Atlantic route

[p.hammar]

Right, here's a topic for all you deep sea sailors;

Say that someone was bent on the idea of crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to America and return straigt away. He starts from Scandinavia and has decided to go north of the British isles. His scandinavian home port might be iced in until early march (there might be ways around this) and he is aware of the hurricane season so he realizes that he is pressed for time. Still he wants to complete this journey before he gets to old and to lazy. On this particular journey he is not concerned with destinations and experiencing places - he wants to do it as someone climbs a mountaintop, for the challenge and the experience. He has a good boat that he knows well and that is sturdy and uncomplicated and he has sailed it in blue water before, only not the Atlantic.
Reaching any point in the Americas, from Maine to the Carribbean, will do for him and conclude his feat. He wants to minimize the risk of fog, icebergs and hurricanes. He and his boat are quite happy sailing upwind if need be.
He will listen, with interest, to expressed opinions about what other people think he should do instead of this, but will treasure more concrete and practical suggestions for his actual plan.
Now say that person is you, and this childish and obnoxious idea was yours, whether you like it or not, which port would you aim for, which route would you take and how would you scedule your crossing.

kindly

P.R.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by p.hammar

Right, here's a topic for all you deep sea sailors;

Say that someone was bent on the idea of crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to America and return straigt away. He starts from Scandinavia and has decided to go north of the British isles. His scandinavian home port might be iced in until early march (there might be ways around this) and he is aware of the hurricane season so he realizes that he is pressed for time. Still he wants to complete this journey before he gets to old and to lazy. On this particular journey he is not concerned with destinations and experiencing places - he wants to do it as someone climbs a mountaintop, for the challenge and the experience. He has a good boat that he knows well and that is sturdy and uncomplicated and he has sailed it in blue water before, only not the Atlantic.
Reaching any point in the Americas, from Maine to the Carribbean, will do for him and conclude his feat. He wants to minimize the risk of fog, icebergs and hurricanes. He and his boat are quite happy sailing upwind if need be.
He will listen, with interest, to expressed opinions about what other people think he should do instead of this, but will treasure more concrete and practical suggestions for his actual plan.
Now say that person is you, and this childish and obnoxious idea was yours, whether you like it or not, which port would you aim for, which route would you take and how would you scedule your crossing.

kindly

P.R.

Follow the vikings:

Around norways southern coast up to the Faroes, further to iceland, past the tip of greenland, curve down to Newfoundland.

Either back the same way, or sail down the american coast , turn and go for the Azores, then back to the baltic.

The Vikings knew what they were doing.

Season - start late may - early june (still risk of heavy gales)

return - August

[p.hammar]

Thank you Carsten for your reply. This is a tempting route, especially if one can seek favorable winds up north (and dress accordingly). I am however very discouraged by the thought of ice bergs. How do you cope with that? Only sail daytime? But what about growlers?

per

[carstenb]

on this site

Atlas of Pilot Charts for the Major Oceans of the World

you can download free pilot charts for all months for the entire world. yes there is a very real risk of ice.

Alternative to the suggested route is to leave from the northern tip of scotland and follow great circle route 1626 Pentland Firth which will bring you in around Nova Scotia and skirt the edges of the worst of the ice.

I suspect the viking frequently hove to during the night, although in June at those high lats, it will never be truly dark, so you should have a good chance of seeing any bergs or growlers and take evasive action

It will be a risky undertaking. If you have radar, that will naturally also help

carsten

[Orchidius]

I am by no means an expert, but I'm working on routing a trip from Belgium to the Caribbean. I'm unfamiliar with the weather and current patterns up north, but the direct route is rarely the fastest/most comfortable one. You might not be all that much slower working your way down to the Azores and crossing from there taking advantage of the currents and tradewinds. The weather will be more comfortable, there will be no risk of icebergs and there's no real need to stop in every port like many cruisers do. You could power through the whole thing just as well...

I understand the challenge and experience involved in the northern route though, and the above is merely one of many, many options .

[psk125]

We sailed from Connecticut to Ireland in June and encountered about a week of fog in a 22 day great-circle trip (northern arc). We also ran into three gales. We stayed well south of any ice lines. Fog in Maine seems to clear off more into the late July/August timeframe. Weather lately seems to be seasonally quite unsettled compared to past history, so "good" periods may be difficult to find.