Solo Cruising

[neosin]

Come to galveston, texas. More old timers to cruse with and shoot the wind would blow your mind.

I don't have friends or family that have time to cruise with me other than long weekends, so I've given thought to cruising the FL Keys and Bahamas by myself. I currently have a 1985 32' Hatteras flybridge sport fisherman that I put new Yanmars and electronics in last year, so she's in great shape and easy for me to handle. She does have an autopilot which is interfaced to the chart plotter, plus I have radar. If I got serious about cruising by myself, I might consider doing it with a different boat, however, my 32 would do just fine.

I hesitate to mention this, but I am 70 years old, but in very good physical and mental condition and I have over 35 years of boating and cruising experience. I've lived in FL for 30 years and have cruised to the upper Keys and several trips to Bimini and Lucaya.

I would like to know what your thoughts are about this and if any of you have experience cruising alone.

Thanks for you feedback,
Karl

[Karl]

Hi Folks,

I did a test cruise by going south from Pompano Hillsboro Inlet to Sands Key (upper Florida Keys) this week. I left Monday morning and planned to be out thru Wednesday, but my gen started giving me problems in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday so I decided to to back; I didn't want to sleep the second night without A/C.

The cruise down was rough with 2-4 foot seas and a 15 knot SE wind. I used my autopilot interfaced with my GPS chartplotter all the way down to Biscayne Channel and that worked out real well, then used it Biscayne Bay side down to Sands Key. It took me about six hours to get to the anchorage. I had some issues to deal with, but nothing that was a show stopper until the gen started having fits.

The trip back ocean side was as rough and I got banged around. All in all, the trip was a success because I proved I could handle the boat by myself. Staying on the boat alone is another matter; I still have not come to any conclusions about that. I am glad I took the cruise, be it a short one.

The biggest issue is that my 32' Hatt did not track well and I need to think about whether I want to continue with her if I am to do more cruising. Thanks for the feedback and encouragement you have all given me. Karl

[Finalee]

My next door slip mate is 93 years old and has solo circumnavigated 2x. He lives aboard his 32 ft Dreadnought sloop and finished the last trip 3 years ago. I was at a reunion with him last month . Although he traveled alone , he sure made a lot of friends along the way. There were close to 100 family and friends there. So my opinion is go!

[Jaxfishgyd]

My brother's neighbor out in Long Beach is 85 now and will take his sailboat out alone if no one else will go with him. "Think" my brother said the boat is 80'.

Or else it's the owner is 80 and the boat is 85'.

Eveything on it is computerized so all he has to do is sit behind the wheel and hit buttons for sails up, down or whatever.

He does require help when he docks it, but considering what he's worth, the dockhands climb all over each other to help. And he tips VERY WELL.

[Trojan]

I cruise alone quite often on the great lakes. I don't prefer it ,but I do it. The admiral gets tired of the boat I don't. I have no trouble handling my 43 alone. I do make sure I am prepared and the boat is set for travel. When alone I always ware a life jacket even though I swim quite well. There is no one to stop the boat or turn it around should you fall over. You will have the same amount of time to fight a fire with or without help. I don't work on running engines while under way anytime. To easy to fall. Work safe.

BILL

[Karl]

Interesting point. On my cruise down to Sands Key I wore my ocean life vest (type V I think), strapped my submersible hand held VHF to my belt, and placed a mirror and whistle in my upper pockets with the lanyards around my neck. I thought all this would be uncomfortable and awkward, but it wasn't. I wore the vest all the way down to the anchorage. Same on the way back.

If I were to get serious about cruising alone, I would probably consider investing in an inflatable vest. What do you think about that?

That's a good point about not messing with the engines while under way.

Karl

[Capt.Erich]

Karl,

I've done quite a bit of offshore solo sail cruising. Here is the inflatable vest that I like. It is pricey but comes close to doing everything a solo cruiser would need. It's lightweight and comfortable. Since I've been delivering bigger powerboats I've never run solo and haven't given much thought about digging the vest out. But as my 34 Hatt gets closer to being in the water, I'll dust it off and have it serviced.

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/produ...uct.php?id=541

Cheers!

[Karl]

Capt. Erich, I will definitely look into that. Thanks, Karl