Nervous to single hand sailing

[marinesniper]

Tomorrow will be the first time I single hand it, so far even with a friend I cannot get my 30 footer in its dock space without bumping the sides of other boats or the cement walkway...

I am to the point where I say screw it and just go out and sail then return and deal with docking the best way I can...ouch...

thoughts..should I just go for it...?

[B747dx]

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for." Admiral Grace Hopper

[davidpm]

What exactly is the problem? Bumping the dock is one problem, bumping other boats an entirely different problem.

If I owned the other boat I would prefer you learned to dock only bumping the concrete.
Is there a reason why fenders don't work in well in your situation?

[marinesniper]

If I use the really big ones it would, I am thinking about really padding my dock so even if I really screw up nothing gets damaged...

BTW- I only bumped the other boat when I had problems with my prop and the boat would not move anywhere quickly under full power...

I am just nervous I guess, will a shroud break while sailing, will the rudder chain snap, etc...

[judika]

Go for it. You will never regret! It will force you to learn things you need to know anyway.

[sailingdog]

Spring lines are your friend. Learn to use them. They can solve a whole lot of docking problems.

[davidpm]

If you are not confident docking there is only one reason. You haven't done it enough. Grab your friend, pick a cloudy day when you have the dock to yourself, and dock, leave, dock as many times as it takes so it is boring. Your friend does nothing but just be there just in case.

Yes it is only one set of conditions but its a good start.
Once you have done it a bunch of times it will seem so easy you will wonder how it ever seemed challenging.

Let your friend have a chance to while you watch if that is possible. That will give you a different perspective too.

[davidpm]

Originally Posted by marinesniper

I am just nervous I guess, will a shroud break while sailing, will the rudder chain snap, etc...

I can't help you with that one. The guys with 30+ years experience don't seem to worry about it but I too can imagine conditions where I would like to be in two places at once.

As beginners we are trying to be prudent.

In a thread about crew overboard techniques the consensus was that with two crew if one goes overboard and is unconscious the remaining crew now single handing is not very likely to be successfull in a rescue unless conditions are very mild.

I suspect that if you are single handing and any number of bad things happen your chances of a good outcome are significantly less than if you had competent help.

In both cases the experienced sailors don't like to talk about it much but they seem to know and accept it.

Exceptional skills help but they take time to develop and are not always enough. I think that the bottom line is that sailing has some inherent risk and sailing singlehanded is by definition more risky than with competent crew.

I may get roasted for that comment so am looking forward to how the experienced sailors feel about that.

[tommyt]

SD and Davidpm have it right. Practice, in benign conditions, and SPRING LINES!!!!!!!!! If you come in, SLOWLY, and get a mid ships spring on a post or cleat, YOU are in control. If you come in fast, and jump off to pull the boat, you are SCREWED!

Practice with spring line, and you will be fine. I am more nervous today when someone wants to help then when I don't have help. You really have to trust someone a lot to hand them a line, because they can be great or horrible....and it is you boat that will feel the pain.

[sailingdog]

Marinesniper-

I hope you have a tether, harness, and jacklines rigged on the boat. One major difference between sailing singlehanded and going out with crew is that you REALLY NEED TO STAY ON THE BOAT. No one is there to rescue you or call for help if you fall overboard while singlehanding.