azores 2014 how safe is it?

[JPA Cate]

Conachair,

If you go back and look at ka4wja's posts on the "Atlantic Delivery" thread, he clearly states his weather sources. They appear to be excellent Atlantic coverage.

Ann

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Yes, this whole mandatory safety check on exit is a bit strange to my understanding of nautical protocol or law since its under another flag.

Hmmmmm... 'Flag state' v. 'Port state'....

Port state inspections were bought in back in the dream time so that, for example, ships under the Somali flag couldn't sail with just ' a competent person' in command and the ship just complying with Somali regs...... ( yep... lots of Somali ships out there in the late 60's/early 70's... most owned by PRC interests....)

Fr'example the Armada de Chile will -if they so desire- do a safety inspection on your yacht before issuing a 'zarpe'. No likee... no zarpeee...no saileee....simple as that.

What they don't do is insist on Chilean qualifications on foreign flagged yachts which is something to be thankful for

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by Palarran

My biggest mistake during our crossing from St. Maarten to the Azores was developing what I called rhumb line fever. We became so fixated with making the passage that when a 72 hour gale hit us we fought it for two days before running south. We should have turned southeast and run the first day.

"Rhumb line fever" - brilliant I will be using that term in the future. I think this is a common problem passages. We did the exact thing you describe on a passage in the South Atlantic. We were also so worried about approaching to far down current - when we were 7 days away still - that we took a hammering in a gale as well instead of running with it.

Foolish.

One can get lost in planning the future and not adequately respond to the moment when sailing, just like in life.

Edit:
We are very cautious with water as I now travel with little ones and they are very sensitive to dehydration, especially from diarrhea and vomiting. We always take 15 gallons of water in three jugs with bleach added as emergency. Since we also have a water maker this gives us enough time to clean and flush tanks or if a total failure enough time to get help and get the kids off the boat.

For us water issues and serious illness are the greatest concerns on long passages.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by barnaclejim

Me thinks that some come foolishly to the sea and some just have bad luck.

I feel there are a lot less foolish sailors and a lot more just bad luck. The thing is that afterwards people start calling the bad luck foolish.

But then based on forums everyone is foolish the same as no one knows how to anchor.

[chuckr]

actually i think last crossing season was a lot worse than the op said -- when we got to horta they had 3 boat watches out and later we talked to a charter capt who crosses each way every year and he said he knew of 5 boats that did not make it --
we are a 2 person crew and have no trouble with rest and watch keeping if we are careful to get our rest -- we took crew once and never again --
we left antigua on may 1 and the boats mentioned above left before us and we were ready to go but the wx was just not inviting -- we saw way to many potential issues from the long range noaa forecast that could spell problems -- it was a strange crossing year as we did not get to 38n and in fact barely got north of lat for horta and never had the winds behind us - the charter capt left a week after we did and said he had a great run --
the key to a good crossing is the wx -- just wait for a good wx window and never get in a rush --
as for the azores -- all we can say is wow -- we did 3 stops and would have stayed longer had not the schengren reared it ugly head --
but yes most boats - ours included needed repairs in horta --

[Boatguy30]

I would be interested in hearing about the marinas and cruising in the azores. Possibly living aboard and working there for a few years. Perhaps that should be a different thread.

As an aside, I have some friends delivering something like a 80' traditional Turkish wood dhow or something like that westbound across the Atlantic this spring. I asked them if their life insurance was paid up before they left.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Jedi, and the group:

We have always sailed doublehanded, and I disagree that exhaustion is always close behind one...

FWIW:
Bluewater Yacht Insurance (for instance) has several yacht insurance companies that will provide an annual policy that will include Transatlantic and Transpacific navigation.
They require up to date surveys including an up to date rigging inspection for sailing vessels.
Crew requirements are a minimum of three experienced sailors aboard that have prior blue water experience.

Cruising Insurance FAQ ➥ Bluewater Yacht Insurance- FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions | Answers

[robert sailor]

GordMay is correct at least in my experience for hull insurance. Liability should not be an issue.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by chuckr

actually i think last crossing season was a lot worse than the op said -- when we got to horta they had 3 boat watches out and later we talked to a charter capt who crosses each way every year and he said he knew of 5 boats that did not make it --
we are a 2 person crew and have no trouble with rest and watch keeping if we are careful to get our rest -- we took crew once and never again --
we left antigua on may 1 and the boats mentioned above left before us and we were ready to go but the wx was just not inviting -- we saw way to many potential issues from the long range noaa forecast that could spell problems -- it was a strange crossing year as we did not get to 38n and in fact barely got north of lat for horta and never had the winds behind us - the charter capt left a week after we did and said he had a great run --
the key to a good crossing is the wx -- just wait for a good wx window and never get in a rush --
as for the azores -- all we can say is wow -- we did 3 stops and would have stayed longer had not the schengren reared it ugly head --
but yes most boats - ours included needed repairs in horta --

when i posted this i found it very hard to find a list of last years casualties,unless you were looking for an actual boat name.

noonsite was useful,but due to the volume of news they archive, the scope of world coverage,and the international nature of the yachts involved,this was a difficult task for the time i allocated to writing the initial thread outline.

i thought by posting a thread such as this,now, it might be a good way to have some information all in one place from those embarking on the trip to leave some basic details regarding key factors about their vessel,planned route,ability to communicate,and skippers experiance level.

so should a situation arise a more in depth bio of the vessel would be available to SAR,rather than post event cries for any information regarding the vessel in distress as happend last year..

thanks for commenting

ie

[KDH]

On our first trip to the Azores, via Bermuda having departed St. Martin, we had trouble with lack of wind. We had a late May departure and a 16 day crossing (from Bermuda). The only repair we required was a broken shroud with a single broken strand. We had a crew of four. While we would take our son again as crew we would not pick up or hire crew again. We're more experienced now and have had no trouble with passages (14 days is the longest so far) that are only the two of us. There is a huge difference between having to sail to a schedule when you are delivering a boat and sailing your own boat with no schedule. The only time we've had trouble it was during the Caribbean 1500 and in my opinion that year the fleet should never have left when it did. Rallies, the ARC etc. in my opinion offer a false sense of security. In regards to the Azores the first time we only stayed 2 weeks and never left Horta. It took forever to get the repair done because there were so many boats waiting for repairs. So we went back and spent 5 weeks last year and loved it. In regards to contaminated water tanks in my opinion more spare water is better. We have two main tanks which are connected by the vent and we will be running seperate vents for each tank this year when we replace one. We also keep the seperate inflatable bladder we've been using as a replacement tank and 6 jerry cans on the rail. On the Atlantic crossing we had 30 gallons on the rail , 130 in the tanks, another 20 gallons in the cabin and 4 crew. The jerry cans were used to refill the main tank. We had 50 gallons of the secondary water tank when we arrived in Horta. No operable water maker as we didn't install it before we left.Now that it is installed the water from the water maker goes in a seperate jerry can, not the main tank. Lots of juice, pop etc. on board. Dehydration is a huge contributor to fatique and poor decision making and the easiest problem to avoid. Our biggest issue was a lack of wind and combination of lack of diesel storage. We only have a 65 gallon fuel tank and carry an additional 5 jerry cans on the rail.

[KDH]

FYI there are insurance companies that allow double handed crewing (IMIS for one) and our insurance will cover single handed passages of 24 hours or less.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

As an aside, I have some friends delivering something like a 80' traditional Turkish wood dhow or something like that westbound across the Atlantic this spring. I asked them if their life insurance was paid up before they left.

Do You mean Ayna Kiç or, may be, Gulet?
If built by Mehmet Usta for example, or by other really reputable builder I would rather expect the discount on premium than surcharge.
Hope Your friends are familiar with traditionally built wooden boats

[SaltyMonkey]

I don't know the approaches, which ones were more of a trap for loss and repair. West I assume?

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by DoubleWhisky

Do You mean Ayna Kiç or, may be, Gulet?
If built by Mehmet Usta for example, or by other really reputable builder I would rather expect the discount on premium than surcharge.
Hope Your friends are familiar with traditionally built wooden boats

I honestly don't know, they showed me a picture. Looked a bit like a Dutch sailing scow thing crossed with a panga, but possiblely somewhat more seaworthy.

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by KDH

FYI there are insurance companies that allow double handed crewing (IMIS for one) and our insurance will cover single handed passages of 24 hours or less.

Hey, your ID shows you as living in the azores, but then you mentioned just being their 5 weeks? I was just wondering the practicality of living board long term in the azores?

It appears American could get menial jobs, but at relatively high wages to cost of living on the Air Force base. But most yachting seems to be centered on the other island.