Dutch backpackers buy boat to escape from Covid-19 in Australia

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by Valmika

BTW. Has anybody heard what happened to the Dingbat girls who set sail from Hawaii and got lost for 5 months?

Sure. The media eventually figured out their story was bogus and they had intentionally caused the situation in a desperate bid to gain notoriety and cash in somehow. After they could no longer dupe their way onto talk shows they disappeared.

Their best claim -> Hiding below deck because they were afraid of the sharks - I was lmao for quite a while on that one, and watching the media take them seriously.

[tarian]

Good for them young fit guys , the doomslayers are out in force again I see
And before they rushed to their keyboards to moan about it , read the article slowly and take it all in
Have some experience
Will get more training before going
Understands the seasons for the Canals
Would like to get more crew preferably with sailing experience
And the boat looks in decent shape

Wish I was young enough to go

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by tarian

Would like to get more crew preferably with sailing experience

Agree that having at least 2 more crew would be very helpful especially they need too hand steer for long periods of time. Does complicate the food situation on board, but real backpackers are a resourceful bunch.

Originally Posted by Valmika

This could be interesting. If the do learn for a month with a good teacher and work on the boat to learn the systems and get a self steering wind vane they may have a decent chance.

Don't know if that boat would be able to do a wind vane. That boat is similar to ours in certain ways (but much heavier) and we were advised not to get one for our boat. This was based on displacement, being a CC and hydraulic steering. Two of our sister ships (a f/g and the other ferro) purchased WVs (Hydrovane and Monitor) for their boats and they didn't work well (removed from boat).

[Bill Seal]

I don't think Harry Pidgeon (Islander) , Kauffman and Mefferd (hurricane), Robinson (Svaap) and probably many others, didn't have years of experience -or GPS- when they took off in the '20s and '30s.

[StoneCrab]

Not many would take off at the drop of a hat, but with the world buggered up, why not? By the time they get there, the world will be a different place.

It would be a bad to be on the ocean if one of the crew had the virus and it worked its way through the rest of them. It isn't like you can just pull over.

They should be sure to take along some of these maritime ventilators and some clean tubing.

[Jolly Roger]

They should be sure to take along some of these maritime ventilators and some clean tubing.

Now there's a bloody good idea mate! And you can get an electric version as well.

[Lazerbrains]

New sailors planning to cross the Indian ocean in a cheap, old ferrocement boat. What could possibly go wrong? LOL

[jpstevens]

There are many stories of smart, self reliant newbies (How about Tania Aebi)
that learned fast and made fantastic voyages. They have my respect and best wishes for success.

[joelhemington]

What has the Panama Canal got to do with this? These guys are not really geared to go east across the Pacific. let me guess; they have no watermaker . (there's a reason most people head west) Sounds like somebodies' letting his "little head" do all the thinking here

[ArmyDaveNY]

Some eight years ago or so, a Chinese guy came to New Jersey with his Czech wife to buy a concrete sailboat with the goal of sailing to Sardinia. Yes, I know this sounds like the beginning of a Monty Python skit but it is true. Neither had any experience and he wasn't even able to pull it into the slip after he bought it. One of the guys at the marina docked it for him.

She was less than thrilled about the trip given their experience, and she drank constantly and heavily. She ended up falling off a slip one night without being noticed, and several days later washed up on a beach in Brooklyn. Her friends eventually showed up and asked where she was. After a report was filed, we checked the video and saw her staggering down the docks at night, in a seriously drunken stupor. We didn't see her actually fall it but it seemed likely.

A month or two later he set off. He had no concept of currents or prevailing winds. About two months later one of the guys at the marina received a call from him. He made it!

It can be done. Perhaps it's not the best way to do it but occasionally one gets lucky. I wish them luck and success.

[philiosophy]

It would be one thing if they we only endangering their own lives. Those who will have to rescue them and the tax payers expense is an entirely different matter. An adventure indeed.

[zboss]

It would be cheaper for them to just get a flat and stay over for the long haul if they are able.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by philiosophy

It would be one thing if they we only endangering their own lives. Those who will have to rescue them and the tax payers expense is an entirely different matter. An adventure indeed.

That is not an entirely valid argument. Life is an inherently risky thing. No one questions people going out in a car and risking the lives of rescue personnel if the car is in an accident. Whether boating, hiking, mountain climbing, flying, skateboarding, etc. will always put someone at risk if there is an accident.


Certainly it would be better if they had more experience, but one gets experience by doing. They will likely gain experience by staying coastal for a bit before going across the big blue sea.

[coastalexplorer]

The worlds most famous round the world sailor is visiting Australia at the moment. So I sent Her a personal message. To bring this to Her attention.
Though I assumed that She would have read it on here anyway. Surely sooner or later a network of sailing experts in Australia will stop laughing and step in to give these guys some more helpful advise?



A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Teaching those who accept that they need help is entirely possible. In that regard I do not see any over confident arrogance here. they are clear about what they want to do, appear to open to accepting help and thus could be taught how to do it.



I feel sure that there are members on here who know how to plan for a non stop voyage. Since I read last week on here that there is a British registered yacht having challenges to refuel and provision. So are all the usual locations closed? That knowledge is beyond my scope. So many of you already know how to pull this off?

[Lazerbrains]

Here is the auction for the sold boat, actually doesn't look too bad:

https://www.marineauctions.com.au/fo...-5lBjKV3AD-vIU