How do you pass time on a long voyage?

[perky]

Headed out across Lake e Erie this morning to see how far I could get, aft 3 hr at 8 knots I turned around back to the home port. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

 

[rjwilliams11741]

Passing Time While Long Range Cruising

Read, Fish, Perform Minor Maintenance, Navigate, Play Cards With Crew etc.

 

[O C Diver]

Go to the bars and chase women. There's also a site on the Internet called Trawler Forum where you can spend time. You can also check out the boat porn on Yachtworld.

Ted

 

[psneeld]

Just bougjt a stand for my bike that is also a stationary trainer. Thought I might put it next to the upper helm with the autopilot remote and pedal.

Because the scenery going by is slower than biking, mabe it will make me pedal faster...

 

[Comodave]

Trade off taking naps with my wife.

 

[eyschulman]

Adjusting the sails helps. Mending the sails and canvas helps. otherwise bring plenty of food and spirits and if you like others to share with. When I am alone on a power boat I keep watch and navigate and try to keep the trips relatively short. There are some who turn on the autopilot and chill-out and on occasion that can get exciting not in a good way.

 

[Pack Mule]

Trade off with my wife .

 

[Gumbalaya]

Headed out across Lake e Erie this morning to see how far I could get, aft 3 hr at 8 knots I turned around back to the home port. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

Watch the clouds, stare into the waves, breathe deeply, spread your inner wings, nap a lot, listen to your fav boating playlists and drink rum. There’s no such thing as blue sky blues.

Treat your ship like a princess, daydream, enjoy the sounds of the night and did I mention to drink a lot of rum?

 

[Ski in NC]

Satellite radio. If I have crew, take turns getting naps.

 

[Larry M]

I like going 7 knots a lot more than 15 knots on long trips. At 15 knots you really have to pay attention. Our longest passge was 24 days and I think Lena and I averaged around 6 knots. At times it was probably tedious but I can honestly say I was never bored.

 

[ranger58sb]

Just bougjt a stand for my bike that is also a stationary trainer. Thought I might put it next to the upper helm with the autopilot remote and pedal.

Is it coupled to a get-home prop?



-Chris

 

[rwidman]

My wife and I trade off at the helm. I will sometimes nap on the flybridge deck or go below and nap in the V berth. Or plan our routes and stops on the computer.

Having a flybridge, we are able to watch the scenery and wildlife passing by. That probably wouldn't work on the Great Lakes or the ocean.

 

[Benthic2]

with google maps and a little algebra you could have found out how far you could go in 3 hours without ever leaving the dock.

 

[SaltyDawg86]

Headed out across Lake e Erie this morning to see how far I could get, aft 3 hr at 8 knots I turned around back to the home port. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

Why did you turn around? Board and went back to the dock? Who will be making trips with you? Where (how far) are you looking to go?

 

[River Cruiser]

I've ran long 12+ hour days but don't like to, last time was to get past a daytime closure on the Illinois river. I'll trade off with my wife or daughter even my grandson has taken a turn at the helm. I enjoy the trip and plan during the day where we are going to stop, we typically anchor out so stopping point can change depending on how quick we get through locks. Having a destination helps keep things interesting by watching our progress.

 

[AlaskaProf]

. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

1. Make some friends. In my 11 weeks of cruising this summer, I had guests for 8.

2. Port calls.

3. Take your dog. I didn't, and regretted it every day.

4. Audiobooks. I download them free from my hometown library, anywhere I can get wifi.

 

[OldDan1943]

Satellite radio. If I have crew, take turns getting naps.

Yup Satellite radio can be a real savior on long car trips too.
I am hung up on radio mysteries, from years ago.
Classical music and music from the 40s
Of course, you can stay updated on the news so you can decide if it is safe to go to shore too.

 

[rochepoint]

Headed out across Lake e Erie this morning to see how far I could get, aft 3 hr at 8 knots I turned around back to the home port. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

We never get tired of cruising in the PNW with all the beautiful scenery that constantly changes, boy are we lucky but please keep it a secret!.......

 

[OldDan1943]

With current charts and at least on good depth sounder, you can stay close enough to shore and enjoy the changing scenery.

You thought you got bored, think of Columbus.

Headed out across Lake e Erie this morning to see how far I could get, aft 3 hr at 8 knots I turned around back to the home port. How do you pass time day after day week after week?

 

[MYTraveler]

Most of my trips are multi-day fishing trips, each of which usually begins with an early evening departure and 36+ hours of travel. And there are usually 7 of us on board. We have an assigned watch schedule at night, with two guys at the helm on staggered 2 hour shifts. And when we arrive, fishing becomes the primary focus and even when we aren't catching, it is hard to get bored. But even on the travel days, there is always something going on -- cleaning fish, preparing tackle, preparing and consuming meals, playing poker, telling jokes, watching whatever nature has to offer, etc. Plus, there is always satellite TV, and music, and lots of DVDs. I always bring a book, but actually find little time to read.

 

[psneeld]

Is it coupled to a get-home prop?



-Chris

Wish it was coupled up.

Coulda used it last May for sure...

Either that or to turn the blades in the pina colada machine.

 

[Planobilly]

I have done some really long solo trips when I had a sailboat. Germany to Florida. Far away at sea there is not a lot to deal with except the weather and some maintenance. Close to shore I stayed pretty busy just running the boat.

I always thought it would be fun to share these adventures with someone. For whatever reason that never happened.

I passed the time listening to the radio and talking on the ham radio. I read a lot and studied navigation. I had a lot of charts that I studied and day dreamed about all the far away places I wanted to go. Part of those years I had my dog Bismark with me. He never said much but he was a good listener. I had a line in the water to fish a lot of the time.

It takes a bit of time to disconnect from the pace of life on shore. I never realized how stressful day to day normal life was until I made some long trips on the boat. After a while, what I though about, and what was important changed. To the extent I could I rested at night and was up at day light. I began to look at the stars, pay attention to the weather, and listen to the sounds of the boat. All the sights and sounds of the city slowly faded into someplace in my memory and lost there importance.

Sailing the boat around close to shore there was less time to relax. Always on lookout. I had an autopilot and would not own a boat of any sort without one. Yes, sometimes I steer the boat by hand, but not for long. I made a trip up the inter-coastal waterway from Florida to North Carolina and enjoyed watching the world go by. Plenty to keep me busy on that trip.

There is always something that needs fixing on a boat. Generally sooner that later I found myself having to work on something I could not put off.

I find it extremely important to have a very comfortable place to sit down while running a boat. That place needs to be out of the weather. I had a pilothouse boat and could never understand how those other people I saw in rain gear hunkered down in the cockpit could stand it.I ran my engine a lot so there was not much difference from a trawler except a little slower.

It was funny about long ocean trips...I was always in a hurry for it to be over the last day or so and started missing it a day or two after I was back on land.

 

[Planobilly]

Most of my trips are multi-day fishing trips, each of which usually begins with an early evening departure and 36+ hours of travel. And there are usually 7 of us on board. We have an assigned watch schedule at night, with two guys at the helm on staggered 2 hour shifts. And when we arrive, fishing becomes the primary focus and even when we aren't catching, it is hard to get bored. But even on the travel days, there is always something going on -- cleaning fish, preparing tackle, preparing and consuming meals, playing poker, telling jokes, watching whatever nature has to offer, etc. Plus, there is always satellite TV, and music, and lots of DVDs. I always bring a book, but actually find little time to read.

Now that is my idea of what is fun to do on a boat!!! When you are short a man give me a call. I actually even know how to fish!!

 

[BDofMSP]

Since I don't have autopilot, I'm pretty busy steering, looking for floating things, and working with my wife to keep track of where we are on the chart in case the electronics go out. Add some decent waves to the mix and I'm pretty much maxed. Sometimes tired but never bored.

 

[markpierce]

Mostly read, but will attend an interesting lecture or movie, play trivia, have a drink at the bar, have a conversation with a fellow passenger, nap, or partake in
a meal. Or just watch the passing sea.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B: Guests. Especially younger as in upper teens and 20 something girls. Music. Talking. Adequate breaks. Snacking. Cooking. Eating. Watching television. Posting on TF. Surfing net. Misbehaving with hubby.

If you have enough of the right people, even 50+ hour crossings are never boring. If just two of you, then music and singing for us is big, plus just talking, even letting our fantasies go wild. Thinking of next places to go. Oh, Phone. Catching up with others on it. Haven't been bored yet.

 

[ranger58sb]

Either that or to turn the blades in the pina colada machine.

Ah. Not a bad alternative!

Although I'm usually in the camp where if a drink has more than two ingredients, it's way too much trouble. And ice is an ingredient.

Still, harnessing pedal power for something else that's also useful... could be a marketing opportunity. Get-home? Blender? Fan? Generator (and any number of AC or DC devices)?



-Chris

 

[FF]

"Audiobooks. I download them free from my hometown library, anywhere I can get wifi."

YES!

 

[Mako]

Very straightforward answer for me on long trips...

hand steer.

It also prevents sea sickness for your guests if they are so-inclined.

 

[CaptTom]

Trade off taking naps with my wife.

I'm wondering who you trade with for those the naps with your wife

Running the boat is often a full-time job if there's any weather. Also up here we have lobster buoys to keep us focused on steering.

Switching off helm watch is a great way to keep everyone's sanity. Off watch, you can do anything from cleaning, cooking and maintenance tasks, to just relaxing and watching the scenery. Music helps, just have a way to mute it quickly if something urgent comes over the radio, or there's a sudden odd noise.

Having a routine helps. I do engine room checks hourly. That probably sounds excessive to some, but it really saved my skin once. I'm pretty diligent about it now, if I'm going any distance.

Believe it or not, having a favorite snack handy helps. We'll promise ourselves not to get into the snacks before 10. That gives us something to look forward to all morning. Pretty soon we're preparing and eating lunch. If we're still underway in the afternoon, that mid-afternoon break holds us over until it's time to start thinking about dinner. Again, having a routine (and something to look forward to) is the trick.