How to do a 18 month circumnavigation from San Francisco?

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by zboss

Everyone deserves a second chance... why don't we delete this thread. Then, you can go back and repost the same question and add in some super critical and honest evaluations of you skills, your boat, etc...now that you have some ideas on the route you are interested in, why not include that as well.

Ill call Charles Manson and tell him the great news right away!!

He'll be delighted!

[carstenb]

Well Yolo I guess you've seen that around here there are a number of opinions (I've got one too).

I haven't studied an SF departure RTW so I can't help you with the routing. Jimmy Cornells books (and many others, including Beth Leonards) can give you much of the concrete information you're looking for.

I'll venture a comment on your 18 months (even though you don't want to discuss this time frame). As others have noted, an 18 month RTW will mean hauling a** most of the time. You'll see a lot of water and very little land.

It can be done, especially if you have an experienced crew and your boat does not run into serious maintanence issues (spares can very extremely difficult to source in many locations).

Re your going up through the Red Sea. You say that you are aware of the danger and prepared to accept the consequences. As the skipper, you have the responsibility for your crew. You'd better be damned sure they also know the potential consequences.

If you and your boat are taken - who is going to pay the ransom? This is something you should consider. Does your family (no one else will pay) have the means to pony up 2,3,4 million dollars?

I don't want to rain on your parade, but the Red Sea idea is a very bad idea. To put it bluntly - only a fool would sail up through there.

So now you've been given my opinion(and advice). It is worth exactly what you have paid for it (nothing).

Assuming you will go through with this plan - good luck and fair winds - you'll need both. Drop us a line occassionally on your way around so we can follow your exploits

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by YoloSF

Seriously, let's end this here. I went about this the wrong way and wasn't the friendliest, and for that I apologize. But this is a trip I'm really looking forward to, and when you see things like the responses above, it was easy to get discouraged.



I've learned my lesson and apart from my last sarcastic post at Silver to prove my point, I hope to learn from the experience others have had and give back to this forum.



Over and out.

Good on ya lad! Takes a good man to say that when people are jumping on you. Be patient, if you keep making a sincere request for assistance like above the forum will fall in behind you and offer support.

Just remember, what you are asking for is difficult - especially for someone without prior passagemaking experience.

I think if we can all just get over ourselves and recognize that regardless of what we say you are still going to gp for it and instead of trying to talk you out of it lets think creatively and provide more than one solution.

However an additional set of advice and recommendations should be received regarding prepping your boat as you are gling to want the "skills and spares" to keep moving and not get stuck in a place for months waiting for DHL.

I wouldmalso suggest that you have a logic tree of sorts for route variations in the various weather and geographical bottlenecks so that if your timing or the weather is off you do not throw the whole trip off.

Good luck!

[Captain Ludd]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

What leads you to believe we are old armchair sailors?
In your case and with this attitude, I suggest you go to:

Amazon.com: World Cruising Routes: 1000 Routes from the South Seas to the Arctic: Companion to World Cruising Handbook eBook: Jimmy Cornell: Kindle Store

and

Sailing a Serious Ocean: Sailboats, Storms, Stories and Lessons Learned from 30 Years at Sea: John Kretschmer: 9780071704403: Amazon.com: Books

A big thumbs up for World Cruising Routes

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Yolo, you might find either of the following of interest. Different routes and starting points, but the basic concept is similar:

Advice on Quick Circumnavigation — Noonsite

Ginni MacRobert, mother of 6, sets off on her own for an 18-month circumnavigation. « The Women and Cruising Blog

I particularly appreciate Ginni's quote:



and the transit timings for Oz and the Indian come from the guru himself.

i met ginni in mayotte in the comores islands on her 2006 circumnavigation
,after she had tied up to a tempory mooring i had laid a few days before..............

i did warn her that her anchor on her boat might be better than using my 35 kg anchor in 60 ft ft water with no chain!

the mooring was only supposed to hold a 20 ft sailboat!

lucky the weather was calm

Ginni MacRobert, mother of 6, sets off on her own for an 18-month circumnavigation. « The Women and Cruising Blog

[savoir]

I used to sail an old armchair but the darned thing wouldn't point so I got rid of it.

Sure was comfy though.

[w32honu]

Yolo,

Good on you for the apology and change of etiquette. I for one have posted in jest and light hearted humor. No offense intended.

If you sift through the extra comments and a bit of the noise you will find a handful of references (Cornell, OP of the world.....etc). There is your answer. In my opinion you will have to research this and decide for yourself which route and when. Only you can make these decisions as the skipper of your vessel. It is a big undertaking that you have embarked on. Nothing to take lightly. And nothing that a web forum can answer for you.

Good luck!!!

[Stu Jackson]

Yolo,

Just occurred to me after these recent posts that Captain Fatty Goodlander has written not only a few great books, but was a recurring contributor to Cruising World magazine. IIRC, he did a long, maybe two or three part article on going up the Red Sea and its approaches in a "convoy" a few years ago.

It might be worth your while to look for it on the cruising world website.

Good luck, but if it was my boat and my life, I wouldn't even think about it. Try seeing Captain Phillips for an idea of why not.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Yolo,

Just occurred to me after these recent posts that Captain Fatty Goodlander has written not only a few great books, but was a recurring contributor to Cruising World magazine. IIRC, he did a long, maybe two or three part article on going up the Red Sea and its approaches in a "convoy" a few years ago.

It might be worth your while to look for it on the cruising world website.

Good luck, but if it was my boat and my life, I wouldn't even think about it. Try seeing Captain Phillips for an idea of why not.

I've never understood how a convoy is supposed to help.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by cwyckham

I've never understood how a convoy is supposed to help.

It makes some people feel better that their death will be reported promptly? The pirates know that none of you are armed and all you can do is watch and talk on the radio but why should they care about that? Maybe those in a convoy plan to jump overboard before the pirates get there and hope another convoy boat picks them up and the pirates won' t then target that boat? I guess I don't understand it either. If I was a pirate, I'd love to see a whole bunch of yachts traveling together so I could "shop" around the whole fleet and steal all their stuff without having to make a whole bunch of trips out from shore.

[Randy]

I spent about 1 1/2 yrs in the Horn of Africa helping out with CTF 150 (the multinational antipiracy coalition). The point of convoys for commercial vessels as well as yachts was and is to facilitate monitoring by the limited defenses forces and it was effective. One warship with its helicopters could easily protect a large number of vessels during their transit through the areas of the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and east of Africa.

[Chasing Summer]

I'm up to post 8 ... great reading. Remember we've all been 27 once.
Suggested reading before you set sail:
Dove by Robin Lee Graham ... took him about 5 years
Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi ... took her about 3 years
By Way of the Wind by Jim Moore ... he made many long term stops along the way
Two on a Big Ocean by Hal Roth ... He circumnavigated the Pacific rim ... 18 month
and of course anything by Eric Hiscock

We're all just trying to help you make a very fun, exciting, and successful journey

My favorite by far is Hal Roth books because he sailed Spencer 35 and I have a Spencer 42 ... all his books are great not only for reading but for technical reading. After 50000 miles is a must to keep on the boat.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Randy

The point of convoys for commercial vessels as well as yachts was and is to facilitate monitoring by the limited defenses forces and it was effective.

As I recall the british couple that were kidnapped a few years had an RN ship within spitting distance when they were taken....
I think it was the same when the americans were shot dead in the not to distant past....

Sorry ... but I would rather take my chances with tsunamis.....

[Randy]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

As I recall the british couple that were kidnapped a few years had an RN ship within spitting distance when they were taken....

I think it was the same when the americans were shot dead in the not to distant past....



Sorry ... but I would rather take my chances with tsunamis.....

Can't disagree with that decision El. I certainly wouldn't advise transiting that area with a yacht and didn't mean to sound like I was.
Towards the OPs idea of taking that route I don't know of anyone who would.
I don't know about the English couple but the Americans had gone out on their own off of Oman and assistance was at least a day away. Pirates look for soft targets and commercial shipping is easier to defend in a variety of ways. Once hostages are taken, the risks rise exponentially.

[atoll]

here is a good account of mahidi,and gandalf travelling in convoy,i was about 18 hours behind them ,this one has a happy ending,for those thinking of travelling in convoy.

Violent Pirate Attack On Two Yachts Off Yemen — Noonsite