Picking the brain of seasoned sailors

[Stewie12]

A GPS is handy but a paper chart and learn to navigate is even better. Same goes for radar and chart plotters etc.

[MicHughV]

Best advice I can give you is this :

99,999% of sailors that run into problems are because they are sailing to a schedule...

y'know...." gotta be here at X to pick up so and so"...trust me on this, I speak from experience.

If you have the luxury of time, and it sounds like you do, you can pick your weather. This may require you to wait in a particular spot for a period of time and there is nothing wrong with that as you'll get to know the locals, etc.

Do not...I repeat...do not sail to a schedule.

You might have a plan in your mind, but the moment you untie your dockline or bring up the anchor, stuff happens, things break, weather changes at the last moment, etc, and your proposed trip from A to B, may have to include a detour to C and even D.
So go when it's appropriate not when you have to.

So that's it, just be flexible with your plans and expectations.

[P3sailor]

Your first problem is your a "union" person, real sailors tend to be independent! I say that in jest, obviously.

[Makeme]

Hello all ,new new new to all your inquires, 1989 SanRemo ,August 1 will be one month ,we are living aboard ,lots of work although bones are great ,I'm asking first is there any question too minor and now the question I have today,the hot water isn't hot or warm any longer the breaker is fine showing on ,I would like to locate the hot-water heater I've looked in the engine hold and don't see it ,help me locate my HW heater please.

[Schapera]

Google: Sam Holmes Sailing and watch every video he’s ever made. Thats my advice! You will love his infectious enthusiasm and learn a lot too.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Makeme

Hello all ,new new new to all your inquires, 1989 SanRemo ,August 1 will be one month ,we are living aboard ,lots of work although bones are great ,I'm asking first is there any question too minor and now the question I have today,the hot water isn't hot or warm any longer the breaker is fine showing on ,I would like to locate the hot-water heater I've looked in the engine hold and don't see it ,help me locate my HW heater please.

Follow the pipes, they are rarely in the engine compartment except on larger boats.
Its quite possibly under a quarter berth or locker nearby.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Indeed.
Currently $1 Cdn = ±$0.72 US [conversely, the USD➛CAD exchange rate is ±$1.38 CAD per $1 USD]

Gord The rates you quote are official exchange rates.
Ordinary folks will pay up to .08 Cdn more,to buy a US$
1USD costs $1.46 Cdn,after bank conversion fee.
Add to that,the outrageous $100Cdn fee charged by couriers/brokers
to bring parcel from Detroit to Windsor,plus $50Cdn to bring it to Atlantic
Canada...
My personal experience has been to multiply the price of small,carryable items by 1.5 (min.) to get landed cost in $Cdn.
This same item will be couriered from ,say,Calif. to Calais,Me. for US$15-20. And it seems about everything ,including Asian made goods,are imported via USA. No wonder our cost of living has gone up 50% in 5yrs



Excuse the rant-I feel better now./Len

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

The only thing that you really need is a VHF radio and a life raft. An autopilot makes life a lot easier. The rest you can do without.

Our friends Steve and Marja circumnavigated with a VHF radio, and a depth sounder, and did not feel they were taking unnecessary risks. There is a lot of silly advice on CF from time to time, but Stewie 12 got this one right. There is a big difference between needs and wants, and ultimately, it is up to the individual themselves to comply with their nation's regulations, relative to equipment and experience, and which vary considerably from country to country.

Ann

[nofacey]

Crew on someone else’s boat - there are always cruising boats looking for crew; here’s one of several websites:

https://oceancrewlink.com/opportunity/

[sailingharry]

You are in Ottawa. Unless you buy the boat elsewhere (and do all your prep/refit/etc there), you have to get from Ottawa to the ocean. There are 3 ways to do this.

Your boat will be small. It is not unreasonable to ship it or trailer it, ideally as far south as you can (a lot of cost is getting it on and off the trip, the miles aren't too bad).


You can motor UP the St. Lawrence to the great lakes, and down the Erie Canal. A great trip -- but you have to watch the open/close dates.


You can go DOWN the St Lawrence. An AWESOME trip -- but a LONG way, cold, with few supply points.


For choices 2 and 3, as well as any trip down the East Coast (to the Chesapeake), read our blog at circe.travelmap.net, and select the 2021 and 2022 trips.


Best of luck.

[MicHughV]

First time I untied the dock lines, my home built boat was about as bare bones as you could get.
A vhf was only my communication tool.
No fridge...ice box...
Kerosene two burner stove top.
All sails hanked on.
No life raft
My dink was a 9' fiberglass job with a 2 hp on the back, no davits so it slept on deck.
I never had weather reports, but as long as the wind blew from somewhere, that was good enuff for me.
I had no idea about hurricane season whatsoever. If the wind was light, I drifted, if it was boisterous, I reefed.

My boat was my home, and I sailed this way for around 10 years blissfully unaware of the things I didn't have.
I had the time of my life is all I can say.

In later years I owned other boats, outfitted with all the modern conveniences money could buy, but I never had as good a time as with my first barebones boat.

Mind you I was in my 20's when I left to go see the world, and no doubt had youth on my side.
Interestingly, often met other sailors my age, also traipsing around in barebones boats.

These days, cruisers at the marina will huddle around a myriad of computer weather forecasts data, trying to determine an optimum time to leave to go somewhere and in the end never leave the dock.

I think the trick is just to go and figure things out on the way.

[Davo666]

Originally Posted by NorthCoastJoe

https://www.moore24.org/blog/2019/5/...is-30000-miles

This. Reading Webb Chiles will introduce you to the questionable joys of long distance sailing in uncomfortable, unreliable, undertanked, undersized boats.
He is a unicorn sailor. I would not attempt to follow in his wake but I takes me hat off to him.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by keepondancin

Look for the book “gentleman’s Guide to Passages South”, The Thornless Path by Bruce VanZant ...

A simplified description, of the basic choices:
“After George Town–the route south” ~ by Bo [& Alli] aboard their Ted Brewer 42' cutter-Ketch, “Selah”
➥ After George Town–the route south. | Sailing B+A

Originally Posted by Bo

“...
1- The I-65 Route: Sail directly out into the Atlantic until we get as far east as 65 or 66 degrees of longitude. This may mean that the first several days of travel are actually to the NE so we can then tack and ride the wind south to Tortola. Estimated 900 miles, 8-10 days offshore. A few caveats: If the stars align, it is possible to ride the back of a cold front for the first few days. If you’re able to do this, the wind could be northerly for a day or two, helping you sail farther east before making the turn south when the wind turns east.

2- The Thorny Path: Shorter 1-2 day hops from the Bahamas to Turks and Caicos, then along the coast of the Dominican Republic, across to Puerto Rico, then the Spanish Virgin Islands, then the US Virgin Islands. This is probably the most popular route for the average cruiser. The idea of sailing offshore for 8-10 days nonstop can be scary, so this plan to never have more than about a 30 hour leg has it’s appeal. The issue is, for the majority of the trip you’re trying to go east, directly into the trade winds. It can take weeks to time the weather such that it isn’t a miserable bash...”

[tomtriad]

Perhaps you should think about exploring the Bahamas for your first solo outing. Exceptionally good cruising grounds. Much less expensive than most Caribbean destinations. Many seasoned Cruisers sail there, so advice, assistance, social benefits abound. Better diving there too, as the reefs gave not been trashed yet.

Met a young Canadian sailing a Tanzer 23 there, solo from Canada, just arriving on Royal Island. Also a young American solo on a C&C 25 - he was very capable of making repairs on the fly. Sailing coastwise with access to shelter on the ICW is a good idea - mske sure you have charts for all. Paper still works when your electronics fail

[MicHughV]

I agree with the Above.

When one says " exploring the B'mas", keep in mind that the B'mas island are formed from a series of island groups, each with their own distinctive flavor.
You could spend a year there and not see it all, for that matter you could spend several years there and not see it all.

There is a 99.99% chance you will hook up with other sailors and end up exploring the place together as a group.

Diving and fishing is top notch.

Some island groups are popular with the masses, but others are not and you can be the only boat in an anchorage.

The US east coast is within easy distance sail from most B'mas destinations. Many local airports are also available, so a flight back to the US for any reason is a simple matter

While hurricanes are always a concern, you can sail year round there, and with plenty of advance warning you can have the time to move to a safer location.

For a solo sailor, the B'mas are tough to beat. Practically every place is no further than a daysail away from the next. You can easily navigate by eyeball alone.

There are a myriad of cruising guides to the B'mas available to the sailor. All of them filled to the brim with routes, waypoints, places to see, etc, etc. I have successfully sailed thru' the Island chain using the guidebooks alone, no charts nor GPS needed.

Water is crystal clear most everywhere you go. If you do happen to run aground somewhere, the bottom is usually soft sand.

Ok, said enuff...just go !!