Sailing across the Atlantic on a sailing boat, under 40ft.

[Sea Devil]

Even downwind? I've never had anything more substantial than tiller pilots. On my last boat one time waves picked up going downwind and it just couldn't keep up with the demand for corrections so i was left single handed with no self steering. Maybe the size of the boat has an effect on this aspect, bigger being more directionally stable.

Absolutely down wind - I followed the trade wind route mainly all round the world and the Hydrovane coped with everything... By comparison I have in the past had boats with Aeries and others but Hydrovane was by far the best for me... This does not mean of course that you do not have to 'balance' the sail area, boat and trim sails according to condition but I never had a problem downwind.... Bambola my Angus Primrose centre cockpit was 36 foot

 

[Sea Devil]

Nice, I found it very interesting and enlightening,

I was under the impression 2182 was no longer in use. At least by coast stations. Of course I don’t really pay attention to such things.

I think, think 2182 is current but of course very few merchant ships have SSB but I am certain 99% certain that CC monitor 2182 but I am sure someone know s for certain

 

[Uricanejack]

I think, think 2182 is current but of course very few merchant ships have SSB but I am certain 99% certain that CC monitor 2182 but I am sure someone know s for certain

Perhaps it’s just the commercial use which has gone the way of the Dodo.
It is nice to hear it still has a place in the the sailing or cruising world.
outdated technology but it worked rather well,
somewhere in a box in the attic I do have a lisence issued by the GPO to use it. Needless to say remembering how might be an issue 40 years on.
Back in the day, Portishead Radio was the station we called.

 

[mattonthesea]

Opinions differ, but many of us don’t find ocean sailing tedious. You get into a routine and although it’s exciting to arrive, there’s also a sense of anti-climax that the passage is over.

Quite agree. There's a peace out on an ocean which is hard to find elsewhere. I tried to sum it up in my prologue. I intended it to be read slowly, with a good pause for each comma, semi-colon, full stop etc.

I have absolutely no idea what day it is. I have been at sea so long. When every day is the same as the one before, and the one before that; when anything more than tomorrow becomes too hard to imagine, or anything before yesterday is just a thought, counting them just seems meaningless. The wind is blowing, from behind, as it has done, forever. It blows the large, gentle, waves to roll slowly up behind me too;. The sun has come up, and it has gone down. Nothing else has changed. I am on my own, in my own world, thirty two feet by ten, surrounded by sea and sky, alone in the darkness. Maybe, the closest people to me are in the Space Lab up there somewhere.

I am lying propped up in the cockpit, lulled by the waves; each one regular, and yet, unique. In the clear sky ahead I can see the memory of where the sun set some time ago. There are stars; so many of them, so clear, so many unknown constellations. On the right, low on the horizon, is the Pole Star. It is small, it is significant only as a marker, to keep it on the beam, to keep me travelling west. The Plough has not yet risen, something I am still surprised by. There is another constellation that looks a bit like a question mark. It goes around the Pole Star like a twenty four hour clock hand, but backwards. If I applied myself I could work out the time. But as I do so I lose myself in other thoughts. Above on the left is Orion, imperious with his shining belt. Somewhere, low on the left, the Southern Cross will rise towards morning. The only colour in this enormous sky is the reflection from the mast light. At the top of the stays I can see a glimmer of red and green.

The wind is warm from behind. It is coming from the Sahara, a thousand miles behind me. My t-shirt is not really necessary; clothes are a habit left over from my life, on land, a long time ago. Thoughts, my constant visitors, leaving little trace, seem to travel with the wind. I am lost, wandering with them. I am at peace.

 

[Babylon]

Lovely! Sounds just like Moitessier!

 

[Bajansailor]

"Maybe, the closest people to me are in the Space Lab up there somewhere"

I remember reading in the Berrimillas Blog somewhere (link below) that they had thought the same when they were out in the middle of the ocean.

Berrimilla

It is a wonderful blog - two lads did the Sydney - Hobart race doublehanded in their 33' cruising sloop (which was very competitive), and then immediately afterwards set off to sail to England, via Cape Horn, to take part in the Fastnet.
They later also corresponded with the crew on the Space Station.

 

[Ningaloo]

How can 'they' make you' do that? By what practical, physical methods can someone be forced to stay in a hotel, if they refuse to?

They are not being asked to stay in a hotel. They are being REQUIRED to stay in, and pay for, a government controlled quarantine centre (that happens to be a hotel closed due to covid). If you refuse, I suspect arrest and imprisonment as happened recently in IoM. And yes, there are guards in the corridors to stop you leaving or guests visiting.

The above based on Australia, but I imagine UK might be similar other than being half- hearted by trying to guess which countries are "safe". [BTW the only "safe countries are the ones that started quarantine in March 2020 and have zero community covid cases.]

It sounds like UK may also be a bit more lenient in allowing you out of the hotel room (under guard/supervision) for exercise and fresh air. The early quarantine in Australia had you in a room without opening windows for two weeks, although things may have moved on as many people complained about this and the low quality airline food that was provided.

[Only read this thread to see what lustyd got so steamed up about.]

 

[Koeketiene]

I think, think 2182 is current but of course very few merchant ships have SSB but I am certain 99% certain that CC monitor 2182 but I am sure someone know s for certain

The last (only?) radio station in western Europe to still monitor 2182 is Oostende Radio (OSU).
Belgium agreed to 'cover' for the UK, France and the Netherlands when they closed their radio stations down.

Since 2001, the station is operated by the Ministry of Defence (Belgian Navy).

oostenderadio - Radio

Oostende Radio, callsigns OST / OSU | Facebook

 

[davidej]

Yes. In a 31ft Westerly

And probably 31 years old as well

 

[38mess]

They are not being asked to stay in a hotel. They are being REQUIRED to stay in, and pay for, a government controlled quarantine centre (that happens to be a hotel closed due to covid). If you refuse, I suspect arrest and imprisonment as happened recently in IoM. And yes, there are guards in the corridors to stop you leaving or guests visiting.

The above based on Australia, but I imagine UK might be similar other than being half- hearted by trying to guess which countries are "safe". [BTW the only "safe countries are the ones that started quarantine in March 2020 and have zero community covid cases.]

It sounds like UK may also be a bit more lenient in allowing you out of the hotel room (under guard/supervision) for exercise and fresh air. The early quarantine in Australia had you in a room without opening windows for two weeks, although things may have moved on as many people complained about this and the low quality airline food that was provided.

[Only read this thread to see what lustyd got so steamed up about.]

I follow 'sailing nahoe' on YouTube, they have just been allowed to fly from Canada back to Thailand to their boat.
They spent 2 weeks in a hotel in quarantine at their expense, the second week after testing negative they were allowed out upto the roof garden for exercise for an hour a day.
I hope they are as strict in the UK, but I doubt it

 

[Skylark]

I thought my Moody 36 was perfect - Angus Primrose knew how to design luxury boats - I lived in her around the world and although I have owned bigger boats I think she was the perfect compromise.. This is the video I made about Atlantic crossing

A lovely way to pass an hour watching this. It's great that you've taken the time to produce a friendly, helpful, informative easy watch based upon your evident experience, in such an up-lifting way. Makes a refreshing change from much trolled on here.

As an aside, I'm not overly keen on your 1/2 litre per day for ablutions ?. On my last crossing, I was lucky to be invited to join a liveraboard couple on an extraordinarily well fitted-out cat. We enjoyed unlimited water, fruit cake with cream at 10h00 and warm tart with ice cream at 15h00 as daily treats, plus we dined very well on freshly caught fish. A crossing doesn't have to be hardship, depends upon the objective of the trip and the inevitable compromise of the preparation.

Many thanks for posting

 

[steve yates]

Even downwind? I've never had anything more substantial than tiller pilots. On my last boat one time waves picked up going downwind and it just couldn't keep up with the demand for corrections so i was left single handed with no self steering. Maybe the size of the boat has an effect on this aspect, bigger being more directionally stable.

Wouldn't that be more to do with you having aTiller pilot rather than a wind vane?

 

[Adios]

Wouldn't that be more to do with you having aTiller pilot rather than a wind vane?

I was hoping that would be why. But I wouldn't want to spend thousands of pounds only to find it has the same limitation so better to ask. I think it was the small size and tubby form of the bilge keelers hull it was on though. I never had it so bad in the more trad lines longer previous boats. With trade wind sailing being mostly downwind having a barely coping tiller pilot groaning away and threatening to fail would be quite a stress for a single hander even if he had a spare or 2.

 

[pyrojames]

I was hoping that would be why. But I wouldn't want to spend thousands of pounds only to find it has the same limitation so better to ask. I think it was the small size and tubby form of the bilge keelers hull it was on though. I never had it so bad in the more trad lines longer previous boats. With trade wind sailing being mostly downwind having a barely coping tiller pilot groaning away and threatening to fail would be quite a stress for a single hander even if he had a spare or 2.

I sailed from OZ to the UK via the trade wind route with a Monitor vane gear on a 33 footer, long keel. It worked in all conditions and up and down wind. In terms of downwind, the slew that occurs on the waves seemed to load up the Monitor paddle and therefore the helm too, tending to help with tracking straight. I also steered us reasonable well, when try to keep seas on the quarter under bare poles in a 10 for about 6 hours.

 

[38mess]

I was hoping that would be why. But I wouldn't want to spend thousands of pounds only to find it has the same limitation so better to ask. I think it was the small size and tubby form of the bilge keelers hull it was on though. I never had it so bad in the more trad lines longer previous boats. With trade wind sailing being mostly downwind having a barely coping tiller pilot groaning away and threatening to fail would be quite a stress for a single hander even if he had a spare or 2.

You can make one pretty easy if you are handy, lots of stuff on YouTube. I made one for my 22 kestrel out of old bike bits years ago, it worked pretty well although it wouldn't win on the looks scale, I have some photos somewhere.
I

 

[Adios]

You can make one pretty easy if you are handy, lots of stuff on YouTube. I made one for my 22 kestrel out of old bike bits years ago, it worked pretty well although it wouldn't win on the looks scale, I have some photos somewhere

Good idea. I've a tig welder for stainless but not ali. I've no idea how vanes work, assuming voodoo until proven otherwise. I suppose I could buy a second hand one, copy it and then sell the one i bought for about what I paid and then make some more to sell on ebay pretending I'm a seller in China so no one cares that i've copied it

 

[Sea Devil]

A lovely way to pass an hour watching this. It's great that you've taken the time to produce a friendly, helpful, informative easy watch based upon your evident experience, in such an up-lifting way. Makes a refreshing change from much trolled on here.

As an aside, I'm not overly keen on your 1/2 litre per day for ablutions ?. On my last crossing, I was lucky to be invited to join a liveraboard couple on an extraordinarily well fitted-out cat. We enjoyed unlimited water, fruit cake with cream at 10h00 and warm tart with ice cream at 15h00 as daily treats, plus we dined very well on freshly caught fish. A crossing doesn't have to be hardship, depends upon the objective of the trip and the inevitable compromise of the preparation.

Many thanks for posting

Thank you for that post! It's been excellent lockdown therapy for me making these videos - kept me busy and it was my trade. Just really pleased that people like them... A Moody 36 is probably quite small compared to a liveaboard cat.. I did install a watermaker in Trinidad which was good in the Pacific but I still carried enough 'real' water in 'jugs' on deck for the really long passages!

 

[Sea Devil]

The last (only?) radio station in western Europe to still monitor 2182 is Oostende Radio (OSU).
Belgium agreed to 'cover' for the UK, France and the Netherlands when they closed their radio stations down.

Since 2001, the station is operated by the Ministry of Defence (Belgian Navy).

oostenderadio - Radio

Oostende Radio, callsigns OST / OSU | Facebook

How sad but progress... I must try to find a way to update my video - I get the impression that lots of people circumnavigating still use SSB as out in the Pacific or even just the Red sea there is no other way I know of to keep in touch with or chat economically with other boats on these routes. A friend of mine worked out that there were always around 250 boats on the circumnavigation route spread out in places like Panama, Fiji, Thailand, Sri Lanca, Oman and the Red Sea - those were the days and SSB was king

 

[Koeketiene]

How sad but progress... I must try to find a way to update my video - I get the impression that lots of people circumnavigating still use SSB as out in the Pacific or even just the Red sea there is no other way I know of to keep in touch with or chat economically with other boats on these routes. A friend of mine worked out that there were always around 250 boats on the circumnavigation route spread out in places like Panama, Fiji, Thailand, Sri Lanca, Oman and the Red Sea - those were the days and SSB was king

Some years ago, I bought the whole SSB kit (used, but full functional - transceiver, copper grounding, AT and Pactor modem) with the intention of installing it on my previous boat.
Two years down the line, following boat downsizing and revised ambitions (mainly family and medical reasons) this kit is now no longer required.
I can not even give it away.
Everyone's going down the Spot, InReach and Iridium route.
Satcom has become somewhat more affordable and user friendly.

 

[mattonthesea]

Everyone's going down the Spot, InReach and Iridium route.
Satcom has become somewhat more affordable and user friendly.

Ten years ago, sitting in English harbour, a group of us sat costing the various safety and comms kit. We worked out that a Sat Phone would have been a cheap(er) way of being not-quite master of all trades. It can do Mayday and other emergency calls, email and grib data transfer, locator for emergency positioning and... that's as far as my memory goes. Of course, eggs and one basket comes to mind!