single handed to the Azores

[jdc]

Once you're committed, 24 hours from a port, forecasts don't matter so much, because you can't avoid what's coming.
You don't need comms, it makes little difference, it's the ocean, you are on your own, away from society.
That used to be kind of the point of it.

I think this is bollocks. Having a good idea of the expected track of a depression some 72 hours in advance of it arriving allows one to make sensible judgements about the best course to take; one absolutely can avoid 'what's coming'. Sticking just with Azores examples, in an AZAB outward leg we altered course to go N of a depression and got a fantastic F8 easterly (and so a fair wind) whereas many of our competitors carried on the rhumb line and got a SW10 in the face - we beat those - and on a passage from St Marten to Horta we had a fairly strong depression come past and used the grib files to decide the parallel to remain on for winds below F9 and when to gybe back NE. Both, imho, entirely seamanlike routing decisions.

 

[Adios]

Once you're committed, 24 hours from a port, forecasts don't matter so much, because you can't avoid what's coming.
You don't need comms, it makes little difference, it's the ocean, you are on your own, away from society.
That used to be kind of the point of it.

Travelling before the internet was so much more being away. Poste Restante was the limit of it. When the starlink satellite network is fully up and running people will be glued to mobiles checking twitter and facebook right the way across the Atlantic. I'm feeling ever more like the Luddites were a smart bunch. The trade of convenience at the cost of shrinking the earth has nearly killed the posibility of adventure. The sea was about the last wilderness.

edit: or its bollocks

 

[steveeasy]

Once you're committed, 24 hours from a port, forecasts don't matter so much, because you can't avoid what's coming.
You don't need comms, it makes little difference, it's the ocean, you are on your own, away from society.
That used to be kind of the point of it.

Well probably not, but it can help with the best route and you might be able to avoid a head on. But then I like your style. go with the flow and take what comes your way. I think today with the forecasts we have access to it would be a little foolish not to use them
steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

I think this is bollocks. Having a good idea of the expected track of a depression some 72 hours in advance of it arriving allows one to make sensible judgements about the best course to take; one absolutely can avoid 'what's coming'. Sticking just with Azores examples, in an AZAB outward leg we altered course to go N of a depression and got a fantastic F8 easterly (and so a fair wind) whereas many of our competitors carried on the rhumb line and got a SW10 in the face - we beat those - and on a passage from St Marten to Horta we had a fairly strong depression come past and used the grib files to decide the parallel to remain on for winds below F9 and when to gybe back NE. Both, imho, entirely seamanlike routing decisions.

Yep, those are wise words.

 

[penfold]

I think this is bollocks. Having a good idea of the expected track of a depression some 72 hours in advance of it arriving allows one to make sensible judgements about the best course to take; one absolutely can avoid 'what's coming'. Sticking just with Azores examples, in an AZAB we altered course to go N of a depression and got a fantastic F8 easterly (and so a fair wind) whereas many of our competitors carried on the rhumb line and got a SW10 in the face - we beat those - and on a passage from St Marten to Horta we had a fairly strong depression come past and used the grib files to decide the parallel to remain on for winds below F9 and when to gybe back NE. Both, imho, entirely seamanlike routing decisions.

Exactly; a 3 day forecast enables weather routing, unless you've a very fast boat avoiding bad weather may not be possible but generally you can position yourself to take advantage or at least minimise the punishment.

 

[steveeasy]

Exactly; a 3 day forecast enables weather routing, unless you've a very fast boat avoiding bad weather may not be possible but generally you can position yourself to take advantage or at least minimise the punishment.

Oh shes a very fast boat with a very slow skipper. Ive searched and allready found Places that hire iridium phones

2 options. Satelite based, as you have already researched. An InReach can give basic text information, but not charts. However you can get text messages from somebody on shore looking at the weather for you. For charts/access to web forecasts you need a phone you can connect to a pc, or an Iridium Go (or one or two other devices). Possibly useful to have the means to phone cometimes, so not a bad option (though not cheap). InReach has the advantage of being able to ping a position for people on shore to see, and can be used as an SOS device.
Land based: you can get Navtex and weather charts for some distance. Takes time to pull charts in, and they may not be as clean as satelite. No idea as to range. Charts less so no doubt, as NAVTEX have more transmitters. R4LW shipping forecast will get you a couple of hundred miles+.

People do anything from take nothing other than a barometer, to the full works, so it is really a matter of what works for you.

Thanks. good advice

 

[WoodyP]

The AZAB requires competitors to do a 500 mi!e offshore qualifier. I found it was a useful experience in preparation as I had no prior experience. You are also required to do the sea safety course which provides a bit of food for thought in your preparations.

 

[steveeasy]

The AZAB requires competitors to do a 500 mi!e offshore qualifier. I found it was a useful experience in preparation as I had no prior experience. You are also required to do the sea safety course which provides a bit of food for thought in your preparations.

Recommendations

• a 500 mile, non-stop, single-handed voyage be made in the same vessel.

Good recommendation. Yes I understand the concept. Ive done a 300 mile nonestop and was planning to do the Baltimore prior to Azores. Ill be going from Southampton to Plymouth which in itself none stop is good preparations and often coastal sailing can indeed be more challenging for different reasons.
Steveeasy

 

[WoodyP]

Recommendations

• a 500 mile, non-stop, single-handed voyage be made in the same vessel.

Good recommendation. Yes I understand the concept. Ive done a 300 mile nonestop and was planning to do the Baltimore prior to Azores. Ill be going from Southampton to Plymouth which in itself none stop is good preparations and often coastal sailing can indeed be more challenging for different reasons.
Steveeasy

It's a lot easier to relax when you aren't dodging fishing boats and freighters.

 

[LadyInBed]

You can get R4 LW shipping forecast down to about half way across Biscay, so a good receiver with a decent antenna is worth having.
GRIB's are great, download something like Sailgrib onto your tablet (I assume you are taking one) and practice using it.
Send an email to
info@saildocs.com
or gribinfo@saildocs.com
to get help info
and email a GRIB requests to query@saildocs.com
It doesn't need a subject, the text should say something like
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|96,99,...,144|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
or
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|0,3,...,144|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
or
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|48,51,...,96|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
Pick your own Lat/Long rectangle.
Then you get back an email from query-reply@saildocs.com
Saying
Grib extracted from file gfs-h400-20210508-18z.grb dated 2021/05/08 22:00:34
request code: gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|48,51,...,96|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP

Notes & WARNINGS:
This grib file is extracted from a computer forecast model. While such computer data . . . dar di dar di dar

With a .grb attachment which you download and open with Sailgrib.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I’m surprised no ones mentioned a cheap HF receiver and some software to download weather faxes. Free and readily available.
Here’s one guide (but Mac based) Receiving Weather Fax and Weather Satellite Images With Your Macintosh
Others available.

 

[matt1]

+1 for Navtex

quite often there are second hand sets on here. Depending on your routing you may rx weather all the way

I’m looking to do the AZAB and have fitted Navtex, Radar (so I can use guard zones linked to a 100db alarm I installed) and an echomax RTE

If you want to get all fancy and have an android tablet you can download sailgrib for around £70 and do weather routing, especially if you link it to iridium go

 

[steveeasy]

You can get R4 LW shipping forecast down to about half way across Biscay, so a good receiver with a decent antenna is worth having.
GRIB's are great, download something like Sailgrib onto your tablet (I assume you are taking one) and practice using it.
Send an email to
info@saildocs.com
or gribinfo@saildocs.com
to get help info
and email a GRIB requests to query@saildocs.com
It doesn't need a subject, the text should say something like
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|96,99,...,144|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
or
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|0,3,...,144|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
or
send gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|48,51,...,96|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP
Pick your own Lat/Long rectangle.
Then you get back an email from query-reply@saildocs.com
Saying
Grib extracted from file gfs-h400-20210508-18z.grb dated 2021/05/08 22:00:34
request code: gfs:30N,65N,40W,20E|1,1|48,51,...,96|PRMSL,WIND,PRESS,APCP

Notes & WARNINGS:
This grib file is extracted from a computer forecast model. While such computer data . . . dar di dar di dar

With a .grb attachment which you download and open with Sailgrib.

OK I'll try that.great info
Thanks
Steveeasy

 

[steveeasy]

+1 for Navtex

quite often there are second hand sets on here. Depending on your routing you may rx weather all the way

I’m looking to do the AZAB and have fitted Navtex, Radar (so I can use guard zones linked to a 100db alarm I installed) and an echomax RTE

If you want to get all fancy and have an android tablet you can download sailgrib for around £70 and do weather routing, especially if you link it to iridium go

No don't want fancy but I have to use something like iridium then if I want to receive weather for casts from the likes of windy.com an

+1 for Navtex

quite often there are second hand sets on here. Depending on your routing you may rx weather all the way

I’m looking to do the AZAB and have fitted Navtex, Radar (so I can use guard zones linked to a 100db alarm I installed) and an echomax RTE

If you want to get all fancy and have an android tablet you can download sailgrib for around £70 and do weather routing, especially if you link it to iridium go

No don't want fancy but do want good simple for casting from likes of windy.com or predict wind. So in order to do that I need to use something like iridium.
Thanks
Steveeasy

 

[colhel]

There used to be a chap called Herb (callsign Southbound2 possibly ??) who gave a forecast based on your position and route. Has anyone filled his boots?

 

[38mess]

Do things look better in the cold light of day? I used to do all my running away thinking at night after a few beers, they mostly disappeared the next morning.
But if you are going, fair winds

 

[Koeketiene]

The AZAB requires competitors to do a 500 mi!e offshore qualifier. I found it was a useful experience in preparation as I had no prior experience. You are also required to do the sea safety course which provides a bit of food for thought in your preparations.

The qualifier distance required is 300NM

All competitors must complete a non-stop qualifying passage, under sail alone, of not less than 300nm (or as specified in any amendment to the NoR) in the boat in which they will complete the race.

Competitor's Guide - AZAB

 

[RobbieW]

No don't want fancy but do want good simple for casting from likes of windy.com or predict wind. So in order to do that I need to use something like iridium.
Thanks
Steveeasy

I think that your expectation of what the Iridium/InReach are capable of is over optimistic. Neither, and none of the general sat phone based solutions, are going to enable you to look at web pages - mainly because they are a 2400bps modem connection, roughly 30 year old tech compared to land based broadband etc. To keep it simple, you're either going to need to rely on a friend sending you texts with weather routing on the sat connection or take your chances. The other solutions described here all require a bit of learning to make good use of, they would all work so it depends which grabs your attention

 

[andsarkit]

OK I'll try that.great info
Thanks
Steveeasy

I could get the R4 LW at night in the Azores many years ago on a Lokata receiver. The more modern equivalent is probably one of the Sony multi band receivers. I have a suspicion that the LW transmission is now lower power as I don't find it so easy to get a good signal.
Once you get clear of shipping and settle into a routine you will be fine. Your twister should be more than capable of doing the voyage.

 

[WoodyP]

The qualifier distance required is 300NM



Competitor's Guide - AZAB

It used to be 500. Everything is dummed down these days ?