Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4. Safety
Land-lubbers tend to view ocean sailing as danger distilled, but the truth is, our family usu-
ally felt safer on the water than on the highway. At home, friends often focus their ques-
tions on the horrible storms or tropical diseases they imagine we've survived. Much to their
disappointment, we have to scratch our heads and think past the countless good memories
to come up with anything negative.
It's important to remember that cruising is a special kind of sailing. If racing is about being
in the right place at the right time, cruising is about not being in the wrong place at the
wrong time. Given forethought and a conservative approach, it's usually possible to avoid
that wrong place and time. With a sturdy boat and good seamanship, you can go a long way
toward keeping “luck” on your side.
We were certainly healthier out on the sea than during the average working year, when the
shared germs of school and office had our immune systems constantly weathering a differ-
ent kind of storm. As for exotic diseases, we faced more mosquitoes in Maine than we did
in Vanuatu. Theoretically, we could have left the heavy drugs at home, since we ended up
giving or throwing 99% of them away at the end of our trip.
Of course, there is an element of uncertainty in anything you do, whether it's walking down
a city street or taking to the open sea. Sailors can greatly stack the odds in their favor by us-
ing the power of prevention. That means cruising well-charted routes, avoiding cyclone
season, and keeping an eye on weather developments at all times. It also means choosing
anchorages with an eye on tomorrow's weather, not today's, and avoiding firm schedule
commitments. Taking care of the boat falls into the same category: sailors who conduct
regular boat checks to nip problems in the bud rarely have to scale the mast in mid-ocean to
Search WWH ::
Custom Search