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SD did a great job on write up so I will try and not repeat anything he said.
Well, I hope it really is no big deal. I would hope that after reading what you have read, and asking the question you just asked, you will not take an offshore passage lightly.
I have seen 15-20 foot breakers five feet from my head with dolphin swimming in them. I was eye to eye with dolphin standing in my cockpit!!
I have been up on the deck in a pitch black darkness scrambling to hold onto the mast and boom to reef the sail.
I have motored for 27hours in a sea so flat it was a mirror... and never saw another boat.
So you are asking: So, what's the point? The unknown. The best and the worst is out there. Preparation and learning all you can learn. Be prepared for any and every possible dissaster. There is no coast guard out there to help. No cell phones. No VHF. Unles you have a HAM or Irridium, forget any conversation with anyone.
You go down on your boat out there, the odds of surviving are very, very small to none at all.
That is the big deal. It is real and nature at its best and its worst. Learn everything you can learn and prepare for everything you can prepare for... and I hope you never have to use them.
All that being said, it is awesome and worth the risk. Of course, I am happy sitting on my boat and watching the sunrise in a crowded marina.
Fair winds...
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