Rethinking the smallest boat circumnavigation

[BATAAN]

The beach is full of ignorant dreamers looking out at that horizon, yearning for 'freedom', and thinking some boat (insert boat obsession here) will give it to them.
They are almost always mis-informing themselves, as there is no more merciless slave owner than the ocean over boat owners.

[Milehog]

Originally Posted by die_dunkelheit

There was a Santana 22 on craigslist for $500 USD 2 weeks ago.
A boat like that and you could sail to Hawaii to get a taste for passagemaking, I know that there have been a bunch of those sailed from California to Hawaii so a boat like that could be the PROVEN FOUNDATION by which you learn to handle yourself and your boat on an ocean.
...

I had one. They are good, well balanced boats and they stand up to strong wind better than just about anything in their class. One of Gary Mull's more successful designs.

[TeddyDiver]

I think it's better to wait a decade or two, take cruise to north pole and sail around it with an optimist cut half shorter to make this new record harder to beat..

[Yobarnacle]

http://blog.travelcountry.com/blog/f...australia.html

How about circumnavigating Australia? Be the youngest, or the tallest, or the Australian who did it.
Then you'll have credentials to attract financial supporters.

http://bobsailsoz.com.au/

[die_dunkelheit]

That would be an interesting regatta.. A handful of races around the various large islands or groups of islands in the world. Australia, Greenland, the British Isles, the Hawaiian Islands... Maybe somebody with a ton of money should look into that.

[mydauphin]

Circumnavigating Australia seems a big enough challenge for anyone.

[PAR]

Originally Posted by mydauphin

Circumnavigating Australia seems a big enough challenge for anyone.

I mentioned this in one of my posts, but of course I've never offered him any good advice as far as he's concerned and knowing what I have posted, suggests his comprehension level is quite low, possibly oxygen deprivation induced.

[whitepointer23]

a bit off topic , but do any of know what became of the round the world power boat rally or race, i am not sure what it was called but i remember reading about it a while back, they were going to be 1 design displacement launchs around 7 meters long with small yanmar diesels, it was quite interesting but i lost track of it. just wondering if anything became of it.

[Nick.K]

Originally Posted by whitepointer23

a bit off topic.

Don't worry about that, time for a change of subject.

[viking north]

And on that note for all you multihullers out there I just learned a tid bit- Nigel Tetley was the first to circumnavigate the world in a multihull --The first to do it non stop-- and to boot in a non specialized --non designed for this purpose craft. He did it it in his regular family live aboard plywood trimaran ketch--Victress in the first ever Golden Globe Race. Taking nothing away from Knox Johnston- This was a amazing feat in a highly untried class of vessels.

[pdwiley]

Originally Posted by viking north

And on that note for all you multihullers out there I just learned a tid bit- Nigel Tetley was the first to circumnavigate the world in a multihull --The first to do it non stop-- and to boot in a non specialized --non designed for this purpose craft. He did it it in his regular family live aboard plywood trimaran ketch--Victress in the first ever Golden Globe Race. Taking nothing away from Knox Johnston- This was a amazing feat in a highly untried class of vessels.

What year was the circumnavigation?

PDW

[Nick.K]

Originally Posted by viking north

I just learned a tid bit- Nigel Tetley was the first to circumnavigate the world in a multihull .

Have you read about Donald Crowhust in the same race in his catamaran
(back on topic again...suicidal obsession with a sailing record!)
A tragic but gripping history.

[JosephT]

Year was 1968. I've found the best book on this race is below...very exciting read to say the least.



http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Madmen-...dp/0060957034/

Warning: Reading this book might give you crazy ideas of solo circumnavigation LOL. As I recall Tetley's trimaran actually sank in the mid-Atlantic just shy of the finish, but they gave him credit for the circumnavigation. Sadly, years later he ended up comitting suicide (as did Crowhorst during the race). It's a book of trials and tribulations. RKJ (Knox Johnson) & Moitessier faired best during the race. Their boats held up quite well as did their emotions.

It takes a special breed of person to do a solo circumnavigation. It takes a good boat and a good brain. Even then it's a risk.

[Nick.K]

Originally Posted by JosephT

RKJ (Knox Johnson) & Moitessier faired best during the race. Their boats held up quite well as did their emotions.

It takes a special breed of person to do a solo circumnavigation. It takes a good boat and a good brain. Even then it's a risk.

Both men were very experienced on the sea and in small boats and perhaps more importantly did it for the challenge and love of the sea, so much so in Moitessier's case that he passed up on the trophy to continue sailing even though he could have easily won it......take note S.P

[JosephT]

Agreed. Both of those chaps really loved the sea...particulary Moitessier. He was in his element and I think the pic below on his wiki page really sums things up.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Moitessier

RKJ also recently did another solo circumavigation in the Vellux 5 Oceans race & set the record for the oldest person to do it. As I recall he said he would "never" do that again and about had it with the circumavigation bit.

Moitessier, if here were still with us, would have probably done it until his final days and disappeard like Joshua Slocum.

Vito Dumas is way up there with Moitessier on his circumnavigation...very emotionally grounded, high spirits & well prepared.



All these guys have written books too and their on-board reading libraries were extensive.