crossing the sea??

peter p

Hi Guys,
JUst wondering if you want to sail over to the uk or france what is the smallest boat that could safely get you there?
I have a small 21ft shetland cruiser (on the shannon) but reading the spec for my boat it was built for the sea.
Would i make it? or would i be killed?

Iron Enthusiast

Hi Peter,

I'm not entirely sure as to the specs and condition of your yacht, but yachts of a similar size have completed longer journeys than the one you are considering. One example is a lady who took a Hurley 22 across the Atlantic Ocean a few years back.

It's all relative to the condition/spec of the yacht, the experience of the skipper and the weather you experience.

Just be very aware that the bay of biscay is no joke, even in a 40footer if you get the wrong weather.

Tabnabs

By shetland cruiser I presume you mean motor boat and by sail to the UK or France, I presume you mean yacht?

Harsh answer, if you have to ask this question, you don't have the skills or knowledge to undertake this trip.

On the other hand, if you would just like to experience of sailing over the horizon to foreign destinations, try a sailing school (http://www.sailsoutheast.com/ or http://www.sailingwest.ie/ for example. ) where they will teach you how to do it properly and safely.

Steve.N

Yeah the last poster is spot on.
Have you undergone any formal training? What equipment do you have onboard?
Any trip requires plenty of planning. If your running a Shetland cruiser is it a petrol outboard or Diesel inboard? Planning fuel stops is one of many considerations - as well as weather tides etc etc.
Trips into the open sea are NOT to be taken lightly!!

peter p

Steve.N wrote: »

Yeah the last poster is spot on.
Have you undergone any formal training? What equipment do you have onboard?
Any trip requires plenty of planning. If your running a Shetland cruiser is it a petrol outboard or Diesel inboard? Planning fuel stops is one of many considerations - as well as weather tides etc etc.
Trips into the open sea are NOT to be taken lightly!!

Im not actually going to do it, im just curious to find out if i wanted to do it, would it be possible.
I have a petrol outboard 90hp(brand new)

Iron Enthusiast

No you shouldn't do such a voyage.

Would it be possible? Thats relative as technically you could drift across the Irish Sea, but it wouldn't be a controlled or safe experience.

It doesn't sound like you have either the experience or an appropriate vessel for such a journey. An outboard engine would spend 2/3 of any such journey out of the water useless due to the swell.

I think the previous posters suggestion regarding the sailing courses might be a better way to gain relevant experience.

I know you may not be planning on doing the trip, but it's always worth bearing in mind that at the end of the day it's the coast guard who have risk their lives saving people from situations they should never have put themselves in.

If your really keen to do a sea crossing then try crewing for a season in a local yacht club and then see if you can find a spot to crew with an experienced skipper across to the UK.

The worlds of river cruising and ocean sailing couldn't be more different, so try a bit of crewing first to see if you want to invest more time in gaining the experience and tools necessary to complete a sea/ocean crossing.

Just whatever you do, don't just set off and hope things will be ok -because they wont. Experience is vital

Good luck!

geminidawn

Of course you can do it why not?
A Shetland Cruiser is a cathedral hull so it is quiet stable in a swell but it dose not handle a chop so the sea would have to be calm before you attempt a comfortable crossing. Cathedral hulls are good as inshore costal vessels but a quick jaunt to the other side is well within its capability.
Only cross on days and in places where you can see you destination with the naked eye like Larne to Stranraer or Dover to Calais, calm weather forcasted for the duration of your journey and good visability.
Good preparation is the key, VHF and the knowlege to use it, GPS, safety gear, plenty of fuel and a second engine in case the primary packs up, an RYA level 2 power boat certificate or similar and an basic understanding of the shipping rules so you don't end up in a game of chicken with Stena Line.
There is no reason as to why you can't use your boat for a bit of costal, inshore and canal motor cruising in the UK and France and I wish you all the best with it. But as a Motorcruiser it will be costly on you and the environment. However the wind is always free and the possibilities endless. Try and read "Shrimpy, Around the world in a 18ft Yacht" by Shane Acton, it will put a whole new perspective on things.

3beanzz

None of you answered this guys question. He asked what boat would you need to have.

CrankyHaus

They all answered his question. The boat's only one part of it.

People row across the Irish Sea in wooden skiffs but without the right skill, experience, preparation, support and conditions it's very dangerous to do so.
You could try it in a super yacht and come a cropper if you don't know what you're doing.

Buffalosoldier

People Row on the small boats through the Atlantic other circumnavigate the globe without proper training or experience, but sure most will tell you that it is impossible if your parents weren't members of the Royal Yacht club and you didn't start in the dinghy in the age of 3.and you don't have 50ft blue ocean cruiser.. There are so many stories to prove that something like that is possible, 'Brave or Stupid,' a story about Janne Larsson & Kalle Andersson for example...well they circumnavigated on Hallberg Rassy but nearly without prior experience... There might be a steep learning curve but it is all doable! Go simple, go small go now!

BowWow

3beanzz wrote: »

None of you answered this guys question. He asked what boat would you need to have.

Its more than EIGHT years since he asked - probably made up his mind in the interim...

Buffalosoldier

Brilliant!

Buffalosoldier

Lets make this forum great again!

pedroeibar1

Buffalosoldier wrote: »

People Row on the small boats through the Atlantic other circumnavigate the globe without proper training or experience, but sure most will tell you that it is impossible if your parents weren't members of the Royal Yacht club and you didn't start in the dinghy in the age of 3.and you don't have 50ft blue ocean cruiser.. There are so many stories to prove that something like that is possible, 'Brave or Stupid,' a story about Janne Larsson & Kalle Andersson for example...well they circumnavigated on Hallberg Rassy but nearly without prior experience... There might be a steep learning curve but it is all doable! Go simple, go small go now!

What a load of nonsense! It is listening to that type of idiotic comment that gets idiots like him into trouble and puts decent people in harm’s way. Trying to pretend you have a bit of knowledge when all you did was (mis)use Google - well :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

pedroeibar1

BowWow wrote: »

Its more than EIGHT years since he asked - probably made up his mind in the interim...

Or if he took advice from a recent poster he is long past being shrimp food.

Buffalosoldier

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

What a load of nonsense! It is listening to that type of idiotic comment that gets idiots like him into trouble and puts decent people in harm’s way. Trying to pretend you have a bit of knowledge when all you did was (mis)use Google - well :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

You managed to offend two people in one post, well done! No one sane will attempt to cross the ocean without being ready for it...unless you are like Donald Crowhurst...it was more about the pursuit of the dreams like Mark Twain once said “ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn' t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ”

pedroeibar1

Buffalosoldier wrote: »

You managed to offend two people in one post, well done! No one sane will attempt to cross the ocean without being ready for it...unless you are like Donald Crowhurst...it was more about the pursuit of the dreams like Mark Twain once said “ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn' t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ”

You a troll?
If you knew anything about offshore sailing/racing you would be aware that Crowhurst was prepared as he had the seamanship skills: where he failed was in lacking the mental ability to cope with bluewater stress. And again, if you knew anything about offshore you would have quoted Moitessier, or Chichester or Slocum or many others, and not Twain, who never said the remark you have mistakenly attributed to him. And Twain's (Clemens) knowledge of water largely was confined to his whiskey glass and a view from a paddlesteamer.;)

Buffalosoldier

Hey, I am not a troll... I am sorry that I got in to this discussion. You are 100% correct in what you are saying. I have a very little experience in off shore sailing and racing is definitely not what something I would like to be ever engaged. I have a some inland experience as a mobo and few hundred miles under the sail on Chesapeake bay under sail but that's all...I only got my first sail boat couple months ago...

10pennymixup

BowWow wrote: »

Its more than EIGHT years since he asked - probably made up his mind in the interim...

Or maybe he/she is still at sea;)

nokiatom

what happens if the outboard breaks down or the prop hits something and you are in the middle of nowhere?

Steve

Thread is old and no longer relevant, closed.

Feel free to start a new discussion if any of you still have questions.