The Worst Advice for Offshore Sailors — And What I Wish I Knew

Comments · 594

• BE

  @BeTheCaptain · 1 year ago (edited) · pinned

  Bad offshore advice usually sounds comforting, not dangerous. Be especially skeptical of anything that promises safety without tradeoffs.<br>Get 10% off at <a href="http://defender.com/">Defender.com</a> and 20% off <a href="http://predictwind.com/">PredictWind.com</a> when you buy my book &quot;Be The Captain&quot;: <a href="https://bethecaptain.com/">https://bethecaptain.com/</a><br>We just won the <b>2026 Eric Hoffer Best Book Award!</b> THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

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• CA

  @captainsalty9022 · 1 year ago

  I’ve held a USCG license for 50 years, made two round trips to French Polynesian, one from California and one from Ecuador. This guy is telling you the truth. Listen to him.

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• BE

  @betogarcia2784 · 1 year ago (edited)

  I did a race from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West on Beneteau 46.7(?). Anyway, a big dumb beachball. The interior was huge and open like a livingroom with no lee cloths. Everytime we tacked you would get thrown 14-feet across to the other side.<br>The dodger, which would never hold up to the waves, was held onto the deck with little spike fasterners, making the deck some kind of sadomasochistic punk landscape. The cockpit was so huge and with no foot holds or hand holds you would get thrown from one side to the other with no way to get across. It would also throw everything else across the boat, sails, cushions, food, water bottles, personal gear.<br>Madness.

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• LA

  @larryb5914 · 1 year ago

  Please don&apos;t lose your passion James...this was the best youtube video I have ever watched...even better as a sailor who knows he needs to review the basics especially before I take on guests and the role of Captain is a serious responsibility thank you I will replay again and again

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• SV

  @svwallen · 1 year ago (edited)

  25+yrs full time live aboard cruiser here. Love that you used the word stupid!! It’s the only way to describe may boats, interiors, and sailors today. Listen up newbie’s, the ocean DOES NOT CARE about what you want, like or feel, get the most seaworthy boat you can. Great video👍👍

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• MR

  @MrOmarkiam · 1 year ago

  I did a passage in the Pacific in a Sparkman and Stevens Swan 57. &nbsp;The weather was unbelievably horrible with the biggest seas I have ever seen. Green water over the bow, &nbsp;Wind was 50 to 70 knots. The boat handled like a dream and we were fairly comfortable considering . I was never scared, the boat was my best friend.

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• AR

  @ArtObsessionStudio · 10 months ago

  When you said the sea can get crazy, it reminded me of when I was young and on board a destroyer in a hurricane. It&apos;s extreme, high energy violence in slow motion, so tied in our racks to sleep or hit everything with your body and head. Pick you vessel exactly for intended use. Stay safe.

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• SN

  @Snide01 · 1 year ago

  This video deserves 1 million thumbs up..

  3

• OL

  @oldmech619 · 1 year ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCKj882NpRs&amp;t=12">0:12</a> &nbsp;Bracing your back against the hull while at sea feels real secure and comfortable.

  3

• MA

  @markarato8034 · 4 months ago

  Videos like this is why the Internet is amazing: Here is a man with incredible amounts of knowledge about sailing, sharing wisdom for free. Truly wonderful. Thanks for these vids! Cheers!

• SA

  @sadiquej · 6 months ago

  I never sailed a single nm. <br>You are telling me the truth

  2

• WA

  @wayneo7220 · 1 year ago

  Years ago I worked for a boat dealer. &nbsp;Talking to the top salesman about dumb interior items like curtains and fabrics that absorb moisture and create mildew, he said, &quot;It has to include things that the wife will like, otherwise she won&apos;t go along with the idea of buying a boat.&quot; &nbsp;It always seemed the bigger the boat, the less they went out. &nbsp;It was basically a floating condo to a lot of owners. &nbsp;But the guy with the 16&apos; with an outboard would be out almost every weekend.

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