Sailing the Fierce 50's

[CaptJamesCook]

Thanks all good info I am getting here.
Perplexing June through Nov. is Hurricane season in the Atlantic. But It looks like Aug 15th would be an ideal time to start putting me around cape horn Dec-Jan.
I could start Nov 30 and end up at cape horn around March or april and just wait for a one week weather window to round the Cape.

Yes going west to east is faster than beating into it from the east. I figure first time around east to west would be better for me.

[thomm225]

Here's a good video of sailing the roaring 40's singlehanded on a homemade sailboat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZxPrZAZeXY

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by CaptJamesCook

Thanks all good info I am getting here.
Perplexing June through Nov. is Hurricane season in the Atlantic. But It looks like Aug 15th would be an ideal time to start putting me around cape horn Dec-Jan.
I could start Nov 30 and end up at cape horn around March or april and just wait for a one week weather window to round the Cape.

Yes going west to east is faster than beating into it from the east. I figure first time around east to west would be better for me.

But you aren't going to the caribbean.....

This link will give an idea of dates and routes... American yachtswoman nears end of second solo circumnavigation - Practical Boat Owner

Her July departure saw her approaching the Horn in late February .. she was just south of us when it all turned to custard for her....

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

5 Capes? I can only count 4.....

"5 capes" is "a thing" among the non-stop crowd.

Horn, Agulhas, Leeuwin, SE cape (tasi), and SW cape (Stewart).

We did them all. From a sailing perspective, especially E to W, there is some merit to including the Australian double counting. As they do both represent "meaningful southern corners".

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by

SW Cape Stewart island is added to the 4 you are thinking of. "5 capes" is "a thing" among the non-stop crowd.

Ah Ha... the 4 I was thinking of were Aghulas, bottom of Tassie, Stewart island and the Horn.

I really don't so how Leeuwin gets a look in.... not the most southerly in Oz, not the most southern on mainland Oz and not even the most southern in WA.. that's Cape Howe.

Seems the Vendee reckons there are only 3... News - New Zealand’s Conrad Colman finishes under jury rig for 16th - Vendée Globe

and Conrad Coman in the above piece says its only two
...18th December Crosses the longitude of Cape Leeuwin. “As a Kiwi I cannot celebrate going past Australia too much. I always think Cape Leeuwin is the runt of the litter when it comes to the three Capes. It does not belong in the same company as the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.”

I'll stick with my four.....

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I really don't so how Leeuwin gets a look in.... ..

If you are fighting into westerlies, it does represent a significant point where you can broaden angle and no longer pinned on a shore (in a SWly storm)

I personally am up for either 2 capes (horn and hope/Aghulas), which are the only two 'you have to do' (if you are avoiding the canals ) . . . or the 5.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CaptJamesCook

Boatman Here!~ Here!~
When I was in College spent a year at Cambridge. Trinity Hall.
One thing I learned while punting on the River Cam was turn your pole and pull. Other wise you end up hanging from pole off the boat(eventually in the water) or in a boat with out a pole..

RBK It was fague I did mean the southern 50's but I like Boatman he brings lot to the table.. The North 50's can be a little hacky also.

The North 50's are not quite the same as the South ones -- because we don't have the infinite fetch of the Southern Ocean but 50N to 60N encompasses the North Sea -- if not quite the Southern Ocean, the North Sea is also most definitely not for sissies.

Our winter home base is at 51N and summer home base at 60N, so I haven't even been out of the 50's in a number of years.

As in the South 50's, we have much higher average winds, than in lower latitudes, so what I can say is that you need a stronger boat, and you need less windage, and you need a smaller sail plan, to be happy up here. You don't want a giant solar array on a huge arch, or a big RIB hanging in davits, if you plan to make any miles upwind, up here.

I think that covers it for higher latitudes, North or South.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

If you are fighting into westerlies, it does represent a significant point where you can broaden angle and no longer pinned on a shore (in a SWly storm)

I personally am up for either 2 capes (horn and hope/Aghulas), which are the only two 'you have to do' (if you are avoiding the canals ) . . . or the 5.

Oh yes, it does mark the bottom left hand corner of the continent...

You can crib three of the capes by going through Bass, Cook, and Magellan Straits... you can't skip Aghulas unless you indulge in a bit of portage after you get to the headwaters of the Congo... so serious bragging rights does require at least 4 and the greater the number the greater the 'look at me' factor

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

You can crib three of the capes by going through . . . . . and Magellan Straits...

By Yacht . . . E to W probably more likely using the Beagle . . . . but yea, I forgot you could 'short cut' Horn also. So Hope is really the only 'required one'.

However, east to west under sail, non-stop, neither of those two channels are super easy - I think I would prefer going outside around if the mission was just getting it done (rather than sightseeing in which case the Beagle is unparalleled) . . . . perhaps get some rest and a meal hanging out/hove-to N of Bahia Thetis for a decent weather look and then just go for it around outside.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

. . . . but yea, I forgot you could 'short cut' Horn also. . . ..

What, get all the way down there, and skip rounding the Horn?

I can't even imagine.

It's one of my dreams, shared surely by many, many sailors . . .

[CaptJamesCook]

I agree Dockhead
That would be like being hungry ordering a steak and then not eating it!~

[estarzinger]

^^ lol

because that is actually what Beth & I did the first time we were down there.

We got down the Atlantic and spend a ton of time exploring around the Beagle and surrounding channels (where the scenery and cruising is some of the most spectacular and then sailed up north to Puerto Montt. We really did not see much point in going the 60 miles to horn - just another little rocky island, when there were plenty we had already seen . . . and we did not want to do it 'just to say we had'.

But when we came south the next season, we were a bit tired of people asking if we 'were going to do horn again' and having to explain why we did not the first time . . . so we did then go down and explore a bit down around there (and the Chilean navy was a bit more flexible for us that season, where they were usually very very strict where you could anchor). . . .was a bit sad because we got caught up in an incident where a German cruising boat was lost with all hands.

If you only had limited time down there, I would say skipping Horn and spending it in the channels would not be a dumb thing to do. Horn looks just like any rocky Scandinavian (or elsewhere) headland, while the channels are special and spectacular. But if you have a ton of time, as we did, then sure go see it in order to say you did.

[estarzinger]

^^ lol

because that is actually what Beth & I did the first time we were down there.

We got down the Atlantic and spend a ton of time exploring around the Beagle and surrounding channels (where the scenery and cruising is some of the most spectacular and then sailed up north to Puerto Montt. We really did not see much point in going the 60 miles to horn - just another little rocky island, when there were plenty we had already seen . . . and we did not want to do it 'just to say we had'.

But when we came south the next season, we were a bit tired of people asking if we 'were going to do horn again' and having to explain why we did not the first time . . . so we did then go down and explore a bit down around there. . . .was a bit sad because we got caught up in an incident where a German cruising boat was lost with all hands.

If you only had limited time down there, I would say skipping Horn and spending it in the channels would not be a dumb thing to do. Horn looks just like any rocky Scandinavian (or elsewhere) headland, while the channels are special and spectacular. But if you have a ton of time, as we did, then sure go see it in order to say you did.

Just depends what you are trying to get out of the voyage I guess.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by estarzinger

^^ lol

because that is actually what Beth & I did the first time we were down there.

We got down the Atlantic and spend a ton of time exploring around the Beagle and surrounding channels (where the scenery and cruising is some of the most spectacular and then sailed up north to Puerto Montt. We really did not see much point in going the 60 miles to horn - just another little rocky island, when there were plenty we had already seen . . . and we did not want to do it 'just to say we had'.

But when we came south the next season, we were a bit tired of people asking if we 'were going to do horn again' and having to explain why we did not the first time . . . so we did then go down and explore a bit down around there. . . .was a bit sad because we got caught up in an incident where a German cruising boat was lost with all hands.

If you only had limited time down there, I would say skipping Horn and spending it in the channels would not be a dumb thing to do. Horn looks just like any rocky Scandinavian (or elsewhere) headland, while the channels are special and spectacular. But if you have a ton of time, as we did, then sure go see it in order to say you did.

Just depends what you are trying to get out of the voyage I guess.

Well, sure.

But "just in order to say you did" includes saying it to yourself. To have been in that very place, which is NOT indeed just another rocky Scandinavian headland, but The Horn.

I have a journal which I inherited from an ancestor, my third great grandfather, who writes about going around the Horn in the 1830's on his way back to London from Java. I read it in my childhood, as my father did, and his father did, and so forth. I would give an eye tooth to pass that place, and not indeed for looking at the rocks.

[HankOnthewater]

Yes, I sailed the 50s in Europe (Northsea), but have not even touched the 40s in the southern hemisphere, let alone the 50s.
Here is a link of someone who did:
https://lisablairsailstheworld.com/
A woman sailing alone all in the 40s, and early next week will be arriving home. Read her blog or see the track on windity (on her website). I am planning to meet her offshore, but won't go down as low as the 40s.