Sailing Through Autumn: Weather, Worries, and Wisdom

Autumn has arrived in the northern high latitudes with stormy gusto, ushering in our final chapter of this year’s sailing season. While there is good late season sailing to be found, the area is also haunted by the lingering effects of every hurricane and storm in the northern Atlantic. As we navigate the weather systems and attempt to balance a multitude of conflicting requirements, the tension between adventure and safety continue to rule life aboard.

September also marks the anniversary of our family moving aboard and becoming full time cruisers. While this life has worked well for us and our family crew, it isn’t for everybody. As they say, “if it were easy, everybody would be doing it!” This month I thought I’d muse a bit about what I think it takes to continue to enjoy sailing as full time cruisers.

The Mental Load

As I’ve touched on in previous musing, (Finding Balance, Life is Easier, But the Easy Things are Harder, and What do You Do all Day?) the mental load is relentless.

Life aboard is currently full of attempts to balance weather windows, places we still want to try to visit, finding safe harbors and needing to put some miles under the keel to get to our winter destination.

Like a mom tuned to the sounds of her newborn child, a sailor’s ear is tuned to strange noises – a shift in wind direction, a subtle change to the slap of the waves, the call of the anchor alarm. Our lives are intricately intertwined with our sailing home, and we can be raised out of a deep slumber to tend to Zephyros’ needs by the slightest whimper.

When the wind howls through the rigging or the boat bounces, snatches and creaks it doesn’t matter whether we are underway, at anchor or pushed up against a pier; sleep becomes elusive, allowing fatigue to set in and pessimism to creep up.

The Power of a Good Night’s Sleep

Living this life, restful sleep isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential. Without it, even the smallest setbacks compound and begin to feel overwhelming. Moods darken and everybody seems on edge. But after a good night’s rest, optimism returns, and the same challenges seem manageable. Perspectives shift. The glass is half full again. The lousy weather is shrugged off and we tell ourselves that it wasn’t that bad.

Or maybe a good night’s rest is a type of amnesia (for me?) and what we really need is the fleeting memory of a goldfish when considering the negatives.

The Importance of Resilience

The sailing life is full of high highs and low lows. Sailors need to be able to pick themselves (and their fellow crew) back up. They must be quick to let go of the worry to find the sunny, positive side of things. They need to be able to shake it all off and forget about the difficulties.

Whether on land or sea, we all face days that test our spirit. The key is to rest well, let go of yesterday’s worries, and greet each day with fresh optimism.

What’s your secret to resetting and finding calm after life’s storms? Leave a comment to share your tips!

Thank you for this space and joining me on my musings! May you enjoy your own safe and inspiring adventures and let us know any topics about life on board and long- distance cruising that you would like covered.

Megan Schwartz
SV Zephyros
Noonsite Sub-Editor

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About the Author

Noonsite editorial team member, Megan Schwartz, joined Noonsite in October 2024 concentrating on research and updating country formalities. She lives on board SV Zephyros with her husband and two teenage boys (18 and 16 years old) and they have been cruising full-time, since 2017. Zephyros is an aluminum, expedition monohull which suits the family’s style of cruising perfectly as they enjoy high-latitudes and places less travelled, but have also cruised popular Mediterranean and Caribbean destinations.

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Other Noonsite reports in the Cruising Musing Series:

• Cruising Musings: Creepy Crawlers and Nature’s Pest Control
• Cruising Musings: What Do You Do All Day?
• Cruising Musings: The Things We Keep, Yet Rarely Use
• Cruising Musings: Life is Easier, But the Easy Things are Harder
• Cruising Musings: Finding Balance

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.