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What's your longest single handed passage?


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Zen was asking about mine, can't remember what thread so I started this one.

 

It seems whenever I get too cocky about something I've done on a boat, somebody on Crew.org.nz is able to trump me. So let's see if i can win this one.

 

Panama - Tahiti non stop single handed. The reason for being single handed is complicated and involves two women, I won't bore you with that.

 

The hardest part of the trip was getting away from Panama, first all the traffic around the canal zone meant no sleep, then typical doldrum stuff all the way to the Galapagos, thunderstorms and calms mostly.

 

I sailed through the Galapagos, had a bit of a look around but didn't stop. Half a day south of Galapagos I picked up the SE Trades, then followed about three weeks with a poled out headsail in approx 20kn downwind. I didn't touch a sheet other than to move things an inch or two occasionally to stop chafe, nor touch the wind vane the whole time. I got sick of doing watches and seeing nothing and started sleeping 8 hrs a night, collision seemed unlikely and I argued (with myself) that I did more for safety being well rested (I didn't put up much of a fight).

 

I passed south of the Marquesas and raised the Tuamotus on dusk, a good star sight meant I was pretty confident of my position that evening, but the Tuamotus are renowned for strong unpredictable currents. I had to shoot a gap during the night, tricky. When I figured I was in the middle I headed up until the seas flattened out and assumed I was behind the island, then beam reached along it, keeping the waves about 1m, lees than that I would head further out and vice versa. There was a residual swell behind me that I assumed was the ocean swell refracting around the end of the island. It died over an hour or so then reappeared on the nose. That put me past half way and I drifted further out into the middle. By dawn I was in open water again.

 

Then an easy trip (even got a kite up) to Tahiti.

 

Being really tired in the first few days had some interesting mental effects. Talking to yourself is nothing and starts almost immediately, I did better than that , I had a woman sit next to me in the cockpit and sing to me.

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I've done Weiti to Westhaven (and back) a few times now. Normally take some chinese, good for dinner, not so good for cholesterol.

 

Don't think that beats Panama to Tahiti though :(

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Panama - Tahiti non stop single handed. The reason for being single handed is complicated and involves two women, I won't bore you with that.

 

Sounds interesting. Please expand

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I'd say you may win your own competition Squid.

My longest was Tga to Alk a delivery for the race back, stopped at the Mercs for 2 hours kip then off again. Left about 4 in the afternoon and got to Westhaven about 4 the next Day.

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Panama - Tahiti non stop single handed. The reason for being single handed is complicated and involves two women, I won't bore you with that.

 

Sounds interesting. Please expand

 

No (one of them is now my wife).

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Panama - Tahiti non stop single handed. The reason for being single handed is complicated and involves two women, I won't bore you with that.

 

Sounds interesting. Please expand

 

No (one of them is now my wife).

Please don't tell me the other one is now your housekeeper, nanny or gardener. :D

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The bottom end of Waiheke and back and a few 10-20 mile days. I only discovered single handed sailing soon before I got pregnant and sold the boat or I would have done a lot more of it.

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Takapuna beach to Motuketekete Island (near Kawau) and back in a Paper Tiger around 1993, reaching both ways in a windy westerly. Left at 12:30 PM and was back before 5:00 PM. Passed an old diesel tub on the way back. I'm sure they sped up but I was much faster than them. Screaming along. Never forget it.

 

...but I don't think it counts as a passage...

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Squid,I only asked because I'm booked to do the the solo Tasman and it's good to pick people's brains. I'm not sure that sleeping 8 hours a night is going to work for me though.

 

However, interesting how you used the swell pattern to navigate. Very ancient polynesian.

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Thanks, got it from David Lewis' We The Navigators, should be compulsory reading for them that go offshore.

 

And we want reports and pictures from TT, maybe I can do the next one as part of a fleet of NZ Minis.

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Big Shoal Bay to Bon Accord then back again

I'm looking forward to going further when I'm satisfied with things like the reefing set up and cleating the halyards during hoisting.

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boi to maori reef...there were other people there but they were just drinking piss. maori reef they helped get the sails down. or in my younger days pt chev to te atutu and back, also pt chev to chelsea sugar company and back and pt chev to westhaven odm and back. tis a bloody long way for an 8yr old in an opti. back to more recent times i saild back from motohei after the outboard shat itself...2 others on board but they were noobs. couldnt even understand the term of grab the mooring line (sailing into the marina) even had my photo in the herald (anaversary weekend boat sailing infrount of war ship)

 

guess none of that realy counts though aye...

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Rubbish,it all counts col. At 7 years old I was allowed to take the dinghy and the seagull out, as long as I didn't go past the Whitianga wharf. By the age of 8 I'd made it to the Coroglen Pub for a lemonade. No life jacket,dodgy motor and I was allowed to camp out over night up river. Bit hard to believe nowdays. Oh but what adventures were to be had. By the age of 12 the wharf wasn't a boundary and I'd take a crew and stay away for a week. Was I able enough to sail around the world, no bloody way. Seems incredible that anyone would try.

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Longest voyage UK to New Zealand. Vessel was a Warsash One Design, 26 foot (19ft on waterline) no engine long keeler. Great boat, great trip. Took two years, worst weather was Cook Strait! Took me over 36 hours to do last 10 miles into Wellington.

 

I was lucky that my parents allowed me the freedom to explore in my dinghy as a kid. At age 13/14 I would head off with a mate on our two Mirror dinghies and camp for a few weeks. We would travel about 40 miles away, no VHF or other gear, just lifejackets and the knowledge that if we messed up we would die, or worse not be allowed to go again!

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Zen, I was thinking about you wantiing tips, the only thing I can come up with is steering. For a long trip I would get a wind vane, a good one. For a short one off like the race to Mooloolaba probably use an autopilot, but the biggest and best there is. There's a French made one that is a three letter acronym I can never remember that is head and shoulders better than anything I've ever used.

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