Alone again, naturally

[Bradley Cavedo]

Alone on the P42

I love to sail with my wife and kids, but when they are otherwise occupied, I prefer the sail the P42 alone. I can go where I want to go and sail in whatever conditions without have to be concerned about the happiness and the passengers and crew. It is an easy boat to handle and sails great. It is a completely different experience from the family cruise, which is also great, of course.

 

[jim johnson]

single(two)handed

Bought my first sailboat,my wife tried sailing, didn't like it, now singlehand about 90% of the time, actually prefer it. Have added an autopilot, brought all lines to the cockpit, always wear pfd. Rigged my dock with fenders and spring line to make it easy to get in and out of, less confusion than my dockmates with crew. The peace and solitude after a difficult day make at all worthwhile.

 

[S. Sauer]

Single Hand Set-up

I was single the first year I had my 28.5 and set it up for easy single handing so I would not be dependent on having crew aboard, as many friends have their own boats. However, having a wheel brake and all lines led aft and also makes it easier to race with less crew. While my wife enjoys sailing and is great at handling the boat under sail or motoring, I still find myself 'single handing' when she wants to sunbathe on the deck on a beautiful afternoon sail. I enjoy working on the boat by myself and then taking it out for a short sail. In the heat of the summer, I often make my return trip to the marina in early evening or at night, again single handing and thoroughly enjoy the experience. Fortunately, sailing is one experience you can can choose to share with others or be wonderfully alone with the wind the water and God.

 

[John]

I did on a 34' but not yet on my 40'

One of my best sails to date was a solo shot from Salem to Boston in heavy air. I had a new wheel pilot, and set it up (did circles to config the flux-gate) just outside the harbor. It was great, early November with the wind piping, close hauled all the way to Boston (and a nice reach all the way to the slip). My new boat, a C&C 40' is not as friendly as the full battened, lazy jack equipped O'day 34 is to the singlehander... (sob..) I've added roller furling to the headsail, and am in the process of leading halyards aft to make it more feasable. I'll reaserch adding lazy jacks, but i don't know how feasable that will be with my sailplan

 

[Pirate]

It's all good

I've been single-handing since I learned to sail. I used to sail with my two dogs as crew in SF. They only count people for racing, so the dogs and I did two single-handed Farallones races and many more single-handed events.Since I started sailing single-handed dinghys, I never stopped to think that it was a big deal to sail alone.I like having other people along, but the lack of crew would never stop me from sailing. I like not having to depend on crew for anything, that way any help they offer is a bonus, rather than a lack of skill being a disappointment.RandyC-30 #10 Befana

 

[valdo]

solitude is golden, sometimes

i sail alone because i can and because i like it and i don't have to worry if others can make it or not when i'm ready to shove off.when i sail alone i call it my 'cave time' to be alone with my thoughts through my wits.i try to stay in if the wind picks up to 25mph+ 'cause its a little hairy reefing but otherwise i'm fine. if i'm out and the weather picks up, i heave-to, use my tiller-tamer, reef the mainsail and change out to my storm jib, and head home...

 

[Tom Teagle]

Singlehand blues

Singlehanded sailing is a trip until it comes time to drag your 275lb fanny forward in a good blow to drag down a tangled jib. Doing it in the dark is all the more challenging. Night sailing alone is the ultimate aside from the difficulties mentioned above.Teagle"Miss Snooty"

 

[Jeanne Bromberg]

Wish I could!

I have a 17' O'day that I will be putting a step in the mast before next season. I have tried on 3 occasions to get the mast up by myself, but I have had no success being albe to get it upright, balanced and the lifted the 3+ feet to be able to set in. It is hard to find someone to sail with. I love to sail with my best friend, but he lives 450 miles away and we only get together once a summer for a week. So, the boat sits in the yard most of the time. Such a waste!

 

[Jason]

I single hand (with my wife and children)

Even though I never go out alone I am basically running single handed. My wife (god bless her) despite being very intelligent in other area's still can't figure out left and right with the tiller. Now with the children (ages 1 and 2) she basically plays babysitter as I sail the boat.Thankfully my O'Day Outlaw is fairly easy to use. I dock at the end of a calm river so I never have waves to deal with and have relatively gentle tides. I can generally untie the boat and run back to the cockpit before it moves to much and back out easily. Same thing coming back in.As for sailing, there is about a 30-second run of chaos raising and lowering sails (I will be getting lazy jacks next spring) but beyond that I can jibe and adjust sails as I steer with no problems. I will be running the halyards back to the cockpit for the spring which should help out with that alot.One advantage of being a big guy is that I don't have to use winch handles for the genoa except in the heaviest winds and I just hold onto the jib sheet with it wrapped around the winch a few times to ease the pull. That's basically it in a nutshell.

 

[Marlin McFadden]

Lots of Company Here!

I always wanted to be able to singlehand, but it wasn't until recently (my third boat) that I finally tried it. When I first bought my current boat, the plan was to spend a lot of family time sailing, but it didn't take long to figure out that my wife and two daughters had NO interest. The first time I singlehanded my Islander 29 was a bit nerve wracking, and I made a few mistakes. Windspeed was really too high for the first attempt (around 20kts)but the weather was nice and I went for it. The second mistake was hauling the main all the way up before realizing I definately needed a reef! That was a real physical challenge. Thank the gods for autopilot! Then getting back in to the slip, the wind had me pinned against the dock. While I ran around the boat securing the mooring lines, my bbq grill got bent up a little. All this made for a lesson filled first attempt!! I singlehand pretty frequently now, and I really do enjoy it for all the good reasons listed here in other posts. I also agree that it is impossible to explain the feeling I get from the experience, but it is wonderful!

 

[Alan Mawhinney]

Yes

I love to single hand. The biggest problem I have as a single is docking. Luckly the people on the docks know I'm single and help me dock. For those that have not tried it, do it. You will love it.am

 

[David Virak]

I love sailing

I single-hand most of the time because it's not easy to find someone to go with when I go out. Often times I decide to go out at the spur of the moment, so I'll see if anyone's available but usually not. So I go because I just love sailing. I am always learning when I go out alone so it helps me build my skill level. So whether I have a crew or not, I just appreciate the time spent on the water.

 

[Mike]

Solo: good; crew: better

I like to go out on my own in my Oday 23, but I have discovered that I prefer to have a crew. As a number of others have noted, many of us are really soloing even with the crew aboard. I like the company; friends and family to talk to and share my love of sailing. A lot of my sailing this summer was soloing, but the two best days this year were a shortened sail (too gusty for the kids) that turned into lunch and a swimming party in a quiet anchorage, and a fall morning sail with my wife (the only time we went out together alone all season).

 

[Emmet Meara]

Jib sheets

The worst part of single handling is when the jib sheets jam and you have to go on the foredeck to release them while the sails are flapping away.  Coming up to a dock is always a thrill, also. It just seems easier when you have a deckhand(or two) along.

 

[HUNTER]

YES,YES,YES,

THE BEST VACATION WAS WHEN I SAILED FROM HUNTINGTON,N.Y. TO BLOCK ISLAND,NEWPORT,CUTTYHUNK,VINYARD,AND BACK.I LEARNED MORE ABOUT LIFE AND SAILING ON THAT TRIP.TODAY I'M MARRIED AND DON'T GET TO DO LONG TRIPS.BUT,I LOVE TO DO A SPER OF THE MOMENT AFTERNOON SAIL BY MYSELF.

 

[Larry T]

Sailing Alone

I sailed my 27' Catalina alone and it was the most enjoyable experience imaginable! I love sailing with my wife, but being by myself has such a feeling of accomplishment and is just so remarkably pleasant! When I stopped the engine and got the sails up the silence was amazing - the sounds of the lines creaking and the sails stretching as the wind pulled on them while the water could be heard slapping the hull. I only stayed out for a couple of hours but I'm really looking forward to the next time. The sad part is that was the last time I was able to take the boat out - I came down with a disease that is damaging the nerves in my feet an legs. The symptom is extreme pain and there's no cure, so we treat the symptom. I have a morphine pump and supplement that with oral pain meds which helps but is not totally effective. We decided to keep the boat so it would be there waiting for me to go into remission - hopefully next summer will see us sailing on the Chesapeake Bay once again.Larry

 

[Fred Hensley]

I'll take what I can get

Since I sail on a quiet uncongested harbor have the free time, I go whenever I can. I usually only take my parrot and dog for company.All lines lead to cockpit, roller furling, tiller tamer, spinnaker chute, cross cockpit traveller, and all the other goodies stuck on a Cat 22 so it's an easy job to single-hand. Great to go out after dinner to watch the Florida sunsets. Only have to go a few hundred yards from my back yard dock to be in open water. Tough retirement but I'm trying to get used to it.

 

[Kay]

It all depends

I have only single handed a few times in the three boats I have owned. My first was a Cape Cod Cat on Buzzards Bay. I came in after an after noon sail and was sitting on the boat as the Sun was setting in the fall and "V" after "V" of water birds flew over head with the smell and sounds of the water and just having a great sail on my gaff rigged cat I was transfixed by the beauty of this planet.The next was taking my 26D Mac out for a weekend that turned into one challange after another from fouled anchor to dead motor and then making a landing among careless motorboaters. I learned I could sail better than I thought.When sailing alone I am consumed by the task at hand. Later I have this feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.I have also sailed with my best friend and she is a good crew and it is fun to share the joy of being on the water with someone who enjoys sailing as much as you do.It's all good!!Fair Winds,Kay

 

[Rick]

Planning helps

I single hand my O'day 40 and really enjoy the peace and solitude. You do have to plan better than with crew especially entering and leaving the dock. With all the conviences of lazy jacks, roller furling, and autopilot it's pretty easy to do. Sailing is still a more the merrier thing to do though..

 

[Steve Goldman]

Singlehand sailing

I enjoy single handed sailing in light breezes when I can't find a crew.