The UK should have stopped Eric Hiscock and Wanderer III

Bosun Higgs said:
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I really dont see the point of the OPs post. I am sure that the Hiscocks would have used all the available modern technology now available if they had been sailing today. They werent sentimental fools.
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I think the point is that so many on here say you can't sail (or shouldn't) unless you have all the latest gizmos. OP was reminding those who may need it that some of the best cruising people didn't have any of the gear available & still did fine.
 
the thing about Wharram was that he mostly sailed with two female companions - so the two hulls made sense -

I just read RKJ Around Alone - fab - he has to start fixing the boat as soon as hes left home - but he keeps it going - no whingeing when the cabin roof begins to come off or when the vane gear is sawn off and dumped over the side - boom gooseneck goes a coiuple of times ..... no biggy with plenty of searoom ....

and the Hiscocks - totally inspiring - so will be definitely proudly planning on going trans Solent again this year ....
 
Bosun Higgs said:
And quite right. If you can afford them, you would be a fool not to have all the advantages that modern technology can give you.

Or would you rather have cotton sails, hemp rope, a wooden hull and a sextant?

I really dont see the point of the OPs post. I am sure that the Hiscocks would have used all the available modern technology now available if they had been sailing today. They werent sentimental fools.
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Nope, you really don't!.:)

I have friends who once aborted joining a planned weekend club trip from Poole to the Solent (17mls to Yarmouth IOW) because their GPS wasn't working. Irony smiley here please.
 
Robin said:
Nope, you really don't!.:)

I have friends who once aborted joining a planned weekend club trip from Poole to the Solent (17mls to Yarmouth IOW) because their GPS wasn't working. Irony smiley here please.
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We once went on a river cruise with our club. One of the members posted a chart of the river with about 100 waypoints. The river was 10-15 miles long! All of the daybeacons were within sight of each other, and I'd been up that river 20 years ago without a GPS.

A tad bit of overkill.

Even with that, one skipper ran aground!

People need to start getting their heads out of the toys on their boats.
 
>Not quite correct. Hiscock's last boat was wood built by Ray Roberts in Whangerei NZ.

Oops, sorry. That must have been in a later/last book that I didn't read. Also I didn't know they had gone on another reef. Must be getting old.
 
I wonder if the "when I was a lad we navigated by the smell of the ocean and only ever carried ships biscuits and whisky" brigade also refuse to own cars with ABS brakes, automatic transmission, electric windows and central locking as well?
 
Tradewinds said:
Wanderer III is iconic - Wanderer IV is not (IMO).
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Just as an aside, Wanderer III just spent two winters in South Georgia (with her current owners, our friends Thies and Kicki) , and has now been round the world 5 times. It's still an extremely simple boat, but they do have gps (no radar, AIS, watermaker, etc).

We saw Wanderer IV cruising in Chile. She had been extensively refit by a Kiwi couple and looked very good.
 
SolentBoy said:
I wonder if the "when I was a lad we navigated by the smell of the ocean and only ever carried ships biscuits and whisky" brigade also refuse to own cars with ABS brakes, automatic transmission, electric windows and central locking as well?
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It's not so much refusing to own such a car, but refusing to ever drive a car which didn't have those things. Like Robin's friends refusing to sail from Poole to Yarmouth without GPS.

Pete
 
I sailed on Wanderer V (their last boat and the one they had built in NZ - tri plank Kauri I think). Eric died on it peacefully I believe in Bay of Islands.

It was owned by a kiwi family at the time and I was just backpacking on E coast of Australia and they were after crew. Fascinating sailing the boat and reading the book at the same time where they discussed all their design decisions for the boat.

I was pretty new to sailing - reckon that trip has cost me a lot of money over the years ;-)
 
parsifal said:
I was chatting to him at the Beale Park Boat Show last summer. A very capable and energetic man despite his being well over 80.
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James Wharram inspired myself and a few others to build a 46' Catamaran - which we did in the 60's but then the group fell apart soon after it was launched.
 
My hero has got to be Bernard Moitessier. Mad as a box of frogs if you excuse the pun.

His boat, Joshua, is here in La Rochelle and is tiny. (named after Joshua Slocum)

At the moment it is being repaired as someone has managed to cause two huge dents to either side of the bows as if a lock gate had closed on it.
 
Tradewinds said:
I'm not really into the only boat for 'Round the World' is steel hype. Tends to lead to arrogance in the owners - probably that's why they end up on reefs :rolleyes:.
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That is true. I have met three really badly bent steel boats in my travels. I believe two of them were bent on reefs or rocks because their compass went wrong and they didn't notice. A hazard with steel boats.
 
SolentBoy said:
I wonder if the "when I was a lad we navigated by the smell of the ocean and only ever carried ships biscuits and whisky" brigade also refuse to own cars with ABS brakes, automatic transmission, electric windows and central locking as well?
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Dont be daft - they travel by donkey. Since to a man they dont need GPS having a guiding star instead, dont need Navtex having an ability to calm the storms, dont need an auto bilge pump since they can walk on water, and dont need an engine since they can produce their own wind - then riding on a donkey seems only natural to them. :)
 
Nostrodamus said:
His boat, Joshua, is here in La Rochelle and is tiny. (named after Joshua Slocum)

At the moment it is being repaired as someone has managed to cause two huge dents to either side of the bows as if a lock gate had closed on it.
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Did he have a series of Joshuas? I thought his boat by that name was blown ashore in Mexico and given up as lost.

Pete
 
I don't know what happened to it. it could be a reproduction but if it is then it is old in itself and is here in the Maratime museum.
It might be that he had several and that is how he got around the world so quickly and so many times.
 
prv said:
Did he have a series of Joshuas? I thought his boat by that name was blown ashore in Mexico and given up as lost.

Pete
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I think it's the same boat. IIRC he gave it away to a couple of kids as it was trashed on the beach and they got it floating again.

The Pardeys did an artical about the storm as they were anchored there at the same time.

http://www.360cities.net/image/joshua-deck-la-rochelle#34.70,32.30,70.0

http://wn.com/Bernard_Moitessier
How can anyone not want to head offshore watching that??? :cool: Gps too useful for words but the rest, optional :D
 
Bosun Higgs said:
Dont be daft - they travel by donkey. Since to a man they dont need GPS having a guiding star instead, dont need Navtex having an ability to calm the storms, dont need an auto bilge pump since they can walk on water, and dont need an engine since they can produce their own wind - then riding on a donkey seems only natural to them. :)
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Certainly different to today when the asses are the captains..:)
 
The yacht in Mama Mia

Also interesting is the story of Tai Mo Shan - the yacht in Mama Mia. Her first voyage was from Hong Kong where she was built to Dartmouth in the UK 16,217 miles without a motor. They ran out of money when building her, so decided to set off without an engine.

Interesting stuff here:-

http://www.coburgbrokers.com/tai2.html

Ps. I think this web page is well out of date and she was sold a while ago.
 
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