No money and want to circumnavigate the world, Help!

I am rather biased, regarding boat choice, and several Elizabethan 29s have sailed across the Atlantic as well. There is a very nice one for sale on the website, but you should be able to pick an unloved one up for less than £10000. The larger Elizabethans are just as seaworthy, but more expensive. I have heard them referred to as "the poor man's Contessa", which refers to the cachet of the name rather than any difference in quality.
 
Good luck with it - it will certainly be an adventure, and re the detail, i would err on the side that says forget about the detail, sort it out along the way. Just go.
 
The vast majority of boats are able to cross open seas; the vast majority of sailors are not able to. You need to prepare your boat, ie rigging, sails, auto steering etc. Try to get a boat with plenty of room below decks. Contessa's are good boats but are overprices because they are the "flavour of the month". Good luck
 
Aye, well, if it's beauty contests we're talking about, I reckon the Cutlass is prettier than the Contessa or the Vega!

(and a lot cheaper than a Contessa)!

True about seasickness though. My father-in-law was in the navy during the war, and said that every time he changed ship, he'd be violently seasick for three days and then it would stop - instantly.
 
"Flavor of the month" a bit strong. CO26's have been very popular for single-handed, budget, long distance cruisers for a very long time and I suspect will continue to be so.

That said there are a number of boats that are very similar and equally as capable but not as well known. The invicta 26, for example, is allmost identical to the CO26 but often a bit cheaper. If you see one for sale it would be worth a look.

Out of choice I would still go for the Co26 but that's prob because I have a 32 and I'm biased...
 
[ QUOTE ]

Elizabethans are just as seaworthy,

.... but not as pretty....

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't let that one pass. Kim Holman was incapable of designing an ugly boat, the Elizabethan 29 has a lower freeboard, narrower beam and longer overhangs than the Contessa 26.

Pistols at dawn, sir?
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
There's an even cheaper way of doing it.

Hitch a ride from the Canaries to the Carib with TCM - see THIS THREAD. Hitch a ride on another boat from St Maartin down to St Lucia. There, you will find about 250 boats heading in all sorts of directions, who've all just completed the ARC. Hitch a ride heading west to say Panama. You'll find even more boats there - all heading west. Hitch a ride bla bla bla... you get the picture.

I bet if you asked nicely, you'll find a boat leaving the UK very soon, that is heading for the Canaries and will be there in time for you to hook up with TCM.

... think about it, no maintenance costs. No additional equipment to buy etc etc

EDIT: That reply was meant for Steve83.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Only last year another twenty-something lad called Nick who had never sailed before in his life set off on an epic journey from Southampton to Australia via Panama.

He intends to stop off at Pitcairn Island in the middle of the Pacific (I hope he can find it as it is very small)! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks David! But... Some small corrections - I had sailed before, but only as crew, in Australia & England. However, as most people know, being crew might teach you the names of the ropes, but that's about it. I picked up more in one day of sailing my own boat in the Solent (which I duly grounded! Lesson learnt...) than all the crewing I'd ever done. So for anyone that wants to vanish off the face of the earth without knowing how to sail, at least work it out beforehand on your own boat!

As noted before, it also has a great deal to do with whether you can stand the horrible life of living a small, damp and seasick existence. It's not particularly pretty, but worth every second. Put it this way: If you can do it, I think you could more or less do anything!

Regarding boats, if I had my time again... I'd keep my UK pennies, and take a one-way flight into the US and buy a boat there. For $20k US you could probably get something livable like a Bristol 35.

Or for a lot less, a Pearson Triton for example.

And if you do get a Contessa, make sure it has a self-draining cockpit...

And now that you've announced to the world of your intentions, you must absolutely follow through, or sink trying.

(Start a website or something, so the world can keep you to your word /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

nick!
 
Gawd, this could be awful. Consider hitching rides on other peoples boats and use the 10k as safety net to travel between boats, live ashore a bit, fly home, car in NZ etc. There's a potentially bigger risk in sailing long distances on too-tight budgets than otherwise, but there is the near certainty of having a pretty grim poverty stricken time when you get wherever you go. No city trips, car hire etc. 10k not enuf imho.

edit> sh it that stingo beat me to the same answer. great minds, see. He's sposed to come on anuver trip too!
 
not learning much as crew

hm, that's not very good on the part of the skippers. Or you were on a race boat, sit there, do that. Sail on a cruise boat for any length of time the skipper should want to get most crew to be as comptetent as possible in case he gets incapacitated (i don't mean drunk...)
 
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