July 15, 2004
Beginning Cruiser Mistakes

	Elan anchored at Minerva Reef, doing some exploring en route from Tonga to New Zealand.

We've seen the following five mistakes repeatedly, more often than not committed by cruisers in the early part of their careers:

(1) Gear priorities: Inevitably those setting up a boat for the first time for extensive travel, in cases where the operators lack sea time, tend to overspend in some areas and under-spend or under-prepare in others. A certain amount of this is unavoidable. After all, you can only read so much, and many have not had the opportunity to accumulate sea time because they were too busy working on land to try to afford cruising in the first place. Sooner or later you've got to go with what you know and take the plunge, get the boat up and running, do something even if it's not quite right. The lucky minority who worked at sea will probably be more likely to carry over-strength multiple anchor rodes, long lengths of extra line for storm tethering and Med-mooring, a heavy duty anchor windlass, multiple-use poly balls, a good set of storm sails, and other fundamental equipment that can prevent trouble at sea.

(2) Route planning and passage timing: Information about routes and timing is far more accurate and accessible now compared to 20 years ago, and of course remains a major topic of discussion among groups of cruisers in various ports. But herein lies the pitfall, particularly when you are just getting started. You've got all of the fundamental information for the area. You've got weatherfax capability, and you understand the basics of reading the products. Most of the logic is in front of you. What seems to happen, though, is that packs of relatively inexperienced boats begin to churn this information among themselves, and inevitably false paradigms begin to emerge. Soon the groups seem to head off, en masse, on tangents that can get them in to trouble. We'd recommend seeking the advice of high seas commercial fishermen or racer/cruisers with lots of experience making the passage in question, not the convoluted theoretical opinions of folks who've never made the run.

(3) "Too soon" navigation: Despite advances in electronic devices and the equipment that supports them, there comes a time when closing an unfamiliar coast after an offshore passage where one must identify specific coastal features. Yes, electronic charts do replace much of the mental work of spatial orientation; nevertheless, prudent landfalls involve accurate recognition and eyeball input regarding channels, hazards, and setting the correct courses for entry to the desired anchorage. The mistake we see many, many folks make is trying to "force" all of this to become apparent too soon. Anxious to do it right, it's easy to begin searching a coastline intensely well before it's reasonable to expect the features to become readily apparent. By the time the vessel is sufficiently close to the area, I have repeatedly seen operators so wound up that they reject the obvious for implausible alternatives, simply based on the strain of starting the "final identification process", that critical transfer from paper or electronic chart to eyeball orientation, way too early. In the most extreme cases this can endanger the vessel and occupants.

(4) Anchoring: This is probably one area where the highest percentage of people have a little trouble at first--you can avoid long passages, hairy destinations, risky weather seasons, but no matter how conservatively you start out, one thing you must do is anchor from time to time. Sometimes the problems begin with the first mistake in our list, gear priorities--if you start out with the wrong anchor and rode for your boat, or an inadequate windlass, you're predetermined to have trouble. Given that the gear is right, there's still much to be gained from experience setting out the correct amount of scope, perhaps adjusting anchor type to bottom substrate, getting a feel for dropping, letting the anchor settle, and setting. In some places, sharks and crocodiles permitting, you really can't rest easy unless you've snorkeled out and at least checked, if not hand-set, your anchor.

(5) Heavy weather strategy: Careful beginnings often result in lack of heavy weather experience--you successfully avoid bad weather offshore by careful timing and good planning and sailing, so naturally you don't have much exposure at first. As the passages get longer, the destinations more exotic, the inevitable low comes along and suddenly you're getting a bit of a hiding, well beyond anything previous. One common mistake here is to leave too much sail up for too long--we learn from experience to reef down early, even if it proves unnecessarily conservative from time to time. The second mistake is to not ever have practiced or attempted to hove-to using your storm sails, even if in relatively mild conditions. Different boats balance differently, and if you already know, for example, that yours balances with helm amidships rather that lashed to leeward, you're that much further ahead when it's time to do the real thing. Third, the importance of having a heavy weather plan and the gear to execute it, all set to go, cannot be overemphasized. Many a mishap would have been averted by simply dropping all sail, lashing down the deck and hatches securely, and hoving-to a sea anchor or series drogue, critical gear for any offshore passagemaker.