Yeah...a $50K US budget will get you a boat strong enough to island hop your way through the South Pacific. You would be really pushing your luck to take on the Southern Ocean.
South pacific single handed explorer seeking advice
- Thread starter PEBI
- Start date
The last "famous" example of such folly that I recall is when Abby Sunderland attempted a 'round the world solo in 2010 on the vessel Wild Eyes. Leaving from southern California she got through the Drake's Passage, past the Cape of Good Hope, and then wiped out in the remote southern Indian Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles west of Australia. "Mountainous seas and massive waves snapped her 40-foot yacht's mast, leaving her adrift before a French fishing vessel rescued her two days later." AI summary.
Found: Sailboat From Teen's Abandoned Round-the-World Attempt
Abby Sunderland's boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean in 2010 during her controversial bid to become the youngest to circumnavigate the world solo
As Lochner above said, there's no place to run, no place to hide.
Last edited:
Where did she start? If she was in the Indian Ocean after rounding Cape Hope, she was sailing the reverse route. Want she sailing against the trades?
There's a lot to learn that can go a long way to mitigate the dangers.
-Will
I should remember - but it seems to me she had already gone under the horn and was traveling east. But I could be wrong.
dj
Yep. I have heard of such failures. My dad taunted me that I'm born stupid and I would likely follow in the steps of Donald Crowhurst (globe race). I suffered great isolation and failures growing up. I don't worry about isolation at sea. Of course I am not diluated into believing that something can't go wrong. I should be prepared for something or more then something goes wrong. But there is a lot out there guys. Forums dedicated to common problems with ships that are manufactured. Atleast there is that. But with a homebuilt all designs and folleys would rest with me. Maybe I will copy a proven design and add strenghthen it. Once I find it. Maybe after strengthening or building I will seek out sponsors. But who would sponsor me with a 40% chance of dying. Sounds sad I imagine to a sponsor.
One thing for sure, you will never find or build the perfect boat where all risks are zeroed out. All boats are a compromise. You can also easily fall into the trap of never leaving because there is always more stuff to do to try and get everything perfect before you go. The to-do list will never end. You take it with you and it will just keep getting longer as you cross off items. And the boat will never be perfect. Just get a decent boat, fix it up proper, and start down the coast. It sounds like you dont have to be back after a certain amount of time, so just start and dont worry about "around the world". If it happens it happens. Who cares really. The world is a heck of a lot bigger when you are actually out there at sea crawling along at 5-7 kts. And there is soooo much to stop and see along the way. Prepare as best you can, but dont over think it. Just go.
Donna Lange was the first American woman to sail solo around the world non-stop. When I met her and she told her story, I said she cheated because she took a short cut, she sailed the Roaring 40's. Donna laughed.
She had so much fun the first time she repeated the trip in 2016.
She had so much fun the first time she repeated the trip in 2016.
She left southern California heading south until getting down between 40- and 50-deg South Latitude of the South Pacific Ocean, turned east and sailed on westerlies past Cape Horn (through Drake's Passage), across the South Atlantic Ocean beyond the Cape of Good Hope (southern Africa) after stopping there (Capetown) for repairs. Then into the southern Indian Ocean heading for Australia, but also toward the Kerguelen Islands (about 49-deg South Latitude in the same direction. I believe somewhere "near" there she was dis-masted. Her vessel was a custom built 40-ft. She had a sponsor--Shoe City. She posted real-time updates going along. Not really a great story as it turned out. [BTW: The Trades are equatorial and sub-equatorial easterly winds so are not a factor at high southern (or northern) latitudes, etc.]
Last edited:
That sounds like a favorable route. But I would go to 36 paraelle between South africa and Australia. Then once i made my way close to New Zealand i would go North to Japan and cross the pacific back to Canada (or San Fran and up to Canada). Obviously i would have to time my origin so as I progressed and built routines everything would become second nature when I hit the 40/50s.
Here's a book on routes. There's the "milk run", then there's the eastway round. World Cruising Routes, 9th Edition: Jimmy Cornell: 9781916091030: Amazon.com: Books
Go West, young man.
-Will
Go West, young man.
-Will
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,778
One theme that often repeats in reports of boats being abandoned is that the crew no longer felt safe under the conditions. They call and often receive assistance abandoning the boat. Then the boat is seen floating on by itself.
The theory is that a well constructed vessel is often not the determining factor. It is the crew that believes it can or cannot get through the conditions.
The theory is that a well constructed vessel is often not the determining factor. It is the crew that believes it can or cannot get through the conditions.
Thanks Will I bought it. Interesting read. Js yes course your right. Lets say someone is given an educated guess. I believe you have six months to live. But they go on to live 2 years. That says a lot when it comes to piloting a boat across say the south pacific. And I believe I have that will power.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,778
Go or no-go is always a personal decision. Go, and then, turning to an alternative is good Seamanship when the conditions change. Sometimes the conditions change, and you are not aware. “These are the times that try men’s soul.”
John Kretschmer’s book “At the Mercy of the Sea". Is a great documentary of sailing adventures, when conditions change, and the skipper is unaware. Too often is not a "Big" error that puts the boat and crew at risk. More often it is a series of little events which go unheaded or misunderstood. Sometimes it works out ok. Then there are the "other times".
I consider reading about and experiencing such "little things" increases your database of knowledge. This lets you develop improved plans to address potential catastrophes and escape (when possible) the "Other Times".
John Kretschmer’s book “At the Mercy of the Sea". Is a great documentary of sailing adventures, when conditions change, and the skipper is unaware. Too often is not a "Big" error that puts the boat and crew at risk. More often it is a series of little events which go unheaded or misunderstood. Sometimes it works out ok. Then there are the "other times".
I consider reading about and experiencing such "little things" increases your database of knowledge. This lets you develop improved plans to address potential catastrophes and escape (when possible) the "Other Times".
I think I'd rather have abandoned a sound vessel then not have abandoned a sinking one.
You could look at it like cold remedies, as highlighted in the book Freakanomics. People typically take cold remedies when their colds peak, because that's when they are really tired of being sick and they give up on simply getting over it. The thing is, cold remedies usually claim to rid you of your cold in three days, and if you're starting your treatment at its peak, the cold is generally three days until it is done anyhow.
On that thought, if a sailor weathers a storm until it feels like it has gone past their hope of enduring it, there's a good chance the storm is at the worst it can get. A few hours later, the winds may start to slack, the waves stop breaking from wind, and their periods lengthen. It will probably be a couple of days before the waves lose most of their heights and drop to gentle swells, but by that time the crew has abandoned ship. The storm may already be on the back side.
It is, as my construction buddies uses to say, hard telling, not knowing.
-Will