Hi there

[Oceanaut]

We have been browsing this forum for a while and would like to introduce ourselves. My wife and I are complete novices in the sailing game but haven't let that inhibit us. ( We have been out on boats plenty but never as Skippers)

We have for a long time been dreaming of buying a yacht and traveling the world and, as our last born finished school last year, we have taken the leap.

We bought a 40 ' Admiral Cat and are busy with Day Skippers. We have completed the theory and will be doing the practical within the next couple of weeks.

The idea is to do our courses and sail locally until early next year and hopefully by then be confident enough to cross the Atlantic from Cape Town to the Caribbean.

If need be hire a Skipper to accompany us and then have him fly home after.

I still have to come to grips with all the systems onboard and will be doing this over the coming months.

Are we nuts to be attempting this? Any pearls of wisdom on how to proceed?

We have really been enjoying the forum and look forward to hearing from you. Cheers, Scott

[boatman61]

Hi Folks... Welcome to CF...
Just remember.... Kat man du....

[haw1961]

Welcome to Cruisers Forum Oceanaut. Good to have you aboard. I suggest you pick up a copy of world cruising routes by Jimmy Cornell. Good luck with your plans.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Oceanaut

We have been browsing this forum for a while and would like to introduce ourselves. My wife and I are complete novices in the sailing game but haven't let that inhibit us. ( We have been out on boats plenty but never as Skippers)

We have for a long time been dreaming of buying a yacht and traveling the world and, as our last born finished school last year, we have taken the leap.

We bought a 40 ' Admiral Cat and are busy with Day Skippers. We have completed the theory and will be doing the practical within the next couple of weeks.

The idea is to do our courses and sail locally until early next year and hopefully by then be confident enough to cross the Atlantic from Cape Town to the Caribbean.

If need be hire a Skipper to accompany us and then have him fly home after.

I still have to come to grips with all the systems onboard and will be doing this over the coming months.

Are we nuts to be attempting this? Any pearls of wisdom on how to proceed?

We have really been enjoying the forum and look forward to hearing from you. Cheers, Scott

You're not nuts to do it with a qualified and licensed captain. All the ones I have met are great people who love to teach and who will let you do as much as you have the skills to do, but you'll have him or her as a backup in a pinch.

It sounds like a grand adventure and a good plan!

Just schedule with your captain in plenty of time so you can make sure you have all the likely needed spare parts for both boat and engine, but I'm sure you'll do that.

Have a wonderful time and I hope you'll let us know how it's going!

[Sander]

We have the same plan! Is there no "ARC" type event from Cape Town?

I imagine there are plenty of boats on that route at the same time of year.

[Navegante1105]

Hi,Oceanaut, Nice target to cross the Atlantic. I hope I can do one day with the ARC from Gran Canaria, the island I live..
Regards, Agustin.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[Oceanaut]

Update - We have been sailing and training since we posted and are scheduled to cross from Cape Town to Grenada in November.

We will have a very experienced (410,000NM) Delivery Skipper and two crew members onboard.

We are very busy preparing our boat and ourselves - Doing the GMDSS course and Yachtmaster Offshore courses over the next three weeks.

We have done quite a bit on our boat to prepare her for the crossing - if anybody is interested we can share our experiences.

Celtic Yachts (who have taken over the manufacturing of the Admiral Catamarans) are currently completing a 40' Admiral and are aiming to cross along with us if they can complete and shake out the boat in time.

Bee Line is currently on the hard and we are putting her back in the water Tuesday.

[Navegante1105]

Well done: I hope, You have a nice sailing...If You ever sail to the Canaries, give a shout..
Regards, Agustin.