Sailing Across the Atlantic Ocean Solo

[macymacysails]

I am looking for advice on how to approach my planning process in sailing across the Atlantic Ocean solo west to east in the summer of June 2023.



This is a big proposition...and it is a big goal of mine. Here is some background:


I have been sailing for the past 1.5 years typically going out in the San Francisco Bay doing weekend overnight sails with my dad on 30-40ft cruisers. I am a decently proficient sailor, and I know a lot for the amount of time I have been sailing. However, I lack in making big decisions on the boat and some boat handling. I also never have night sailed or done any really big sailing trip.


I had been thinking of spending this upcoming summer doing sailing related activities until the idea had been sparked in my mind that I should sail across the Atlantic solo... except I have so many questions and do not know where to begin.


Some dilemmas:


-I have to outfit a 35-40ft boat for offshore sailing, and I have no experience doing this.
-I have to find an experienced sailor in the San Francisco Bay to help me out and sail with me on longer trips as I gain new skills especially in night sailing and handling the boat in heavy weather.
-I need to avoid hurricanes and foul weather but still leave to cross the Atlantic west to east sometime in June or July.
-I am very sure there are other things I am not thinking of...


All in all, I am in need of some advice. Anything pointing me in the right direction will help. Thanks.

[Pandor]

I’d start by adding another 5-10 years to your planned departure date. I don’t mean to be dismissive, but solo sailing long distances is very hard. Outfitting a 40 footer is hard and expensive. An Atlantic crossing is very hard. All three together… well you get the picture.

Don’t drop the dream. Just modify it with a better timeframe.

[Zanshin]

I tend to agree with @Pandor, you might wish to modify your plans a bit. I am a singlehander and after several long solo trips such as multiple 8-10 days from the Caribbean to Virginia/Newport and back trip I can confirm that it isn't easy. Lots can go wrong, on my last trip I hurt myself 3 days in and was in pain for 5 days and could barely crawl around the boat. It turns out I'd broken 3 vertebrae and was lucky to not have been paralyzed.

Finding the right boat and outfitting her is expensive. Just like when planning a project, take your worst estimate and double it. That'll be the minimum price. Then you need to get a feel for the boat, done by sailing her. Since you live in CA but plan on crossing the Atlantic that poses a bit of a logistical problem.

There are very specific optimal times of year to cross the Atlantic in either direction. The standard book for passage planning has been Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes and I recommend getting it. Perhaps you could start on the US east coast and sail to the Caribbean. That would give you a bit of practice. Then sail from there to Europe (I'm assuming you want the Med, not Norway) at the appropriate time of year. June or July would work for that, although most yachts depart the Caribbean in early May and head to Europe.

[double u]

Troll!

[Sailer_Med]

Why are you wasting time? Now is the time to go. Don't worry about the boat, take your dad's he probably won't even miss it until next spring and by then...

You can sail down the PacCoast to gain valuable skills while avoiding the winter storms then through the canal and up to the Carib. You'll be just in time to try outrunning hurricane season. It'll be no big deal to you though after a winter off shore in the pacific.

It'll put you right on track for a 1 year departure. I wouldn't even try to get an experienced partner, it'll just interfere with your growth.

Next question?

[Dogscout]

Channel your inner Sam Holmes!

[DougR]

Seeing as you seem to be in San Francisco , check out the SF SSS.......
San Francisco Singlehanded Sailing Society. They have several publications available about single handed sailing, conduct single and double handed races,(local and to Hawaii) and will be a great resource for you. Good Luck!

[Cwens]

Originally Posted by double u

Troll!

Yeah. Sometimes we could maybe be well served by being a tiny bit more like the Sailing Anarchy crowd....

[boatman61]

Fly to the Caribe January 2023 and buy this boat
https://bviyachtsales.com/yacht/35-dufour-apogee/
then sail her East to St Martin which is the cheapest place in the Caribe to get her updated to your requirements..
Mid April to mid May, by which time you should have her sorted and sailed enough to be confident handling her head out NE for the Azores.
Pick a window when the winds are S of E and go for it.. 19 to 24 days should see you clearing into Horta where I recommend letting your hair down in Peters..

[SV_Sweet_Ruca]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Fly to the Caribe January 2023 and buy this boat
https://bviyachtsales.com/yacht/35-dufour-apogee/
then sail her East to St Martin which is the cheapest place in the Caribe to get her updated to your requirements..
Mid April to mid May, by which time you should have her sorted and sailed enough to be confident handling her head out NE for the Azores.
Pick a window when the winds are S of E and go for it.. 19 to 24 days should see you clearing into Horta where I recommend letting your hair down in Peters..

Boatman6 has got it right!

You can do anything you set your mind to.

When we crossed from St. Maarten to Horta we helped a friend with weather routing and sail trim via sat phone. It was his first sailboat, bought in Grenada, refit, provisioned in SXM and off he went. He made it!

With that said, to do what you want to do is very hardcore. Especially singlehanded (suggest going crewed your first time). It is not easy. It is a huge money, time, and mental commitment. It is a real challenge, you could die, or worse put your rescuers lives at risk.

Get some experienced offshore sailors to mentor you or good experienced friends to guide you. Listen to them. Read all the books. Get out on the water. Practice boathandling. Learn how everything works and how to fix it when it breaks (it will break). You will need to up your skills very quickly.

If you really want to do it though, just go already!

[A la carte]

As I began to make passages with crew over many years while building experience, my biggest lessons and conclusions were:

- Listen to advice but make your own decisions... Your decision and your consequences.
- Dealing with mechanical issues enroute that required repair or work around. I found it important to understand systems and possess skill to repair or create alternatives.
- Resting whenever opportunity arises; fatigue is an enemy. (Not sure how to address this on a long solo passage.)
- Have someone on shore as a coach or helper for weather watching and logistics should you need to divert for repairs. Usually not necessary but very helpful when necessary. This requires a method of communication (i.e., SSB or Sat phone).
- Seems like it takes about 3 days off shore to get into a comfortable routine.

Experience is always helpful. Some 3-5 day passages, even as crew, would be fun and educational.

[wholybee]

I think it is a very doable goal. Mostly it will depend on your budget and how fast can you spend a lot of money.

Get ahold of the oyra, an offshore racing organization out of San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately, the sailing season is over for this year, but they still are a good local for you resource, and you can maybe get some sailing in with them next year before you depart.

They have an equipment list and requirements for entering offshore races, and you should look towards those to equip your boat. Their equipment list is based on US Sailing's SER.

There are also Safety at Sea certifications that are held a few times per year in the bay area for offshore sailors. The in-person one is much preferred over the online version, as you get to jump in a swimming pool and deploy and enter a liferaft, launch flares, and play with EPIRBS, DSC radios, and the like that you normally can't do unless it's a real mayday.

https://www.ussailing.org/competitio...l-regulations/

Get on some local Bay Area sailing facebook groups and look to crew. You missed the Baja Ha Ha, that would have been a good one. Maybe you can crew a delivery. Or just an overnight to Santa Cruz or Monterey from the Bay. People often will sail out around the Farallons and back. That can be surprisingly difficult at times, and good prep for ocean sailing.

Study weather. Ocean sailing isn't any worse than the bay if you stay out of bad weather, which is often possible with good planning of your departure.

[wholybee]

Also, re: single handing. Single handing is not hard. (I singlehanded about half of my circumnavigation) But, it requires practice and being very familiar with your boat, how it handles conditions, when to reef, and to not make silly mistakes during maneuvers. It will be difficult and not particularly wise to jump on a new to you boat and single hand a crossing. So, as much single handing as you can get on the boat, sailing around the Caribbean, etc. first the better.

[qwerme]

If I was in your position, given you don't have a boat yet.

I would travel to Europe, buy a boat there, sail around the med and all over Europe for a couple of years and then cross the Atlantic to bring the boat back.

[Pete7]

MMS hasn't been back since his first post. Suggest we move on.

Pete