Am I a Wimp?

A friend with limited sailing experience recently went to his yacht, but the weather was marginal small craft warnings, and he decided not to leave the dock.  Subsequently he wrote me a note asking “Am I a Wimp?”  Here is "the gospel according to Captain Howard on making good “go-no go” decisions".  It comes with one caveat, I can't always distinguish my wisdom from my hubris; you have to do that! 

Kenny Rogers reminds us:  "you got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em".  To put the summary first, I think you made the wise choice by folding.  Why?

Your normal Captain duties exist within a larger context:  to see that every member on board has a good experience (not just a survivable one).  You are responsible to see that the lives of your crew and passengers are enriched through sailing.  This responsibility extends well beyond their physical safety. 

There are signs that it could have been a bad day for your uninitiated guests -- even if you did everything right.  Sure your expectations were to go sailing, and any decision not to go is somewhat bittersweet.  (Maybe life is teaching you both something important about expectations). Sitting below with a bottle of wine, a secure boat, good music and conversation is more responsible than getting someone hurt or scared at sea anytime.

Here’s what I’ve learned from a lifetime of flying.  There are two principal components to thinking rationally through a "go-no go" decision:  (1) the capabilities and limitations of the equipment, and (2) the capabilities and limitations of the captain/crew.  If you are outside the capability envelope of either of these, don't go.  You don't fly a Cessna 152 into known icing conditions -- it's beyond the capability of the equipment.  You don't fly instruments at night without specialized training -- because it is beyond the pilot's capabilities. 

Equipment assessment:
You state that "the winds at the dock were 10 to 15 knots sustained and gusting up to 15 to 20."  And you know from experience that you can likely add 10 knots to these numbers to get the L.I.S. winds.  Although you didn't mention the current NOAA weather report lets assume 20 to 25 sustained winds and waves of 2 to 4 feet. You know your yacht well. It is new, and the motor, systems, nav gear and the autopilot are reliable (the latter as a second crew member). it is seaworthy motoring with bare poles. Additionally you know that you have sailing options: you can sail main only, triple reef, or heave to. And you are no where near the limits of the hull's stability or rigging.   In summary you know this boat well.  It is strong, reliable and well equipped to sail in these conditions, and you have several options if things are worse than projected.  So considering the state of the equipment I would say it is a "go."

Captain/crew assessment:
You have the general sailing competencies to sail safely.  But you have (only) a few hours in these wind conditions.  The strong and consistent wind on the beam is making departing the dock difficult.  Returning is likely to be an equally tricky maneuver.  Since you have not experienced these conditions, the departure is already somewhat troublesome. It is going to take a reliable and quick response from your crew members to depart and dock successfully.  How "trainable” are they?  Additionally you know you can't rely on your crew to respond to any sailing request at sea.  So in the main you are single handing the vessel. Considering the capabilities and limitations of captain and crew (those mentioned and others) I think the prudent choice is "no-go".

Just to amplify on the above judgment call… if it were you and I on board it would shift this assessment.  Why?  Because there is both more knowledge and skill on board.  Additionally we have sailed as a team long enough to trust our common language, cross-train in the various roles at sea, and rely on each other, even in unexpected circumstances.  So the total capabilities and limitations of the captain/crew would likely change this latter choice to a "go". 

 But to address your original question:  "Am I a wimp?"  I only have one mantra that was drilled into me 50 years ago -- that I now take to sea: 

There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots,
but there are no old, bold pilots.

Captain Howard Edson