What is your greatest fear?

[bshillam]

Falling overboard and watching the boat sail away on autopilot


HOLLYWOOD

Thats why they have kill switches now for bigger boats and you wear them like a life vest. Good for people that single or long passages when your on watch.


Mine,
Having a life event that keeps me from boating. I haven't done enough and would greatly be disappointed if I didn't get to do more. I recently had a car accident, this car accident affected my back in ways I thought I would never recover. It's been about ten months and finally I am starting to turn the corner. For a while it looked like I wouldn't be able to get into an engine room again. When walking, bending, lifting, sitting, standing it all hurts to the point you hold your breath - needless to say I started thinking if this doesn't change boating is out of the question.

 

[Comodave]

I guess my biggest fear is my lady finding out what I ACTUALLY spend on boating.

I just get really vague and change the conversation.

 

[Codger2]

Falling overboard and watching the boat sail away on autopilot

Quality of fuel on board is probably my biggest fear but I have to admit that I've shared Hollywood's fear more times than I care to admit!

 

[Wayfarer]

Falling overboard and watching the boat sail away on autopilot

That’s definitely a scary one.

Thats why they have kill switches now for bigger boats and you wear them like a life vest. Good for people that single or long passages when your on watch.



Mine,

Having a life event that keeps me from boating. I haven't done enough and would greatly be disappointed if I didn't get to do more. I recently had a car accident, this car accident affected my back in ways I thought I would never recover. It's been about ten months and finally I am starting to turn the corner. For a while it looked like I wouldn't be able to get into an engine room again. When walking, bending, lifting, sitting, standing it all hurts to the point you hold your breath - needless to say I started thinking if this doesn't change boating is out of the question.

I’m going to look into one of those kill switches, methinks. I’m glad things are looking up BShillam!

I think my greatest fear (aside from big hairy spiders and precarious heights) is my own ignorance/incompetence/complacency. I’m always a little worried that I missed or forgot something, or got lost in thought for a few seconds without realizing it. It’s so easy to lose situational awareness and not even notice. When I have a nightmare, it’s almost always me screwing up and running into a reef or something.

 

[dhays]

Falling overboard and watching the boat sail away on autopilot


HOLLYWOOD

I don’t really have any fears, but this would be my biggest concern as well. With our water temps, the first risk is cold water shock drowning. Not as big a risk for me as I know, through experience, what to expect when I hit 50 degree water. If I’m not wearing a PFD then I can probably swim or thread water for 10-15 minutes before my muscles shut down. If I am wearing a PFD, I’ve got an hour before hypothermia sets in.

 

[OldDan1943]

I guess my biggest fear is my lady finding out what I ACTUALLY spend on boating.

Even I dont know how much I spend on my boat. LOL

 

[ghost]

That’s definitely a scary one.




I’m going to look into one of those kill switches, methinks. I’m glad things are looking up BShillam!

I think my greatest fear (aside from big hairy spiders and precarious heights) is my own ignorance/incompetence/complacency. I’m always a little worried that I missed or forgot something, or got lost in thought for a few seconds without realizing it. It’s so easy to lose situational awareness and not even notice. When I have a nightmare, it’s almost always me screwing up and running into a reef or something.

This. This and snakes.

 

[AusCan]

I never had an overly serious fear until a couple years ago, when I was cruising solo on a nice sunny day with a light 10 knot breeze, with the sails up and tight to smooth out a slight swell. As is often the case, I had the whole ocean to myself and hadn't another boat since leaving my anchorage that morning. There was a weather advisory of 25 knot winds beginning Friday evening, and I thought I'd play it safe and head home Thursday afternoon.

I happened to notice off to the port side, white water moving rapidly toward me. About 10 seconds later I was hit by what I think was a microburst. I don't know what the wind speed was but it was much more than I'd ever experienced anywhere. My sails were almost in the water and my rudder was out of the water. I had 10 of the scariest minutes of my life trying to get pointed into the wind (successful) and dropping the sails (fail). Out on the deck with harness attached, relying on the autopilot to keep me pointing into the wind, I could do nothing to drop the sails with the force of the wind shredding them. I never knew the wind could be so loud; It was deafening. I gave up, thinking...this is complete madness and retreated to the helm.
15 minutes later the wind stopped almost as fast as it started.
The entire event was completely surreal. There were no reports of any adverse weather conditions in the area.

Since then I've realised how unpredictable things can be. This is my fear. The unknown. You cannot always be in control.

I still get a bit of a shiver just writing this post.

 

[GFC]

I'd have to say that this isn't a horrendous fear, but it's on my mind at times: Having something on the boat go haywire or stop working and me not being able to fix it due to a lack of knowledge about some of the boat components.


There are a lot of little things that I don't know how to do. I've already talked with a friend who owns a marina and does all my repair work. He's going to spend a few hours on my boat with me showing me all the things I have questions about.


It'll be worth whatever he charges for doing that.

 

[hollywood8118]

Falling overboard and watching the boat sail away on autopilot


HOLLYWOOD

I have a friend that at times makes really stupid choices in life.. years ago the friend decides to take off from the west coast and sail to Hawaii.. without letting the other partners who also owned the boat know. Poor planning and seamanship meant that the friend hydro locked the motor, lost all electrical, ran out of food.. then water.
Luckily rain squalls and a unlucky Boobie bird allowed the hapless mariner a few more days of sustenance when a abandoned sailboat was spotted on the horizon. The decision was made to put the nutshell pram (the only other thing aboard that floated.. no raft etc.) in the water.. hove to the boat and row over to see what supplies could be scavenged off the newish 50' sailboat. Keep in mind this is 500 or so miles East of Hawaii in big water.

After trying unsuccessfully to get aboard while balancing on the thwart of a 8' plywood boat in big seas while emaciated, the hapless mariner finally gave up and decided to head back to the boat. Unnoticed the hapless mariners sailboat had decided to sail off into the sunset on its own. I cannot remember the exact time but the hapless mariner finally made it to the boat just after sunset (remember dead batteries and no lights) but it was something like 4 hours of hard rowing!
The hapless mariner finally landed in Hawaii the following week, anchored the boat and rowed ashore and spent the $5 left to the mariners name on departure on snacks from a convenience store.

Some people are just born lucky.. the mariner hadn't even taken a way to bail the pram of the water that came over the side!

The tale is too crazy to believe had I not had a personal connection to the hapless mariner.

This is right up there on my fear list!
HOLLYWOOD

 

[caltexflanc]

My greatest fear is me, and my attendant weaknesses and deficiencies, which are several.

Every time I was scared,or something close to scared, or in an unwanted situation on a boat, it was of my own doing.

Being afraid of things outside of your control is a recipe for unhappiness.

 

[dhays]

Some people are just born lucky.. the mariner hadn't even taken a way to bail the pram of the water that came over the side!

The tale is too crazy to believe had I not had a personal connection to the hapless mariner.

This is right up there on my fear list!
HOLLYWOOD

I guess my fear is that I might end up doing something as stupid as that guy.

 

[dhays]

My greatest fear is me, and my attendant weaknesses and deficiencies, which are several.

Every time I was scared,or something close to scared, or in an unwanted situation on a boat, it was of my own doing.

Being afraid of things outside of your control is a recipe for unhappiness.

I agree completely! I refuse to worry about stuff that I can't control.

 

[markpierce]

Quality of fuel on board is probably my biggest fear but I have to admit that I've shared Hollywood's fear more times than I care to admit!

My boat has consumed diesel fuel several years old, without a problem.

 

[markpierce]

My greatest fear is losing my mind. Am a member of the Old Guys Club (leastwise have the T-shirt).

 

[OldDan1943]

On my Nordhavn I used another Racor that boasts of a 'turbine' effect. Worked for me as a fuel polisher and transfer pump. The object is to get the water out of the fuel before it goes to the main Racor filter and rids us of the dirt and bottle caps and baby diapers etc.
Now, let us discuss the filter, 10 or 30 microns?
The last recommendation I read was, 30 microns in the main Racor. What about the fuel polisher, 10 microns? As I see it, a 10 micron filter cannot hurt.

 

[alormaria]

Heights.

 

[markpierce]

Heights.

That's a given, if on an edge.

 

[sbu22]

My greatest fear is losing my mind. Am a member of the Old Guys Club (leastwise have the T-shirt).

Yep. That's the one.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Having to abandon ship in cold water far away, and suffering the consequent ending.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

running out of money in retirement... I don't care if I lose my mind, have to abandon ship or other such problems.... I want to go down in flames! Or at least if I lose my mind, I won't know or care..

 

[BruceK]

Donna`s predicament is right up there.Effectively, living next door to a primed bomb awaiting a detonator.
A couple of months back we had someone new post, enquiring what to do with a large gas fuel tank leak onboard into the boat. OP was talking about getting a mechanic in, part of my advice was I didn`t think it was safe to go onboard.

 

[JohnEasley]

Donna's experience is certainly scary. She stayed calm and handled it quite well. Being caught in a fire, aboard or not, is right up there on the top of my list. Happens to people way more often than other scary things like piracy on the high seas.

 

[Group9]

My greatest fear is me, and my attendant weaknesses and deficiencies, which are several.

Every time I was scared,or something close to scared, or in an unwanted situation on a boat, it was of my own doing.

Being afraid of things outside of your control is a recipe for unhappiness.

So, all we have to do to never be afraid again, is to never ever make a mistake again?

Jesus made it look easy, but I don't know that I can pull that off.

 

[psneeld]

Hope or faith are the greatest tools for overcoming fears.

Hope that the marina does something about the gas smelling boat next to you before something bad happens.

Hope that the hurricane turns and doesn't hit your area.

Faith that your engine and or systems will last throughout the voyage.

Hope that some clown doesn't T-Bone you in the middle of an anchorage or out on the ICW.

While all these things and many more are items that can be somewhat controlled by your actions .. ultimately there's always that chance that one little thing may not go your way..... All you can do is have faith and or hope.

Those that have walked that fine line between safety and disaster repeatedly know what I mean.

 

[BandB]

Donna

I'd be sure to make the point to the marina that you'd been pointing this out for a considerable time. The stronger point is that if anything had happened, since you had advised them, they would have been responsible due to negligence so they might want to reconsider in the future. If a marina is unaware of a problem, it's one thing, but once advised their level of responsibility rises significantly.

Now, my greatest fear related to boating is anything that results in the death or serious injury of someone with us. That is anything from man overboard to injury or illness we're unable to get help for in time to fire or sinking, drowning, shark bite. I'm afraid such an event would rob me of any future boating pleasure.

In life in general it's loss of my wife's life, followed by others close to us. We've both pledged to each other how we'd go on and go forward after the death of the other, but pledging that is easier than actually doing it.

Partly due to age and partly to circumstance, neither of us has ever lost someone close to us about whom we cared a lot. I know nearly everyone here has been through that. Our parents are dead but, unfortunately, there was no love there, so it's impact was little more than reading an obituary in the newspaper. Now, there is the couple that as adults we adopted as parents and a couple of other older couples and the extended family we've gathered on top of each other. Even worse is the loss of a child or young person.

Ironically, this fear is contrary to our belief system which is that death is not to be feared. It makes it somewhat easier to accept expected death due to age and illness, but harder to deal with accidental or sudden death.

 

[OldDan1943]

realize more folks are killed each year on the highway than in boats over 25 ft.
The key is not to be one of them.

 

[diver dave]

driving I95 outside Flagler county.

Dan; great minds think and type alike!

 

[OldDan1943]

driving I95 outside Flagler county.

Dan; great minds think and type alike!

Years ago, there used to be a rush hour in Atlanta on I285. Now, it is a rush hour all day long and most of the night. When traffic slacks off DOT goes out, tows the cars and shovels up the bodies.
The posted speed is still 55 or maybe 65 mph. In reality, it is closer to 85mph
Even the police have sees enough to stay off of I285 until needed.

 

[MurrayM]

Heights.

In a past life (younger years) I was into rock climbing. Climbing above hard ground or jaggedy boulders was normal & fine, but when climbing above water such as on a sea cliff it was very disconcerting. Weird.