As I gear up for the holidays I've been thinking about other topics that one would need to study up on to make a safe offshore passage.

Obviously sailing skills are critical.  But that, I have found is a fairly expansive topic.  One can go sail a 16 foot boat in a lake and know how to sail quite well.  That may not get you across an ocean, it might...  The skills are certainly transferable but it seems like being able to tack, gybe and dock a sail boat is only the very beginning.

Actually the myriad topics have made my head spin at times, so for the most part I've pushed the details of those things off for now.  But I have a running list of skills and knowledge that will eventually have to be mastered in my head.  Some of the things on my list are only subsets of a bigger topic, and sometimes they are the product of tunnel vision and ignorance.

Some of the topics spinning around in my head in no particular order:

We'll need to learn how to anchor.  More than just tossing an anchor over the side and settling on it; decisions have to be made as to which and how many of the various sizes and types of anchors to use for given weather and bottom conditions.   Even before leaving the dock decisions will have to be made on number, type, and size of anchors to carry and how much chain and rope should be attached to each.  We'll need to understand the anchoring conditions and how tides play a factor in a given locale.

Sail types and sizes.  I'm figuring a cruising sailboat will have a roller furler or two on the headsails and a main with 3-5 reef points. So I don't see a lot of thought needed for headsails with the exception of a spinnaker.  The main won't be changed out often but will need to be reefed from time to time.  Knowledge of a boats handling will come into play in making sail configuration decisions.  Some boats need to be reefed before others.  Some sailors reef in certain situations regardless of wind conditions at a given moment, like at night. 

Provisioning.  How much of what can we carry?  What will last for months and what needs to be used faster.  Obviously fresh fruits won't last as long as dry goods but will some flour go bad faster than others?  Are some flours more prone to weevils that others?  Are there dairy products that will last months?  How long can eggs last un-refrigerated?  Can we carry a three months supply of beer and wine?  Will we want to?

Which brings me to drinking while underway.  I've read of many skippers who forbid alchohol while underway.  I've read of just as many who insist on a beer or a glass of wine nightly.  Knowing ones limitation here will be a factor I imagine.  I'm also guessing our vessel will be more like a British Man-o-war than a US Navy ship in that I would predict we'll be of the toasting the sunset variety. 

Cooking.  What will we want to eat and how hard will it be to prepare?  Will we want more elaborate meals if the conditions allow?  Or will we want to just get some sustenance?  When I'm backpacking we have a crude motto when it comes to food.  It'll make a turd...  In other words food has a purpose and taste is secondary to that purpose.  Although we've found ways to add some zest to our carb loading sessions...  I'm guessing we'll be trying for simple to prepare meals, but I can see wanting to splurge sometimes.  Then again maybe we're having three course meals every night.

Fishing.  What type of equipment works well on a sailboat?  I'm a fresh water trout fisherman and have extremely limited experience in salt water.  How many rods, lures, leaders, other tackle etc would we need?  What test would be appropriate?

Weather.  I've heard of Grib Files.  I gather these are weather forcasting data sets.  We'll need to understand them.  We'll need more than one weather predicting tool.  We'll need to understand what the sky and the conditions are telling us.  We'll need to understand the normal prevailing conditions for a given location.  We'll need to know what kind of conditions we can handle and what options we have when it comes to heavy weather.

Navigation.  GPS is all the rage. I have one in each car and I have a hand held for hiking. Still I take Topo maps when I go in the backcountry.  I am certain I'll want charts of the places we go.  Will we want or need a Sextant? I think just from the scientific/fun factor that we'll want a sextant aboard and use it.

Boat maintenance in general.  Everything I've read says to have spares of everything.  But really, what does that mean?  Literally spares of everything?  Spare engine?  spare water maker?  Obviously no, so then what really?  Transmission?  Transmission parts?  I can see needing a major collection of fasteners plus specific hardware for repairing winches, sail rigging, deck fittings, and the like.  Tape to repair a cushion or sail?  Needle and thread to sew a sail back together?  Fiberglass repair?  Resin?  Fiberglass cloth?  My guess is self sufficiency is paramount on a 25 day passage so this topic will get a lot on brain cycles spent on it.

First aide.  You can buy extremely comprehensive first aide kits but if you don't know how to use anything in it then it's not very useful.  Therefore I see all of us needing to either study the topic or maybe even take some first aid classes.  This is one of those topics, among many, that everyone needs to be strong on.  Personally I used to be a certified EMT but if I'm the one sprawled out on the deck after getting clocked during an accidental gybe then I damn sure want another first aid expert onboard!  On top of first aid I think we'd need a good pharmacy aboard too.  Advil is the easy one, but we'll probably want antibiotics, sleep aids, malaria meds, sea sickness meds, stuff to deal with dry, sun burned or wind burned skin.  What else?

These are just a few topics that I'll be spending my nights and lunch time walks thinking about for the next few years.  Truthfully I'm pretty excited to contemplate these concepts.  

In addition to this short list other ideas that will need study are: Electronics, DVD's, music, methods of music playback, gifts for locals, goods for bribes, goods for bartering/trading, sheets or sleeping bags, snack foods, cups or bottles, real china or plastic or corelle, plastic or metal utensils, new boat specific pots and pans or just what's in our kitchen, Books, firearms, swim calls in the middle of the ocean, how many computers, how many external hard drives, carry scuba gear or rent, head lamps or flash lights or both, shoes on board or barefoot, how often to shower, watch standing options, will we get bored, will we fight, will we have space to get away from each other, will we all chip in on the daily stuff that needs doing, will we like other cruisers, will we have to deal with other vessels, will we have pirate encounters, will we get enough sleep underway and on and on...

This stuff is a great way to get lost in ones thoughts as time permits.  Einstein had his thought-experiments, I have my thought-logistic-planning.

Ciao,
Seaman Ray