Hand steering across the Atlantic....mad or insane?

Once did a delivery Puerto Banus to Saybrook, Ct. via Azores and Bermuda entirely hand steered. 42' S&S design in lightweight ally - horrible sea-boat had to be steered every inch of the way. Crew 4.

Skipper & I consideed doing Bermuda - Saybrook without crew, decided foolhardy due known levels of fatigue on a cranky boat. With a saner design we would probably have chosen differently.

Me, I'd fit a windvane.
 
Totally insane. Whn completing the 'most important equipment' survey at the end of the ARC I put the Raymarine Autohelm 7000+ in positions 1,2 and 3.

Prayed every night on the crossing.... Please let the autohelm keep working!!!!
 
I've handsteered with a crew of 4 - no problem and in fact it would have been pretty boring if we'd used windvane or autohelm - and certainly a bit slower.

I've also done a 10 day non-stop stint with just me and one other on board without any form of self-steering - it was possible and we could have kept going for any length of time I think, but we were either steering, reefing, cooking or sleeping with little quality lounging time.

If you both feel confident enough to reef and unreef, navigate and avoid shipping on your own without self-steering (and you're a bit of a masochist), then fine, but if either of you needs the help of the other to do any of those things then you'll tire yourself out within a few days, IMHO.
 
Interesting responses. The majority of you seem to think it is not a possibility... I haven't asked the question with the intention of mulling it over to see if I could make up my mind on whether to or not. We did hand steer for 28 days with just two of us and I would not do it again, but I do feel that we made faster time. There was definatly no lounging time, all given spare time was used for sleeping. I'll hang on to the "angles wing" that follows us around for the time being!
 
Excellent!
Really glad to hear you've done it!
Though to be honest, only a couple on here said impossible/dangerous. Most of the rest of us just said mad.

But if we never do anything mad, do we truly live?
 
[ QUOTE ]
.....And exactly, what did everyone do before the invention of self steering?

[/ QUOTE ]

Nothing. Skippers short of crew balanced their boat to steer themselves. Even the Spray had '.....a sheet attached to the tiller' to enable self steering.

The invention or self-stering gear for small boats allowed samll crews go go off sailing. Before that it was only done by a very few.
 
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