edinburgh to brisbane

[saltwater_gypsy]

If you sail from Edinburgh in a 20ft boat you will get to St Abbs head and then realise that you should have held out for something bigger.
Don't be fooled by the guys crossing the Atlantic in 5ft boats...... they are very special boats and very special sailors.

 

[sailorjerry]

hi There.

OK, so first of all, I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who has replied. All the information i have got so far has been great, the ideas and advice, as well as the criticism, and sceptism, (by the way, this is NOT a troll). So keep all the info coming. i have been looking at some of the links that have been sent, and they to have been great.
so the general vibe I'm getting here is that this thing would actually be possible, ridiculously hard and challenging and expensive, but possible.
a question though, involving the route, how difficult would it actually be to sail the "wrong way" as i had planned, as in, is it just slow and rough? what makes it so difficult?
so this is just the start, and a really good start i think. thanks very much.

 

[nickrj]

[ QUOTE ]
how difficult would it actually be to sail the "wrong way" as i had planned, as in, is it just slow and rough? what makes it so difficult?

[/ QUOTE ]

good to see you're not a troll. i was becoming skeptical myself.

anyway, i suggest you spend a day sailing upwind into swell, to find out how difficult it is /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

and besides, a gentlemen never sails to windward!

the fact is mate, anything is possible. but... some things are more possible than others. you are essentially trying to sail against nature. there have been records set for reverse circumnavigations, people have crossed the atlantic in rubber boats without water (on purpose) etc.

if you're hellbent on doing it, there isn't much anyone can say...

n

 

[Roach1948]

It is not the so much the windward sailing that will be challenging but the fact that you will be sailing Doldrum latitudes. I don't have any meterological references to hand, but I believe you can expect to experience squalls interspaced by calms which really psyche-out single-handers!

 

[snowleopard]

I met someone doing pretty much what you propose though initially he only planned to go as far as the Canaries. He set off from Scotland in October in an old 20-odd footer. Not being very experienced he felt quite safe setting out into strong winds and thought it was fairly normal to be sitting waist-deep in water in his cockpit. Eventually his sails gave out so he decided to run the boat up on the beach. In doing so he broke his rudder. He now had no sails or rudder but reckoned he'd be OK to continue as he could steer with his outboard. That worked for a while until the motor fell off leaving him adrift.

He sent out a mayday and gave a position off Peterhead from his GPS. The Peterhead lifeboat was launched, they eventually found him off Aberdeen. We met him after he had been towed back to Peterhead.

So if, despite your lack of experience or knowledge, you are determined to go ahead: get some training, get some practical experience and make sure you choose a seaworthy boat and 'fix it up' properly. If you ignore any of those points you'll most likely end up like my Captain Calamity.

 

[Dyflin]

I don't know, it sounds like a perfectly reasonable attempt to get out of Peterhead at any cost. I can't say I blame the guy for trying!

Dyflin

(Not Peterhead's number 1 fan /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

 

[nickrj]

[ QUOTE ]
squalls interspaced by calms which really psyche-out single-handers!

[/ QUOTE ]
Arghhghhghggh!!!

I'm getting flashbacks of in-mast halyards banging as the boat rolls from side to side at a complete stop! And then 40kts for 26minutes!

Worse than Chinese water torture!

I'm no expert on the Indian either, but a quick google:

"In the Indian Ocean, Northeast Trade winds blow throughout the winter months. During the Northern Hemisphere summer however, the ITCZ is shifted well to the north of the equator, when the midday Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer at latitude 23.5° north. The Southeast Trade winds now cross the equator, and are deflected to the right by the Coriolis force, forming the Southwest Monsoons. This summertime airflow picks up considerable moisture crossing the Indian Ocean, and brings a heavy and prolonged wet season to India and Southeast Asia through April to September, known as the Monsoon."