Why do I find lo-ooong sailing trips boring?

suse

suse

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I love arriving in new places, but I do find it a dull old plod to get there by boat, and being woken from a deep sleep for a night watch gives me the shakes. Is it a getting older, time getting shorter thing? Do other people feel the same? I'd rather fly to a destination and do coastal hops. But then I have the first day taken up by ickyness ... ok for a proper holiday, not so clever for weekends ...

S x
 
You and Mrs_E must have been talking......

I have to say that I, too, find long trips boring for the most part although keep myself going with the thought of the arrival plus the usual bits of excitement that keep the adrenalin levels above the normal torporous state.
 
There are always enough jobs on long trips to keep me busy and the luxury of being away from radio/telephone contact allows me to endulge in some well earned relaxation.

It's true the sea sickness bit for the first day or three is a bit tedious but the next week or two are great.
 
Providings its calm i don't mind, always jobs to do,play with son etc but it gets boring if the boats not making headway.
Exciting bits are places like Biscay at night playing with radar etc.
Most boring is single handed on a long passage i find.
 
I spy, twenty questions, guess who, imaginary poker/twister/scrabble/connect 4...

With a fun (albeit slightly mad) crew you can happily waste hours of time.

Another good way to alleviate the boredom is to be in charge I find.
 
I reckon a good way to alleviate this boredom thing is to wait until you are alone on your night watch and everybody is kipping. Put the boat on a nice beam reach then jump over the stern and try to catch up and get back on board! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Seriously. You are by no means alone. Even fabulously modest yachtsmen like me are fibbing if they claim to enjoy long, featureless passages. Unless you are some sort of Moitessier (ie a bit strange) I think this applies to most. When singlehanded I always try to tell myself that there is nothing out there at night that was not out there during the day - but I have seen and heard some pretty weird and unexplained things at 2am on a moonless, starless night. It is funny how much calmer and friendlier everything seems at sparrowfart. I can't remember who said it but they were quite experienced - "By day, fear. By night, terror".

Hope that cheers you up.
 
Now I just LOVE long trips! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It's a chance to get into a watch routine. We used to work 3 hrs on, 6 hrs off with 3 on board. During the day, there is always the chance to tweak/play with sail trim, hand steer, read etc while keeping watch.

During the night, there is many stars to identify, providing you can see them, as well as hand steering and sail trimming. My favourite watch of all is when the sun is rising. Depending on the time of year, this could be the 0300 to 0600 or 0600 to 0900. Marvelous /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm also not a fan of chart plotters, as doing a bit of old fashioned navigation keeps the grey matter turning, and can be very satisfying.

Cooking, washing up and keeping the boat clean and tidy can also be nice ways to pass the time, but then I enjoy cooking anyway.


<span style="color:blue">
Anyone need crew for a long passage? ? ? </span>
 
I was going to suggest having a swim, but I see Anteak already did that.

I have read a complete book on a short 50mile singlehanded passage. I used the shadow of the boom to keep an eye on my bearing/ course.

Don't you ever talk to fellow crew members?

Choose a skill you want to learn - a fancy knot/ musical instrument (drive every one else crackers) or using a sextant?

Knit every one a bobble hat with the boat's name on?
 
When the ship had been away from land a long time Capt William Bligh used to have compulsory dancing for the crew to keep them from getting morose and mutinous.

Didn't work did it /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Tim
 
A friend of mine, who loved yacht racing, did the ARC with his wife. They came back barely on speaking terms. Something to do with never being able to get more than 36 feet away.....but the worse thing was the unbearable sense of urgency......do we tack today or next tuesday?
 
Brace up, remember Nelson! He was as sick as dog every time he went to sea, still defeated the French. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
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