How do I handle difficult passages when navigating at sea?

You can navigate most waters now, and that is hard-won. The difficult passages still trip you because they leave no room for the small errors that calmer water forgives. Narrow channels, strong currents, tight timing: these demand a sharpness that only comes after the basics are already automatic, which for you they now are. The way through hard passages is preparation, not nerve. Study the chart before you ever reach the water. Know the hazards, the tide windows, the bailout points if things go wrong. When the moment comes, you are not solving it live; you are executing a plan you already made calmly, and calm is what keeps your judgment clear when the water gets serious. Before your next tough passage, sit with the chart and walk through it in your mind, step by step, including what you will do if something fails. You are not lacking skill. You are learning that the hardest water is won on paper first, and that the prepared sailor meets trouble already half past it.