Going it Alone

Singlehanders go it alone. What does that mean for them regarding relationships, friendships, and family? Was it a choice or did the other half back out? Would you rather be alone, are you looking for a long-term partner, or perhaps looking for the occasional buddy boat? What are the emotional and practical realities of going it alone in what is often a coupled-up cruising world?

Bruce Glass of s/v Scuttle Butt clips to a jackline for safety when sailing solo
(photo copyright Bruce Glass)

Below are links to a variety of blog posts from singlehanders, some practical, some emotional, some a bit of both, and some just a peek inside a day in the life of a singlehander. It was more difficult than I expected to corral together posts on this topic. Perhaps many singlehanders are too busy doing everything on their own to have time to blog, perhaps many are simply somewhat private, introspective folk not as prone to sharing their life online. In soliciting blog posts by singlehanders I received comments that blogging defeats the purpose of being a singlehander, that singlehanders who blog have an ulterior motive, and that singlehanders who blog sound desperate because they are. I do not think we are all antisocial hermits or desperate; we are, like most liveaboards, unconventional folks who don't readily fit in society's mold.

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Topic organizer: Suzanne (Orbis Non Sufficit)

Posts are organized alphabetically by blog or boat name:

Laura McCrossin (s/v Annie Laurie) was surprised she couldn't round up crew for a free trip to the islands, so off she went on her own, and found her soul mate along the way:

• On My Own But Never Alone

Teresa Carey (s/v Daphne) buddy boats with her boyfriend but was determined to learn her diesel engine, and it paid off when crossing the Gulf Stream solo:

• Your Disability is Your Opportunity
• What it takes to be a solo sailor
• The Gifts of Sailing Solo

For Dylan Winter (Keep Turning Left), sailing is a spiritual experience:

• Sailing as a Spiritual Experience

Chris (s/v Ladybug) found that singlehanders were often avoided by the coupled-up cruisers, whether because they look rough around the edges or because they are starved for conversation:

• Singlehanded Cruising

Ko Barrett of s/v Little Wing faces the challenges feeling alone and in too deep:

• Inner Sailing 

On his second night aboard Captain Clownshoes (s/v Nautilus) faces the challenge of cell phone being out of reach and thumb the only thing plugging a wayward thru hull left open:

• Alas...
• Singlehanding a Whitby 42: A Liveaboard Blog Update

Jeanne Socrates (s/v Nereida) is rather famously on her third attempt at a non-stop circumnavigation but still suffers from sometimes feeling down when out of radio contact and with very intermittent email:

• Day 110
• Day 106

Suzanne (Orbis Non Sufficit) is still looking for a chartplotter for her heart:

• Love and the Singlehander

Roger Jones on Reboot discusses the loneliness and boredom that can occur when sailing alone, but also the upside that solo sailors can forgive themselves when they make mistakes along the way:

• Why Singlehand?

Peter Foerthmann (Windpilot blog) provides some interesting insights on how many end up as singlehanders and on the modern marketing of singlehanders to help sell the dream and attendant equipment:

• Single-handers: Dreams and Realities

Arnd on s/v Zanshin alternates periods of cruising with periods back ashore to stay connected with the "real world:"

• s/v Zanshin's Crew

We also received some comments when soliciting posts to include in this compilation and have a few guest blog posts.

• A comment from Skip on s/v Misty
• A MoFi reader on Going It Alone
• Kettlewell Cruising had some observations
• Some anonymous insights
• Bob just enjoys sailing alone

Additions to the collection:

André the Singlehander sees society as something to use only as necessary, not be a part of.  [Added 06/22/2013]


Elizabeth (s/v Aquarella) bravely takes on the challenge of single-handing in the wake of her husband's death. [Added 07/03/2013]




Hi, blogger! Are you a singlehander with a post on how and why you live life solo or your view, experience, or plan on finding a sailmate? Do you know of someone's blog post on this topic?  Drop us a link in the comments box below to add to the compilation.

Already have a link on this page? Feel free to link back here so that your readers can find other posts on this topic. We have low-tech and high-tech instructions:

Low-tech instructions: Copy and paste this text onto to the bottom of your blog post:

Visit The Monkey's Fist to find other posts on this topic:
http://themonkeysfist.blogspot.com/2013/02/going-it-alone-draft-post-collecting.html


High-tech instructions: Copy the code below and paste it into the html at the bottom of your post to give your readers a link back to this page.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <p style="text-align: center;"> Click on the monkey's fist to read others bloggers on this topic.</p> <a href="http://themonkeysfist.blogspot.com/2013/02/going-it-alone-draft-post-collecting.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgroov5YVOOi_h85YVKd0MFJGgqIV3NneuSwfJwKnrm_vV_478vPwHdTeznf5kVkrP-XwhL9_CLHk_GJY_4CP_Fk3wbUJs-tv0GDYIJfJco__NlZxvfudEV9ltJOA7BFZvVHHgtaOxK09sx/s1600/monkeyfist_badge_art.jpg" border="0" alt="The Monkey's Fist" /></a> <p> </div>