The sea is usually our happy place. But when it isn\u2019t, factoring in recovery \u2013 both mentally and physically \u2013 is part of good seamanshipBoat should be stationary when casualty is brought alongside. Photo: Tiger Brisius\/16\u00b0 South\/ClipperDo you find a sense of belonging at sea? A deep intuition that it\u2019s the right place for you? Dare I say it, but sometimes being offshore can oddly feel more emotionally comfortable than being in my own home.
\nLife at sea is so sensory that the experience is incredibly visceral. The wind on your face, the movement of the boat, the sounds of waves, the distinct smells of human life down below \u2013 it\u2019s totally immersive. And that\u2019s why the memories of sailing linger so vividly. I sometimes find I can feel the memory. During the Covid pandemic, I remember putting my head out the window on a windy day and feeling immediately comforted.
\nI suspect many of you will agree: sailing is healing. Even in tough conditions, its call for your presence pulls you entirely into the moment. It\u2019s not unlike a long distance trail run or a cold plunge; your body and mind are exhausted \u2013 and at the same time invigorated. But, with big highs come big lows. Sometimes as sailors we can pay a high price. And, this is a side of sailing often overlooked.
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Watching famous freeclimber Alex Honnold scale a skyscraper on television recently made me realise that our sports sit in similar territory. Sailing, climbing, alpinism, long distance hiking, biking \u2013 all carry real, inherent risk. That hit home in January with the sombre report of the crewmember on Walross 4 who was injured during the RORC Transatlantic Race and later died. I doubt anyone involved with that incident would view that voyage as healing. And the wounds left by that death far exceed just the casualty.
\nYes, sailing can be deeply healing, but we also need to acknowledge its potential long-term psychological cost.
\nOn the final day of last year\u2019s Middle Sea Race \u2013 the day we crossed the line in first place \u2013 I experienced a harrowingly close call when the mainsheet clipped a crewmember\u2019s neck. Thankfully, they survived without any lasting physical injury. It was a near miss and nothing \u2018bad\u2019 happened in the end. Yet, in the weeks that followed, I struggled to get over it. Once the symptoms worsened enough, I investigated and realised I was suffering from PTSD. And, not for the first time.
\nI recognised the emotional turmoil from earlier in my career, when I arrived in Fremantle during the Clipper Round the World Race after sailor Simon Speirs had died on another boat. Again, nothing had happened directly to me, yet the psychological impact was long lasting. In fact, after over a decade sailing professionally, I\u2019ve now realised that rescues I\u2019ve been involved in, the \u2018close calls\u2019, and tragedies I\u2019ve witnessed have all left their mark.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve since seen many sailors affected by experiences others might dismiss: severe seasickness, rig failures, bullying or major conflict, minor injuries that were millimetres away from lost limbs or worse\u2026 Near misses and scary moments at sea can stay with us in unexpected ways. And, we need to talk about this more.
\nThat isn\u2019t about being a killjoy \u2013 quite the opposite in fact. Awareness of risk does not need to diminish our love for the sport \u2013 it\u2019s essential to sustaining our love affair with sailing.
\nLast year author Dave Kilmer interviewed me, as he has done with dozens of other skippers from superyachts to super-tankers, for his book The Way of the Captain. He shared with me how surprised he was at how often mental health had come up in conversations with skippers without him directly posing the question. The emotional load of command and general life at sea, it seems, is a commonly experienced but under-acknowledged challenge.
\nWhen Dave asked me how I\u2019d dealt with my own mental and emotional struggles as captain, I realised that despite feeling a deep connection to the sea, I no longer think going to sea is always an appropriate way to heal wounds. Not when I\u2019m the skipper, carrying the responsibility for others. Not when what I\u2019m trying to process was caused by a sailing experience. And not if I\u2019m in such a challenging spot that I can\u2019t keep my emotional state in check.
\nSailing gives us extraordinary highs, mental space and lasting positive effects. But, it also asks a lot of us mentally.
\nLoving sailing means understanding not just what it gives us but also what it can take.<\/p>\n
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The post Balancing the visceral joy of sailing with its mental toll \u2013 Nikki Henderson appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sea is usually our happy place. But when it isn\u2019t, factoring in recovery \u2013 both mentally and physically \u2013 is part of good seamanshipBoat should be stationary when casualty is brought alongside. Photo: Tiger Brisius\/16\u00b0 South\/ClipperDo you find a … <\/p>\n