When am I ready to sail from Victoria to Hawaii?

[gjordan]

Northoceanbeach, You ask about what sails to consider buying. I would not recommend a trysail on a 26 foot boat. I had one and only found it good for using as a roll stopper at anchor. Worked pretty good for that. If you are going to have a new main cut, I would recommend having 3 reef points installed, and skip the trysail. When I bought my Contessa 26 it had a #1 and #2 genoa and a storm jib. I wanted what I considered a working jib, so I had a roller furling, slightly high cut 100% cut. It worked good for coastal cruising ,but created problems later. I also like light air sailing, and I didnt have an engine , so I made a 3/4 ounce drifter myself. The drifter was a God send in light airs. It would pull when nothing else would. In this day and age, an ASYM in a sock would be an easier sail to handle and would have much more area than a drifter. A roller jib will not be able to handle the high and low range of wind, so you will be changing sails anyway, and I have found changing sails from foils when you are alone is harder than conventional hank on sails. Many people will debate this but that has been my experience. Enough for now. ____Grant.

[JPA Cate]

Actuallyl, I think gjordan is giving you the straight skinny on this. If the sails you have are in good nick, that's one thing, but if they are trashed, you should carry spares, and if they too are trashed, that's basically something bad waiting to happen.

Above, someone else posted that if you are having to ask if you are ready to the internet, that you are not. I can sympathise with this view, but also with the notion, "how do I know if I'm ready"

So, if your sails are good, you have adequate tankage (water & ? diesel), your boat has been through at least one local gale with you in charge, you're confident of your navigation skills and of your ability to manage your sleep requirements, why should you not go? (Please, answer this question for yourself, you may be surprised at what the inner you has to say.)

Do you have a backup for your autopilot? (ours died on the way from Kauai to SF) as a singlehander, you should have a backup...or get John Letcher, Jr.'s book on "Self Steering For Sailing Craft", so you get a little of this and that and be able to make up self-steering if the electronics fail--as they do.

Have you a plan for electronics failure? If not, your're not ready.

Good luck with this, it IS doable, just start asking (and answering for yourself, this question): what can possibly go wrong? When you anticipate and plan for those "wrong" possibilities, and are confident that you have the wherewithal aboard to handle them (and learn from them), then you're ready.

Ann

[Barra]

Sign on as volunteer delivery crew on an ocean passage maybe? You will learn heaps about yourself offshore and also how the pros do it (surprisingly underprepared compared to us amateurs from what ive seen but more than made up for with ability to jury rig on the fly and make the correct decisions in difficult situations)

Its how i got my confidence up and worked for me. 7m seas gale force winds, 800 miles from nearest help, busted auto pilot, fuel blockages on lee shores, torn sails, burst spinnakers. All a walk in the park to the pros i was with and learned heaps.

Do that and then you will know if you and your boat are ready....

[jackdale]

Have you tried the Vic Maui crew list? Vic-Maui Yacht Race - Crew Bank

It is hard to get on a race crew, but return crews are a bit easier.

[cortezsailor]

I think what you're really asking is are you mentally ready, only you can answer that, you ll know when you are.

[northoceanbeach]

Originally Posted by cortezsailor

I think what you're really asking is are you mentally ready, only you can answer that, you ll know when you are.

Yes. I want to know if I am mentally ready. I think I am. I actually think I would be pleasantly surprised with how I handled everything.

Mostly I just think it would be easier if I lived in LA or San Diego. It would be easier to test the waters. Up here it's the hardest part first. The cold part. The scary North Pacific. I would not be as hesitant if I didn't have to go south so far first.

My gut tells me once you get south and going it would probably be really good. I've heard the worst stories not about going to Hawaii but off the Oregon coast.

Every time I've visited the coast it's had really bad weather. I could sail in the tropics for days. Or if it was long enough just keep on going up the strait of Georgia. If it didnt have land in sight. I could do that. It gets nasty but I feel ok about it. I've got to get over the Neah bay to San Francisco mental block.

I've thought about crewing. But I really just want to sail by myself for some reason.

[TacomaSailor]

We tested the boat and our readiness for the trip by sailing out the Straits of Juan de Fuca to Neah Bay and then NW to Cape Scott, about 85 miles off shore, and back again. It was a great three week shakedown and exposed us to a lot of weather that allowed us to judge our readiness.

From what you've said I think you really do not understand what the trip will entail.

- constant downwind rolling in not quite enough wind from Cape Flattery to 30 degrees N and 125 degrees W - about 12 days in your boat
- the occasional downwind romp in 40 knots and 12' seas off the southern Oregon Coast and Northern California Coast
- 19 days of a steady 15 - 20 knots on a broad reach or run in 10' long period swells
- the need to carry enough water for 35 days
- learning to cook heeled at 15 degrees and rolling 20 degrees for 20 days

It sounds like you need a downwind sail and a reaching pole and the experience to use them. It is quite unlike sailing in the Salish Sea where my longest downwind run was about eight hours (in 30 years of sailing there).

I've sailed Tacoma to San Diego four times and San Diego to Cabo twice. Just like going to Hawaii - it is all about managing the boat downwind and that takes some time to figure out and experience to get comfortable. I had raced big boats in the Salish Sea for many years and it took most of my first trip down the west coast to get the hang of comfortably and confidently sailing downwind day after day.

Sail out the Straits of Juan de Fuca to La Peruse banks and then another 50 miles out past the 100 fathom line, turn around and ride the 25 knot westerlies all the way back to race rocks (20 hours?) and then imagine doing that for 17 days non-stop with no place to duck into and rest.

Last summer I prepared a 40' double handed boat for a 16 day double-handed race to Honolulu from San Diego and a close friend skippered a Beneteau 58 from San Diego to Honolulu. I got a lot of feedback from them when they returned.

A close friend single handed a BCC 27 from Puerto Vallarta to Hilo and I talked to him, via HAM radio for several hours a day.

Most Important item for all three of those boats - Managing the boat speed in the consistent trade winds and biggish swells. They all stressed how important a good reaching pole and genoa is and how important the smaller spinnaker was.

Can you handle heavy downwind sailing in comfort?

You will be ready when you are looking forward to the day!

Sailing in the shipping lanes is a terrible idea!!! They can not see you and you will be tired enough that it might be hard to see them. Besides, the shipping lanes are no where near the route you will take.

The three boats I mention above saw a total of less than eight boats in the 54 days they were at sea.

You've got a great idea about doing the trip and it is better to do it now than later. You just need to get some real exposure to water sailing">blue water sailing, and handling sails, managing the boat, and learning to live days from land in heeling and rolling conditions.

Question for the moderator - the paragraph above contains words and symbols that do not appear in the preview and do not appear in the text I enter. I copy the text to word and it is clean. I delete the paragraph and retype and it comes back as you see it.

What am I doing wrong?

[SimonV]

I don't know if you're ready. But some information given here is text book sailing not real world. You do not need a full set of spare sails, instead a good sail repair kit. In a 26 foot boat one person can man handle just about every piece of the boat. Sail the boat as if you know the rigging is about to fail, the keel is going to fall off, the rudder is about to snap. In other words sail well below it's and your limit. You're cruising not racing so why not enjoy 5kn or less. Travel down the coast, watch the weather and plan you stops.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Have you tried the Vic Maui crew list? Vic-Maui Yacht Race - Crew Bank

It is hard to get on a race crew, but return crews are a bit easier.

Or the Pacific Cup -- several boats are from the PNW, and will be sailing home after the race. Doing a passage as a crewmember is a great way to get some practical experience. For that matter, getting on a boat that is returning to San Francisco or Los Angeles will also give you invaluable experience. You might even get a a plane ticket home as part of the deal.

I think you are planning to sail your boat solo (?). For your first big trip I really recommend that you at least doublehand with someone who has the experience. Having another crewmember on board probably gives you 4x the ability to cope with whatever gets thrown your way, since as a singlehander you are really only at about 50% effectiveness even when you're awake (due to general fatigue). I've not done it myself, but have discussed it with friends who have made that passage solo.

[Hud3]

Doing an offshore passage on someone else's boat is very good advice. I was the noob on a friend's boat for the trip from Virginia to the Virgin Islands. Being a part of an experienced crew teaches you a lot--provisioning, heavy weather sailing, repairs at sea, weather forecasting, offshore navigation, fresh water management, personal hygiene, etc. You get exposed to it all, but someone with more experience is in charge, not you. Since then, I always made a spot for a first timer on my passages. No better way to get the experience, with the old salts there to back you up.

My second suggestion is to take your boat out several times in progressively heavy winds. Learn how she handles in high wind and waves. Experience the loads on the sheets. Make sure the reefing system works properly. Practice heaving to. See what, if anything, breaks. See if you have any leaks. You'll learn a lot.

[gjordan]

Northoceanbeach, something you have not mentioned is, what are your plans after you arrive in Hawaii??? If going to sell the boat there, you can probably get by with a little less equipment. If you think you are going to sail back to Canada, then you need a very well equipped boat. The trip back is generally much harder than the downwind sail to Hawaii, or are you going to continue on into the South Pacific???? From your earlier posts, you have lived in Hawaii, so there is no new experience in going to Hawaii other than the passage(which is a big thing) . If you cut your teeth going down the coast, maybe as far as San Diego, you could leave on a passage of only 7 to 10 days longer than Hawaii, and arrive in the Marquesas which I doubt you have ever been to, and isnt full of sun burnt tourists and traffic jams. Dont get me wrong, I like Hawaii, but I dont consider it a good cruising destination. Having done 3 deliveries from Hawaii back to California, I can say that the sail back is a whole lot less fun than a downwind sail to a warmer climate. The previous posters advice on learning how to handle your boat in downwind conditions is spot on. Also the advice on learning sheet to tiller steering is good for when (not if) your tiller pilot takes a dump. I think you will end up having a great time with a little more learning and your positive attitude. Best Of Luck. _____Grant.

[jackdale]

Just to reinforce some other comments.

I have brought 3 Vic Maui boats back home.

I have not done the trip down the coast, but I have many friends who have done Vic Maui. The ride down the coast can be great, but there can be problems. One friend was on a boat that abandoned the race after being pooped several times. They wound up in San Francisco.

If you do get stormy weather you may not be able to make a landfall because many of the harbours along the Washington / Oregon coast have bars across the entrance and are closed in poor weather.

The trip back has no bailout spots. These are the tracks of some of 2012 return boats - Vic Maui 2012 Return - Powered by Yellowbrick Tracking. (I was on Turicum)

The advise about getting some heavy seas downwind experience is invaluable. A broad reach in coastal waters is dreamy. Hand steering in 12-15 foot seas is huge work. Being below is really uncomfortable.

[northoceanbeach]

Ok. I appreciate the advice. My plan once I got to hawaii? Live there for 8 months and assuming I liked the trip continue to the south pacific. My ultimate goal. If I didn't like it or if I thought the boat was too small, not the right one, needed things...I would still be in America where I can live and work and fix or upgrade what needs fixing.

Instead of going to the marquesses and realizing I need a new autopilot or more batteries and solar panels or whatever.

I regret ever having left hawaii but I told myself I wouldn't move back until I sailed there.

I understand your sentiment about the tourists and for someone that's been to the South Pacific, Hawaii may not compare, but compared to the lower 48 it blows them away. I have been to them all and many times except Maine and Alaska and none of them are half as good as Hawaii. Most don't even seem close. California was the only other great state but not anymore.

So speaking of California, here's where we're at. I need more ocean experience. Especially days of downwind and dome heavy weather. What if I had titled my post.

Am I ready to sail to Sam Francisco? Can I start there?