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Old 27-05-2015, 14:32   #1
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Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

Rimas Meleshyus is giving up on his attempt to circumnavigate in his San Juan 24 foot boat after a passage from San Francisco to Samoa that took 121 days.

Read it here in Latitude 38 article: Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

What I found interesting about this article were the quotes from his former supporters who spoke frankly.
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Old 27-05-2015, 14:37   #2
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

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Old 27-05-2015, 17:07   #3
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

They were quite blunt about learning to sail. But doesn't he have over 6000 ocean miles?
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Old 27-05-2015, 17:32   #4
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

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Originally Posted by s/v Beth View Post
They were quite blunt about learning to sail. But doesn't he have over 6000 ocean miles?
Perhaps he does, but that does not mean that he is a good, or even passable sailor. The commentary from his friends and supporters does not suggest that his skills are very good.

I'm glad he quit before he died "just going for it".

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Old 27-05-2015, 17:36   #5
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

Catalina 22 RTW?
JUST GO!
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Old 27-05-2015, 17:59   #6
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

I'm flabbergasted that he actually got there, after reading about his 2012 gulf of Alaska grounding and his CA to HI trip in 2013 where he used an old handheld automotive Garmin to find Hawaii.

The guys got some kind of skill. Just hard to put your finger on exactly what it is.
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Old 27-05-2015, 18:02   #7
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

Actually, if he would have maintained his tool, known how to sail and stayed in the lower latitudes who knows? I would have thought the Americas couldn't be circumnavigated in a Vega...
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Old 27-05-2015, 19:02   #8
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

Quote:
Originally Posted by s/v Beth View Post
They were quite blunt about learning to sail. But doesn't he have over 6000 ocean miles?
That would be 1 mile x 6000 experience, I'd guess.
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Old 28-05-2015, 08:31   #9
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

So the most important piece of equipment on a boat is...YOU!
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:10   #10
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

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Originally Posted by mstrebe View Post
I'm flabbergasted that he actually got there, after reading about his 2012 gulf of Alaska grounding and his CA to HI trip in 2013 where he used an old handheld automotive Garmin to find Hawaii.

The guys got some kind of skill. Just hard to put your finger on exactly what it is.
Dodging well-aimed scythes?
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:14   #11
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

I met Rimas in a Starbucks here in town several years ago when he was looking for another San Juan 24 to replace the one he lost in Alaska. He is certainly a friendly and likeable sort of guy with tons of enthusiasm for his goal. I have to give him credit for going for it but I (and anyone who has met him I think) warned him that his plans and approach were severely flawed.

Weeks later, he excitedly told me that he had finally found his new boat just in a small town south of here - for $500. I had given him a small "contribution" for his kitty before that but deferred after since I did not want to actually encourage him to continue.

I still have very mixed feelings for what he has done. He marches to a different drummer than the rest of us. I wish him success with his future plans but have serious doubts that he will pull it off. He does not seem to really understand what he is trying to do nor how to pull it off. I'm happy we all are still able to happily go and sail off in to the sunset not knowing really if we will make it or not. He could improve his own odds though with a more rational approach. But I won't be surprised if he actually makes it someday. I would not be surprised if he doesn't either. If he was taking unknowledgeable crew along though, that would be different. It would be criminal.

Nice guy though. I wish I could just go out and ask for donations from others to help me do something just as crazy and not have to work for it and spend the time to prep a boat so it has a better chance. I really like the guy though and find it hard to be too unkind to him. Very mixed emotions on this.

For any of you who would say "just do it", I dare you to go on the boat with him because you clearly don't understand what the situation really is.
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:21   #12
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

I found Hilo from Cabo using a magnetic steering compass, binoculars and Aam/fm radio. When I raised the coast of the big Island, I was eleven miles from Radio Bay. I did it because all the salts in the marina said I couldn't do it by the seat of my pants. (Insert Bronx Cheer). Hawaii is about 900 miles wide, but you all just keep playing with your electronic toys and doing all your voyaging"scientifically"at your kitchen tables. RV sailors are funny with houses stuffed into boats. Give this guy a little credit.
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Old 28-05-2015, 09:32   #13
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

A few years back, a local man from Picton Ontario sailed his 24' sailboat around the atlantic circuit. Not to set any record, but for a fun adventure. I read about it in Canadian Yachting or some other regional magazine at the time, but I'm unable to find any link now.
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Old 28-05-2015, 11:57   #14
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

I gotta agree. Most of us that use these "electronic toys" have lost some of the skills that helped the sailors of old learn to be seammen - if they ever had those skills. I know I have lost them. When I sailed to Hawaii singlehanded in 1980 I navigated by sextant. Now I have doubts that I could even relearn celestial at the age of 80.


IMO anyone that has used celestial, at least anyone that has used celestial on a small boat, realizes the inaccuracy of a celestial fix and knows to use all other senses. There have been more dangerous groundings and losses since affordable GPS than there were before. Sure, part of the reason is that there are more small boats out there now. But a big factor is that too often navigators, or more properly people that think they are navigators, rely on the accuracy of the GPS without understanding that the GPS only tells you where you are. It doesn't tell you where the land is, either above water or only slightly below. They rely on charts, paper or digital. Often they are located with the accuracy of whatever method used when first located. A good navigator will use his/her eyes, ears, nose, depth sounder, radar if he/she has it, etc. If none of those contradict GPS, well use GPS. But remember, do not count on charts, especially away from commercial shipping routes, to be more accurate than obtained with a hand held sextant, or even an astrolabe.
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Old 28-05-2015, 17:21   #15
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Re: Rimas Giving Up in Samoa. Article link

Quote:
Originally Posted by s/v Beth View Post
They were quite blunt about learning to sail. But doesn't he have over 6000 ocean miles?
He does have a lot of miles. He also has amazing luck.
He cannot sail up wind at all. He has never been on a lee shore. He doesn't have a motor (it fell off the transom). He does not do any maintenance.
I think the only time he attempted go go upwind was when he missed American Samoa. He has been towed into every port.

I would be envious of his position just for his incredible good luck with weather. I think two or three times large storms came and blew him in the right direction, where anyone else would have gotten a beating or been blown off course. His average speed has been around 1.4 knots
Part of the fascination with his trip is that he does not have a clue and refuses to learn when people offer, yet he arrives somewhere alive and healthy every time so far.
Plus I owned an SJ24 for 9 years and am amazed it has carried him so well.
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