Rustyknight
Well-Known Member
Because my partner has to work most weekends, it wasn't long after becoming the proud owner of a sailing boat that I decided to sail singlehanded...... the thought of the boat sitting on it's mooring unused seemed very depressing.
Learning the best way to pick up the mooring on my own in various conditions took a little time, and finding the confidence to actually "go" somewhere and moor when I got there took a little longer. The key things seem to be preparation, awareness of wind and tide, and taking time to stop and think.
I don't do anything too adventurous on my own..... Poole to Weymouth or the Solent are sometimes trial enough. The getting there is more often more important than the destination.
One thing I do love is my coffee. Before I finally drop the mooring, it relaxes me.... when the engine go's off and the Haven is behind me, the kettle go's on again. Christchurch ledge and clear of the pot markers, I nip below and light the gas for a brew. Much the same after Hurst, if theres not much about....
Trips back to Poole seem to be much the same. Clear of pot markers and other boats, the kettle is boiled, and I sit in the cockpit watching the world go by as I grasp the mug in my hands, taking the occasional slurp....
Sometimes, the trip up Poole harbour can be a long one..... especially if theres a spring ebb running. An hour, maybe an hour and a half..... no time for a brew there. Far too many boats coming and going in all directions, too dangerous to leave the cokpit and go below. Sometimes long enough for withdrawl symptoms to set in......
The downside is, coffee makes me pee.... and as I get older, the more often I feel the need.
Once in open water, nipping below to use the heads for a pee isn't normally a problem. If no other boats are in sight, it's stand in the cockpit and pee over the transom.... taking careful note of the wind direction, and holding on to the boat in case of errant waves.
Peeing has become part of my mooring preperations.... theres not much worse than trying to concentrate whilst coming alongside when trying to keep my legs crossed. It can be antisocial too.... if tying up alonside another boat, once the ropes have all been made fast, it's nice to stop and talk for a while to my new neighbours..... and not run off to find the nearest loo.
As the waters become busier and busier every year, finding the appropriate time to pee before entering harbour is becoming harder and harder. Far to dangerous to nip below, and if trying to pee over the transom, you can almost be certain another boat will zoom up within seconds, almost as if they are trying to catch you out and video it for "You've been framed". Trip boats with hoardes of children onboard, screaming and waving as they pass, as I frantically try to hide the evidence.......
Will the problem just become worse as I age? And what if one day I have to take tablets for water retention?
Do I,
Give up drinking coffee?
Give up singlehanded sailing?
Tie a knot in it???
Other people out there must have this problem...... have they found an answer???
Learning the best way to pick up the mooring on my own in various conditions took a little time, and finding the confidence to actually "go" somewhere and moor when I got there took a little longer. The key things seem to be preparation, awareness of wind and tide, and taking time to stop and think.
I don't do anything too adventurous on my own..... Poole to Weymouth or the Solent are sometimes trial enough. The getting there is more often more important than the destination.
One thing I do love is my coffee. Before I finally drop the mooring, it relaxes me.... when the engine go's off and the Haven is behind me, the kettle go's on again. Christchurch ledge and clear of the pot markers, I nip below and light the gas for a brew. Much the same after Hurst, if theres not much about....
Trips back to Poole seem to be much the same. Clear of pot markers and other boats, the kettle is boiled, and I sit in the cockpit watching the world go by as I grasp the mug in my hands, taking the occasional slurp....
Sometimes, the trip up Poole harbour can be a long one..... especially if theres a spring ebb running. An hour, maybe an hour and a half..... no time for a brew there. Far too many boats coming and going in all directions, too dangerous to leave the cokpit and go below. Sometimes long enough for withdrawl symptoms to set in......
The downside is, coffee makes me pee.... and as I get older, the more often I feel the need.
Once in open water, nipping below to use the heads for a pee isn't normally a problem. If no other boats are in sight, it's stand in the cockpit and pee over the transom.... taking careful note of the wind direction, and holding on to the boat in case of errant waves.
Peeing has become part of my mooring preperations.... theres not much worse than trying to concentrate whilst coming alongside when trying to keep my legs crossed. It can be antisocial too.... if tying up alonside another boat, once the ropes have all been made fast, it's nice to stop and talk for a while to my new neighbours..... and not run off to find the nearest loo.
As the waters become busier and busier every year, finding the appropriate time to pee before entering harbour is becoming harder and harder. Far to dangerous to nip below, and if trying to pee over the transom, you can almost be certain another boat will zoom up within seconds, almost as if they are trying to catch you out and video it for "You've been framed". Trip boats with hoardes of children onboard, screaming and waving as they pass, as I frantically try to hide the evidence.......
Will the problem just become worse as I age? And what if one day I have to take tablets for water retention?
Do I,
Give up drinking coffee?
Give up singlehanded sailing?
Tie a knot in it???
Other people out there must have this problem...... have they found an answer???
