumpy old git. But I don't pretend - for nowadays I'm one of those OAP's hanging on in the bus!
 
Boating Confidence

It's a strange phenomenon this confidence thing, you have loads of it when moored in the Marina ! but it can evaporate very very quickly when out on 'the rolling main' or in a tricky berthing situation.It can be very easy,and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, to sometimes think of lots of reasons why you shouldn't venture out and stay put and then spend the rest of the day regreting your decision.The best confidence builder we experienced was being out in a F5 WOT and experiencing how the boat and ourselves handled it.
 
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