Secrets for Successful Cruising
Seminar given at Oakland Boat Show, Oakland, California, April 2004
by Captain Joan Gilmore, ASA Education Coordinator and ASA Instruction Evaluator
Big boat cruising is what drew me into sailing originally. I did some sailing in high school and college on small boats, but cruising really got me hooked. I loved spending a weekend with friends up on Lake Superior in a self-contained universe. We had only nature to deal with, using only our own skills and resources. This sense of solitude and independence with only those people of your own choosing, in an uncrowded, natural setting is what is so unique and special about cruising.
All of the “secrets” that I will be telling you about center around one issue: safety. But comfort and enjoyment are related to safety. The safer your cruise is, the more comfortable you’ll be and the more you’ll be able to enjoy the adventure. Since many of you are already experienced sailors, I’ll just give tips on things I do that I don’t see many others doing. Some of these I invented myself, and some evolved onboard during my years of cruising with friends.
We will talk about anchoring, docking, contingency plans, and “people and money” or cruise planning.
First: Rules to Keep you Safe
How many of you have lost your halyard? How did you get it back? Someone probably had to climb the mast. This is difficult in a storm, and hard to do at anchor. I have never lost a halyard because I have this rule: Two hands on the halyard. That means two people have to hold onto the halyard whenever it is detached: one person to fumble with the shackle, and one person to hold onto the line so that shackle won’t zip to the top of the mast as soon as it is detached.
Make your own
Telltales
Before you leave on a cruise you need to get some old cassette tape and some plastic colored cable ties. You can buy cable ties at Target, Home Depot, or the hardware store. The cassette tape is to tie on the rigging as telltales. Most boats don’t have enough telltales, especially at the stern. The bigger the boat, the more difficult it is to tell which way the wind is coming from, as you usually will have a bimini and/or a dodger to cut the wind.
Broad reaching is the most difficult point of sail for feeling the wind, so you need lots of cassette tape pieces tied to the stern pulpit and backstay. Have both your tallest and shortest crewmembers stand at the wheel. Tie the tape to the shrouds at several heights so that everyone can see the telltales when standing under the bimini.
Make Your Own Anchor
Rode Markers
Now, while you’re still at the dock, it’s time to prepare your anchor rode. You should take your entire rode out of the anchor and fake it out on the dock (not the deck of the boat). You do this at the dock for several reasons. You want to make sure it is in good condition, find out how much you have, and make sure the bitter end is attached to the boat. You save wear and tear on your gel coat if you do this while at the dock. Also, you have a more stable platform for marking the rode. If you have all chain rode and use a windlass, you may mark it with florescent spray paint, as this will last longer than the cable ties, which tend to get sheared off by the windlass.
If you are using cable ties, pick three colors that you have plenty of. Then make a sign on a large sheet of paper of what each color signifies. Your sign might look like this:
Color = Feet
YELLOW = 10’
BLUE = 50’
RED = 100’
Tape the sign to the inside cover of your anchor locker. Now mark all the lengths that you will need. Put two yellow ties at 20’, put a blue and two yellows at 70’. Put a red and a blue at 150’ and two reds at 200’. The beauty of this system is that each mark reads independently of the other. Even if some of the marks are missing, you can still read each one. Resist the temptation to just put a mark every 25 or 50 feet. If you do it that way, once you’ve lost one mark, you’ve lost your whole system.
Attaching the Cable
Ties
If you have three-stranded laid line, grab the rode with two hands and twist it so that you create a space between strands to poke the cable tie through, so that you are attached to two of the strands. Then tighten the tie so that it is as tight as possible, and cut off the excess. If you have woven anchor rode, circle the line with the tie and tighten it as much as possible so it won’t slide. If you are a chartering a boat with all chain and don’t want to permanently alter the chain by spray painting marks on it, you can wrap the cable tie around a link of chain and tighten it. You may have to replace the ties that are sheared off by the windlass.
Color cable ties are much better than the plastic anchor rode markers that you can buy at the marine store. The reason is this: the official anchor rode markers are all the same color, and usually printed only on one side. To read the marker you need to grab the marker and turn it over to read the number. Also, the thin plastic is not as sturdy as color cable ties.
My friends and I set this system on some charter boats in the Caribbean and Great Lakes, and came back the following year to find several boats with the original signs affixed to the anchor lockers and the system still in use!
Rules for Anchoring
When anchoring, the helmsperson should control the anchoring process. Having the person in charge at the bow yelling directions to the helm doesn’t work, because the person at the bow does not have the depth meter to look at, and doesn’t necessarily know the conditions of the bottom, neighbors’ proximity and current; all factors that the helm is positioned to be aware of. For this reason, everyone else should give information only to the helm, not directions. The helmsperson will then make all the decisions. This rule on giving information to the helm also applies while docking but we’ll talk about that later.
After deciding what depth to anchor at and paying out the proper length of line on deck, a Ship’s Parrot should be assigned. This person is also known as the Communications Facilitator. The Ship’s Parrot stands at the shrouds and repeats everything that is said back and forth between the bow crew and the helm. If you only have two people on the boat, you will have to resort to hand signals or head-mounted family band radios, but with a full crew, a Ship’s Parrot will contribute to clear and detailed information between helm and anchor crew. Make sure the Ship’s Parrot has a loud, clear voice and is able to repeat verbatim, avoiding “he said, she said” phrases in favor of just parroting what is being said quickly and efficiently. With a Ship’s Parrot, useful information such as, “there’s better sand five feet to the left” can be heard by the helmsperson above the roar of the diesel.
Do not let anyone go ashore with the dinghy before the anchor is set. Early in my career in the BVI, I let an enthusiastic photographer go ashore with our dinghy before our anchor was deployed, and the anchor rode got caught in the prop during the anchoring process. We had to deploy our second anchor in a weedy bottom, hoping it would hold while we attempted to extricate our #1 anchor. If we had had our dinghy, we could have used the dinghy to tow the boat away from shore, and also to hand-set our #2 anchor.
During the anchoring process, it is important that everyone who does not have a job is quiet until the anchor is set. The crew members who aren’t at the helm, on anchor crew or parroting should all help sight the land. After the anchor is set, as the helmsperson is bearing down in reverse for one minute to test the set, everyone onboard should sit down and sight a vertical object on the boat against the land to watch for anchor slip. Even the youngest person can shut one eye and watch to see if the stanchion post slips past the tree onshore, after the anchor rode has stretched. Besides keeping everybody busy and quiet, another reason everyone should be involved in testing the set of the anchor is so that no one lies awake worrying that the anchor crew did not do an adequate job. After an anchor has been set under power, the captain should ask for everyone to yell “Holding!” before turning off the engine. After everyone is satisfied, then the crew can “splice the main brace” and start mixing margaritas!
Rules for Docking
Don’t give your lines to anyone. Even Lin Pardey, who has written many books on sailing and has many years of experience, refuses help from people on the dock by saying, “No thanks; we’re practicing.” Her reasoning is that, since every time she comes into a dock she and her husband are practicing for the next time, and there may not be a helper the next time, it is important for them to keep their double-handed skills sharp.
Of course, the other reason for not giving your lines to anyone is because your helper, even if he is a professional dock boy, may not know your plan for docking. If someone gives your bowline a yank, causing your bow to hit the dock, it is your deposit at risk, not the “helper’s”.
Assign a Fender-Offer
When docking or undocking, assign someone who has good concentration to hold a loosely buckled Type 2 lifejacket by the strap and lower the PFD between your boat and anything that comes close, be it another boat, the dock, a pelican post, etc. This will save you may headaches, if not dings and scrapes. The reason you should use a PFD instead of a fender is because a fender will roll when lowered between the boat and another object, and may roll out of position at the point of impact.
Besides your line handlers, fender-offer, dinghy painter person, and possibly a lookout, you should ask the rest of the crew to go below and stay quit. You need room to quickly move across the boat to help the line handlers, and do not want to be tripping over excess crew members. Also, the only conversations going on should be related to docking. You may wish to have your lookout call out the number of feet you are from the dock during your approach. Remember, everyone else is giving the helm information only. The helmsperson is making all the decisions.
Have a plan for docking, make sure the line handlers understand the plan, and leave yourself room to “abort” if your approach does not feel right for any reason.
Leaving the Dock
When you leave the dock, make sure all crew members are onboard. Make sure each line handler understands the plan for departure, and their role in it. Single up all the lines, then have each line handler simply pull each bitter end back onboard.
Springing Off the Bow
or the Stern
When leaving a very tight space, springing off either the bow or the stern is an efficient way to get your bow pointed in the right direction. Springing off is very efficient when bucking a wind or current that is setting your boat toward the dock. If there is a strong wind blowing into the mouth of the harbor, it may be hard to keep your bow pointed toward the wind. In this case, it is often a good idea to spring off your stern so that your heavier stern is pointed toward the wind, then drive your boat out of the harbor stern first. This is like using a front-wheel drive car; the power is up front, making it easier to make way into the wind. You should practice this skill before you actually need to use it in a heavy wind. When you are under power, out in the open water, step around to the forward side of your wheel and steer backwards as you face your stern. Practice using your throttle and gear shift in this position.
Use the longest dock line you have because the center line of your boat will keep turning away from the dock until it is at a right angle to the spring line. The longer the spring line is, the farther away from the dock the boat can point.
Springing off the bow is a useful trick if you are single-handing. Simply set up a pair of buoys to cushion your stern corner. Then single up the spring line. After the boat is pointed away from the dock, it is easy to pull in your spring line from your position at the helm as you pull away from the dock.
Our next subject is Engine Failure, also known as Luxury Cruising. You realize you are on a luxury cruise when you are unable to use any of your boat systems after your engine fails. The simpler your boat systems, the more independent of the engine they will be, and the less bothered you will be by the engine failure.
To avoid Luxury Cruising syndrome, have a manual back-up for all systems connected to engine power. You may want to buy a small Honda generator to charge your systems in an emergency. If you are chartering and the sinks use electric pumps, make sure you know how to access the water tanks manually. Also, have battery operated VHF radio, GPS, and extra flashlights to use as anchor lights and navigation lights, if need be. Before installing luxuries like an electric flush head on your boat, think about manual back-up; no pun intended.
General Preparedness
When coming into or out of harbor, you should have two systems at the ready in case of engine failure. Always have the sails ready to raise and always have the anchor ready to deploy. Your main halyard should be attached to your main sail, and minimal sail ties should be ready for quick release while going into as well as leaving port.
The anchor should be ready to release in case your engine fails near the shore. When I teach on small keelboats with cranky outboards, I have the anchor ready with the proper length of rode pre-cleated for emergency anchoring. This has saved the boat on several occasions while heading out of a narrow channel harbor against a stiff onshore breeze.
Always have oars in your dinghy, as well as one lifejacket. If your dinghy is being towed, and escapes its painter, the person who goes after it will need these pieces of equipment onboard.
Always have harnesses and tethers handy. You will need them on occasions other than heavy weather. While working at the mast, wrapping a short tether around the mast will give you three-point stability (your legs and the mast). Since you won’t need one hand to stabilize yourself, this will leave both hands free for working at the mast. When you go forward alone at night to check the anchor, you should hook up to a harness and tether. Your crew mates may be sleeping too soundly to realize you have gone overboard.
Practice heaving to. This valuable skill, that even novices can learn, is useful for resting while battling a storm or just for stopping the boat suddenly if something needs to be retrieved from the water. Reef early. The best time to reef is at the dock before you set out, and after checking the weather report. It’s easy to shake out a reef that is not needed. It is much more difficult, and dangerous, to reef while under sail or hove-to, in heavy weather.
Choosing Crew
The time-honored “Request permission to board” is asked for a very good reason. Remember that you are the casting director for creating your own utopia. Be careful whom you bring onboard with you. You will be “locked in a small room” with them for the duration of the cruise.
A study was done on the psychological conditions of many different living situations and it was found that blue water cruising had the most similarities psychologically to being in prison. There is no escape, and the qualities of your fellow inmates are of paramount importance.
Who you choose to crew with may be very different than who you choose to socialize with on shore. Unlike land life, each crewmember needs to understand that the safety of the crew and the boat must come before personal safety. Make a list of characteristics necessary in your crew. Here are some considerations for your list: Is this person willing to follow orders given by you, the skipper? If not, do not take this person, even if you are married to him or her. In an emergency situation, if your crew members do not trust you enough to follow orders, you may have a dangerous situation.
Unlike civilian land life, a boat situation requires one person to be in charge, and give assignments to the various crewmembers. If one crewmember doesn’t follow their orders, the breakdown in orchestration could turn an emergency into a disaster. Ask your friends if they are willing to follow orders first, and ask questions later, if you are in an emergency.
My rule on following orders is that everyone must follow orders first but they are free to ask why, as long as we are not in an emergency situation. And if anyone suggests a safer way of doing anything, we always defer to the safer method. This reassures and empowers new crewmembers quite a bit, knowing that if they feel the boat is heeling too much (for example), we will defer to their feeling of what is safe, and flatten the boat to their comfort.
Your list of what is desirable in a crewmember, or in the whole crew is going to be unique to you and your boat. You may want to make sure that, collectively, your crew has all the skills that you have as a captain. In case you are incapacitated, the steering, navigation, cooking, etc. can continue. It is a good idea for the crew to practice MOB procedures at some point early in the cruise.
Chartering Together
Chartering with a group is about two things: people and money. Once you have chosen carefully who you want to share a charter boat with, the next issue is finances. The trip chair should get all the money upfront, and overcharge slightly.
You need all the money upfront to pay for the boat, and also to ascertain that everyone is actually committed to going. I organized a trip once where a woman kept telling me how excited she was to go. She had bought new sailing shoes, and a new hat, and some other technical gear. When I asked her for her portion of the charter fee she told me she couldn’t go because she didn’t have enough money! Getting the payment is the only way you know who is actually going.
For cancellations, the policy I have found works well is that if someone drops out, they can sell their share to someone else (that the group is comfortable with) or lose their deposit.
Overcharge slightly. You may run into unexpected expenses during the cruise; garbage fees, ice, gas for the dinghy, etc. If you overcharged, you have money in the kitty for unexpected necessities. It is much easier to refund everyone equally from the kitty than to try to collect a small amount from each person.
After a long cruise, buy back receipts from your crewmembers for things such as mooring fees, that may have been paid by crew members when the treasurer wasn’t available. After you have bought back all outstanding receipts, refund everyone equally from the remaining kitty.
When eating out, keep the cash in the family. This means that after everyone has put their cash on the table at a restaurant, the last to pay should throw down his credit card and scoop up all his crewmates’ cash. The next night a different crewmember takes the pot. This keeps the cash onboard the boat, in case it is needed for an emergency like major engine problems in a borough where credit cards are not accepted.
Hold a pre-cruise party. While the cruise is still in the planning phase, have a party to show photos of last year’s cruise to your intended location, and so that all potential crew members can meet each other and make sure they are compatible.
A pre-trip meeting should be held closer to the cruise date so that everyone can plan a menu together, ask about their food likes and dislikes and have the ubiquitous “coffee discussion.” This is where the types of coffee and coffee brewing paraphernalia to be brought along are debated in detail, along with the various methods of brewing onboard.
Even if you have a core group that you cruise with, it’s fun to add a few new sailors to each cruise to keep the excitement level high, and for the enjoyment of introducing new people to a hobby that is likely to take over their vacation time for the rest of their lives!
Happy, safe cruising to you!
Captain Joan Gilmore
www.sailawaysailingschool.com