Hang out long enough on sailing social media sites, and you’ll see newbie sailors asking for help getting over their fear of heeling under sail. The advice is plentiful, but rarely helpful. Why? Because most of the advice givers have never experienced that fear themselves.
Today we have a guest post from Pamela Douglas, a member of The Boat Galley team. She overcame her fear of heeling, and enjoyed coastal cruising for over eight years. If you, or someone you care about, finds the leaning of a multihull frightening, check out her advice with tips from science for conquering fear.
One Cruiser’s Story
Although I grew up loving the water, I didn’t learn to sail until I was in my forties. The local university sailing club had a great deal: take a free lesson to get started, then take a sailboat out on an inland lake all summer for $500. Who could resist?
On calm days, it was lovely. We’d sail out to the middle of the lake, drop the sails, and take turns swimming off the boat before leisurely sailing back to the dock. But on one of the last sails of the season, on a brisk, October day with high winds, I discovered my fear of heeling.
I remember shivering, clinging to the boat for dear life, crying, and asking to go home. Although I knew intellectually that the boat wouldn’t tip over, nothing could reduce my fear. I swore the angle of heel was at least forty degrees, despite the inclinometer showing a little over twenty degrees.
I didn’t kiss the dock when we landed, but I was tempted.
Every other day, I enjoyed sailing. I even loved docking under sail (the club’s beginner boats did not have engines). I had even started to think about buying a boat and going cruising. But if I couldn’t handle heeling, how could I pursue that dream?
I put on my research hat and began looking for a solution.
Advice That Didn’t Help Me
Perhaps the most common response to people asking for help conquering their fear is a pedantic description of the forces that keep a sailboat from tipping. Knowing that the weight of the keel balances the mast was worthless information. It didn’t decrease my fear. Don’t get me started on why anyone believes that a boat turtling and bobbing back up is a comforting notion to someone scared witless. What’s reassuring about that? It’s not bad advice. It’s just simplistic. (I’ll share later in the post how to use this knowledge to actually help you).
Some sailors advise going out again and again in high winds until you get used to it. Yeah, that’s not how fear works. Toughing it out is rotten advice. And yet, that’s exactly what I tried first.
Advice That Worked for Me
The following week, we went sailing again. Conditions were even worse, but it was the last chance to take a boat out until the following spring. The sailing center staff warned that we sailed at our own risk, but they saw no reason we wouldn’t be able to handle the wind and waves.
A short while later, our small boat’s mainsail was overpowered. We decided to reef to decrease the heel and have a more comfortable ride. With my husband at the helm, I crawled up to the mast to put in a reef, a skill I understood in theory but had not yet practiced.
Facing into the wind, I easily lowered the main and tied in a reef at the clew. But I couldn’t figure out how to secure the reef point at the tack. I remember clinging to the mast as I tried to figure out the attachment. And yet, although the boat was heeling more than it had been last time, I felt no fear.
Why? Actively working to improve the boat’s handling felt better than being a passenger. I gained a sense of control, and I became distracted by the task instead of focusing on my emotions.
Obviously, my way of addressing my fear of heeling was far from ideal. Fortunately, science has some good suggestions.
Reducing Fear of Heeling – The Science
What follows are several techniques to help decrease anxiety.
Name Your Fear
Dr. Matthew Lieberman discovered in a brain imaging study at UCLA that naming an emotion caused the amygdala to calm itself. Go ahead and admit your fear out loud. Label it. I’m afraid of the boat heeling. I feel like it will tip over.
Gradual Exposure
Ideally, you’d sail every day in gradually increasing winds. Of course, that’s too difficult to arrange in the real world. However, you can imitate conditions by making sail changes. On a calm day, if you sheet the mainsail in tight, you will increase the heel. Allow yourself to experience a few moments of increased heel before spilling some wind by loosening the sheets until the heel reduces. (Note, this is a simplistic explanation. Sail management can take a lifetime to master. Other factors can increase heeling besides the tension on the mainsheet.)
Once you feel comfortable in calm conditions with increased heeling created by your sail management, go out on slightly windier days.
Take your time. Don’t rush yourself into conditions you feel uncomfortable with. You’re building new neural pathways that help you feel safe; it will take time.
Grounding
When you feel your anxiety increasing, ground yourself by naming three things you see, hear, and feel. Practice this regularly before you get on a boat, so it feels natural when you need it. A Post-it reminder or an alarm on your phone can help you rehearse this technique in advance.
Grounding yourself in your senses, calms your parasympathetic nervous system that has been telling you to panic.
Block Breathing
If you search for the phrase “block breathing,” you’ll find many suggested techniques. My favorite is to inhale through your nose for a count of seven, hold your breath for a count of four, and exhale through your mouth for a count of ten. Again, practice before this technique so it becomes automatic when you need it. There are so many variations in the literature that I’m not sure the exact count matters. But exhaling for longer than you inhale signals to your vagus nerve that your parasympathetic nervous system can stand down.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Remember when I said that knowing that a boat won’t broach is simplistic? Studies involving CBT suggest that an analytical appraisal of the situation you fear can help. It involves three steps. Ask yourself:
- What is the evidence for what you most fear coming true? In other words, what makes you think the boat will tip?
- What evidence exists to suggest it won’t? Here’s where the knowledge of sailboat engineering can help.
- What would I tell a friend in this situation?
Again, it’s helpful to rehearse this information so you can rely on it when you’re actually aboard a heeling sailboat.
Reframe the Feeling
Can you think of jitters you get from heeling as excitement instead of fear? This won’t work for everyone, but it has been found useful for people feeling nervous before a performance.
I tried to transform my fear of heeling into excitement by watching Alex Thomson videos on repeat. At first, the sight of Hugo Boss heeling hard for the keel walk and mast walk videos had me feeling as fearful in my living room as I felt that day on the water. But after dozens of rewatches, I now feel nothing but excitement watching this stunt footage.
Take the Helm
For me, the key to decreasing my fear of heeling was feeling I had some control over my situation. That, combined with the distraction of working at the mast, kept me from obsessing on my anxiety. It’s also a good education. When you feel the boat heeling more than you feel comfortable, steer away from the wind, let out the main sheet, or reduce sail by reefing.
A range of techniques should help you decrease your discomfort at your sailboat’s heeling. And if you dream of a life aboard like I did, I have a few more suggestions to consider.
Ideas for Future Cruisers
If you intend to live aboard and cruise full-time, you can’t learn too many skills. But if you’re inclined to fear heeling, practice your reefing skills. After that disastrous first effort, I became quite accomplished at reefing in all conditions. Once you buy your boat, you’ll want to be sure your reefing setup is as easy as possible. When conditions call for it, you want reducing sail to be easy.
If your fear is extreme, think carefully about what style of cruising is the best fit for you. (In the From Dreamer to Cruiser course, available as a standalone course or as part of the All-Access Pass, I talk about different styles of cruising and their pros and cons.) You might not want to jump right into crossing an ocean if heeling causes anxiety. Starting with the Great Loop or coastal cruising gives you the ability to arrange your travel around the weather in a way that long passages don’t. It’s less scary and still a fun adventure.
Considering buying a catamaran. Yes, cats tend to be more expensive than monhulls. But some small catamarans offer good cruising performance for a modest price.
If you’re committed to buying a monohull, pay attention to its ratings for seakindliness. Any cruising boat will be less tender than a day sailor, but some have a reputation for being particularly comfortable underway. I can confirm that my Pacific Seacraft 34 felt safe in all conditions, just like the review I read before buying it.
Final Thoughts
It’s scarier to learn a new skill as an adult. If you weren’t lucky enough to begin sailing as a child, you may feel some anxiety. But your brain is still flexible, and it can carve out new neural pathways that have you feeling safe and having fun.
Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced sailor with anxious crewmembers, hopefully my example and some tips from science can offer hope. I promise you, it’s absolutely worth the effort to enjoy the amazing cruising life.
Pamela Douglas cruised the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and Chesapeake and Delaware Bays aboard a Pacific Seacraft 34. She is a member of The Boat Galley team and developed our Cruising With Your Dog and From Dreamer to Cruiser courses. You can also find her favorite Atlantic coast destinations and other information about cruising with dogs at Something Wagging This Way Comes.
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