Solo Sailors

I propose this thread as a place where to gather info and talk about all kind of 'Solo Sailors' personalities, their boats and their adventures.

Circumnavigating solos like Slocum, Moitessier, etc, inmediately pop up to mind. We have read the books and dreamt about their adventures, probably thinking: "If I'd only...."

Many people have brought this dream into reality, or at least tried to, some of them succeeding, some not. There are all kind of solo sailors, from wandering circumnavigators to home waters 'pipe baggers', from sport racers to unsociable hermits, from sensible people to crazy nuts. Let's talk about all of them, the people who 'sold out and sailed', their boats and their motivations. If you're one of such sailors, or know about an interesting one, your contribution here will be a jewel to share.

To begin with, here we have this 43 years old lady, Heather Naill, who without previous serious sailing experience is ready to sail around the globe aboard her recently acquired Flicka 20, beginning January the 1st, 2008:

"I moved out of my home last night. The home I designed and in which I raised my children during their last years at home. The happiest place I have ever lived. There is a For Sale sign in front of it....Why? Because for years I have dreamed of what life could be, rather than what it was, and wondered what else might be out there. Because selling trailers to illegal immigrants and cranky New Yorkers doesn’t fulfill me. Because I want to conquer my fears and fish for my supper and to know myself in ways I never have before. Life is too short to miss solitary sunsets over Oceania."

http://www.solo-sailor.com/index.htm
http://www.flicka20.com/

Approximate numbers for Flicka 20:
Lod = 6,09 m
Lwl = 5,54 m
Bmax = 2,44 m
Bwl = 2,2 m
Draught = 0,99 m
HD = 0,55 m (guess)
Disp = 2721 kg
Ballast = 817 kg
Sail area = 22,23 m2

Length/Beam ratio (Lfl+Lh)/2B = 2,38
Ballast/Disp Ratio Ball/Disp = 0,3
Displacement/Length Ratio D/L = 446
Sail Area/Disp. Ratio SA/D = 11,59
Hull speed HSPD = 5,71 Kn
Velocity Ratio VR = 0,99
Capsize Safety Factor CSF = 1,76
Motion Comfort Ratio MCR = 30,81
Angle of Vanishing Stability AVS = 128 º
Heft Ratio HF = 1,46
Roll Period T = 2,78 Sec
Roll Acceleration Acc = 0,07 G's
Stability Index SI = 1,14

Cheers.

 

Here's another one:
On August the 29th 2006, at approximately 10:00 a.m. Hawaii time, Ardell Lien aboard the 27-ft Nor'sea 'Catalyst' completed his circumnavigation when he arrived at the Waikiki Yacht Club. Ardell left the Waikiki Yacht Club on June 17, 2005. In addition to completing this circumnavigation at the age of 71, doing it in a 27-ft boat, and completing it in less than 15 months, 'Al' had been the recipient of a heart and kidney transplant only a few months before.

http://www.norseayachts.com/norsea27.php
http://www.vander-bend.com/norsea/history.html

Approximate numbers for Nor'sea 27:
Lod = 8,23 m
Lwl = 7,62 m
Bmax = 2,44 m
Bwl = 2,2 m
Draught = 1,17 m
HD = 0,5 m (guess)
Disp = 3672 kg
Ballast = 1405 kg
Sail area = 36,6 m2

Length/Beam ratio (Lfl+Lh)/2B = 3,25
Ballast/Disp Ratio Ball/Disp = 0,38
Displacement/Length Ratio D/L = 231
Sail Area/Disp. Ratio SA/D = 15,63
Hull speed HSPD = 6,7 Kn
Velocity Ratio VR = 1,08
Capsize Safety Factor CSF = 1,6
Motion Comfort Ratio MCR = 30,4
Angle of Vanishing Stability AVS = 133 º
Heft Ratio HF = 1,46
Roll Period T = 3,07 Sec
Roll Acceleration Acc = 0,06 G's
Stability Index SI = 1,26

Cheers.

 

And David Clark did it at the age of 77, aboard his 18-ton, 42-foot steel boat “Mollie Milar”.

"His first boat was a 36' Gulf Star motorsailer, his only boat with a completed interior. He then bought an unfinished 56' ferro cement boat, but it was never finished. Then in 1978, he bought a 31' Pacific Seacraft Mariah “kit” boat and named it Sea Me Now. It had no interior but was finished enough for him to make a complete circumnavigation from 1987 to 1991. This voyage was solo from New Zealand back to America. His first effort to establish the world record as the "oldest" solo sailor started in January 1993 and ended in August of 1995, when the boat was dismasted in the Indian Ocean. He was rescued and thereafter made another attempt (this time successfully completed) from December 5th 1999 to December 7th 2001.

After the loss of the Pacific Seacraft on his first attempt to establish the world record, David returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and started again from scratch. Everything he owned, along with “Sea Me Now,” was at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. He needed the basics, i.e. clothes, car, and musical instruments. With his Social Security check, a clarinet and tenor saxophone (provided by Selmer Instruments, Elkhart Indiana) he started to work and began looking for another boat, not only to live on but to take another stab at achieving his world record goal. In February of 1996 he found an 18-ton, 42-foot rusting steel hull with no rigging, no wiring, a broken engine, no sails or steering, broken windows, a partial plywood interior and bunches of loose empty Budweiser beer cans rolling around on the floor inside. This rusting derelict was named “Mollie Milar” after his mother, who passed away in 1994."

http://www.dclark.com/
http://www.captainclark.com/Pages/dadbio.html

Cheers.

 

A forgotten one (Not in the lists of the Slocum's Society):
Julio Villar, from San Sebastián, Spain, circumnavigated aboard his 7 m Supermistral from 1968 to 1972.

http://www.editorialjuventud.es/84-261-5671-1.htm

Boat's basic data:
Model: Supermistral
Builder: Mistral
Design: H. Amel
Length: 7 m
Breadth: 2,35 m
Draught: 1,10 m
Displacement: 1.200 kg