Apart from the question about my favorite place, I get asked most frequently: " Isn't it dangerous out there in the Ocean"? The answer is
YES--at times it can be terrifying! But so is driving white knuckled on an icy Highway in a whiteout blizzard or a hurtling down a winding two lane New Zealand Road dodging overloaded logging trucks. The main difference perhaps is that if you get into some type of trouble on a roadway near civilization, normally help may be found close by,whereas out in the Sea normally the nearest assistance might be several days away from where you happen to be. Which is why we have to be self-reliant and are equipped with all sorts of safety gear that one hopes will never need to put to use: a Life raft(well equipped with food rations,water for drinking, a handheld GPS and radio, food rations, a small medical kit, signal flares and the like), an
EPIRB(Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) which when activated sends out an emergency signal with the vessel"s position to special satellites, "Ditch Bags" which are stuffed with more water, rations and safety gear, life vests, harnesses to clip into when the going gets rough , a "man overboard" device, throw buoys and various other survival gear. Also, and perhaps most importantly, one schedules the routes taken so as to be in the right place at the right time--avoiding the Tropical Cyclone,Hurricane, and Typhoon prone areas within their "season". This has been the rule on Seeker and so far it has served her well.
Another big factor, in addition to the seasonal timing, is to pay very close attention to the weather no matter what time of year it is and no matter where you may be. And, thanks to modern technology, there is a wealth of weather forecast information available around the Globe. Aboard Seeker I use on major Passages/Voyages a company called Commander's Weather based in New Hampshire to look over my shoulder and issue advance weather forecasts in order to plan the best possible route and schedule the best time for my route and then, when underway provide updated forecasts. I provide them with a position update via satellite email each day, so they can see my progress and let me know if they see anything new developing that might result in a change of route. This ,of course, is in addition to my monitoring various radio and satellite weather information broadcasts several times daily while underway. For just day sailing around New Zealand or short Passages I don"t use the Routing Service, but do frequently monitor the forecast as the weather can change quite quickly in a very short period of time and the Coast Guard and other sources broadcast the weather situation and forecasts continuously 24 hours a day.
Having said all of this it is inevitable that one will encounter bad weather every now and again regardless of the best precautions and the old Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared" applies.
Seeker has been caught in really only one terrifying storm and that was in the Atlantic Ocean well off shore from the Outer Banks of North Carolina in route to the British Virgin Islands in November of 2005. Winds of 65 knots-Hurricane Force and large seas were encountered. On board with me were Janet Lee, Bill Biewenga and Fred Potts.
We were almost knocked down with only a handkerchief of sail area up and below decks it was like being in a washing machine( and not on the "Gentle Wash" Cycle) , but Seeker showed her strength and ability and I have all the confidence in the World in this ship. She is a very solid Blue Water boat(23 tons) built to handle those conditions. Tethered into a harness at the helm in those conditions was a challenging experience and I am clearly convinced that I would fail before the boat ever would! I was actually happy to have experienced that storm--after it was over!- in order to see how Seeker performed in those conditions. Nothing like that has been experienced again -yet!
In addition to weather dangers: navigation hazards including ships , other vessels, and unmarked obstacles underway exist, and keeping watch for uncharted reefs and those pesky Pirates are all of concern-- but I'll save those for a future Post. However--if given the choice of driving the dangerous highways or travelling the Sea, I'll take the Sea any day!
