The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Priorities In Preparation

JHH5-14759

Phyllis and I were in the throes of preparing Morgan’s Cloud for a voyage to the high latitudes a few years ago. As usual, we were splitting the many tasks—I call this stage of voyage preparation “death by a thousand details”—between us, based on our individual skills. I was once, in the dim and distant past, a computer technician so the tasks that have to do with electronics have fallen mainly to me.

I was installing a new AIS transponder with integrated screen and GPS, a task that I had budgeted a single day for. Three and a half days later I finally finished fighting antenna and interfacing problems and got the damned thing working and playing nice with our computer based chart plotter.

While I was messing with the AIS unit, Phyllis finished reviewing our medical kit and then serviced all of the six winches on the mast and boom. Three of which are critical to our ability to reef quickly and efficiently. Not only that, in the process she found wear on two that could eventually result in a winch failing under load. An event that would not only be inconvenient, but could result in someone getting seriously injured.

So, the question is, which one of us was making a greater contribution to a safe and seamanlike voyage in those three and a half days?


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Chris

Solomon wouldn’t touch this one…

Verena @ GalleySwap

Of course Phyllis is! The AIS is nice to have but a prudent mariner should never depend on electronics alone. 🙂

Stan Carlyle

A couple on a boat are a team! To put one person’s efforts and value above another’s devalues part of the team. I am sure that either one of you could not imagine accomplishing your incredible adventures without the other one. Shame on you for even thinking like that!

(I am sure that your question was “tongue in cheek”. I am always impressed with what two can accomplish compared to one and I always enjoy a day’s chores with my teammate nearby even if we are not working on the same project.)

Mitch

As a computer tech myself, I dread installing all the integrated electronics of today and have chosen to go the simple route at present. Maybe I’ll change my tune later down the line…

I think you both score serious kudos for your efforts over that three and a half day period!

Richard

Ummm… I don’t think the answer, to which of you performed the task most important and vital to a successful voyage, is so easily answered.

Things to ponder before replying:

1) Does the captain know celestial navigation and is good with a sextant and charts?? If so, the fancy “electronic bells and whistles” are cool but, not life or death. If, on the other hand, the captain relies solely on electronic navigating——hands down, he’s the winner.

2) Now the medical kit. How in-depth is the kit.?? If you’re talking full surgical capabilities, ie. re-attaching the finger that was separated from the hand when the winch failed. Uhhh— I could sail around in circles for a couple of weeks until I hit a landmass, in exchange for having my finger back. She wins (but only if she remembered to pack alot of Novocain and serious pain killers, too). On the other hand, if she just replaced a couple of “flat” aspirin and exchanged brown band-aids for bright colored ones with smiley faces—–no, she gets zero points for that.

3) There is something to be said for a winch flying across the deck at a hundred miles an hour—(alot like a cannonball shot across your bow, I’d imagine). But, it kinda depends on when and where the said winch lets go, doesn’t it?? Let’s think about this—o.k., say you’re in the Bering Sea in a force 7 gale with 30 foot seas—–winch failure, yeeahhh—that could be a real vacation buzz cramp. On the other hand, the dog that never stops barking (on the vessel next to you at the marina) is “taken out” by that 100mph winch, well—“Ahh, jeez.. Sorry about that, man…Who woulda thought, what are the odds?? Gosh, we’re gonna miss your dog, too.”

So, the winch is really the deciding factor on which of you provided the most important tasks in the past 3 1/2 days, isn’t it?? But, I don’t like to take sides, so I’m not voting!!