Retired and cruising alone

AlaskaProf said:

You do understand that he is in the US, don't you?

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AlaskaProf said:

You do understand that he is in the US, don't you?

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ksanders said:

OK guys the Mexican courtesy flag comes down tomorrow morning and when I cross into Canada I will fly a quarantine flag until I have cleared customs and then I will fly a Canadian courtesy flag from the same place.

as to whether the Mexican courtesy flag goes back up when I leave Canada I'm not sure want to see what kind of mood i'm in.

The Mexican courtesy flag is really part of the big overall excitement of cruising to Mexico

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BandB said:

Wifey B: Apparently Dannc doesn't consider Alaska part of the US. Maybe back to only 48 states. Could be fewer. I guess we should ask if he considers New Mexico part of the US. :lol:

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Soo-Valley said:

Alaska is Canada's 12th province, we just let you'll pay to keep it running.

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Insequent said:

You will need to provide further and better particulars of that claim, including the name of the 11th province!

Typically the internet describes Canada as having 10 provinces and 3 territories, so I'm distraught to not knowing #11. Have you expropriated St Pierre & Miquelon from the French or something?

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ksanders said:

OK guys the Mexican courtesy flag comes down tomorrow morning and when I cross into Canada I will fly a quarantine flag until I have cleared customs and then I will fly a Canadian courtesy flag from the same place.

as to whether the Mexican courtesy flag goes back up when I leave Canada I'm not sure want to see what kind of mood i'm in.

The Mexican courtesy flag is really part of the big overall excitement of cruising to Mexico

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Soo-Valley said:

Alaska is Canada's 12th province, we just let you'll pay to keep it running.

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Soo-Valley said:

Alaska is Canada's 12th province, we just let you'll pay to keep it running.

Click to expand...

Insequent said:

You will need to provide further and better particulars of that claim, including the name of the 11th province!

Typically the internet describes Canada as having 10 provinces and 3 territories, so I'm distraught to not knowing #11. Have you expropriated St Pierre & Miquelon from the French or something?

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ksanders said:

A bit of a personal update is in order I suppose. Perhaps a bit of an explanation as to my TF silence on the subject is in order as well.

I am retired and started the cruise of a lifetime last Thursday from Seward Alaska to La Paz Baja Sur.

I have thus far completed crossing the Gulf of Alaska safely, and luck was no part of it. I am a capable mariner with two decades of open ocean experience. I choose my weather window properly, and used my boats capability for speed to shorten the longest portions to manageable timeframes, given a human needs to sleep.

Right now I am south of Juneau Alaska enjoying the inside passage.

Here is a link to my location. https://maps.findmespot.com/s/2R02#history/assets

Now to the reason for my silence.

I love the TF community. I have been here for around a decade and have had many wonderful discussions.

I recently presented a logical problem to the community here. That problem was to look at the distances I needed to cover to cross the Gulf of Alaska alone, and figure out a plan to accomplish my goal.

Some of the responses were fantastic. Frankly some were not so wonderful. My question was clear. How do I, alone solve this problem of the long hops necessary to cross the Gulf of Alaska.

It was not me asking if I should bring on crew. It was not me asking if I was stupid for cruising alone. I was asking how best accomplish my goal given my solo cruising status.

So... I chose to remain silent, and it was only with some urging from my friend Doug, who is also a solo cruiser that I am sharing my journey today.

I understand that TF is a public forum. I also understand that the TF community ranges from folks with zillion year old boats and a dream, to folks that have paid crew onboard at all times. I understand that.

But guys, cruising has been MY dream. Thats why I came here in the first place.
I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it alone, and safely.

I really respect the opinions of the seasoned cruisers, especially the solo, and couple cruisers. But if i listened to the Nay Sayers around here I would still be in Seward Alaska, reading about others adventures instead of living my own.

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ronobrien said:

Kev, Congratulations to you for listening to your own instinct and just doing it. I am 15 MO away from retirement and I'm refitting my 1973 GB36 to live & cruise on. I too am a solo sailor. I have found in all facets of life that people are usually quite willing to give their opinion on any subject whether solicited or not. Some are solid ideas, some are nonsense, some aren't even about the question asked. I have learned to talk to those that I have solicited and seem to offer a rational idea that is arrived at with some critical thinking. The rest I just thank politely and move on. Don't let ANYONE get you down. They usually don't understand the situation fully or are simply jealous and want to hear themselves. My favorite quotation is from a speech Teddy Roosevelt gave at the Sorbonne in 1910. It is known as "The man in the arena". My advice (little joke there) is you read and take heart from it. The last line of the excerpt is my favorite. It sums up what I think you are, I will hopefully someday, be living. Best wishes & God speed.

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ksanders said:

This morning I am cruising through the area of the inside passage known as the Reaches.

I anchor'd off last night, got a great nights sleep and am back moving this morning.

Today will be another day cruise, like pretty much all the rest. I start in the morning and before dark I am safely tied up or anchor'd off.

Being someone who is actually doing this I see no real need to another person on board except to chit chat with.

I am traveling between 7 and 8 knots. Nothing happens quickly. If I see a log in the distance I keep my eye on it and then at the last minute decide if it's a problem to be avoided.

If I see another boat I have literally minutes of time before dealing with it. If it is a commercial vessel with AIS I have a half hour sometimes or more.

While typing this I walked the 5 steps to the galley and retrieved the toast from the toaster. Got a refill of my coffee.

When the bathroom calls, I go. No problem.

That is the reality of solo cruising, and I see no problem with it.

I would rather be living my dream than sitting in a rocking chair growing old dreaming of what I am doing right now

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mvweebles said:

This post is why I will always push back hard on people considering extended singlehanded passages. This post extols the romance of single handing and how naysayers - including the NTSB, the USCG, and every open ocean sailboat race committee - should be ignored. The post waxes poetically about being misunderstood and how you should find kindred spirits who agree and support you.

Kevin, sorry for referring back, but this is important. I have no quarrels with what you are doing. Beyond your original post a couple months ago, I simply don't know what you're up to and wish you the best. To be honest I may too consider extended single handing. But let's be brutally honest here: doing so increase risk. Part of the calculus is (1) needle in the haystack odds of encountering another vessel on a collision course: and (2) invariably depending on others to stand watch while you are unable to do so (eg another boat will detect you).

If someone wants to single hand, well it's their I'll advised decision to do so. But please don't put yourself on a pedestal for doing so. And for God's sake, please don't use others as an example. As is sometimes said, there's a right way, a wrong way, and the way someone has gotten away with. Single handing on extended passages is NOT the right way and is indeed illegal.

Sorry for the diversion, but as a pastbfull time delivery skipper, I just can't let some items such as this go.

Peter

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twistedtree said:

In fairness, I think a distinction needs to be made based on time underway without sleep. It really comes down to whether or not you can maintain watch.

I don’t think single hand day hops are a problem because you can keep watch, at least assuming you aren’t napping on the job. Hitting the head, or a little back and forth to get a meal together isn’t a big deal. For some people, this can extend to 18, and maybe even 24 hrs. This is what Kevin is doing.

Where I 100% agree with you is when you are talking about multi-day passages.

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