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Comment by esaym | Hacker News Reader

Hope he makes it but doesn't sound like it will be very fun.

I enjoyed watching a documentary ( "Maidentrip" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2555268 ) about a young girl that sailed around the world just for fun. She did it in an older boat with limited electronics on board and had fun and made frequent stops just to visit other cultures.

Contrasted with another young girl ( "Wildeyes" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1939787/ ) that did it for a record's sake, on a modern boat, with multiple sponsors, packed with electronics (all of which failed) and ultimately capsized in the Indian ocean.

And another good one was "Deep Water" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460766/ ) where a man tried to win an "around the world" yacht race (for a business venture) but ultimately went insane and jumped overboard.

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Yeah, probably not very fun. My dad is currently crossing the Atlantic in a boat that's about 42 feet, not inches. Just got an email from the Azores (he's going from Florida to Portugal) and said he's changing his route due to force 8-9 winds and 6-10 meter waves.

No fun, and likely life threatening. With a max speed of about 2 1/2 knots with a clean hull, the little boat isn't fast enough to sail out of the way of heavy weather.

Once in a big storm, I can't even imagine the beating one would take inside that tiny craft, sliding down the face of a monster wave, crashing into the trough at the bottom, getting rolled. But perhaps his hull and rig design isn't subject to the same broaching and capsizing forces as a larger monohull...

I'm curious to read more about the design of the boat, his equipment, procedures and planning. Though it's best not to judge from a mere photo, there were several things visible in the images of the craft and video of his attempted departure that seemed counter to good seamanship.

Yeah, a boat that short has no speed whatsoever. And being exposed to the elements for that long. No shelter from wind and rain. Sleeping like that. But if he makes it, good for him. Holy shit.

Uh, he has shelter from wind and rain. There's a waterproof hatch into the interior. Did I misunderstand you?

Somebody has to be outside the hatch in a storm, to try to keep the boat from tipping over.

When there is nothing you can do then you do nothing. There is no requirement to be outside.

Still doesn't sound like fun.

People who do extremely uncomfortable things to break records are not in it to have "fun."

With so much weight on the keel, the boat is very unlikely to tip over. And if it does, it will right itself. It's most likely a very rough roller coaster ride, but unless you loose the keel or water gets into the boat you'll come out upright. Since the space inside is so limited, the usual danger of bruising yourself when the boat tips is limited. Not much space for objects to fly either.

"With a balance point about 16in above the keel and a 5ft draught he has a stability profile most designers would kill for."

That boat's not tipping over.

until big jumps between waves deform the light hull and the seals start leaking

Its a non-moored mooring buoy... if anything can survive, that design will.

But, a multiday storm in that pan, will be anything but fun.

This video shows how hard it is to capsize a properly ballasted sailboat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mYTOnOs3Y&t=3m45s

Sweet video. Now I want one...

Yeah, I'd had a few whiskeys when I read the article and I missed that. My mistake. Still a rough trip, and I hope he makes it. That takes some serious balls.

Is he doing it single handed? I'd love to do that one day.

I did a trans-Atlantic about 10 years ago (Liverpool, england to Salvador, Brazil) as part of the clipper challenge race. We had a few force 8 and above experiences between the training and the actual trip. The boats were a bit bigger (68 foot, from memory) but either way it's amazing how resilient they are.

Once we went right over surfing down a wave (had a broach). At one point the boat was standing upright on the bow and was over so far that the mast was almost level with water so I could walk up it. The team spent a lot of time stitching those sails together again :-)

>"Once we went right over surfing down a wave (had a broach). At one point the boat was standing upright on the bow and was over so far that the mast was almost level with water so I could walk up it."

Wow, did you flip over end over end then? How did you become oriented with the direction of the wave? Did the boat just right itself?

We were flying a kite at the time and the line had become jammed on the winch. As a result, we couldn't spill any wind and the pressure of the wind on the 3 sails was so strong that the boat was being dragged along (had been doing about 20 knots before it happened).

The skipper decided to dump the line that was holding the spinnaker pole back, which turned out to be a terrible idea. Obviously that line has all the force on it, so the spinnaker pole shot forward and snapped in half on the forestay (thank God it didn't take the rigging out). It didn't really ease the pressure and the kite was still flying.

Luckily (or not) the kite ripped under the force. It was still pulling us along but because enough pressure had come off everything by this stage we were able to get the main down.

We ended up having to drop the kite in the sea and then spent a couple of hours getting it back on board.

It was a pretty exciting afternoon :-)

Sounds utterly miserable! I spent a few months on a ship that tended toward pitching more than rolling -- that motion was miserable for my body. This guys journey sounds like it will be a real sufferfest ...

people so under estimate how difficult ocean sailing can be; not saying your father is in this category because its obvious he isn't if he is willing to try that trip.

I remember sailing out of Hilton Head area (SE Georgia US) on a thirty footer and damn can waves just make the horizon vanish let alone that feeling you get when you don't see land. Throw in sail is not something I would want to manage by myself.

I was thinking I wouldn't even want to cross in a 42 foot yacht.

I'm in the Maritimes (south east Canada) and I know it can be incredibly rough here 10m (33 foot) waves are normal off Newfoundland. It's so bad an entire 25,000 ton oil rig sank in a storm a few decades ago.

One rogue wave could smash that little 42 inch yacht to bits the size of confetti.

I wish the Tiny Yacht guy luck but it's going to be rough!

>"I'm in the Maritimes (south east Canada) and I know it can be incredibly rough here 10m (33 foot) waves are normal off Newfoundland."

Is this the Bay of Fundy?

No, that's a long way from Fundy. 10+ meter swell is common on both exposed coasts in the open ocean. Fundy is not exposed that way but has had high tides due to narrowing.

There's also "Kon Tiki": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon-Tiki_(1950_film)

And don't forget the hat-tip Plastiki composed entirely from reclaimed PET, which sailed successfully from San Francisco to Sydney. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastiki

His grandson just did it again in 2006: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangaroa_Expedition

A wild adventure, to be sure. But things could have ended a lot worse. The Kon-Tiki crew was one serious problem away from complete disaster. They really should have been accompanied by a second vessel that could have rescued them in the event of serious problems with the Kon-Tiki.

Adding to that, I recommend "Chasing Bubbles" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5254722/ full version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibP5IQxId34). Watch it before reading the plot.

That's an incredible, and incredibly moving, film.

This was really fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

On that topic I found Steve Callahan's account [1] of how he survived 2.5 months on a lifeboat really impressive. The whole book was a series of "how in the did he pull that off" moments.

[1] "Adrift: 76 days lost at sea," Callahan, Steven (1986).

also on that topic, i am reminded of this story[0] where Salvador Alvarenga survived 14 months lost at sea.

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/07/fisherman-lost...

In that vein, I just watched Losing Sight of Shore (http://losingsightofshore.com/) and it's fantastic. It's about a team of 4 women (sort of - they had to sub out one member for logistical reasons) who rowed across the Pacific. Quite a trip.

I've also watched this recently on Netflix with my young family - it's quite inspiring.

Two of my favorite books about sailing are:

Sailing Alone Around the World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_Alone_Around_the_World about Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail around the world alone

Confessions of a Long Distance Sailor https://arachnoid.com/sailbook/ about Paul Lutus sailing around the world alone from 1988-1991

Both are interesting kind of like Maidentrip (which I haven't seen, will have to check out) - visiting different cultures, limited technical means (although Paul did have a computer, TV, VCR...).

Still reading Slocum's account, but second the lutus recommendation. That was an awesome read, both the good and bad bits about sailing.

42 inch or about 1.06 meters when waves can be as high as 62 feet http://www.cbsnews.com/news/massive-wave-atlantic-ocean-smas... ....even common waves of 10-15 feet will more than enough....he's much braver than me.

Maybe he knows that he has a safety valve, he can survive in that bubble for x days until rescue comes. I'm claustrophobic (not actually diagnosed but IMO) so unless I could save my children's lives, I wouldn't even try.

Maybe all the stars will align, but if I had to bet, for his next attempt, he already has his food supply.

Who is paying for this guys rescue? Is there insurance he pays for this?

Rescue? He's a message in a bottle. One roller with the hatch open and everything is wet. Maybe in a box or something but he still can't open it without it getting wet. My guess is there's no rescue and he turns up on a beach I ln 10 years.

He's got float balloons and enough CO2 to float it completely full of water 3 times.

yeah not saying he's going to sink, saying he's not going to be able to call for help after he pukes all over the radio and the flare washes out of his hand while he's getting tossed.

He has a satellite phone and a radio, he can contact nearby ships if his propulsion fails and he's dead in the water. He has food/water in the meantime. If the hull integrity is lost and there's no ship nearby, well, he better have a immersion suit in his equipment list along with a working EPIRB.

Given he has taken adequate precautions and has appropriate equipment, I have absolutely no issue with his rescue being at taxpayer expense.

The one thing that he should iron out before making the crossing is making sure that there won't be any fatigue issues with the hull. Doing appropriate testing (I don't know the material and don't know the best non-destructive methods for testing it) on a used hull to make sure there aren't cracks/flaws that develop over time is a good idea.

Given he'll have to sleep, I also think that a reliable electronic alerting system that continuously monitors bilge level / hull integrity and the position/orientation of the boat seems like a necessary addition as well. Early warning of critical issues in such a small craft is a good idea.

Great list thank you!

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