Bluewater cruising - anyone doing/done it?

[dictys]

Does anyone have any experience of bluewater cruising, I'm thinking of purchasing a 2nd hand yacht with the idea to leave the rat race behind and the doing one of the longer ARC rallies as a couple.

Have a lot of experience of motor, but limited experience with regards to sail, so trying to get ideas with regard to size, rigs, must have's etc.

[Ayahuasca]

dictys said:

Does anyone have any experience of bluewater cruising, I'm thinking of purchasing a 2nd hand yacht with the idea to leave the rat race behind and the doing one of the longer ARC rallies as a couple.

Have a lot of experience of motor, but limited experience with regards to sail, so trying to get ideas with regard to size, rigs, must have's etc.

This is on my list too.

There are loads of blogs, etc of boats doing just this. All sorts of sizes, rigs, etc do it. There is infinite discussion of what makes a blue water cruiser.

Seems a fundamental trade-off is speed for weight - some boats prefer to speed out of the way of bad weather; others are built heavy enough to withstand it better.

Keel type? - traditional long keel or modern fin keel? I am a long keel fan.

Rudder type? - spade, skeg or transom? Not a spade for me.

How many masts? I used to think a ketch was best, and a schooner looks the best, but maybe just one mast is better.

Hull material - wood, ferro-cement, GRP, steel? Vast majority of boats these days are GRP, but if going around the world I would like steel - they bounce off things that would hole other materials.

Account of a wooden pilot cutter around the world:

http://www.vixensvoyage.com/


The opposite end of the argument - an account of a J120 around the world. A j120 is a lightweight plastic boat normaly just used for racing.

http://www.svshearwater.com/

[padgett]

We've just begun our voyage. We gave up work, sold up and left last September.

We've stalled slightly the Med at the moment whilst we sort some things out.

We went for an old heavy boat, with proper blue water pedigree. Not least because this is what is in our fairly small budget.

Our plan is to keep going indefinitely. We are very inexperienced sailors, but happy to answer questions based on our experience so far.

Just remember you don't need the biggest boat, the latest electronics and most expensive kit to go. It all cost more to repair and will go wrong.

Here's our blog: roserambler.wordpress.com

[WreckedGecko]

padgett said:

We've just begun our voyage. We gave up work, sold up and left last September.

We've stalled slightly the Med at the moment whilst we sort some things out.

We went for an old heavy boat, with proper blue water pedigree. Not least because this is what is in our fairly small budget.

Our plan is to keep going indefinitely. We are very inexperienced sailors, but happy to answer questions based on our experience so far.

Just remember you don't need the biggest boat, the latest electronics and most expensive kit to go. It all cost more to repair and will go wrong.

Here's our blog: roserambler.wordpress.com

Just had a look at that.

Would love to do it. Fair play to you for having the courage to jump into it.

Good luck!

[Minemapper]

Look up SV Delos on Youtube. They release a new video about every two weeks. Currently 7 or 8 years into it.

[Davey S2]

Minemapper said:

Look up SV Delos on Youtube. They release a new video about every two weeks. Currently 7 or 8 years into it.

Look at Sailing La Vagabond as well. Similar thing with the added bonus that the female is rather fit to say the least.

The majority of the boats which take part in the ARC are just normal production boats with some upgrades to things like water makers, power, spares etc. You don't have to have an Oyster, Discovery, Hally Rassberg etc.