Transatlantic crossing experience - anyone?

[PDrenton]

Hi all,

I'm new to the site and hope to make a good contribution as well as lean on your own experiences.

I've always had a dream of crossing the atlantic and meandering around the coastlines of the Americas. I've found myself in a decent position now to be able to start planning to make the adventure a reality.

I've been sailing all my life but would like to hear from anyone who has undertaken this journey before? Any hints? tips? stories?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

Paul

 

[TQA]

Allow time to visit the rias in Spain and Portugal.

The passage from Portugal to the Canaries can be testing. Perceived wisdom is to do this earlier than December.

Wait till the trades are established before leaving the Canaries. IMHO the ARC leaves too early most years.

 

[macd]

Wait till the trades are established before leaving the Canaries. IMHO the ARC leaves too early most years.

Better still, head to the Cape Verdes in October or even September, when conditions are usually good. Once in Cape Verdes, there's no waiting for the Trades since they surround you.

Incidentally "transatlantic crossing" is something of a tautology. "Atlantic crossing" works better. Sorry, but such errors tend to give me a gastric stomach.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Last month's YM had an interesting piece summarising what some crews from the recent ARC had learned. Might be worth a look...?

 

[pmagowan]

and welcome to the forum

 

[Sticky Fingers]

:encouragement: Indeed

 

[KellysEye]

If you want to visit America you need a B1/B2 visa it lasts 10 years and gives unlimited entry. The weather can vary we had light winds and were praying for squalls but one year we did the ARC finishing line one year the boats had 35 gusting 50 knots all the way with many breakages sails, booms, spinnaker poles, rigging and one rudder, that is unusual. The ARC does start early but you get weather forecasts broadcast on SSB every day, you can chat to other boats and the parties in the Canaries and St Lucia are legendary and free, Jane and I loved

We carried provisions for a month to ensure we didn't run out, four diesel and and two water cans amidships on deck. We also had a 240v generator, a 240v fridge and a 240 volt watermaker which are industrial grade so unlikely to break. We carried two spares for everything except the electronics, exploded diagrams and all the appropriate tools. When cruising I was serviceing or repairing something two days a week, the longest we went without anything breaking was a month then three things broke the next day.

 

[Sybarite]

Welcome to the forum.

If you use the search facility you should find many threads on the subject.

 

[GHA]

I've been sailing all my life but would like to hear from anyone who has undertaken this journey before? Any hints? tips? stories?

Paul

Welcome to the forums Paul.
Tips? A couple..
Get a good toolkit long distance cruising is all about maintenance. Do you have a boat to do the trip on yet?
And planning is overrated, it's all nice. Plan to leave, and then don't be surprised if your plans change..

But do leave, it's a fantastic lifestyle

 

[tcm]

Hi there. Bigger boats are comfier, and catamarans are comfier again ... but the best boat is the boat you know and trust, and the more hands-on knowledge of the boat you have, the better.

Essentially for more info we'd need to know your vague itinerary and timescale. Do you plan to do this in a year and rush back to work, or might you be able to take years?

 

[capnsensible]

Done it ten times without carrying round a whole bunch of useless junk.

 

[PhilipH]

Good luck, you will enjoy. Going to Cape Verde is good plan and then consider the shortest crossing to Jacare in Brazil. A safe river, moorings and marina berths. Then north to French Guyana and Caribbean, or south to Salvador, or CV to Salvador.
Different and fun.

 

[[3889]]

Sorry, but such errors tend to give me a gastric stomach.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Good luck, you will enjoy. Going to Cape Verde is good plan and then consider the shortest crossing to Jacare in Brazil. A safe river, moorings and marina berths. Then north to French Guyana and Caribbean, or south to Salvador, or CV to Salvador.
Different and fun.

Of the top of my head, isn't the ITCZ astride the route. Thunderstorms and head winds etc. Use the engine to escape.

 

[PhilipH]

Of the top of my head, isn't the ITCZ astride the route. Thunderstorms and head winds etc. Use the engine to escape.

You are absolutely right but if you head for the Southern Hemisphere you have to deal with it and the rewards are worth the effort.

 

[7htas]

I had a very pleasant crossing of the Atlantic, both times I crossed it...



I am not sure that my experience will be of any help to you . . Best of luck with it though!

 

[Neil_Y]

Avoid waiting until November to cross Biscay, but leave time for the Spanish coast (we did that on the way back as we were keen to get to warmer waters in November)

Crossing in January has been good for me twice, great time to be had in the many places you can stop on the Canaries around Christmas time. really worth stopping at places like Gomera for a week or so on the way out as you might not pass that way again for a while, and if you do sail back leave loads of time to explore the many islands and harbours of the Azores.

Be prepared and keep it simple, most important thing is to go whilst you can, don't wait or spend too much time preparing.

 

[Sinbad1951]

Yes, keep it simple! Remember the longer the boat is the better the motion onboard and hence less tiring. Have a good wind vane for steering. Then no worries about producing electricity. Learn to fish and take a long handled gaff for pulling them onboard. Have some alcohol in a spray bottle to spray any caught fish over their gills. This kills them without the trauma of bashing them over the head and having a mess everywhere. Buy a bird book. It's surprising how may birds you see mid ocean. Take a sextant and appropriate tables and teach yourself how to do sun and star sights. It will keep your mind active and give you a dying maritime skill.
Most importantly, if you don't leave harbour until your boat is ready...you will never go anywhere.

 

[Neil_Y]

Good point Sinbad on the never going anywhere if you wait until the boat is ready, I gave myself a Month and would leave, and fix or improve on route but fishing (which is really good for great food all the way across)? if you have a swim platform it's easy to lift quite big tuna to a height you can grab them through the gills then a sharp knife through the spine behind the head and they are dead. It was a local Grenadan fisherman that showed us this technique hardly any blood and very quick. Bird and whale books are great to have. We ran two hand lines with big squid lures on long wire traces, you can easily haul the line in hand over hand and don't need a gaff if you can stand on the swim platform.

But if you don't have a swim platform then a gaff is a good idea you can easily catch 30 40lb Tuna or dolphin.

 

[KellysEye]

>Have a good wind vane for steering. Then no worries about producing electricity. Learn to fish and take a long handled gaff for pulling them onboard.

Agree we had a Hydrovane it's like having another crew member but it doesn't eat or drink anything. For fishig we had rod one on each quarter with the bottom in plastic pipe cabled to a stanchion. We used swimming lures, they hava chin plate and wiggle like a fish and different coloured lures, diffent fish take different colours at different times of year. We caught lots of Dorado they are one the best eating fish. We did have a gaff but never used it the fish weren't big enough to need it we juat hauled the aboard. To kill them we stuck a knife in their head between the eyes the same is useds to kill lobsters.