Crossing the Bass Strait in a Mirror Class Dinghy

[Panaseaya]

Go for it!
Anything is possible given enough planning and tenacity. Maybe you could do it as a charity fund raiser and get a film crew to follow your progress in a warm and dry support vessel.
Good Luck!

[justwaiting]

With respect. Your first idea was good, this one less so. Sinking a boat in the Bass Strait is not cool, its very cold.

[homeless]

When I was your age I wanted to do things like that, but everyone always said I was stupid. Then I left home, travelled the world, climbed Everest, explored Antarctica, sailed across the Pacific, and had a great time. I still regret not starting earlier because of the bad advice I got.

I had a Mirror when I was a kid, and it would NOT be the kind of boat I would choose, but I guess it is possible, and you can still learn from failure.

But ... you need to plan, train, and have sufficient resources to ensure safety. You need a safe boat, wetsuits (or dry suits) safety gear, radios, GPS, choose the weather and route carefully (island hop), lots of practice, and a larger boat with a motor for support. To do it properly and safely and be self-supporting I guess it could cost $5,000 for fuel, ferry, boats etc.

Please don't be the kind of idiot who does it cheap, gets lots of publicity, then has to ask for a rescue. That just makes it harder for the next person. Do it right first time, and don't tell anyone before you go, as the authorities won't like it, the newspapers will be hoping for disaster, and there is a high chance of failure.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by holy ship

Hhaha they don't mind...

You've pissed them off that much....??
WOW....
Start saving for the EPIRB, survival kit and dry suits...

[hoppy]

I think that if you want to do it you really need to do some maths to start with.

I have no idea how fast a Mirror is. When I was a kid and the wind was blowing it felt like we were doing a million miles an hour, but in reality I don't have a clue.

If for example we say you can average 2 knots, then the 200nm from the tip of the Prom to Tassie will take you 100 hours, just over 4 days. You will struggle to find a forecast window that would allow you to set off with promised conditions to suit. Of course the reality is that the forecast will be wrong.

So even with a support vessel, you are unlikely to make it. You are far more likely to be picked up than ever succeeding.

You need to find a much faster dinghy or cat to cut the crossing time to a time that can make the trip within the weather window. Even then you still need a support vessel to shadow you.

Maybe if you island hop from the prom to Deal and so on and have plenty of time to camp out on the islands waiting for the next weather window, then perhaps it is doable unsupported. Even then you need to pick a better dinghy than a mirror.


Perhaps you should consider getting out on the bay and trying long trips there. Sail down to Geelong or something. I assume it may be possible to camp on the shore along that side of the bay, if you hold your nose

Even for a bay trip, don't forget that you mobile is not a safety device.

[justwaiting]

just another day in the bass strait

Central Gippsland Coastal Waters

not too bad in a nice 40ft steel boat but in a dingy. also note the warning at the side that wind gusts and waves can be 40% greater.

[justwaiting]

another site that may be of use to you
Current coastal winds - Northern Bass Strait - Wind reports and 24 hour wind graphs

[DeepFrz]

Ocean Rowing - Global Ocean Rowing Boats
Get one of these and you can work off the excess energy and burn off some of those 14 y.o. hormones coursing through your bodies at the same time. And, you may live to tell about it.

[boatman61]

Why not a Hobie.... or has someone already done it..
Gonna make much better time in the window...

[atoll]

having had a mirror dingy as my only life raft on a 14000 mile voyage,this one was filled with expanding polyeurathane foam in all the bouyancy compartments,

making it unsinkable,you could also row it when full to the gunnels with water.

the problems you might have crossing the bass str are;

exposure and hypothermia

and constant capsizing,a 4m wave carries enough wind in front of it to tip you over even in light conditions.

you might want to read up on others that have attempted voyages in open boats like my old friend antony steward.

Anthony Steward - Around alone in an open boat

do it but in a suitable vessel,and live to tell the tale!

[holy ship]

Ok thanks for all your advice guys.... I will talk to my friend about it and try and convince him that its not the best idea

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by holy ship

Ok thanks for all your advice guys.... I will talk to my friend about it and try and convince him that its not the best idea

If your freind is still intent on going - make sure you shoot plenty of video of him, both preparing the vessel and in 1 to 1 interviews that cover not only his (her?) thoughts about the voyage but about life in future and especially hopes and dreams for the future.

The worse the voyage turns out the more those recordings will be worth (so make sure you don't simply give 'em away when the media turns up).....bad enough and might even be a Movie deal to be had ....call it summit like "Lost at Sea - Doomed to fail" .

(I want Brad Pitt to play me - the cynical git (about society) on the internet ).

Oh, and whilst I am pretty sure that this would never have happened (no matter what the responses had been) either due to life / better ideas intervening or simply from being part of a windup - ......just in case you reallly are a youngster looking for adventure, please don't take anything said here as meaning not to. Life is all about adventure and never too young too start .....you just can have more of them if you still be alive.....and lots of those involve Women (you'll understand that last bit when you hit 40 ).