Mostly sailing or mostly motoring to the Caribbean?

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by Cthoops

We are still 3 years, 5 months, and 16 days away from cutting the lines, but I'm not motivated at work today so my thoughts naturally turn to daydreaming about the future.

While we save up and work on the boat, I read a lot of blogs by people who are cruising so I can live vicariously through them. I've noticed that many, many people, as they work their way from the Bahamas down towards the Caribbean islands farther to the southeast seem to be motoring. A lot. I've also read a lot of people's posts on this forum where they mention that they motor substantially more than they thought they would.

I hate motoring with a passion. I'm one of those people that would get rid of the engine if I could. I have no problem with waiting as long as necessary to get a good wind direction/strength so we don't have to motor. I'm good with ghosting along for hours if it means I don't have to turn on the engine. If we don't have a schedule (with the exception of wanting to be out of a hurricane-prone area during the hurricane season), is it possible to actually do more sailing than motoring? Or do I need to start rethinking our itinerary - maybe Bermuda and then straight south? Maybe Cuba, Mexico, down towards Panama, etc.? Or do I have to readjust my anti-motoring attitude?

I've run the Bahama/ Caribbean single handed a number of times with little use of the engine and made good times. I generally depart Florida and first stop in the T&C Islands after passing 700 miles through the Bahamas to avoid the $300 fee. Running the iron jenny for frig/freezer and battery charging a few hours/day is all that is required. Can always find good footing against the headwinds and hardly ever completely becalmed.
I get away from the shipping lanes to hove-to for sleep or a big cook up.
If in a hurry I take the plane.

[roverhi]

I'm not an east coast sailor so take this for what it's worth. The amount of motoring has more to do with you than the weather. Some people turn the engine on the minute speed drops below 5 knots. Others don't even go with an engine, There are some areas of the world where the wind just doesn't blow and/or is usually in the wrong direction. The Gulf of Panama passage to the Galapagos comes to mind. Sometimes you can cut a week off a passage by purposely going where the wind doesn't blow and motoring like cutting through the Pacific High going from Hawaii to the mainland. Some people live what the wind gives them while others lash a 50 gallon drum of diesel in the cockpit. When we first cruised the preponderance of sailors were like you and sailed if at all possible or waited out the lack of wind. Seems the cruising community has gone in the other direction these days with bigger and bigger engines and the fuel to feed them.

If you are a sailor, and I am, you plan you route to take advantage of the prevailing winds as much as possible. Where the winds don't cooperate, you bight the bullet and bash into it tacking for a much longer, uncomfortable sail like the slog up the Pacific Coast for most of the year. Every boat in Baja that choses to go home makes the sail or motor trade off.

So get your Pilot Charts, Cornell's World Cruising Routes and other books that have been mentioned here and plan your route, have patience and enjoy those miles made good to windward when that's the only way to get there.

[Tessellate]

I don't know your target area, but almost everywhere it's possible to sail more than motor while coastal cruising. I've done it, for 3 months, in an area notorious for light wind. But most people don't, from what I observed. I've been meaning to write up a blog post on this but wasn't sure if anyone would be interested (and worried it would be mis-perceived).

Sounds like you hate motoring as much as I do. I've only met (in person) two other sailors who were as hardcore about sailing rather than motoring, while doing coastal cruising, out of a sample size of about 100. Of course there are more (especially on this forum), but the point is you'd be the exception rather than the norm - so the temptations to conform as stacked against you.

Don't set a destination goal if you can. Most people can't *not* set a destination goal in their mind. As a car society we're simply not used to thinking like that - we're always thinking in terms of going from point A to point B.

Don't listen to the people who say there's no downside to firing up the engine and charging the batteries / heating the hot water tank. The downside is you don't get to sail, and sailing is fun. It's the reason I have a sailboat rather than a trawler. It's a slippery slope to becoming a motoring sailor once you start rationalizing that you "need" to motor to charge the batteries. To each their own. I don't begrudge someone who chooses to motor, but do think they shouldn't try to convince other people to motor more. There's already enough of that.

You'll need to figure out your cruising style and pace. One strategy often necessary for sailing more than motoring is avoiding areas that are wind holes. This means you sacrifice visiting some areas that others might be visiting. You'll have to decide whether that's worth it to you.

[sailon46]

I have been going up and down in the Caribb for 5 years now and I have noticed like Van Sandt that early morning first light you get a strong land effect off the islands that you can sail quick for at least 3 hours. In the lees of the bib islands Like Martinique Guadeloupe Grenada if find that the easterly around the south tip turns almost westerly for about 1 mile or two up the island on the leeward. If you like sailing only as I do you have to think and wait.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[thomm225]

My first 4 sailboats (beach cats) didn't have engines. After sitting for a few hours waiting for a breeze during 30-100 mile races, it does get kind of old.

I figured I wouldn't use my engine much at all after I bought this monohull since I had shelter, lots of food and beverages, radios, and a nice place to sleep but as it turns out, I use my engine quite a bit.

I can cover 20 miles with a little over a gallon of gas. You would use even less fuel with you diesel.

After waiting a few hours you might do the math and conclude " why am I just sitting here?"

Plus, you probably need to run you engine at times anyway.

I use mine at times (I'm on the clock getting back on Sundays being a coastal cruising kinda guy) to help me point.

I'll run my engine at maybe 1/3 throttle, I can point at least 30-40 degrees closer to the wind. I furl the jib and flatten the hell out of the main and make time usually on a course close to what I want/need. Sometime I have to sail a ways to gain leverage then tack and motor sail

You have to play wind and tide here. Sometimes the wind will "come to me" and I can shut the engine down after a few hours and unfurl the jib then sail in

[hamburking]

The clock and the calendar are no friend to the sailor.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by hamburking

The clock and the calendar are no friend to the sailor.

Unless you're trying to hit slack tide at Hellgate or calculate longitude offshore.

[charliehows]

the prudent sailor uses all the tools he has available. He/she also maintains all equipment to the best standard possible - which includes frequent running of the engine to ensure it is in fully functional condition. Hate to say it, but you'll soon change your tune when you get to sea...

[ddavis4464]

If you like sailing on the ocean, you could just circle the Atlantic high until you need food. I enjoy crossing the water, but I like to be somewhere much more. To see new places and meet new people rates many times higher on my want list than tacking back and forth for a day to ten miles. To get to a new place its often too much work not to motor. But hey, whatever floats your boat, as they say.

The real answer is seat time, then you will know what you want. Best of luck.

[UNCIVILIZED]

This may sound harsh, but the the fact is that probably 90-95% of the cruising boats out there are under-rigged, or under canvased for light airs. So that until this is optimized, you’re stuck with turning on the engine when the breeze drops to 10kts, & lower.

Specifically, most boats just aren’t designed for light air. Their rigs are simply too small. Especially when you consider that in order to do well in winds of under 10kts, or more importantly, under 5kts. You need an SADR of 20 or more, & 25+ is optimal, inclusive of jib overlap & mainsail roach. And for a multihull you want a Bruce Number of 1.3 or better, as suggested by Chris White IIRC.

For example, on my Ranger 33 (tall rig) I could sail quite well in winds down to 6-7kts. Often doing 3-4kts, & I could keep her moving in breezes down to about 3kts. This with an SADR of about 22 when the extra area of the 130% was factored in. On my 2-tonner, I’d do 2/3 of wind speed or better down to 5kts of breeze. Only getting stuck when there was no wind, with an SADR of 25 +/-. And with my Searunner, I’d hit the above performance numbers when she was unladen, & her Bruce Number was then at right about 1.3.
If you can't tell, I purpose bought my boats with an eye towards performance, especially in light air. And a good number of experienced folks do the same.

These figures take into account the weight of gear onboard, jib overlap, & mainsail roach. And this is for upwind sail only. You need proportionally more for downwind work, especially as the AWS is lower. Though the downwind numbers are easy to figure, based on rig dimensions & displacement. The caveat being that if you’ve got as much wetted surface area as a tennis court, you’ll have more trouble when it’s light. Even with heaps of sail. Oh, & don’t drag your ass, er, transom It’s slow.

To achieve such numbers you can use a (true, aka racing) Code 0 designed for upwind work. Or add a large hank on jib or reacher to a Solent Stay, to be used when a 130% on the furler is just too small. And off the wind, spinnakers & drifters are the tools of choice. With specialized sails like a windseeker working best, when there’s no wind, but with a sea running which knocks the wind out of normal sails. It’s to be set board flat, along with a similarly shaped main.

PS: The best use of an engine is to get into a good line of breeze that you've spotted, or weather system that's not too far away. Or in order to get out of the worst of the tide, or flow in an estuary, so that you're not fighting strong currents when there's little wind.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by charliehows

the prudent sailor uses all the tools he has available. He/she also maintains all equipment to the best standard possible - which includes frequent running of the engine to ensure it is in fully functional condition. Hate to say it, but you'll soon change your tune when you get to sea...

This is what I was trying to say but this guy said it better.

The Op is at work dreaming his dream which is great!

As far as the clock and calendar, we coastal cruisers have to plan ahead with wind direction, tide, etc both coming and going which makes it interesting due to time restrictions

It seems quite boring and slow to just sit and wait on the wind especially when you have the means to move at your finger tips

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Unless you're trying to hit slack tide at Hellgate or calculate longitude offshore.

or you a 50k+ blow is coming and safe harbor can be made

[akprb]

I'm with Kenomac on this one. I'll wager you'll end up adjusting your anti-motoring attitude :-)

Personally I love motoring as much as sailing. Our cat would tick along nicely at 7-8 knots with one engine and our current "beater boat" thinks she's a trawler. On the cat if the wind dipped much below 15 knots she would slow down to 4-5 knots and the one little engine got her right back up to a respectable speed. The surprising thing to me on our Pacific crossing was the lack of wind more so than the over abundance.

In the Caribbean, in particular making your way down south it is just a slog to windward much of the time and just getting the ugly bits out of the way is a nice option at least.

Oh how I look forward to being back onboard and out of Alaska! Enjoy!