Flicka 'round the world' trip planned

[David_Old_Jersey]

I only caught the end of Heather's voyage on another forum....and sent her an e-mail wishing her well.

Having just read the entire thread here, glad I was not around for the postings from Father  ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

Unfortunately, she's put the Flicka s/v Flight of Years up for sale.  I was hoping that Heather would get a chance to cruise the Caribbean and such for a year and then try again at a circumnavigation.

[ronc98]

Anyone have an update, It would be great to hear she is healthy and decide not to sell her Flicka

[AdriftAtSea]

Heather's website is no longer... so I doubt much good has happened.  s/v Flight of Years is still for sale, but the price is now only $59,900, compared to the $73,000 that Heather was looking for initially.

Broker's Remarks
The current owner purchased the boat in 2007 in Bristol condition from the original owners. The plan was to outfit the vessel for bluewater circumnavigation sailing. The owner spared no expense to reach that goal and this listing does not cover every item or expense that is included. Unfortunatley due to an aggravated and ongoing injury, the owner has to abandon those plans.

The boat is absolutely pristine and gorgeous. Everything has been buffed, polished, sanded and re-varnished. We are proud to represent this vessel for sale.

[ronc98]

Well I was hoping things changed as they seem to do with time.

Thanks for the update.

[newt]

I just spent the last hour reading all the posts, and I have read Heather's account when it happened. This is an cautionary tale that we don't see on most circumnavigator's blog sites. They don't say much about the boredom, the isolation and the physical injury that accompanies thier journey. They don't talk about the fear.
Other than her dad's arrogance, I was most impressed by what was in between the lines of her short journey. The time spent locked out of your cabin in the cockpit, alone during a storm. The failures in little things causing one not to seek shelter in the nearest safe haven, or to wait out the storm, but the need to go home...home were people will rescue me. How often as a Captain out in the Gulf have I felt the same way.
There is no need to judge Heather-and I don't think this group has done that. Could she have used more experience? And a bit more self reliance? Of course. But I think what stopped her was not the above- It was fear, the kind of fear that makes us irrational and panic stricken. We see this so little in our civilized lives, and when it happens to us we make sure that we never get in that situation again. I have felt it when I was left on a ledge by a panicked partner-climber during a snowstorm. When you can't think and the threat of death and injury looms over you. I understand the yearning for home in that situation. But that is when and where we show our real mettle. Sailors have to be able to think coolly and calmly in these situations.
I used to teach Desert Survival. It was my privilege to take 6-7 young people out for a few weeks and teach them how to live with little or nothing except what they made for themselves. The first few days were know as "impact" because of the body-slam of going from the jet age to the stone age. Many students did not make the adjustment. It was my observation that 70% of the students would rather lay down and die than work to survive. The problem was not education. I was willing to teach them everything they needed to know. It was once they realized the challenge of surviving the fear of completely changing their world was too much. In two days Heather's world completely changed, and she could not cope with the marine reality. It was a world were she was not in complete control, and the ocean (with some just bad luck) stripped away any illusions. What we do is not for everyone. It is OK for some people to spend their lives in homes looking out at the ocean, rather than sailing around in it.
I wish Heather the best, and told her so in a p.m. sent before her web site went down...

[Captain Smollett]

An addendum:

As survival expert Bradford Angier wrote repeatedly:  Survival is about 90% mental, in your head.

[skylark]

Every time you hit a new scary situation, you get some fear.  Whether that is the biggest storm you have experienced so far, or a piece of vital equipment that fails, or a leak in your water tank, or ...

Sleep deprivation multiplies the fear problem.

[Lynx]

So does tired, coold and hungry.

When I just started cruising I wraped the dinghy rope around the prop at a marina. I froze and let the wind carry me. I had studied to deploy the anchor. It was there and could have been used but I did not. No real damage done but a good lesson learned. I was tired.

[newt]

Sounds like most of us here have touched the void and know of the cold imobilizing fear that comes something vital breaks down or we face the unknown. I would like to know what makes some people turn and walk away, and others dive in looking for a solution. It seems to divide all humanity into two groups, and I would say the reaction to fear is formed very early in life. There have been clearcut differences in my survival students in kids as young as 11. The physican in me has a gut feeling that this reaction is probably formed very early, perhaps under the age of three...

[CharlieJ]

Strangely enough, I can't ever recall being that afraid of anything. Not to the point where I was frozen at any rate. I usually find myself reacting to whatever, and getting serious shakes AFTER it's all done with.

[Tim]

Made me think of a book I read "Deep Survival: who lives, who dies, and why" A tag line for it is "When confronted with a life-threatening situation, 90% of people freeze or panic" If that were true I guess I'm in the 10%

I've been in life threatening situations that required both immediate and dramatic action and ones that required slow precise calculated responses. I don't ever remember having nothing as a response.

I guess I also did not think about my life being in the balance, but rather what would be the very best thing to do.

[maxiSwede]

I reckon it is a good idea to try and find out on which side of the fence one stands... ;)

[Manannan]

When things get tough, most people discover strengh they think they never had. And sometimes the person you think will take it, won't and the weaker or more fragile will. Being afraid is good, it is when you have no fear, that you can get in  serious trouble. Reaction to fear comes at an early age ? probably, but there is also what life throws at you that helps you get tougher and may be help control the animal fear in you, the complete panic. When you cannot turn and walk away, pure animal instinct I think at the end takes over, for the best of for the worst...

[Captain Smollett]

Sounds like most of us here have touched the void and know of the cold imobilizing fear that comes something vital breaks down or we face the unknown. I would like to know what makes some people turn and walk away, and others dive in looking for a solution. It seems to divide all humanity into two groups, and I would say the reaction to fear is formed very early in life. There have been clearcut differences in my survival students in kids as young as 11. The physican in me has a gut feeling that this reaction is probably formed very early, perhaps under the age of three...

I don't know when the natural response is formed, but I do think that the shift from the "non-reactive" group to the "reactive" group is rather easy.  I don't ever recall being paralyzed by fear, but then again my role model at an early age (my Dad) was not the sort to let things stop him.

I think moving from unreactive to reactive can occur with one or a combination of:

(a) being in a situation, reacting to it, realizing your reaction,your doing something made a difference to the outcome.

It does does not have to be a 'survival' situation, either.  For some, this realization comes after changing your own flat tire (as opposed to calling for help), fixing something around the house (as opposed to calling someone), getting yourself back to port after some kind of boat failure (as opposed to calling for help), etc.

Our legalistic, sue-happy culture tries to penalize people for making the wrong decision.  This is very unfortunate.  Indecision is by far worse (as we here agree).  Making a decision, even a wrong one, and moving forward is FAR better in 99% of the circumstances than doing nothing.

and/or

(b) having some training.

I know when I was a firefighter, I was scared plenty.  In those days, I did some things that made some of the other firefighters cringe (and be vocally critical); sure, I was scared, but just "did" what I thought needed to be done.

[ronc98]

I think the book was called Deep Fear not Deep Survival that Tim speaks about.  It is a very very good book and has alot of things inside that explain why some people live and some die in the very same instance.  It had a good part that talked about where an adult lost in the forest was much less likely to survive then a 5-10 year old child. 

Very good book and I recommend it highly.

There has been alot of good posts here, and I think they touch on the basic nature of beast-> Fear.   If you are lucky Fear is something that you can harness and overcome.

I do not know Heather but from what I have read she did not buckle and did what she needed to do to get back to port.   I wish her and her family all the best.  She was at least out there to try.   The real FEAR is to not try and live with the what ifs.

[newt]

Of if I could modify what you just said Ronc- the real obstacle that most people face is the action of getting out there and trying, and keep on trying till you succeed. We all have fears. I seem to fail for many times before I ever succeed.  But the successful person just keeps on trying and learns from their mistakes. Perhaps how we use our fear is what sets us apart.
I used to think people that failed just didn't prepare well enough. Well she seemed to prepare- a good sturdy boat, in depth refitting, prior sailing experience. But when push came to shove, there was something that was not there (or maybe something that was there that she had not bargained for). You guys that are already spending lots of time navigating in small boats know about this more than I do. (But I hope to join you in a few years :))

[Tim]

I think the book was called Deep Fear not Deep Survival that Tim speaks about. 

Just a point of clarification :) The book I was refering to was called "Deep Survival" below is an Amazon link to  it;

http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213586667&sr=8-1

[Captain Smollett]

Well she seemed to prepare- a good sturdy boat, in depth refitting, prior sailing experience.

Not to pick nits on this, but she had no prior sailing experience to speak of until this solo circumnavigation plan was hatched and they bought a boat.  Though her planned departure date for a circumnavigation was 2 Jan. 2008, she was still taking lessons in December 2007, and her first ever singlehanded sail was likewise in December of 2007.

Of that first singlehanded sail, she wrote of 3 foot seas as being "heavy seas."  And if I recall correctly, that was not "outside."

Other folks have crossed oceans with as little as, or less, experience than Heather had, so I'm not saying one way or another if I think she "should have" tried it.  But, we do have to be honest here.  Heather was NOT experienced at sailing, much less offshore sailing.

[C-164]

I was very sorry to see Heather give up her trip after all the preparations. There's alot to be said for crawling before you can walk. If she reads this post, I'd like to tell her to take her boat and kick around the Bahamas for a few months. Get to know the boat and sea and slowly stretch your legs. There was a passage that I wanted to make from Ragged Island to Acklins. I didn't feel up to it and was a little apprehensive, so I chickened out and headed back up to Long Island. But I know that next time I'll make that passage with a little more experience under my belt. If I had told people in advance that that was what I was going to do, then I would have been really conflicted and felt ashamed that I chickened out. When I crossed the Gulfstream to Bimini it was a pussycat and I remember thinking to myself that if it was a raging inferno I might not have made it and turning back might have been worse.
If you didn't sell your boat yet, Heather....  Throw on some food and water and take a ride,