Another common question to us - "Have you ever been in a storm?" or "Aren't you scared of stormy seas?" I always smile when I get these questions. Sure we go through stormy seas, but as much as possible, we try to avoid it by planning the timing of our passages as best we can. This we do by checking weather websites before our departure, reading up on weather trends and seasons for the area, listening in to the various "cruiser's nets" and keeping our fingers crossed. The integrity of our boat and its equipment is of utmost important. Kjartan checks, double checks and triple checks - all the time - our lives depend on it. To play it safe, we do not embark if neither one of us feels comfortable. Sometimes, it takes several weeks of waiting and it does take a lot of patience.
At sea during passages, we pass the time watching the horizon and the cloud formations. At nights, that's another matter, but we can see rain squalls on the radar screen if we choose to turn it on, which we normally don't. You can see or feel bad weather brewing up ahead. Squalls can hit very fast and we make early preparations ahead of it as much as possible by shortening our sails or completely dropping them down if the winds are too strong. "Better be safe than sorry" is our motto. It is work when we have to change our sails plans - dropping and raising them constantly during the day especially when the winds are erratic. But this is what we have to do to prevent possible damage to our equipment and to our boat. When we do face stormy seas, we just have to face it and rely on each other - plus TRUST THE BOAT. It can handle the seas better than you think.
Since I never take out my camera during fowl weather, I don't have any pictures to show. I came across this video that will give you an idea what we go through in stormy seas. Looks uncomfortable, doesn't it?
;feature=related" target="_blank" title="Stormy Weather">Stormy Weather YouTube video
Video source: http://www.youtube.com/