What's it like, single handing across the Atlantic?

[Murv]

Purely being nosy, I don't even have a saily type boat. And my mobo never makes it more then a few hundred yards between breakdowns.

But, I'm intrigued... I don't mean what are the logistics of doing it, but how do you cope mentally with the solitude? do you embrace it? go slightly balmy? or is it incredibly liberating?
What about the fear, it must get intimidating out there?

 

[diapason]

Read Francis Chichester's book 'The lonely sea and the sky'. He - along with Blondie Hasler, Val Howells and others competed in the first ever transatlantic race in the early 60s.

 

[KellysEye]

I've only done it three handed but I suspect the emotions are the same for all crews. It goes from extreme boredom in light weather and adrenalin rushes in (say) a gale gusting 50 knots that we had over Biscay two handed. Experienced sailors don't get scared anything they encounter will have happened before, it's a been there done that feeling. Even with a crew there is a feeling of solitude when there is nothing around you for over a thousand miles in any direction. Arriving give a sense of achievement. On the other hand lightning close by is scary you feel like a sitting duck.

 

[Stingo]

Loneliness and solitude don't come into it.

At first, I thought it would be a daunting sail. Within a few days, experiences that I hadn't expected left me wide-eyed and in awe of mama Nature's beauty. If you get the chance, even if it is not single handed, do a crossing.

 

[capnsensible]

The staff Christmas party is pants.

 

[GHA]

It must depend so much on the individual I suppose.

But personally mostly an extraordinary experience. After the 5 days or so you sort of get into the swing of things, no time, gets light, gets dark, eat, sleep, read, forget to breathe when a pod of dolphins appear at 3am leaving phosphorescent tunnels, very subtle dissolution of a sense of self as there's no one around to require the creation of a "me", eat, sleep, read, stare at the stars, download a weatherfax, write the log, eat, sleep, count the oranges, read the salad pages of a recipe book, eat, sleep, stare at the sea, watch the shearwaters, then after a month, a smudge appears on the horizon - Flores! And you think, crikey, it's all got very busy, I could do with another few days out here to get ready......


Sort of a bit like that

Some people don't like it.

 

[TQA]

Jeanne Socrates recently completed her third solo circumnavigation at age 70.

Her Blog is worth reading for the highs and lows of singlehanding. http://www.svnereida.com/

The third one was non stop and no engine use.

 

[Murv]

Thank you all, fascinating stuff! I shall certainly do some reading, it really does intrigue me.

I loved this bit,

very subtle dissolution of a sense of self as there's no one around to require the creation of a "me"

that's the sort of thing that I was referring to, it must be a truly unique experience.

 

[jerrytug]

It must depend so much on the individual I suppose.

But personally mostly an extraordinary experience. After the 5 days or so you sort of get into the swing of things, no time, gets light, gets dark, eat, sleep, read, forget to breathe when a pod of dolphins appear at 3am leaving phosphorescent tunnels, very subtle dissolution of a sense of self as there's no one around to require the creation of a "me", eat, sleep, read, stare at the stars, download a weatherfax, write the log, eat, sleep, count the oranges, read the salad pages of a recipe book, eat, sleep, stare at the sea, watch the shearwaters, then after a month, a smudge appears on the horizon - Flores! And you think, crikey, it's all got very busy, I could do with another few days out here to get ready......


Sort of a bit like that

Some people don't like it.

Top post GHA!

 

[capnsensible]

Top post GHA!

+1

 

[n4585k]

Top post GHA!

Agree! Makes me wanna go right now...

 

[Cardo]

Agree! Makes me wanna go right now...

I was just thinking the same! I don't think 'er indoors would let me, though!

 

[snowleopard]

It must depend so much on the individual I suppose.

But personally mostly an extraordinary experience. After the 5 days or so you sort of get into the swing of things, no time, gets light, gets dark, eat, sleep, read, forget to breathe when a pod of dolphins appear at 3am leaving phosphorescent tunnels, very subtle dissolution of a sense of self as there's no one around to require the creation of a "me", eat, sleep, read, stare at the stars, download a weatherfax, write the log, eat, sleep, count the oranges, read the salad pages of a recipe book, eat, sleep, stare at the sea, watch the shearwaters, then after a month, a smudge appears on the horizon - Flores! And you think, crikey, it's all got very busy, I could do with another few days out here to get ready......


Sort of a bit like that

Some people don't like it.

I set off on the OSTAR in 1976. I was only out 12 days because of a steering failure but it was very lonely and boring a lot of the time, scary at others. It was also pre-GPS and the Western Approaches seem very narrow when you've had a few days overcast! What little information about the outside world came from a portable short wave set, mainly the weather forecasts broadcast for the competitors once a day. SSB or satphone would make it a little less isolated these days.

The professionals train themselves to sleep a few minutes at a time; the rest of us get by as best we can. Some claim they wake if the boat's motion changes slightly; personally I don't unless it's really radical. You can sit and stare at the empty ocean for hours, then go to sleep for 10 minutes and find a ship 50 yds away! (A Russian trawler with no one on the bridge!)

Take a lot of books or a well-loaded Kindle.

 

[Neil_Y]

I don't know but 7 in a 38' yacht is quite crowded, 2 in a 40' was spacious but it felt like single handed as crew was feeling crook most of the way, 4 up was relaxed and social. I loved it although there were times when it was quite tough to be responsible for the others when the going got rough.

 

[geem]

Did it as a couple both ways. Single handed sailing in shifts. Three hours on, three hours off for days on end. That was knackering enough. I wouldn't fancy single handed when you can't keep a watch whilst you are asleep. Glad we did it but this time the long legs will have crew

 

[LadyInBed]

Take a lot of books or a well-loaded Kindle.

I had a stock of books when I crossed Biscay, but didn't do much reading, I read more when I got to Spain.
I met up with another single hander there who introduced me to the modern alternative to reading - watching films and downloaded TV series! I copied a load from him and watched them on my return crossing, a bit easier on the eyes than reading.

 

[sailor211]

I enjoy the solitude. There is always a boat to sail. Plenty of sail tweaking to keep up to optimum. I can enjoy the open sea. Some days I feel I am sailing up hill, those I guess are the more difficult ones. I only read one of the books I took. I did not have time, baking bread, improving tinned food, keeping the veg fresh. Maintenance takes time, lots of things come loose and cannot be problem waiting to happen. There is also sitting in the companionway avoiding the weather.

I do listen to music, I sing along. This means that I spend my time back on land wondering if I am singing to my ipod, If there is space around me on the train I know I am.

 

[bjl]

R

For me it is the simple pleasure of sailing that I enjoy. I don't seem to dwell on the psychology of it all or the solitude. Whilst clearly there can be unanticipated problems, my single handed passages seem to be more characterised by enjoyment rather than by fear or intimidation. I found the act of sailing away more liberating that the crossing of the Atlantic.

I crossed from Cape Verde to Martinique in Dec 13/Jan 14: 16 days in all. Like some others, it took me a day or so to get into the passage rhythm again, even after only a day's break from my Canaries to Cape Verde passage. I sailed conservatively with just foresails. The Hydrovane steered all of the way.

One of my routine tasks was to download the weather GRIB and upload it into my chart plotter. After a week I guessed it would continue to forecast easterly winds at 15-25kts. The sailing was fantastic.

I based my course on direct great circle route, which was just off downwind. I enjoyed planning the tacking downwind, trying to increase my VMG. It probably made no difference in the end because friends double-handing in another similar yacht sailed much closer to the great circle route (less gybing) and we arrived within 6 hours of each other. 1000 miles out we crossed each other's path less than a mile apart!

I looked forward to the noon fix. I'd then send it to friends crossing the Atlantic and have it posted in a daily blog for others to read at home. I'd also look forward to their noon fixes so that I could measure their relative progress.

I fished during the day and enjoyed the anticipation of the screech of the reel as another fish took the lure. I caught only 2 fish: 4 or 5 got away. One of the 2 was a 2 metre blue marlin which took over half an hour to land. I sliced only one large fillet from it and it lasted 3 days. The meat was delicious. Even so, the next time I might consider throwing back such a large fish because afterwards I felt a bit guilty at the waste.

For me the dawn is the best time of the day. I enjoyed just sitting in the cockpit each morning as dawn broke, anticipating what the new day would hold for me. In truth it was much the same as the previous day. Nevertheless it was a wonderful experience each morning.

I enjoyed cooking, albeit simple food. I had bacon and eggs each morning and each evening I cooked a meal too. I took too much food with me but it meant I could give the evening meal my full consideration during the day. I had roast chicken and all of the traditional Christmas trimmings on Christmas Day. It was worth the anticipation and the waiting for. I celebrated the New Year at sea with a glass of rum and toasted absent friends and family.

I enjoyed listening to the NARC net in the evenings. Even though I didn't broadcast on it myself, I could hear the transmissions of yachts over 1000 miles away that I knew from my cruise South from UK. The net timing wasn't particularly good for me because the sun was down and I had less electrical generation capability at night. The SSB uses quite a lot of electricity.

I enjoyed reading a number of paperback books. I didn't use my Kindle much because it doesn't have a back lit screen and I don't enjoy 2 books on the go at once (eg paperback at night/Kindle during daylight). In a similar way to a previous poster mentioning downloading films and TV series onto a large capacity hard drive, I'm told you can do the same with books for your Kindle.

A friend gave me a 3CD compilation of music and songs of the sea which I enjoyed even more each time I listened to it. I enjoyed playing music and listening to podcasts too from time to time.

Apart from friends who I saw 1000 miles into the passage, I also saw a large French catamaran one afternoon. The sun was shining brightly on its white sails as they appeared on the horizon. As the vessel got closer I was able to enjoy a half hour conversation with its crew. They eventually overtook me and I saw it again anchored in Le Marin, Martinique.

I enjoyed planning the arrival. More by luck than by skill, from a few days out my estimated time of arrival was in the mid morning. I didn't have to adjust my speed at all. I enjoyed the count down to raising the Q flag, which meant that the passage was almost over. I enjoyed the anticipation of sighting land and, later, seeing land. Eventually I enjoyed the smell of the land too. I enjoyed planning and executing the pilotage into the anchorage. Finally, I enjoyed the overwhelming sense of achievement of a safe trans-Atlantic passage.

Simple pleasures for a simple sailor I know. Perhaps you should give it a go?

 

[HunterWanderer]

I've done it twice now, and 4 times across Biscay solo.

Its a bit scary after a 3 or 4 days out because you know there's no hiding! But a routine soon becomes established and I did get to know the noises of the boat really well so you know when things are going wrong. I slept a lot so I didnt get tired as mistakes are made when you're tired.

I used the radar all the time to keep watch which worked fine except when there were other yachts out of sight but catching me up to prevent me setting a sensible guard zone so I could sleep again. You start to want the ocean to yourself. I also have a kitchen timer to wake me up usually every hour but sometimes more often. I have my bunk next to the nav station so can see the laptop with AIS , all the instruments and set the radar without leaving my bunk.

I used the ssb radio a lot having radio sched with other boats usually twice a day. Can get a bit hectic as looking after the boat obviously comes first. But I never felt lonely.

I sailed very conservatively, reefing down early and twice stopping completely for a day or so to tow a drougue as the conditions were not good. Its not a race and you're there to enjoy the sailing so why rush! You also just decide what to do to look after the boat instead of worrying about the crew.

Being on your own means there's lots of space and also lots of water and provisions etc

You get the boat set up for it so its easy to sail solo, which is how it should be set up anyway because the other crew may be unable to help. So you need things like a life raft you can easily maneuver into the cockpit on your own, an Epirb, hand held GPS and waterproof handheld VHF with Li ion battery in the grab bag. But I think the biggest thing is the SSB radio.

 

[Daydream believer]

Contributors to this post so far have spoken more about the mental aspect
However, when I saw this thread title I had hoped for more info re the sea state
I sail a lot single handed & will be doing my second single handed UK circumnavigation this year
So far I have done up to 150 mile legs max ( Bradwell to Ijmuiden)
Sailing in the North sea to say Ostend ( 88 miles)takes 13-18 hours & some times in my 31 ft yacht i am thrown about so much that I am exhausted just by going below which is a struggle in a blow. Cooking or even boiling a kettle would be a no no
So this has me worried
i would love to do a transatlantic crossing but could I stand the violent motion for long- or is it less violent once offshore?

Then having crossed I have to get home & that can take a while & possibly ( I assume) a bit rougher

i am not worried about the loneliness -I will probably just go nuts & not know it

But what is the actual sailing like at sea?