Who else gets the jitters?

Gofirstclass

Gofirstclass

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,690
Tri Cities, WA
Boat Info
Boatless in WA
Engines
No motor
After a short meeting with my CPA tomorrow to get my taxes done we're taking off on the boat for 3 days. We're taking it 235 miles down the Columbia to Portland, OR to get new windows and a new Stamoid bimini made for the fly bridge. We'll pass through 4 sets of locks and overnight at two marinas (Arlington, OR and Hood River, OR) and arrive in Portland on Wednesday.

We've made this trip twice before with Beachcomber so it's not like we're virgins in these waters. The weather predictions are for rain (no problem there) and light to moderate winds. he boat is full of fuel and water, we've made our lists for food, clothing, miscellaneous other and we're leaving the boat at a yacht club in Portland for 2-3 weeks so he can get the work all done. All of that has been arranged and everything is in order.

I'm confident in my ability to skipper the boat and have no problems going through the locks or following some of the relatively narrow channels. So why, before any longer-than-usual trip do I get the jitters? Am I the only one who gets them?

What say you?
 
Gofirstclass said:
After a short meeting with my CPA tomorrow to get my taxes done we're taking off on the boat for 3 days. We're taking it 235 miles down the Columbia to Portland, OR to get new windows and a new Stamoid bimini made for the fly bridge. We'll pass through 4 sets of locks and overnight at two marinas (Arlington, OR and Hood River, OR) and arrive in Portland on Wednesday.

We've made this trip twice before with Beachcomber so it's not like we're virgins in these waters. The weather predictions are for rain (no problem there) and light to moderate winds. he boat is full of fuel and water, we've made our lists for food, clothing, miscellaneous other and we're leaving the boat at a yacht club in Portland for 2-3 weeks so he can get the work all done. All of that has been arranged and everything is in order.

I'm confident in my ability to skipper the boat and have no problems going through the locks or following some of the relatively narrow channels. So why, before any longer-than-usual trip do I get the jitters? Am I the only one who gets them?

What say you?
Click to expand...

I am the same, especially after our long winter. Unlike you in the PNW, we are 5 to 6 month boaters up here. It takes a few trips before I start to get confident. That's probably not a bad thing to be cautious and nervous. Probably keeps us safer. The waters around our area are complex with lots of granite shoals and channels. By end of summer I can navigate the familiar areas without paying much attention to the charts. But in the spring, its a different story. And usually the first trip out I forget to bring something.
 
I guess we all get the jitters, but maybe about different things. For me it would be over doing the taxes.
 
As said above, if you're not worried your not ready. The minute you become too confident trouble follows.
 
I get the jitters just talking to my accountant about taxes... maybe it's just a carry over.;)

-Kevin
 
If you don't have the jitters at least a little bit, there are only a few reasons IMO:
You're not paying attention
You're not a good captain
You don't really LOVE boating
You're not a planner
Jitters mean you know what could happen but you're prepared to deal with it if it does, and you love the excitement and anticipation of cruising.
 
Headed 1200 mike North back up to the Chesapeake Bay after spending four months on the boat. In 2017 we spent about 2/3 the year on the boat and have beem in a Slip since December 15 in Kw. Knowing what we know now regarding the unseen hurricane damage underwater in Florida and the North bound trip has more know reason to have the jitters. Doesn’t help knowing we've got 17-20 shipping cargo containers South of North Carolina floating around in the Atlantic just under the water line in most cases. So yep I’m always a little jumpy over thinking everything but what I forgot about !
 
Yep always get some sort of feeling prior to heading out. Wondering if my ER check missed anything? Being new to the boat last year every trip had that feeling.

How does that quote go? Having a plan is worthless, the act of planning is priceless... I think that is an Eisenhower quote or Churchill... I'm sure I've embellished a bit on it.. It makes a good point..

Can't wait for the snow to melt and to get those jitters going again this year!!
 
Twenty years ago yes. Now no it is like driving a car. What bothers me is landing in wind as the boat has fully enclosed bridge and above aft cabin. We do not have thrusters.
 
I get them every time I leave the slip, whether it's to pump out or take a cruise. I believe it's the mind's way of getting us ready for what could possibly come our way.
 
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I get them also when I take a longer trip. I try to ensure that I know my boat well and it's been maintained, but when my whole family is on the boat for a trip there's always that little voice in the back of my head saying "what if..."

This year I also got the jitters when I when to my accountant. Toward the end of the appointment it turned to a feeling of nausea.
 
Mr. b....yeah, I think it's that "what if" factor. Mr. Murphy and his infamous laws come into play at the worst possible time, and Murphy was an optimist!
 
GFC, for our shorter trips 1-2 hours from home I have my routines, local knowledge and for the most part comfortable. When we go north to Canada in the summer, I will get a little anxiety on those long days where we are covering 100+ miles in a day...
 
I still get nervous every time I move from a dock, no matter what style or size boat I am operating.
 
For years every time I would drive down to the marina no matter what, I would always have to pee before I got on the boat even if I just Peed before I left the house definitely a nerve thing sometimes I used to get that little flutter in your stomach like you were going out on a roller coaster I’ve been running my own boat for about 20 years now don’t really get nervous anymore but I will say that sometimes fishing in the ocean all day and coming back not knowing what the inlet is going to look like definitely gives me the jitters . I would say transversing an inlet to me is the most jittery thing you can do everything else is cream cheese !!
 
After a rental sail boat rubbed along the fuel dock the gas pump persons told me all boats come with training paint. I always think of that when I leave or enter a dock.
 
I don't get the jitters over normal boating activities. but the more experiences I have the more I think about things. Here's an example. Last summer I got caught up in fish net buoy line. I just stripped to my undies, grabbed a knife and dove in to that coooold water. The lake was fairly calm, things weren't too bad and it didn't take very long to get untangled. No damage was done that I can tell.

I've been through that area dozens of times without a problem but obviously it can happen. I had just before told my wife that sometimes there are nets in this location. We were both watching when it happened. I saw the buoy about two boat lengths before we went over it, she never did see it. It's an area, depending on winds, that can be a 'rough stretch' in an otherwise smooth cruise. So it got me thinking, what if that would happen when I'm running in 4-6 footers. There's no way you could safely go under the boat to cut it loose, you'd get beat to death under there. The net would have you by the stern and at the least you'd probably get plenty of water coming in the cockpit.

Added to the 'what ifs' and the 'how will I handle its' is the realization that I'm getting old. Soon I'll be in my 8th decade and my confidence has taken a hit. Ya' sometimes I worry about things.
 
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