Quote:
Originally Posted by MMNETSEA
Possibly only one piece of advice would be to sit down with the skipper and go over your concerns regarding the condition of the boat, the planned route and timing of the passage, what navigation and communication equipment is on board. And how will emergencies be dealt with.
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I agree with Richard that you should voice your concerns by discussing this with the skipper.
The folks who tend to be most able to contribute to and enjoy a trip like this are :
1. people who really know what they're doing...for example, someone with enough prior ocean sailing experience that they can tell by looking at boat/rig/equipment what's what and after talking with the Skipper they'll know if they want to be aboard for the journey);
2. adventuresome people who don't know a thing about oceans and sailing but who are quick to learn, sharp, and not fearful and are capable of sizing up personalities and people quickly.
In the first case, you'd know if you wanted to be on the boat;
In the second case, you'd know if you trusted the skipper and could sit down and have that talk with him so you can get on to having a great trip;
From your post, it is fairly clear that you do not have enough experience to make an informed decision here. Perhaps, you've bluffed your way into this trip (many people do that! so please excuse me if this didn't happen in your case...) and are fearful of asking too many clearly newbie/clueless questions of the skipper and tip your hand? You're also careful (that's a good survival thing!) so you're posting here to try and figure out how safe you might be. Ah, so you're not a "fly by the seat of the pants and have it fun" type of person.
If I've got things right, you are not yet confident that the situation is OK and haven't/won't address things directly with the skipper and I'd think you are likely much better of not doing this trip but rather educating yourself on sailing, passage making, etc, and find a well-referenced skipper (perhaps thru a friend?) for a trip that you might be able to join.
If you want to stick with this passage, sitting down with the skipper and going over what your concerns are is the best thing to do. You'll learn what you need to know and can either not go OR have a great trip.
Fair winds,