The Price of Radio Silence

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Ben Nicholson

I hope there are some parents or grandparents out there with some sage advice for a man in my predicament. I didnt realize how bad my problem was until recently, when I found myself using the threat of End Times to coax my teenage boys into going sailing. I had my heart set on an evening cruise aboard Lost Boys, a 42-foot Endeavour that the owner, a friend, generously leaves at our disposal.

Think of it as training, I said. Only sailors will be able to escape the zombie apocalypse, I explained to my eldest. There will be no zombies at sea.

Ben, 14, was unimpressed. You clearly havent read World War Z.

I hadnt. Well, there will be no Zika or Ebola, or whatever disease to wipe us off the planet.

So thats why you want us to go sailing this weekend? To prepare to survive the next plague?

Absolutely.

Jake, 12, was skeptical. What about doctors? There arent any doctors at in the middle of the ocean.

Well, if one of us gets sick, we can take care of ourselves, I reassured him. There are reference books.

But well need medicine.

We can stock up at the drugstore before the zombies-

D-a-a-d!

At least I had their attention. The point is, sailing teaches you to take care of yourself.

Ben yawned. We already know how to do that.

It was mostly true. They cook, wash the dishes, do the laundry, trim the hedges, and so on. And anytime I have a computer problem, I ask them for help. In short, they are ideal crew, but between schoolwork, friends, and after-school activities, theres little time to go sailing. And, to be frank, their passion for the sea has dimmed.

Recently, Ive been able to coax them out onto the water with another allure: the chance to test out some new electronics on Lost Boys. Last month, the boys and I tried out Wi-Fi boosters. (See WiriePro Combines Wi-Fi and Cellular in the October 2016 issue.) The equipment, I told the boys, would let us stay connected to the Internet almost anywhere we roamed. They were hooked.

Its not that they don’t like the occasional escape. Sailing and backpacking trips are part of our summer routine. But millenials like them feel naked whenever the Wi-Fi connection drops out. Like it our not, the era of the 24/7-connected life is upon us.

Thirteen years ago, PSs editor-at-large Nick Nicholson (no relation) equipped his Mason 48 with what was then a state-of-the-art satcom system. It was bulky and expensive, but it allowed him to file dispatches for his popular Offshore Log column, which is still available in our online archives.

My own experience sailing across the Pacific during the 1990s was quite different. The only two-way communication aboard our gaff-rigged ketch, Tosca, was an old VHF. As I contemplate my next boat and cruise-hopefully, with the boys aboard-a quote by Thoreau keeps coming back to mind: Silence is the universal refuge . . .

I couldnt agree more, but still wonder­-is a sailors reverence for silence enough to keep the zombies of the future at bay?

Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Supported entirely by subscribers, Practical Sailor accepts no advertising. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him by email at practicalsailor@belvoir.com.