Rethinking the smallest boat circumnavigation

Yep, no good if you can't big-note yourself. Look at me !!!!!!!!!!

 

The funny thing is there is no record to set. As far as I can tell no organization tracks the smallest boat to do anything. If they used to, they seem to have stopped due to safety concerns.

 

Nothing, except that you said that you *couldn't*, which is demonstrably incorrect. It implied that you had no choice in the matter but to go the 10' boat route.

Now, you're saying that you *won't* live in a port or get a bigger boat, regardless of the finances etc. Which in essence reduces to "I want to do this because I want to do this" which is fine. Idiotic, and I doubt you'll actually go anywhere at all in a 10' boat, but fine. There was a guy like you on Duckworks some years ago, he had the same idea. Didn't make it out of the launch bay.

Perhaps having a sub-branch of something like Sports Bet would be useful. Some people could bet on you succeeding, others on you failing, you could bet on yourself and help finance the whole thing. It'd provide some entertainment anyway....

PDW

 

A record is a record, whether an organisation or institution has a little book to write it down in or not.

I dont want a medal, or a guiness record.

But within the micro sailing world, serge is the champ, sven is a contender and my main competition.

 

Good post

 

It actually better than good - it is fantastic

 

pity larger fonts dont make your posts any better

 

there are lots of people who live on their boats around australia. i know 2 couples that spend the winter up north in w.a and the summer down south.

 

Lucky them. I know a few older couples who sold up and went cruising. Well earned after a lifetime of work.

The only young cruiser i met was a trustfund baby from london.

 

1 of those couples are in there 20's. its a cheap way to live. i used to meet people cruising all the time when i lived in w.a.

 

Guys give up on this Guy, he will not build or buy a boat.
He just makes excuses and blames others, he says he has the money, but he doesn't have the will to do it. $1000 will buy you a boat, just do it or forever whine.

 

agreed

i will do it, forums are a waste of time

 

Yes they do
Because they catch the attention of those otherwise not paying attention.

These guys are right stoned.. Buy a used boat, if for no other reason than to learn what the hell you're getting yourself into, and dude they can be super cheap sometimes...
There was a Santana 22 on craigslist for $500 USD 2 weeks ago.
1 jib, 1 150% genoa 2 mains and a spinny. needed decks repainted.
That is an example of how much a steal is available if you look.
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.

And did I or anyone else mention OCEAN. Who's going to come save you in the middle of the Pacific if you start taking on more water than you can bail? EPIRB? Nobody will get there before the water wins, and the water always wins... That is the real value in learning in a cheap used boat, you know what to do when the bad stuff happens. Don't look at it like settling for a used boat, look at it like a stepping stone.
A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step...

 

First thing they said in school

The Sea Cares For No One!!! in large type

 

As mentioned, the point is that you can save money for cruising faster when you live on a boat.

Back on your original topic, before I walk away from the thread.

Living on deck is extremely difficult at times. When sailing offshore, you need to sleep in the daytime as well as at night - good luck sleeping with the sun reflecting off the water on a calm and hot day into your eyes and burning your skin. Good luck sleeping even at night when it's blowing 30 knots and waves are breaking over the boat and the cold water is finding its way down your neck, up your sleeves, up your ankles, etc.

Yes, people have windsurfed long distances and slept on their board, but they suffered major problems with sunburn and similar problems such as salt water sores, chafing and blindness - and they did not sail around the world and they took much less time than a 10 footer would.

I'm confident that you could withstand a gale on deck of a 10 footer, just as the windsurfers did. You can also survive on a raft for weeks, and you can circumnavigate in an open boat. It is extremely tough and as far as I know, those who have done it by choice are almost all very experienced.

As others have pointed out, if it is cold once you get wet you can very easily die unless you can warm up. Good luck doing that on the deck of a 10 footer in a gale.

The downside outweighs the upsides, which are minimal. Hull breaches are not a big problem, staying warm and getting sleep are, and they are best done down below.

PS - when did you cross the Nullabor by bike, as you had planned?