Nice piece on isolation on a small boat

Is that picture really Kalamata?

The bit about veering about in Vulcano brought back memories!
 
Courses for horses. I know one guy who set off from the Solent with the intention of heading south til the butter melts, then deciding whether to turn left or right. He got as far as Cornwall before deciding that long-distance soloing wasn't for him. He was fine going across to Alderney or Cherbourg, but not days at a time then landing somewhere where he knew no one and didn't speak the language. I think I'd be the same.
 
Courses for horses. I know one guy who set off from the Solent with the intention of heading south til the butter melts, then deciding whether to turn left or right. He got as far as Cornwall before deciding that long-distance soloing wasn't for him. He was fine going across to Alderney or Cherbourg, but not days at a time then landing somewhere where he knew no one and didn't speak the language. I think I'd be the same.
Better than the experience of a friend of a friend. My friend was a radio ham, and when his friend set off for the great yonder he kept in touch by short wave (long before mobiles and Iridium). They got as far as Gibraltar before falling out and abandoning the exercise.
 
Courses for horses. I know one guy who set off from the Solent with the intention of heading south til the butter melts, then deciding whether to turn left or right. He got as far as Cornwall before deciding that long-distance soloing wasn't for him. He was fine going across to Alderney or Cherbourg, but not days at a time then landing somewhere where he knew no one and didn't speak the language. I think I'd be the same.
So would i
 
First let me say I think Susan wrote a great article for the Guardian, very cheerful and all credit goes to her.
But from my experience out of 40 years sailing a good 10 have been as a solo sailor doing my first long solo sail in 1989 across the biscay it not much fun sailing on your own ,
There no doubt it's much easier when you much younger I found, going off for a weekend sail and sailing long periods of time are two different things,
There are some who can and are happy being on their own but for the many of people they can wait to meet up with ours and have company.
We did have three liveaboard guys two left just before the lock down but not a day went by they they wasn't on some one boat socially, that also went for me too when I sailed on my own.
I would hate to be stuck on anchor not being able to move and in some case not even aloud to go ashore for weeks on end not knowing when it will all end these days.

No body wants to read a article of someone being depressed so it your going to write one it as to be exciting and interesting, I not sure you can write one that exciting when you stuck on a boat 24/7 for week on end in a lock down country.

( woke up this morn and made a cup of coffee , continue to read my book where I let off , made breakfast and did some internet , catch up with emails .
Made lunch and clear away the dishes , washed a few of my clothes , had a sleep on deck in the sun, woken up made a cup of tea, tune in to BBC 2 , made dinner , watch a film , took my book to bed .
Woke up next morning made a cup of tea...........................)

For me the last 10 years as a liveaboard even the best but then I am sharing it with someone with the same love of sailing and cruising as my self
 
But from my experience out of 40 years sailing a good 10 have been as a solo sailor doing my first long solo sail in 1989 across the biscay it not much fun sailing on your own ,
Sort of agree, solo coastal can be no fun. Though personally biscay doesn't scratch the surface, for me anyway, I don't get into the groove of it for 5 days or a week and if landfall is soon then your mind is on that. Maybe minimum 10 days plus to really get into it where the past and future drift away to not being thought about so much and the trappings of modern life like money just seem a bit odd. Though that's just unreliable memory as well, the log entries will reveal plenty grumpy moments with the boat rolling going downwind or whatever. But a passage of a couple of weeks there are definitely long sublime moments where just being alone in the moment with the wind and the waves and the boat make such perfect sense with no need to bother considering the unreal memories of the past or the unknowable guesses of the future. Definitely not for everyone though. :cool:
 
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