Should PicoMicroYacht turn back?

One of the things I enjoy about sailing is how to manage risk.  In everyday life I find risk management is often done for you or it is so ingrained (such as when crossing he road), that you do not really think about it too much. However, when sailing I find you are constantly assessing danger and making decisions about how to avoid getting in a tricky situation. Sailors talk about being 'caught out' or 'badly caught out' and then describe  in yachting magazines how they were caught out and had to cope with horrendous circumstances.

In PicoMicroYacht I am risk averse, because the outcome is potentially catastrophic if things go badly wrong.  I find it interesting that when people see PicoMicroYacht going out to sea they feel it their duty to warn me of the risks.

When PicoMicroYacht left Newhaven on 23rd June 2018 a kindly person on their incoming yacht looked down and saw the PicoMicroYacht electronic system, with the ship radio and AIS. They put two and two together to make five and said in a slow and deliberate voice:

'You are crossing the channel today'

I replied: 'no - not today'

'Are you crossing?'

'No not today'

With a hint anxiety in his voice he said even more slowly and deliberately:

'be careful'

I proceded onwards, the plan being to row along the coast from Newhaven to Eastbourne, passing Beachy Head. As I got out the of the shelter of the long Newhaven pier  the sea started to kick up. Despite low winds it became bumpy and choppy, or 'lumpy.'  I spend about an hour rowing along the coast until I reached the end of Seaford beach. The lumpiness continued and at this point I had to make a decision about whether to keep going.

 I spoke into my microphone to record my thinking at the time... should I turn back? The wind was a Sou' Westerly two to three, due to increase to three to four.  I had another three hours of fair tide and it was neaps.

Should PicoMicroYacht turn back?

PicoMicroYacht - what's in that name?

The latest edition of Practical Boat Owner has a useful comment article on  do's and don't of naming a new boat. Don't use a joke name, such as Rogue Trader if you work for an investment bank .... don't use very long names such as  three sheets to the wind, or ones that might cause confusion such as Starkle, that might be misheard as Sparkle when radioing the coastguard.

From the July 2018 edition of the Practical Boat Owner - What's in a Name?

The name PicoMicroYacht arose because I started sea rowing my Pico and I wanted it to reflect that I was treating it like a larger boat in terms of navigation. I do the same amount of voyage planning as in my larger 24 foot sailing boat, if not more. I follow the same principles, namely, check the weather, factor the tides into the passage plan, navigate using charts (at least in the planning stage), follow a course using a GPS or a compass, and use a ship radio. I take extra precautions such as usually reporting my passage plan by radio to the coastguard.

The boat is a Laser Pico, so this name was combined with 'microyacht,' the name given to very small cruising boats.

Micoyachts usually have an unusual appearance, such as this green Paradox class boat called 'Little Jim' and sailed by Alistair Laws on the south coast.

The wonderful 'Little Jim' - Paradox - to be seen on the South Coast of England

Paradox looks somewhat eccentric partly because the person sits in the cabin when they sail, the boat doing away with a cockpit. 

It is actually well thought out. As a boat gets smaller, the dimensions are such that if you retain a large enough cabin the cockpit gets relegated to the back of the boat and the crew essentially is sitting right in the stern. So the solution is for the crew to sit in the cabin.

An extension of is the attempt at a world record by the 42 inch 'undaunted' who tried to cross the Atlantic in 2017, but has had to delay the voyage due to technical difficulties.

A very short microyacht 

I suppose PicoMicroYacht is not really a microyacht, but a dinghy converted for very efficient sea rowing. But I find the name useful when, for example, contacting the coastguard, since it suggests my intentions. Also it is fairly distinctive and recognisable, although a bit of a mouthful.

By the way, a good seafaring tale that includes an intrepid voyage by Little Jim can be found in this video by Roger Barnes.