200 Mile-Per-Day Bluewater Boats

[Sandero]

IIRC my best 24r hrs was 170 between NY and Bermuda. We must have lucked the right location and got a lift from a cold eddy and the winds were strong from the NW. We good conditions I like to hit 150 for 24 hrs which is respectable for a 29.5 LWL.

BTW your waterline increases as you heel!

[cdennyb]

try a look at the MacGregor 65, slim in the hips, long in the legs, fast on the water.

[rneun]

My best was 196 mile day singlehanding to Hawaii from La Paz in a Starrat 45 under a RVG self steering gear!! I still wish I had not sold that boat

[Randy]

Since this is a cruising forum does that rule out the racers? Even then with waterline length it still takes favorable wind conditions to be able to produce those miles.

Somewhere I read that the average worldwide windspeed is 10 kts and if that's true, isn't it difficult to average 200 mile days consistently over repeated passages?

[KairosKona]

Randy,

Yes! It's real tough to make 200MPD. I posted a link to a great article on page one of this post that puts it all in clear perspective!

David

[Ocean Girl]

SO WHAT IS THE FASTEST SOLO CIRCUMNAVIGATION? 90 DAYS? (MONOS)

[roverhi]

We did 3 days runs within a mile or two of 180 miles, through the water measured by a Walker Log. Two of those runs were with a following current so probably easily exceded 200 miles. Average for 10,000+ miles was 118 nautical miles per day with almost no engine use, however.

Aloha
Peter O.

[roverhi]

Forgot, that was in a Westsail 32, you know the 'Wetsnail'

Aloha
Peter O.

[KairosKona]

Hey Peter!

Noticed you are in Kona! Used to live there and sure miss it! How'd you ever get a slip for your Pearson 35 in Honokohau Marina! LOL

David

[Ocean Girl]

Westsails are great sailors and not at all the snails people call em, I have had owners say they just don't point well.
Peter O. have you tried anything that helps their pointing abilities?
E

[donradcliffe]

In fully crewed race boats, my best day was 330 miles, in a Santa Cruz 50 on the transpac--no one got any sleep. Its 2225 miles to Hawaii, and the monohull record is 6 days and 16 hours, for an average day of 333 miles. The multihull record is 5 days and 9 hours for a 414 mile per day average.

Doublehanded crusing on my Beneteau First 456, my best run was from Tonga to Fiji--485 miles in 2 days 8 hours, for a daily average of 208. I had fun, but it was blowing 25-35 with 10-12 ft waves and the admiral complained the whole time.

Comfort and safety are inversely proportional to boat speed in any boat. If you want to push hard and go fast, you will probably have to go racing with the boys. Its also a little crazy to sail on the edge when you are short-handed--if something breaks, you want a full crew to deal with the aftermath.

[imagine2frolic]

Was it Stan Honey who did the Transpac in 8 days+ on a Cal 40? That's cooking, and single-handed too........i2f

[roverhi]

We stopped in Kona on the way back from SoPac, dropped the anchor and it's still down there 34 years later. Our Westsail named Honu is still in Honokohau harbor. Like a dumby, I gave up the slip when I sold the boat. Solved the waiting list problem there, when I bought the Pearson, by keeping it Alameda, lot's of slips relatively inexpensive. The commute to the boat is a bit lengthy and has gotten a bit pricey as of late. I worked for Aloha Airlines until they went belly up so the commute used to be a little long but the price was right. When I checked on getting a slip in Honokohau recently, they asked what my actuarial life span was. Turnover is about a slip a year with a waiting list stretching close to 10 years. You can get a mooring in Kailua Bay but it's rolly and dangerous for much of the winter.

The secret of getting a W32 to go to weather in light air with a chop is called Volvo. If we had to do that, we turned on the engine and let it tick over at about 1500 rpm and motorsailed at 5+ knots. We very seldom used the engine, however. We did often outpoint and outfoot boats and were accused of using the engine when we weren't. They will not point up with a racing boat in any conditions. The will sail as close to the wind as I car to go and do it relatively comfortably as long as you have some wind. Had to beat into the Marquesas in force 4-5 conditions. Great way to end a 24 day passage. Going to weather is a point of sail that is much better experienced in a bar than on the water.
Aloha
Peter O
Pearson 35

[KairosKona]

Ya, The only way to get a slip in that harbor is to BUY it with a corporation/commercial permit attached to a boat! I see them all the time on Pacific Boats and Yachts website. If I had the scratch, I'd buy the slip/boat and sell the boat to put what I really wanted in it, but it would be costly!

Mahalo & ALoha Peter,

David

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Since David has gotten his answer maybe we can shift the discussion a bit (if it ok?) to tell about the times we broke 200 mile days.

No cheating monos only we don't need the multi guys rubbing it in they are allowed to sit back and smugly/smirk at our posts though.

The only true two hunded mile days, though I've come close a lot, was on a Little Harbor 52 she had a 80 footish mast height from the water line. Black Tie 1992 Little Harbor 52’ (sister ship) It was on a down hill run from St.Thomas to Eluthera Bahamas. We had to hand steer due to problems with the autopilot (NO ONE WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT!). My favorite memories was the night watches, hearing the breaking seas behind me and above, feeling the lift of the stern, counter steering, and then screaming down the wave, bottom of the wave the rudder goes slack, get ready for th next wave. Laughing all the way! The best day was 224 miles in 24 hours. sweet

Me at the helm

It was a "good old boat," over 30 years old.

Of course, there may have been 2 hulls involved. And the approach of Isabel helped.

And if you think I would take that boat blue water, your nuts.

My new cat (see avitar), a blue water boat, is a little bit faster than a mono of the same length - sort of like a 32' boat that can keep up with 36-40 footers. But it is not screaming fast. Just a comfortable 9 knot boat.