How Long is Tooooo Long?

[RobertoH]

Hi again,

Leading on from my last post regarding "Trip Calculations", I am wondering how long is too long for passengers who have never sailed? I will be bringing women on board for the trip who have never sailed before. The trip is tentatively planned for 4 to 5 days legs between ports with most of the voyage through the Indian Ocean.

The yacht is 63', so relatively comfortable. But should I cut down on the duration between ports (add more stops)?

Two hours may be too long for them...who knows. But seriously, is 4-5 days fairly standard?

[artbyjody]

Thats gonna be a hard one, but as long as you do not try to do heart shaped courses and try to convince them to do 1000 days at sea I think you may be ok.

If they have never sailed or been on a boat in the ocean period. You may want to devise it so that the first day is day cruise for a few hours as a backup plan. There will be nothing worse than the feeling everyone gets to bear with when one gets sick and starts complaining all the time etc...it can take a party mood and send it downhill quick especially if the women do not know each other or know each other too well

Daily hops or at least every other day, would probably be my recommendation, and probably more enjoyable for everyone involved - including yourself who will have to man the watches 24/7 since no one else will be competent enough - unless you will have other crew onboard.

[RobertoH]

Jody - Thanks for the input. Heart shaped courses are definitely not on the agenda; lust not love!

That's a good point regarding short initial cruises. We plan to to a 2-day test in local waters before the long haul, so will bring them along for that.

Although I will have a crew, I am ultimately responsible and want to make sure all (including crew) enjoys the voyage.

Hmm....maybe I should line up 10 women...2-day test....those that don't "blow cookies" are good to go. (What a bad boy).

[camaraderie]

Roberto...my advice would be to do some 24 hour passages with your intended crew first and to be well equipped with sea sickness remedies including suppositories. 4-5 day passages may seem "short" to you...but many people cannot tolerate it and the imagined romance can disappear quickly and even become life threatening.
When I bought my boat in NY and brought it down to the Chesapeake Bay on a planned 3 day trip, I had a good friend and excellent sailor accompany me along with a "friend" who wanted to see what it was like to be at sea.
We passed under the Verazzano Bridge in a 10 knot breeze and 2ft. swells and the novice headed for the head and did not come out of the head compartment for the next 2 days. He threw up constantly and could not keep any of our seasickness remedies down. Had our trip been truly at sea, I would have feared for his life as he was deeply de-hydrated. At no point in the trip were the conditions more than benign...and certainly nothing like what you might run into in the Indian ocean.
They may all love the sea and have a great time...but do a check out cruise before getting too far from port...and make sure the medical kit is ready for those who are usually fine but lose their lunch in heavier conditions.

[Boasun]

Guests are like fish; After three days both start to have an aroma about them.
But for people who have never sailed before: A day trip of about 4 to 8 hours to see how they can handle it. Then a weekend trip. After that you can go for a trip of about a week's duration.

[sailaway21]

Roberto,
I think that your biggest problem is going to be that most people are completely at a loss for what to do when given 4-5 days with nothing to do but confined to a ship. Watching the water go by will be great for about twenty minutes! (g)

I would ensure that you have a decent library on board with a wide selection of books. Many find that reading at sea is both the ultimate sea passage pastime but also the ultimate reading time. Request them to bring books as well but know that they will run out of things to read if not supplemented by your library. I'd also pick some of the longer fiction and non-fiction for stocking; your basic 175 page novel is done in a few hours when at sea.

Also I'd bring at least a half dozen decks of cards, a cribbage board, a copy of Hoyle on card games, a chess/checker board and pieces, and maybe a board game. DVD's and the like are fine but I wouldn't take much more than a dozen or so. They are inadequate entertainment long term-the truly unimaginitive and bored passenger will watch all of them back to back in a day, and then where are you?

Another idea involves one pastime of older seamen. Bring either some manila, some small stuff, and/or some small cordage and a good book on decorative knot-tieing. Some may find squareknotting of interest and while away hours on it. Others may find that they just want to try a simple eye-splice. Have the materials around to pacify their interest.

And you should have a good extra supply of writing materials for them. You'll be amazed at how many times they'll need either a sheet of paper or a pen or pencil. You'll not want to put the navigator's supplies at risk in meeting their need.

You can also get them fishing. Even people who think they hate fishing, like me, love it when they catch something. And it entertains all on board when they do tie into something of size.

I hope this has been of some help.

[Plumper]

I have found that folks aren't really into the routine for the first couple days. Once everyone has stood a couple days of watches then everyone becomes more comfortable. the first couple days are always grueling, like starting any shift job. Given that, stopping every couple days is very tiresome. Stopping every five or six days is nice.

[RobertoH]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

He threw up constantly and could not keep any of our seasickness remedies down. Had our trip been truly at sea, I would have feared for his life as he was deeply de-hydrated.

Now that would scare me. Even though I've had decent First Response medical training on land and water, I definitely want to avoid a situation that is potentially life threatening with no port in close proximity. Even though we plan alternative/emergency ports. The addition of suppositories as alternative to oral remedies; good pointer...just wrote that on my med-kit list. Great food for thought; thank you.

[RobertoH]

Originally Posted by Boasun

Guests are like fish; After three days both start to have an aroma about them.

Heh, heh!

I will probably have to rethink who will come along. At this point I really do not want to take the chance on the unknown when it comes to sea-sickness. I actually did not realize how serious it could be. Our time line might not allow for a graduation of small to longer trips. We basically will just have 2 days to test new equipment, then out to sea.

[RobertoH]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

Roberto,
I think that your biggest problem is going to be that most people are completely at a loss for what to do when given 4-5 days with nothing to do but confined to a ship. Watching the water go by will be great for about twenty minutes! (g).

All great points; thank you. I had listed under a "Moral" column DVD's books, and games, but in light of what you wrote, I will place more emphasis on books and games. Decorative knot-tying sparked an idea. I think the women might also enjoy macrame (however it's spelt) or other similar weaving type pleasures. I like your though on fishing; for me actually! I had placed fishing gear in the go-bag list for emergency evacuation. But now I think I might add a few rods and reels for strictly pleasure. Thanks for the input!