A friend reluctantly wants to sell his boat - a 20ft Corribee - which has got me thinking.
Could you see me using this boat to cross the Atlantic?
www.onkudu.com
My only concern, aside from the fact that I don't know how to sail, would be the fact that it has a spade rudder. It looks so vulnerable. One thing I like about my boat is that the rudder is kick ass.
In other news, there is no news.
I taught 3 classes today.
The first class was akin to being in a morgue. High school kids. Zero pulse. I told them, 'God, you make me want to ritually commit suicide. You make me feel like a failure as a teacher.'
Then two good classes, smiles, albeit a moment when I really shouldn't have described in detail the story concerning the fool in South Africa who got his legs bitten off by a Great White yesterday, despite being warned that the beach was closed - cos one kid turned white and looked like she was going to throw up.
If there's one place where you heed 'Shark In The 'Hood' warnings, it's SA.
And that's the news.
No news.
Of course, all day my heart has been dark, and so on, but sometimes melancholy is okay, especially when you're a lucky git anyway.
I'm looking forward to next week, when the temperature is set to drop by about 10 degrees.
Bring on the cold weather.
p.s Sometimes I slip into a vortex where I feel me pre-2008 and it's damn refreshing to feel that way. I feel strong, I feel wonderful, I feel adventurous, I feel that I can achieve things, I feel that buying wine boxes makes me write things like this.
Could you see me using this boat to cross the Atlantic?
www.onkudu.com
 |
| I do love my rudder |
In other news, there is no news.
I taught 3 classes today.
The first class was akin to being in a morgue. High school kids. Zero pulse. I told them, 'God, you make me want to ritually commit suicide. You make me feel like a failure as a teacher.'
Then two good classes, smiles, albeit a moment when I really shouldn't have described in detail the story concerning the fool in South Africa who got his legs bitten off by a Great White yesterday, despite being warned that the beach was closed - cos one kid turned white and looked like she was going to throw up.
If there's one place where you heed 'Shark In The 'Hood' warnings, it's SA.
And that's the news.
No news.
Of course, all day my heart has been dark, and so on, but sometimes melancholy is okay, especially when you're a lucky git anyway.
I'm looking forward to next week, when the temperature is set to drop by about 10 degrees.
Bring on the cold weather.
p.s Sometimes I slip into a vortex where I feel me pre-2008 and it's damn refreshing to feel that way. I feel strong, I feel wonderful, I feel adventurous, I feel that I can achieve things, I feel that buying wine boxes makes me write things like this.
5 comments:
Hell, no. A 20 footer on the Atlantic is a project only the most impoverished and yet skilled sailor should attempt.
I know you find AJ's size daunting, but it is that very size (waterline length, big protected rudder, ability to set small amounts of easy to handle sail, full keel for easy autopilot/windvane) that will preserve you in a seaway. Frankly, the greeting card sized spade rudder is the least of your worries, although I think spade rudders in general are sub-par at sea.
It is far, far easier to learn how to sail a larger boat conservatively so as to preserve gear and life than it is to aggressively drive a tiny boat so as to get down wave faces twice the height of the boat's length. You can't sleep in certain conditions and you can't heave to. A smaller boat extends the time you are in danger of being rolled, and it extends the range of conditions dangerous to the boat.
You have the right tool already. Learn to use it and it will serve you well. The mechanical strength needed to operate a ketch of 45 feet LOD is in fact less than the strength needed to operate a 41 foot cutter with bowsprit, like mine, and my wife can do all of it at a mere five feet tall.
Lastly, a whale can put a three by three foot hole in a 20 footer. On AJ, it would just get a headache and make the bottom paint smell funny. Same with awash containers.
I can't emphasize this enough: Keep the bigger boat and SAIL HER. If you have issues with crew, they are easiest part of the equation to solve. Hell, a lot of people here would crew with you if you actually left the bay and went somewhere.
I love reality checks.
I'll focus on AJ.
Nice and solid.
I wasn't going to get rid of the big one, just use the little one for a bit of a challenge, but like you pointed out, it would be quite the challenge, especially for a beginner.
If you want that sort of challenge, feel free to come buy my 33 footer next year. I'll give you a real deal...and it's ocean-capable. Not ocean-ready, mind, but capable.
As for the meantime, why don't you try to offer yourself as crew on some boat? See if anyone's going from Oz or NZ to America and needs a watchstander. Any boat big enough to contemplate that (38-50 plus)is going to be big enough to haul your gear as well.
Do a transPac with some experienced cruisers for six weeks and you'll be well and away toward better seamanship for your own AJ.
Not to mention that it must be quite difficult to get crew for a long journey eastward...I would imagine the "will teach how to sail" aspect is a given...they are looking for eyes, a middling brain and a pulse!
Besides, you did the EMYR...that's worth something.
Thank you !!! Rhys, Thank you !!
I couldn't have said it better.
But AJ is a long (expensive) way from the Atlantic.
How much is the PC crossing now? $600-800 ??
And it's a much more direct route,Bahamas to Canaries..... to Turkey
MX to Turkey westward is a LONG ASS passage :))
Wouldn't pass up the chance to crew either though.
Trip of a lifetime!!!!
Mata ne
Liz
AJ and three enthusiastic sailors could easily get around the Horn, after which it's a sled ride to South Africa and "braai".
Actually, the Chiloe area and the whole network of islands down there is supposed to be amazing cruising grounds.
So sod off Panama.
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