Turkey to Australia

[frankie46]

I'm about to buy a Lagoon 400 in Turkey and plan to sail it to Australia via Gibraltar and Panama. I would appreciate any advice on the trip.
When is the optimum time of the year to cross for Gibraltar to the Caribbean.
I have a couple of friends that are willing to come along for part of the trip, however they are semi retired bulk carrier Masters. I need a person with experience on sailing cats, perferably with RYA cert.

My previous experience:

• During the seventies crewed on cruising yachts in Sydney to Hobart races, not as a skipper which is a whole different ball game.
• 1989 bought a 52 ft. ketch and sailed the East coast of Australia with my wife and son for two years.
• 1990 went into partnership on a 35 metre 250 passenger motor cat doing whale watching off Port Stephens mostly 30 miles off coast.
• Eventually obtained a masters ticket for a vessel up to 80 metres and worked teaching Masters at Maritime College.
• Did a few deliveries mostly motor boats, one of note was delivering a 35 metre Wave Piercer Japan to Brisbane, had to divert 200 NM to dodge a cyclone.

Most of my "skippering" experience has been on large motor vessels.

I'm 60 years old and when I tell people about my experience they say I must know what I am doing, well I have learnt enough to know that I really don't know much at all.

Thanks for listening

[mr336]

Congrats on the new gig. Care to share your travel plans? Are you bee lining it back to Aussie or hanging in the Med for a while and takin your sweet time back home?

It must have been worth the savings to purchase that far away or there weren't many options in the Caribbean? Cheers and good luck.

MIke

[boatman61]

Hi.. congrats on your new boat..
I would suggest you close the deal ASAP and start heading West by mid September at the latest.. things start going to **** in the Med October onwards and you've a 2.5K trip to Gib for starters.
Go South of Sicily and Sardinia aiming for Mallorca.. keep at least 100 miles away from the N African coast.. not so much danger but the patrol boats out off Tunisia/Algeria/Morocco can be a pain in the butt.
From Mallorca head for Ibiza then the Mainland and on to Gib..
Once you get to Gib its a relatively easy 6-7day run down to Las Palmas.. save any major outfitting/provisioning till you get to the Canaries.. VAT is less than on the Continent and there's good chandleries and supermarkets there.. the ARC's make it worth the while for them to be well stocked..
VAT can be claimed back before departure from the Canaries.
From there I'd head for the Cap Verdes and make the crossing late December/January.. the Trades are steadier and near zero chance of bad weather.
Personally I'd aim for landfall at St Martin where there's once again cheap and excellent chandlers and its a straightforward downhill run of 1000nm to Panama.. has the advantage of keeping you North of the crap upto 100 miles off Columbia..

[MarkJ]

I agree with Boatmans advice. Except leave Canaries late November, tes a bit early, but you can have Christmas and New Year in St Barts

By the time you get to the Canaries you wont need extra crew.

Getting out of the Med as early as possible is important.

[savoir]

I'm wondering which would be more entertaining - a boat full of bulk carrier masters or a boat full of naval officers.

[Kenomac]

I'm going to recommend taking your time and spending the next 5-10 years exploring the Med. Or at least 2-3 years at the very last. What's your hurry?

[MarkJ]

Then 5 to 10 in the Caribbean, and the Pacific is worth the same...

[savoir]

There is also the minor question of whether the boat is fitted out for passage making. If it is in Turkey then it is probably ex charter making the answer " No ".

Could be a big project. A few months in a Turkish boatyard wouldn't surprise.

[frankie46]

[QUOTE=savoir;2190357]I'm wondering which would be more entertaining - a boat full of bulk carrier masters or a boat full of naval officers.

Both about the same, a few years ago I had the misfortune of skippering a motor cat on a 5 hour charter cruise on Sydney harbour full of armchair generals from Maritime safety, about 100 people including partners. ( didn't Gilligan do a 3 hour cruise.

After a few drinks I had about 20 people in the cockpit all with differing opinions about what I should be doing and questions about the boat. Eventually I kicked them out and locked the door, saying that under Australia's new Terrorism laws, passengers aren't allowed in the cockpit, I made that up but only one of them commented that he was unaware of that law.

Although it didn't go down too well when, to avoid waiting for a yacht race to pass our bows, I went against a cardinal mark. I knew I had at least 3 metres of water under the keel the armchair Masters didn't know. Let me tell ya, they should have worn their brown corduroy trousers that day.

I found most of the guys with experience on large ships just can't grasp the fact that a catamaran doesn't need 10 metres of water to float and it won't fall over as easily as a monohull.

Thanks for the post, love the icons

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by savoir

I'm wondering which would be more entertaining - a boat full of bulk carrier masters or a boat full of naval officers.....

A wheelbarrow would be more use on board than either of the above

Originally Posted by frankie46

the fact that a catamaran doesn't need 10 metres of water to float and it won't fall over as easily as a monohull.....

Oh dear, now you've done it......

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by savoir

There is also the minor question of whether the boat is fitted out for passage making. If it is in Turkey then it is probably ex charter making the answer " No ".

Could be a big project. A few months in a Turkish boatyard wouldn't surprise.

I'm curious to know what could take so long to prepare the boat for what effectively sounds like a delivery.

A couple of months preparing for a comfortable live aboard, I can believe that.

[savoir]

I can't be specific without seeing the boat but these are possibilities.

spare anchor, extra chain, extra rode, jacklines, harnesses, harness anchor points, quality lifejackets, spare propane tank plus mounting, jerry cans for diesel plus mounting, rebuild kit for every pump on the boat, service both diesels, all kinds of spare light bulbs, spare sails, maybe upgrade chartplotter depending on what is there now, add AIS, buy galley stuff, buy groceries (that's a 3 day job when you start from zero), service autopilot, strip and rebuild heads, buy linen and blankets, test compasses and maybe pay for turning, inspect all fixed and running rigging, buy engine spares like oil filters, oil, impellers, make up anchor bridle and/or snubber, buy dinghy and outboard, paint bottom, fit SSB . . . . . that'll do.

Maybe some of the other boat systems don't work and need replacing but I can't be specific there. Whatever needs doing, what point is there in sailing past a place with cheap labor so you can hurry to a place with expensive labor. On top of that the Australian tax man will be there waiting at the dock with his hand out. The later the boat arrives the cheaper the tax gets.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by savoir

I can't be specific without seeing the boat but these are possibilities.

spare anchor, extra chain, extra rode, jacklines, harnesses, harness anchor points, quality lifejackets, spare propane tank plus mounting, jerry cans for diesel plus mounting, rebuild kit for every pump on the boat, service both diesels, all kinds of spare light bulbs, spare sails, maybe upgrade chartplotter depending on what is there now, add AIS, buy galley stuff, buy groceries (that's a 3 day job when you start from zero), service autopilot, strip and rebuild heads, buy linen and blankets, test compasses and maybe pay for turning, inspect all fixed and running rigging, buy engine spares like oil filters, oil, impellers, make up anchor bridle and/or snubber, buy dinghy and outboard, paint bottom, fit SSB . . . . . that'll do.

A couple of weeks especially after you skip the bottom paint and don't waste your time and money installing an SSB.

Rebuilding heads seems overkill, especially on a boat with a minimum of 2 heads. Just carry spares.

Originally Posted by savoir

Maybe some of the other boat systems don't work and need replacing but I can't be specific there. Whatever needs doing, what point is there in sailing past a place with cheap labor so you can hurry to a place with expensive labor.

As already pointed out, they have a long way to sail just to get to the launching point and it's better to start the first leg when the weather suits

Originally Posted by savoir

On top of that the Australian tax man will be there waiting at the dock with his hand out. The later the boat arrives the cheaper it gets.

Not that I've heard. Unless you are expecting the AUD to strengthen making the purchase price seem cheaper

[savoir]

The Australian tax man will be wanting 15%, payable immediately, plus a few potential extras. There are plenty of threads on this if you want the details.


Sailing to Spain early might be a good idea. That would allow them to figure out what needs immediate attention. I don't know the boatyard labor costs in Spain or the Canaries but I do know that labor in Australia costs plenty.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by savoir

The Australian tax man will be wanting 15%, payable immediately, plus a few potential extras. There are plenty of threads on this if you want the details.

Obviously.......

My point is that it won't get cheaper. If the purchase is recent enough and they believe that the price was genuine and the boat has not undergone upgrades to increase it's value, then they will use the purchase price is my understanding. They will certainly not allow depreciation because you take a few extra months.