On Watch

Sometimes, a seamanship or safety issue requires sailors to give up and turn around. But other times, it's just fear taking control of a situation that can be handled

- FATTY GOODLANDER

THE Pros AND Cons OF TURNING BACK

There are times when turning back while ocean sailing is the best choice, but those times are, hopefully, few and far between. I've turned back twice in the past four circumnavigations, and the figure seems about right for a well-prepared vessel attempting to cross an ocean during the correct weather pattern.

However, turning back often isn't about the boat or its prep. It's about the soul of its skipper.

There are good reasons to return to port: taking on water, for example, and having no way to remove water from your boat, or breaking a piece of your standing rigging, or having your self-steering gear fail. But do note that the first two reasons are strength and safety issues, while the third is a matter of basic seamanship.

If a couple is so fatigued by steering during their entire watch that they can't eat, sleep or poop properly, they can quickly turn into numbskulls. Trust me on this. I've turned into a numbskull many times and almost made stupid decisions that cost our lives. Fatigue offshore is real, and it must be guarded against at all times.

Take the story of one cruising couple I know. Back in 2000, they turned back to the Galapagos Islands with just 2,700 miles left to go to Fatu Hiva in French Polynesia.

Only a fool would sail that vast distance with a Hurst transmission that was acting up, right? Perhaps.

Their boat was a typical 40-foot overloaded cruising vessel. Its boot top had been raised three times and needed a fourth. It had two heavy anchors forward and (because of the depth of Polynesian harbors versus Caribbean ones) 250 feet of brand-new 10 mm chain.