It has always been my passion and dream to sail full time - to somehow find a way to make a living doing what I love. I've found that if you do what you love, it does not seem like work, not to mention the huge personal satisfaction.
My first long haul was a Transpac Race, with my good friend Seth Radow. The Transpac race from LA to Hawaii is 2300 miles. We did this in a 40 foot boat. The race is basically a 10 day, full on, big wind, big wave, down wind spinnaker surfing adrenaline rush. Midway into this race, during a pitch black night, on the leading edge of a nasty squall, surfing down a wave, wheel vibrating in my hands, the keel humming, my eyes glued to the wind angle indicator, doing my best to sail deep but not crash, I was caught somewhere between I can't breathe; it's so intense, crapping my pants, and holy s**t this is frigging amazing. This was the point - I was hooked on blue water sailing.
Promptly, after arriving back in LA, I quit my suit and tie gig in the wireless service provider industry, which I had been landlocked in for ten years, and took the plunge into professional sailing.
In the next four years I would rack up seven crossings back and forth from California to Hawaii on 40 foot boats, a few Caribbean/Newport, Newport/Caribbean milk run's, and pick up my first USCG Captain's License.
9 years later, I have surpassed the 100,000 mile mark as Captain, sailed half way around the world, and recently received my MCA Masters 3000 GT Unlimited License.
In my fourth year now as Captain of SY VIVID, I have been extremely fortunate to be working for an extraordinary owner with a passion for sailing "off the beaten path."
During my interview for SY Vivid, the owner turned his high tech cell phone to me, displaying a photo he took from the airplane. It was a picture of the ice pack in Greenland. He looked me in the eyes and said...""Would you like to sail here?" I said, without hesitation...absolutely. My heart started pounding with the excitement of early explorers and my mind was moving at 100 miles per hour working the checklist of what I would need to do to prepare for this expedition style passage and cruise. A month later we were sailing past icebergs on our way to Disko Bay, Greenland.
Since then, we have sailed in off-the-beaten path places like Cuba, Galapagos, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Raja Ampat, Borneo, Burma, and Andaman. In a few of these places it is true Magellan-style navigation, as many areas are unsurveyed or very poorly charted and GPS datum's are always off by about two-tenths of a mile. So yes, the paper charts, parallel rulers, dividers and hand held compass, depth sounder and eyeball navigation get used often.
The life style:
As a professional yacht captain, the toughest part of the job for me is being away from friends and family and the difficulty in maintaining a steady relationship.
Circumnavigation sailing to me is a complete commitment- a marriage to the lifestyle and the adventure and full acceptance of the rewards and the sacrifices. When I am in the middle of the ocean I want all of my energy and attention focused on the job at hand, not distracted by nagging thoughts of whether or not I should be there in the first place. Having said this, long passages are awesome for the person who is at peace with his own thoughts.
To keep in touch with friends and to attempt to share my experiences, I have created a Photo Journal at www.timforderer.com and have become addicted to Facebook.
I am very fortunate to have the support of my family and friends who know me the best. They know me; they know this is what I love and this is who I am, and I hope that even though I am not there physically - they know the value I place on my relationship with them.
I also am fortunate to have the support of the yacht owner to bring family aboard and cruise one week each year, to have a month off each year, and to bring along long-time sailing friends as delivery crew.
Psyche and Safety:
In grade school, I would stare at the clock, willing it to go faster because I was bored out of my mind and could not wait to get out and dinghy sail. On a long passage, watching the clock or the ETA calculation on the GPS will drive you crazy.
I remember the feeling of butterflies before the start of that first Transpac. In hindsight, the knots in my gut were very natural, caused by the unknown, the what lies ahead? How will I perform when the shit hits the fan? Will the boat and crew perform harmoniously? Will the water maker work? What will day seven of dehydrated food be like? ...
Today, long passages are routine. We do an owner's trip, and a week later we are sailing 1500 - 2500 miles to the next cruising destination. They are routine because of our routine.
The LD Passage routine begins with an obsession for safety, planning, and preparation. This includes:
- A Detailed Passage Plans including contingency plans.
- All required research on the destination and its pre-arrival requirements.
- The compilation of several sources for weather data, including professional weather routing. I have had a long and useful relationship with Commanders Weather.
- An extensive pre-departure checklist for all gear, rigging and systems.
- Crew briefings and debriefing.
- Solid standing orders, so that I can confidently sleep and know that I will be called if any issue in the standing orders arises.
- Absolute safety rules like; life jackets and harnesses after dark, no body goes forward unless they have a spotter and are clipped in, minimum CPA's of three miles...
I have 100% support from the owner and management company when it comes to my decisions on weather and safety of the crew and yacht. Meaning, there is no pressure for me to place schedule over safety.
The psyche today is all about getting the yacht and crew there safely, minimizing risk and enjoying the trip. I feel very strongly that the success of a long distance passage is in direct proportion to the preparation for the passage.
A huge part of my psyche that keeps me grounded and safe is an enormous respect for Mother Nature and the risks involved in Long Distance Passages. I do not confuse long passages being routine with over confidence, complacency, or easing up on the safety focus. I learn every time I do an LD passage. Only nine years into a professional sailing career, I am very humble and aware that I am just scratching the surface with all there is to learn about World Cruising and Long Distance Passages. I know that I will be challenged and I will learn every day and that is a huge part of the allure of long distance blue water sailing to me.
For me the private and personal sense of accomplishment after each of these long passages is as fresh and sincerely meaningful as the finish of the first Transpac when a beautiful Hawaiian girl, complete with Hula Skirt, placed a powerfully fragrant lei around my neck and gave me kiss on my salty cheek. Come to think of it, it would be nice to have that at the end of every Long Distance Passage!
The Crew
The chemistry among a Long Distance passage crew or race crew is absolutely critical. I can fix a generator that goes down in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but fixing a personality conflict amongst the crew is much more challenging. Nothing can undermine all of your preparation more quickly than a crew conflict or a crew member who is not "rowing in the same direction" as the rest of the crew. In normal life if you have a conflict, you can walk away from it. At sea when the closest land is 1000 miles away and the furthest you can get from the other person is 90 feet, the issue must be resolved.
Chances are you would not have this issue with a permanent crew; if it is a risk - take care of it before you go offshore...
Not everyone is cut out for long passages. I have a few horror stories of my first Hawaii to LA deliveries as Captain. Back then I did not have the budget to hire professionals, I would get willing "bodies" that would do the trip for the experience and a plane ticket.
The bottom line lesson learned for me was this, when the shit hits the fan, or on day 6 into a 15 day passage a person's true colors will be
revealed. Who they really are, will surface; do they have a solid personal character or do they have "demons" in the closet or a few screws loose.
On these trips, after several days, when a person's normal sleep pattern is turned upside down, their equilibrium is confused and trying to adjust to the constant motion of the boat, after a few challenging issues have arisen, after personalities of the crew have had a chance to gel or conflict....The true person is revealed. Good Chemistry is critical among all crew on a long passage...
