Ask a Sailor
 

Well, the world's great religions have been covered by others better than me, so I'll offer my expertise on the one thing I am knowledgeable : Sailing.

Big or small, celestial or terrestrial, if I know the answer, I'll pontificate. And if I don't, I'll make up something that sounds just as plausible.

Did they make you dress up as a girl first time you crossed the equator?

Does that Village People song play in your head non-stop?

has anyone that you have heard of sailed/motored/rowed around the world in a dinghy?

if not, is it do-able?

Is a British tar a soaring soul, as free as a mountain bird?

do you really sail your boat, or just steer it while the propeller does its thing?

Can I come work on the ship? Really, I want too.

No, but outlandish clothes, public drunkenness, and humiliation are the order of the day. During the great age of sail, about 150 years ago, when ships crossed the line, Neptune and his mates would come onboard and ceremoniously shave the pollywogs. The razor was usually the rustiest knife anyone could find, and the shaving 'cream' was a mixture of pine tar, fish oil, blige water, fish guts, you name it. After being shaved with this, and by Neptune's mates (who were usually so drunk they were barely able to stand), the new shellbacks took weeks to grow new skin on their faces. Some interesting accounts have come down through the years about line crossing ceremonies in years gone by.

I'm on the left in the purple. We three discovered the next day that we had consumed 5 bottles of rum, straight. In approximately 4 hours!!!
Attachment 19844

I'm in the purple again, in my pirate getup, with a plastic chicken, purchased in Soweto, on my shoulder. It's amazing how creative you can get in the middle of the ocean.
Attachment 19845

Are there any women sailors?

No.

No, but it's probably do-able with a large support staff. Just remember, in some countries they make you pay for the cost of the rescue operation, which if they are searching for you with a couple of C-130's, helicopters, maybe a ship or two, the cost can get into the millions very easily!

Not the ones I've met. In terms of adventuresome people, it's usually Swedes and Kiwi's that you meet all over the world. Sometimes the same ones.

Nowdays I navigate where it goes, but it's the wheelsman's job to either steer or set the autopilot. When I was on sailing ships, then it was steered by hand, day or night, rain or shine. When yachties used to come onboard in the tropics, one of the first questions they would ask is if we had an autopilot on board. We said, "Sure. 35 of them!"

Sailing ships are all over the place in the USA. Here's a few links:

Picton Castle (my home for 3 years, offers round the world voyages for $$$):

American Sail Training Association

Great Lakes Maritime Academy


Seafarer's International Union of North America
---------- Post added at 06:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:22 PM ----------


Absolutely. On the Picton Castle, half of our crew was women. Most ships that I work on now have one or 2 women on board, but the commercial ships that I work on now is a very male dominated society.

What's the bathroom like and what happens to the waste?

Believe it or not, on most ships (Federally regulated, that is) the black and grey water systems and regulations are more stringent than your cities or towns. Our sewage is directed to settling tanks, macerated, settled again and then directed through an ultraviolet centrifuge which kills everything. What is left over can be pumped overboard, but only in amounts over 15 parts per million.

My bathroom on my ship now is just like yours at home; I've got a sink, toilet and shower in a small room adjoining my bedroom. Most officers have their own suite; most unlicensed crew has to share, 1 bathroom to every 2 or 3 crew.

whats the best way for a newbie who wants to go out on a day trip to avoid sea sickness

Shellback you say...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/...aaf681e0bf.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/...3e6aacdfbd.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3216/...432010902a.jpg

Suck it Wogs-

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/...6a0b9cafa9.jpg

Most people are seasick to some degree their first time at sea; not everyone pukes their guts out, some just get a headache or dry mouth. Once your equilibrium adjusts to it, your brain will remember how to deal the next time you find yourself on a boat.

There are a lot of 'remedies' available from pills to accupressure bands. They all 'work' more or less the same way: They convince your subconscious that you are not going to be seasick, therefore you aren't. I've seen a lot of seasick people over the years, and I'm convinced that 98% of seasickness is in your head. The sickest people I've seen are the ones who sit around before they set out talking about how sick they are going to be, ergo they talk themselves into it.

The other 2% break down into two camps: Those who are seasick their first time on a boat, and then are fine for the rest of their lives; and those who are doomed to be seasick for the rest of their lives. I've only met 2 people who are chronically seasick in 20 years.

heh well meet the 3rd! I have always loved the sea and thought boats were awesome, but every time I step on one, I feel absolutely awful. I don't actually puke, because I control it, but I feel like I want to die. Only position I am comfortable in is lying down, face down. This happens mostly on smaller boats. In larger boats, it takes the ill feeling about 30 mins to set in. I am not even one of those people who talk about it beforehand. Last time I went on a boat, I hadn't even remembered my seasickness, and then when I got on it...oh boy. I was so unhappy. It's a shame because I have always wanted to have my own boat!

Do you have any advice for me, on how to overcome it? Does it mean I will have to be on a boat puking for hours/days until my body finally deals with it?

What do you do when you feel homesick? Is there a place you feel is home? Do you ever want to not be a sailor?

Have you ever had to deal with piracy in your work?

it's been said that a mild case of seasickness is when you feel like you want to die. A severe case of seasickness is when you are afraid that you might live!

As for getting over it, i really can't say. Of the two people I know who are chronically seasick, 1 left the sea, and the other sort of got used to it, but was never really comfortable there. You may just have to be out there for a few days until your body adjusts. Next time you've got a vacation coming up, head down to Alcantara docks and look for a crewing position on a yacht heading for Madeira. It's only a 3-4 day sail, and that should be enough time to get over it. Check out some yacht stores in the area for the accupressure bands (I know some people who swear by them).

I'm not usually homesick (I've always been a 'wherever I lay my hat is my home' kind of guy) - I lived in Gaia for 3 years without seeing any of my family without trouble. But sailors are a weird bunch: When we are at sea, we want to be home. When we are at home, we want to be at sea. But now that I've met the woman of my dreams, I really want to be close to her at all times, so I'm looking for work that keeps me closer to home.

Piracy isn't a problem now for me on the Great Lakes, but when I was on the Picton Castle, we sailed through the Timor Sea and it was a bit of a worry for us; We had pirate drills and practiced what we would do if boarded. Our fears were allayed somewhat when a National Geographic photographer that we had on board spoke up and said that he had been in these waters the year before doing an article on the pirates, and if anything happened, he would speak to the pirates on our behalf, he knew them all personally!

whats the furthest from home you have been?

What makes you curse more than landlubbers?

i've sailed around the world, literally. So take your pick. In terms of exoticism, Zanzibar was probably the most exotic place I've been. Other notables: Pitcairn's Island, Palmerston Island, Nuku Hiva, Galapagos, St. Helena.

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

we are away from our women in the company of men

How do you deal with the inverse of motion sickness, i.e. sea legs? When I returned from a cruise last time, I felt the ocean motion for several days following.
This is only a single story, but take from it what you will. My wife gets motion sick in buses. I got a pair of Sea Bands for her when we took a bus tour, but assumed that they were psychological. They worked. When she would get off of the bus, she would flip the wristbands over so that they weren't pressing on the pressure point. One time, she forgot to flip them back when we returned to the bus, and sure enough, she became nauseous. So, for her, not psychological.