How to do a 18 month circumnavigation from San Francisco?

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by YoloSF

This is not the information I was looking for, but thanks for your wisdom.

Never said to be offering wisdom as I cannot tell you how to sail around the world. I was just relaying the same thing that I am trying to teach my 2 year old. If you are nice people will help you. If you yell and scream people won't help you. He is catching on pretty quick, you have some work to do.

Originally Posted by YoloSF

Thanks for the stamp of approval.

Again you're just proving my point.

Maybe when you learn to be respectful of the people that you are seeking information from they will be more inclined to help you. That's how most of us learn from each other. I've learned tons here just from saying please and thank you. You should try it.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I think the cyclone season would get him unless he sails through the straits before Sept. (Just my opinion) and he is going to go through the canal and climb the coast in one month ( March) to SF? Now that's funny! I hope he has low hours on his axillary by then (not!)

The first cyclone to hit the north or north west of Australia is usually some time in December so September would be fine. October would be OK too although the breeze around the Coral Sea in that month tends to be all over the place in both strength and direction. The trade winds die through October but they never seem to be able to decide exactly when.

Actually cyclones are pretty rare around Torres. Darwin and points west/south west is where you get them.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by goat

Scoobert? Is that you?

[w32honu]

I think I have seen this guy…….. wheeling down the highway at 90 mph updating his Facebook page on a cell phone completely oblivious of his surroundings.

"Ocean Passages of the World" might be another good reference.

[socaldmax]

He's just getting to know everyone and spreading the good word so that when the SHTF in the middle of the ocean and he calls for a rescue, everyone will remember him fondly and come running right away!

[Dsanduril]

We did almost this trip in this time frame on our second go around. The difference would be South Africa vs. Med.

Left San Francisco in late February (waiting for a decent window) and headed toward Christmas/Palmyra/Fanning. From there through Tuvalu and Kirabati, crossing the equator near the dateline in April/May. Need to get out of the North Pacific by June, and don't want to get into the South Pacific before April.

Continuing SW through Vanuatu to Australia. Depending on desired landing in Oz can head through New Caledonia or Solomons. This puts you in Oz winter/spring (July/August/September), ending up at Torres Straits September/October. From there through Indonesia and Christmas Island (the other one).

This is where our voyage diverges, that schedule put us in South Africa in December (summer) with a decent trip across the South Atlantic after the beginning of the year. To get to the Med you probably don't want to be there much before April, which leaves some time to kill in Indonesia and the Indian Ocean, but that means that you're 14 months out when you arrive in the Med. Not sure how I'd handle trying to get back to SF in 4 months from the Med, especially given that you want to have completed the passage up from Central America before June (and actually finishing in 16-17 months).

If you could extend to 24-26 months I can see it much more clearly, summer in the Med, Atlantic crossing with the crowd at the end of the year, a little bit of late fall in the Caribbean, then through the Panama Canal at the beginning of the year, and up the Central American coast through the spring, getting back to SF March/April/May.

[FoxIslander]

...another "off topic" reply...this thread is exactly why I don't post here at CF...the nastiness...been here for years as a CF voyeur, but this is my first post. Sure the OP was nasty, but so were 70% of the replies. Happens all too often.

[savoir]

Only 70% ? Dang, we're slipping ! Well you're just lucky it wasn't an anchor thread.

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by FoxIslander

...another "off topic" reply...this thread is exactly why I don't post here at CF...the nastiness...been here for years as a CF voyeur, but this is my first post. Sure the OP was nasty, but so were 70% of the replies. Happens all too often.

My reply was meant to be sarcastic, not nasty... I don't do nasty... just ignore folks who are. Sailing to a timetable is fraught with misery, danger and disappointment. As a delivery skipper, I learned that early and the hard way. One of the reasons I was never keen on having owners travel with... couldn't handle the agro. Although a few who were keen on learning turned out to be very fine folks and are still friends. Phil

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by YoloSF

Buy boat: Check
...fficult. There are so many factors to consider! Home port is San Francisco and the departure date can be either February 1st, 2015 , May 1st, 2015 , August 1, 2015 or November 1, 2015

It's April 1st today (no Fool's jokes, please ), but Yolo, have you looked out the window? The weather, since the Pacific High which has been with us almost all winter, has sagged way south and the PNW weather is drenching us, big time.

While one reply mentioned leaving in February, he did mention he needed to find a "window", which in these neck of the woods is sometimes very hard to do.

Since you've been sailing The Bay for years, you may be aware of Kimball Livingston's great book: Sailing The Bay. Among other things, he discusses sailing outside the Bay, and the recommendations are quite simple and quite clear: wintertime outside the Gate is VERY dangerous. VERY. The first few miles can be among the worst you could experience in an entire circumnavigation.

So, your dates are questionable in terms of sailing on a schedule, which as many have pointed out, is kinda the wrong approach to start with. While I understand your reasons, I encourage you to rethink your beginning premise.

You need to say to yourself: "If I leave in the winter, it ain't gonna be based on quarterly schedules from work, it's gonna and HAVE TO BE based on the weather." This could, in some years, be weeks if not a month to find the right conditions to head out the Gate anywhere near the winter months. And even in nicer weather, for example, the races to Hawaii, which leave in frikkin' JUNE & JULY beat their brains out for the first few days.

Winter south winds can be a beast, to say nothing of the sea state.

So, February will most likely s*ck. In ALL years weather-wise.

May is great, August is super, November 1st is the last date you'd wanna leave, since most cruisers heading ONLY for Mexico leave not later than then.

Then, given the books you've been hooked into, you have to work backwards based on the routes you choose.

That one gentleman left in February, God bless him, but not many here venture out the Gate in the winter.

Good luck. Just think it through and spend the energy you have been venting here on more fruitful pursuits, like your planning.

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

It's April 1st today (no Fool's jokes, please ), but Yolo, have you looked out the window? The weather, since the Pacific High which has been with us almost all winter, has sagged way south and the PNW weather is drenching us, big time.

Actually, I think the last several years indicate that now might be the worst time to leave SF. February might be a lot better, in recent years it seems that the high takes up almost a summertime position in early winter. Is that an aberration of the last couple of years, or is that a trend in changing weather patterns?

I've left SF in February for the South Pacific, and LA in early March for Hawaii. In both cases I've had fantastic trips. We have the advantage over our forefathers of modern weather forecasting. Once you can get below 30N you have a much better shot, even in the winter, and that should take less than a week, which means you can really stack the odds in your favor.

I understand the OP's desire. For whatever personal reasons you have 18 months. And you want to do a circumnavigation. And you want to include the Med. Is it what I'd do with 18 months? Not now, but it once was. For my part, if you could skip the Med I actually see this as a pretty easily attainable goal. Throwing in the Med? I've sailed up the Red Sea in November, spent Christmas in Bethlehem, and rung in the New Year in Larnaca. No desire to do that a second time. No offense to the locals, but sailing in the Eastern Med in the winter is, IMHO, miserable.

Other than that, I see the proposed voyage as interesting and enjoyable. It will force one to take routes other than the Milk Run. For all the people that are here and have been to the South Pacific, how many have been to Funafuti or Nukefetau? Atoll for sure, how many others raise their hands? And yet an 18-month "schedule" naturally leads to these off-the-path destinations.

Then again, I actually love passagemaking. Nothing like it. And and 18-month schedule means lots of it, so right up my alley. YMMV.

[savoir]

Been out there in January to be greeted by 20 ft waves with 3 ft breakers on top.

Not nice.

[theaton]

Originally Posted by YoloSF

Thanks for the stamp of approval.

I've never seen anyone so bitter and hateful. I wouldn't be surprised if your 2-4 variable crew turns into a singlehanding. Unless of course you're purchasing them along the way

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by theaton

I've never seen anyone so bitter and hateful. I wouldn't be surprised if your 2-4 variable crew turns into a singlehanding. Unless of course you're purchasing them along the way

You have to get out more. Snotty type A, maybe. But then it's a bit hard to diagnose on the internet. I too would be a bit cautious about getting on the boat with him, though.

Of course, he might just be a bit socially awkward and coming across wrong. Once we all start piling on, he get's a bit defensive and comes across as a bit of an ass.

[jtsailjt]

Anyone who has raised teenagers can recognize the symptoms, but the good news is that most eventually come out of it and realize their parents are not actually the most stupid and backwards human beings on the planet after all, and some even are willing to admit that out loud. The bad news is that many don't "reassess" until about age 30 and a few never do so end up going all the way through life determined to learn every lesson the hard way and naturally they can seem quite angry, who wouldn't?

I feel like we're at the very early stages of Bumfuzzle II!