# Offshore versus coastal?



## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

What is one (or more) experience that highlighted the difference been coastal cruising and offshore sailing?

For me the one thing that stays with me is the totally different experience of broad reaching. In coastal cruising the broad reach is one of the great joys; the wind is warmer, the boat is relatively flat, and steering is a breeze.

Offshore in 12 - 15 seas with 30 knot winds, the broad reach is damned hard work. Staying in tune with waves and preventing a slam takes much more concentration. 

Likewise, being on the same tack for 8 days is not common in coastal cruising.

What experiences have others had?

Jack


----------



## Greenflash35 (Dec 1, 2008)

Our boat shrinks about 3 feet in length for every 100 miles offshore we go. We're preparing for Bermuda. Wow just thinking about how big the ocean is and how small we are.


----------



## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

For me, the difference is keeping going. Coastal, you know you're going to get to shore within a day or so. Offshore... 
Changing ship's time to match the time zones is fun too.


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

One major point is bad weather. If you're coastal cruising, you can often duck into a harbor or other protected area to hide from the worst of it. When you're out bluewater sailing...you're gonna get hit...and there's nowhere to hide.


----------



## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Realizing that you can't row ashore and go for a walk this evening.... or the next, or the next........


----------



## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

Greenflash35 said:


> Our boat shrinks about 3 feet in length for every 100 miles offshore we go. We're preparing for Bermuda. Wow just thinking about how big the ocean is and how small we are.


Have you ever seen the short cartoon "Cosmic Zoom"? I imagine myself on a sailboat in that type of scenario.

YouTube - COSMIC ZOOM


----------



## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Broad reaching and running, a lot of boats go from "not too stable" to outright squirrelly. Offshore or coastal won't matter, it is the hull form and balance that will be a problem in anything except flat water.

Something you can't tell unless you've had that hull out in those conditions.

Only thing you can do about it, is alter course a bit for a smoother ride, or try to play with your trim. Sometimes if you shift weight to the same side as the boom (go low instead of high) you can trim "wrong" but get more stability, as long as you keep the boom and sail out of the water.


----------



## Architeuthis (Mar 3, 2008)

jackdale said:


> Have you ever seen the short cartoon "Cosmic Zoom"? I imagine myself on a sailboat in that type of scenario.


Yep, had to watch that in class about a decade after it came out. I remember asking the teacher if he could explain the variation in speed required to fit all that within the few minutes of the film. I seem to recall being told to sit down.


----------



## eryka (Mar 16, 2006)

It's the difference between running parallel to land, and setting out perpendicular to the land, pointing your bow toward the empty horizon. For me its always the moment when the last smudge of land disappears and its just you and the water and the sky in a VERY small boat. Its the totally self-reliant mode you have to be in when the cellphone no longer works and help is no longer just a VHF call away.


----------



## captbillc (Jul 31, 2008)

i enjoy the feeling of being totally alone and on you're own when you get a few hundred miles off shore. the sea, sky & winds change and to me it's never monotonous. of course the strongest winds i have been in were gusting to 67kn. so thats not a hurricane


----------



## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

Having gone both directions from Galveston to Brownsville both in the ICW and offshore - I'll take offshore everytime. And, even though we've been caught in two Force 10 storms over the years, the Gulf is more interesting and, unlike parts of the ICW, you can sail all the time.


----------



## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

Architeuthis said:


> Yep, had to watch that in class about a decade after it came out. I remember asking the teacher if he could explain the variation in speed required to fit all that within the few minutes of the film. I seem to recall being told to sit down.


I like your question. It would have made a nice class project.

I used to show it to my classes on occasion.


----------



## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

Would folks care to discuss this broad reaching issue a bit more for those of us with pure coastal experience?


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I think what Faster is talking about is the tendency of some boats and the way they handle under sail on a broad reach or run. The combination of the wind pushing on the main sail and the wave motion causes them to become very difficult to control. IIRC, it was certain IOR designs that did this more so than any others.. you can read more about this here and here.

This tendency of some IOR-era boats to broach when running lead to some of the deaths during the 1979 Fastnet disaster.


----------

