It's getting serious, guys!steemCreated with Sketch.

in #sailing6 years ago (edited)

Allright, my sailing and non sailing friends, it's getting serious now...
Despite I didn't keep you updated here on Steemit, I posted some things on my Instagram Account, so please follow me there.
Unless I do not find an easy and fast way to put content online on the Steemit Network it's quite a pain to make updates here. Maybe you guys can name me a way where I can easily post from my smartphone?

Anyhow... back to topic - because that's why I am writing this for. I have news for you about my trip.

First of all I want to share with you my actual pain points, things I am concerned about, things I need to decide, I need to resolve.

  1. First of all there is the big question what I am going to eat on the trip that fuels me with energy and does not cause fatigue. I mean, the hardest part will be the sleep cycle and the (theoretical) watch for 24 hours non-stop.
  2. The choice of the boat and the equipment
  3. The film equipment and the setup on boat - a thing I do not know anything about right now. But this topic is still far away.

On every point I will make a own post. Probabely the first will be the boat. Since I just have come back from a trip to the north of Europe where I checked some boats I have to do some research and calculation now.
I found a pretty cool steel boat. It's a WIBO 930 and 30 feet long.


Maybe you as a professional sailor could check out the posting and give me your feedback about what you think?
That would be awesome! Here is the link to it: https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/blauwasser-yacht-langfahrt-weltumsegelung-aries-2-beiboote/701341419-211-9476.

To make a long story short: other alternatives I checked out are more or less in a good condition as-well. I visited some boats of the model Hallberg-Rassy Monsun 31 and belong the others there are a Deerberg Saphir III of 1974 and a Elvström Blue Dane 32 of 1979.
All boats are just sailed in the Baltic Sea and lecking things for an ocean crossing. Even in every bilge there was some water... but that seems to be a normal thing even though theoretically it should be as dry as a bone.
And last but not least: a cemented steel keel on the Wibo- come on... my biggest concern about sailing over the Atlantic (the part from Portugal to Barbados) is to get hit by a floating container (well, or a freighter which is more likely).

So now it's time for a decision I have to deal with for the whole trip and maybe for the next couple of years. Who knows where the right boat can take me to?

That's why I would love to hear from you! Just put your opinion of your ideal blue water yacht into the comment section and let me know what you think about the WIBO 930.
Do you think it gets heated up under the sun that it causes some comfort issues? Or is it to small? Or even to "perfect" - that something needs to be wrong with this deal? Let me know it in the comments!

Cheers and all the best,
your atlanticmatt

PS: Do not forget to give me a follow and to check out my Instagram Account for the latest updates!

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No time to investigate the boats now, but I think that before buying a steel boat, one ought to spend some time learning about galvanic corrosion.

I don't have any experience with crossing seas, but I do have some experience in sailing single-handed, sailing night time and sailing offshore.

In my previous sailing boat the engine was not working. I was frequently stuck throughout the night with no wind. Staying awake throughout the night was just not an option - so I put an alarm to wake me up every twentieth minute, I'd look around to ensure everything was OK, and then sleep again for 20 more minutes.

Today we have radar, that helps a bit; I can put the navigation system to beep if the radar senses something, I can also set it to beep if it's too shallow (not much useful when being on deep water). In addition to a timer, I can sometimes nap a bit in the cockpit while sailing. Of course, there is still the risk of getting entangled with fishing equipment, crashing into floating containers and other objects too small to be seen by the radar. Then again, I probably wouldn't spot those things in the darkness until it was too late even if I kept a watch.

Hi tobixen,

thanks for sharing your experience. I think this might be the toughest thing on a sailing trip when sailing single-handed. Did you had any training before or did you adjust easily to the new sleeping pattern?

A steel boat is a big radar reflector, so it might sail save even without a radar on itself. Corrosion is a big pain point I have. I don't know how the boat looks like inside in every corner and I do not know a solution to be safe on that...

Do you have a boat? Would you prefer steel over pvc or the other way around?

Did you had any training before or did you adjust easily to the new sleeping pattern?

I do have night shifts with on-call duty every now and then at work, it's a bit of the same. Sleep, but if there is any alarms or telephone calls from customers, I have to jump up, be alert and solve problems. It's not so much different when sailing in the night time.

My boat is made from wood and epoxy, my previous boats were made of glass fibre and polyester. I wouldn't choose steel for the very simple reason that I'm not competent on steel. Well, to be honest, I'm not that much competent on wood nor glass fiber ... but at least I can do some work with it.

I see, so maybe it's not as hard as I imagine. Anyways it will be hard to adjust to if you are not used to it.

Oh cool! I've seen it on some of your posts. It' s looking great! Okay I got you, and I am completely with you on that. I think the most important thing with a boat is to be able to handle some things on your own when they break. Unless I am not a mechanic nor an ingenieur nor a hobby craftsman I need something simple.
Next week I am going to check out the steel boat again. I will take some pictures too and post them here on steem.

Hopefully I find someone with a Wibo 930 to ask about the common issues he has with this model.

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