What the hell is "expedition cruising" and what's the difference?

[steveinusa]

Originally Posted by Otia

If you are sailing the Strait of Magellan and Patagonia you are expedition cruising...
GRP hulls can very well do it, though I hope you have insulation and a diesel heater...
I guess the main thing is to be able to be self sufficient, in water, energy and maintenance/repairs, thus you must have lots of spare parts and tools.

Went through the Strait of Magellan in the Navy on a destroyer and can vouch for that being an expedition if on a smaller boat. BUT it would be worth it.

[Buzzman]

I think TSK and CK have nailed it:

TSK: "It is attitude, not latitude".

CK: "Regular cruising is going where you have to bring your own ice.

Expedition cruising is where you bring equipment to chip the ice and fend it off."

Either or both can apply.

So it's still possible to 'cruise' the high latitudes, as El Pinguin (and others) do, without it becoming an expedition, even though ice may be present. But if a major intent of the cruise is, for example, 'peak bagging' like Tillman and others since, then that should be classed as a 'mountaineering expedition by sailboat', perhaps.

It's equally possible to do the 'Drake Passage Dash' and 'cruise' the Antarctic Peninsula, without it being an expedition. Several well-equipped sailboats do this ever 'season'.

In the past, early cruisers such as David Lewis, set themselves up as 'psuedo' or 'minor' scientific *expeditions* in order to get either recognition or some form of funding to assist them with travel to difficult areas or for 'specific purposes'. Hence, 'expeditions'.

For example, Lewis' travels in Isbjorn were in the tropics, but were designed to 'test' the then almost extinct 'Poynesian traditional' navigation methodolgies which, largely as a result of the books he published as a result of that 'expedition', lead to a revival in Polynesia of their trad skills and teaching these to younger people.

He also sailed Icebird to Antarctica, and had to leave it there after it was dismasted while he went back home to raise funds to repair it and continue what was, essentially, an 'adventure' rather than an expedition. But given the degree of difficulty, it still should be called an 'expedition' in my view.

Ditto Ben Tucker's family trip to Antarctica in Snow Petrel - the book of the same name by Dad, Jon, (the cabin 'boy' and 'dish bitch' on the trip) is an excellent read by the way, but it had no clear or defined 'scientific purpose' but was most definitely a test of organisation and endurance. And given the indemnities they had to provide to authorities in order to get 'permission' to sail there, perhaps that's another we should add to the qualifications for an 'expedition' - "authorities require application for permission" to go there.

[peteh007]

Expedition Boat Defined:-

Aluminum, 8X stronger than plastic with a battering ram up front, no hull-deck seals, big tanks, Good STIX, heavy anchor with chain locker weight located next to the mast, solid water tight doors, pilot house, strong sailing arch, welded through hulls that rise above the water line, lots of renewable power even in high latts., centerboard to explore rivers, fully loaded with safety gear, redundant rudders, duplicated /redundant autopilot, reliable fuel cleaning system, 3 forestays, all lines to cockpit, sized for couple in heavy weather and lots of hull insulation to avoid condensation...

ie. A boat you would be comfortable cruising all year round, in heavy weather and in ill-chartered areas.

Expedition boat is : "RangeRover"
Production FRP boat is: "Toyota Camry"

Not cost effective for chartering...

And yes, it is "possible" to drive a Camry from Tripoli to Cape Town... but wouldn't a Range Rover make it a bit easier ?

[Benz]

Looks like the word "Expedition" is going the way of so many other words which now mean whatever the user wants them to mean at the time.
Good thing it doesn't matter whether someone's "expedition" is simply another's "cruise."
I just hope we don't begin downgrading Lewis and Clark's expedition to a picnic because their canoes weren't aluminum, or denigrating Jacques Cartier's explorations because his sorry wooden tubs didn't have solar panels and radios with which he could call for a bailout.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

There are cruising grounds where you don’t have to wear a winter coat? .

Mike, I’m in a quandary. I like you and would some day like to meet you, but at the same time hope our cruising paths never cross.

[christinekling]

I'd say this guy went on an expedition in an expedition boat, and he didn't do it for fame or fortune. He's been sailing all his life and it seems he likes taking on challenges. I believe an expedition is a voyage where the crew expects to be completely self-sufficient and they challenge themselves and the boat to the max. https://www.yachtingworld.com/extrao...m-vessel-94424

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by peteh007

Expedition Boat Defined:-

Aluminum, 8X stronger than plastic with a battering ram up front, no hull-deck seals, big tanks, Good STIX, heavy anchor with chain locker weight located next to the mast, solid water tight doors, pilot house, strong sailing arch, welded through hulls that rise above the water line, lots of renewable power even in high latts., centerboard to explore rivers, fully loaded with safety gear, redundant rudders, duplicated /redundant autopilot, reliable fuel cleaning system, 3 forestays, all lines to cockpit, sized for couple in heavy weather and lots of hull insulation to avoid condensation...

ie. A boat you would be comfortable cruising all year round, in heavy weather and in ill-chartered areas.

Expedition boat is : "RangeRover"
Production FRP boat is: "Toyota Camry"

Not cost effective for chartering...

And yes, it is "possible" to drive a Camry from Tripoli to Cape Town... but wouldn't a Range Rover make it a bit easier ?

Yeah, saw yesterday a Mummy driving her kids to school in a Range Rover. Pretty impressive urban expedition, also self-sufficient - they've got lunch boxes ...