Longest straight line passage

[El Pinguino]

In 2009 a kiwi boat whose name I forget ( Malcolm and Jo were the owners ) departed Puerto Williams, Chile ( as opposed to Port William, Falkland Islands) bound directo to Nelson NZ.

Both of those would have been long passages but I doubt if they would have been straight line in either the rhumb line or great circle sense.... more likely to have been composite GCs.

[El Pinguino]

I've just had a look at the chart.... most likely not composite GCs but after leaving either port to have just picked a limiting latitude and stuck to it.

[zeehag]

i was always taught as a youngster by a merchant marine captain that unless the earth is FLAT there are no straight line passages. they are all curved.
have fun.....

[Littlechay]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

I think that Beth and Evans' (Hawk) 9,000nm passage from Port William to Freemantle is the longest I know of. We may have a winner ..:

Port William or Puerto Williams?

That's not a straight line, by any definition, and they are certainly not the only ones to have done that. If you are looking at longest passages then there are all the non-stop round the world races, Motiser with his longest way, and various other stunts that have been designed to deliberately spend a long time at sea; I think there was a 1000 day attempt in the last few years.

[hooligan6a]

I was not looking for the longest passage. I was looking for the longest one
that can not be made any shorter. I know the passage from San Diego to Hawaii is about 2400 miles. That is it. It can not be made any shorter.
There is not any other piece of land between them.

[Littlechay]

Originally Posted by hooligan6a

I was not looking for the longest passage. I was looking for the longest one
that can not be made any shorter. I know the passage from San Diego to Hawaii is about 2400 miles. That is it. It can not be made any shorter.
There is not any other piece of land between them.

You can make it shorter though. Hop around the west coast and along the Aleutians and then go south to the Hawaiian chain. That way the longest passage is only about 1400 miles.

Chatham islands, or another NZ island of your choice, to Cape Horn is 4000 miles with nothing in between. You would have to take a similar detour to the one above to shorten it.

[Littlechay]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

In 2009 a kiwi boat whose name I forget ( Malcolm and Jo were the owners ) departed Puerto Williams, Chile ( as opposed to Port William, Falkland Islands) bound directo to Nelson NZ.

Both of those would have been long passages but I doubt if they would have been straight line in either the rhumb line or great circle sense.... more likely to have been composite GCs.

Yes; and Rolf and Deborah (Northern Light) did South Georgia to Hobart. Not quite as far but a good southern ocean haul too.

[hooligan6a]

[QUOTE=Littlechay Hop around the west coast and along the Aleutians and then go south to the Hawaiian chain. That way the longest passage is only about 1400 miles.

It is more like 1800 miles, but you are right, it is shorter.

[chiangkent]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

A woman friend of mine used to say, "the shortest distance between two points is a great circle route."

Your friend is totally right. As a sail boat, it needs more considering about the wind conditions, because sailing in great circle route, your ship will head for more north in latitude and encounter the wind come from west.

[Littlechay]

Originally Posted by chiangkent

because sailing in great circle route, your ship will head for more north in latitude and encounter the wind come from west.

Or head south, depending on where you start and end

And to be pedantic a great circle route is a straight line, that's the point, but the earth is curved so it is a curve in spacial terms.