Longest sailing trip

[mariner 40]

What is the longest sailing adventure you have been on? Where did it start and end!!!

[Robert Gainer]

22 foot sail boat when I was 21 from RI to England solo. A longer trip but not my boat, Sailing Master on a West Country Ketch from England to Brazil by way of Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands, Gambia, Senegal Etc.
Robert Gainer

[Guillermo]

My 'longest sailing adventure' is a 37 footer. That's long enough.
From now on, I'll downsize.

[Eric Sponberg]

The longest voyage is probably unsung, by someone who has been living aboard for years. Who knows?

One interesting voyage that has been in the planning stages for years is Reid Stowe's effort to sail continuously around the world for 1,000 days.

http://www.1000days.net/

The reason for the voyage is because it will take astronauts about 1,000 days to reach Mars, if and when humans decide to go. The psychological impacts on the astronauts are unknown, and this voyage is meant to collect data on just such a time duration with humans isolated for that period of time--in contact by voice communication with the world, but not in physical contact with them.

I met briefly with Mr. Stowe back in Newport some years ago when this voyage was in the early planning stages. There were naval architectural questions to address on the vessel he was planning to use. The trip, as far as I know, has not happened yet, so it will be interesting to see it when it does.

Eric

[hansp77]

Eric,
I find that story very interesting and rather bizare.
If the whole 'psychological research for a trip to Mars' thing is the main reason for it, then it would seem quite flawed.
To think that the pyschological impacts of someone sailing in a boat around the world for 1000 days, with no direct pysical human contact will have the same (or even comparible) impacts that someone would face on a space voyage to Mars for 1000 days with no direct physical human contact is a most extreme reductionist peice of reasoning.

It seems ludicrous.

I mean you could set two people off, of the same age, from the same country, at the same time, in the exact same boats, and get two entirely different sets of psychological affects.
It is not only within the person themselves where differences will lie, but the influence of other factors on the body and mind of the individuals. Environmental, eg, Sunlight and vitamin D, fresh food, air, open space, gravity, radiation, etc..

Not only this, but the guy on the boat will know that if his boat has a catestrophic failure, then he will most probably be rescued. He would be aware of course, that at any time he could simply opt out, sail to the nearest port and touch some humans...
The guy in the space ship has none of these possibilities. Also, he has to deal with the psychological wheight of the return trip- if there is to be one.

Maybe Reid Stowe has simply found a cunning way to get someone to fund his circumnavigation.

[EDIT- 70 foot schooner, and views like this...
mmmm.... maybe just a little bit more pyschologically intersting and healthy than 1000 days "sitting in a tin can"...]

[Eric Sponberg]

Hansp77

I did not say it made any sense. At the time of my meeting with Mr. Stowe, there were some other bizare features of the trip that I am not at liberty to go into. I only throw this all out to show what some people are trying to do.

Eric

[hansp77]

Eric,
I am not critiscising you, or anything close to it.
I think it is a very interesting story even if I also think it makes no sense (this is hardly your fault).
Thanks for sharing it.Hans.

[darr]

Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmed departed Hoboken, NJ 21 April, 2007 at 3 pm Eastern. The website is being reconfigured (I believe) to reflect and better support their voyage.

I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the rest of the support team finishing up final preps for the voyage. My company is one of the many sponsors of this voyage and happy to say that they are finally underway.

Keep your eyes on www.1000days.net to track the voyage and its current position, as it will updated frequently with information being sent back by Reid and Soanya courtesy of a couple of the other sponsors who have provided Sat communications and positioning confirmation for them.

In addition, I will be posting a few of the pictures that I took on www.smallyachts.com as soon as I can.

[darr]

Spelling correction on Soanya Ahmad's name. I misspelled it in the previous post.

[Bergalia]

An old salt’s tale - small fry compared to the above - but the ‘longest adventurous journey’ I undertook (discounting my later years at sea) was in a small sailing dingy ‘Hobbit’ from Inverness in Scotland - down the Great Glen, north to the top of Scotland, east along the top, and then south back down to Inverness again. It would be in 1967. The exact distance is hard to estimate as I hugged the coast, coming ashore each night - but in time it took two months, much of that taken up with interviews by members of the media - Press, TV amd radio - all hoping perhaps that the next day they could report my untimely drowning.
Hobbit (and that hints at the era) was one of my earlier ‘recycling’ experiments. I had been given a large wooden wardrobe with splendid panelling - unfortunately a bit ‘wormy.’ In the pub someone suggested it might make a decent raft for the river (Ness). A bet naturally followed that I couldn’t float it across the river. Having taken a ‘dry white’ whisky - or two, I took up the bet - adding that I could sail it up the river to Loch Ness - and further.
I was given a month to prepare. Hobbit became a double skinned dinghy (lined with ping-pong balls and foam) some five feet six inches long, three and a half feet wide, with a draught of about nine inches. I rigged a small - but efficient lug sail (old tent) and a four foot retractable dagger board (which became part of ‘on tour’ my bed.) Overall it was like sitting in the cockpit of a small fighter aircraft (yes I once sat in a Spitfire).
Navigation - although hugging the coast - consisted of a scrolling chart (half my dad’s collection snipped into shape) and a hand-bearing compass. These, plus a portable radio were my only concessions to the 20th Century.
Under full sail in a stiff breeze she skipped along at about four knots. Rowing I could achieve five...
Throughout that June, July and August I had superb weather - apart from a couple of storms which ‘unfortunately’ confined me to the nearest pub. But I wouldn’t have missed it for all the luxury cruises in the world. And I made fifty quid from the bet.
That’s me with Hobbit (and the hair gives another clue to the era). The disembodied arm belongs to a local radio reporter.

[Trevlyns]

What a great story Bergalia! I can really identify with the simplistic approach. What are you doing sail wise now?

[Bergalia]

Thanks for the interest Trev. I've sent a reply in your private mail - otherwise Walrus will weigh in with 'boring....boring....' You know what these elderly people are like....

[Trevlyns]

Sure do, pal - I'm one myself!!

[Bergalia]

No, no Trev - we're talking Walrus...really, really old.....

[safewalrus]

No Bergalia he's even older than that, but I only knew God, you knew his father!