baloney
18.06.2021 7:30:15
Vancouver 28. Photo credit: YachtFathom.co.uk
See full version: 5 small sailboats for sailing around the world
Vancouver 28. Photo credit: YachtFathom.co.uk
This small sailboat is cute and classic as she is rugged and roomy. With at least one known circumnavigation and plenty of shorter bluewater voyages, the Cape Dory 28 has proven herself offshore capable.
While you might not think a small sailboat is up to the task of going long distances, some of the best bluewater sailboats are under 40 feet. However if If you’re thinking about buying a boat for offshore cruising, there are a few things to know about what makes a small boat offshore capable.
Today’s anchorages are full of 40, 50 and 60 foot plus ocean sailboats, but that’s not to say you can’t sail the world in a small sailboat. Just look at Alessandro di Benedetto who in 2010 broke the record for the smallest boat to sail around the world non-stop in his 21-foot Mini 6.5.
When something major breaks (like an engine) it will be less costly to repair or replace than it would be on a bigger boat. more
So long as you don’t mind forgoing a few comforts, you can have big dreams on a small budget.
Slightly off-topic, for which, profuse apologies. However, it’s a slightly related theme – the attempt by alarmists to deny or re-write history, and pretend that our current climate (weather?) and related conditions are somehow unusual, and therefore must be attricuted to AGW. As I’ve just commented on a discussion thread at Bishop Hill: more
But the most southern route is surely the one you would pick if the objective was to “prove” the ice was declining whether it was or not. Yes? [links]
..Like as if ships haven’t made it thru many times in the past ..like almost every year.
Oh here’s a 2007 article also bylined by the same Times writer Will Pavia
The crossing took three summers, but of course this was primarily an exploration, not a race.
Continuing north from the Salish Sea requires travelling through an area I call “cruising in wilderness.” Here, cities, roads and cellphone service disappear as the mountains close in and the coastline becomes a jumble of uninhabited islands. For me, this is where the cruising adventure really begins.
Along the Inside Passage, for example, there is not a single drawbridge to worry about. Nor are there any dredged channels. Instead, the way is generally wide and deep, with the route crossing any number of different straits and sounds. Snug anchorages and excellent marinas abound. In many spots, you’ll also find great sailing. Best of all, wherever you go, you’ll find yourself surrounded by nature at its best—which is why so many Pacific Northwest sailors have come to regard it as their dream summer cruising grounds.
For all these reasons, we prefer to transit Johnstone Strait on a day when there is a favorable tidal current starting near midday, which will, in turn, allow us to sail if a suitable wind develops. Before we set out we make sure we know the timing of the predicted currents. Underway we also listen carefully to the wind conditions and modify our plans accordingly. This may mean diverting into a side channel, where the winds are typically less. I may even mean stopping early at a protected anchorage. Using this strategy, I always look forward to an exciting sail through this beautiful region. more
The first navigational challenge is Johnstone Strait, a region known for its currents and strong winds. Fortunately, there are also a variety of channels through this area, some better protected than others, so it’s possible to select a route that best suits your skills and your boat’s capabilities.
The Strait of Bellot was clear and they transited without incident. Further south they met a gale that blew the ice pack toward them. They were forced back into an uncertain anchorage. Two days later the wind ceased and the engine was on again. Such is the uncertainty of sailing in the arctic islands. here
Their next challenge was the 75-mile trip up the Mackenzie River to Inuvik, and it proved hazardous. Guy had a foreboding because they could not find the paper chart that he always had at hand as back-up to the chart plotter; a sailor’s superstition perhaps. They had to rely on markers, many of which had been taken out by the winter’s ice. And then came the inevitable grounding on a sandbar that took hours to relieve with anchors, kedging, and the halyard being hauled by the eight-horsepower dinghy. When off, they proceeded slowly with crew in the dinghy cautiously taking soundings ahead of them. [links]
The Canadian Ice Service provides daily updated status information on ice conditions and 30-day forecasts in areas of known marine activity. They distinguish more than 100 types of ice and conditions—a science in itself. here
And, yes, surprisingly, they did meet a few other sailboats en route but compared to Greenland there was almost no living soul seen in the Canadian archipelago outside of the few small population centres. The crew described a desolate landscape where no plant grows higher than 10 centimetres, no animals were seen on land, and a stormy sky rarely showed a patch of blue. Yet the waters teemed with whales and seals and the skies with numerous birds. [links]
The passage from Pond Inlet to Gjoa Haven past Baffin Island and through the mile-wide Bellot Strait took them 12 days, not the predicted five. They departed August 12 confident of a good weather forecast but four hours later a sudden gale on the nose forced them back for two days. On the second departure it was two degrees and a storm force wind from behind sent them way too fast, fully reefed, between icebergs and ice floes at night. Even though there was no darkness at that latitude, visibility was low with the sea foam, hail and snow swirling about. But they pushed on under the pressure of time, as now every day of delay would bring them closer to winter. When they arrived at Gjoa Haven they were almost out of fuel and food—a serious condition in these waters where temperatures are at freezing point at night and typically eight degrees in the day. here