Gentlemen, this is an EPIC episode 👍 And this for demonstrating that you guys (the crew I mean) handling the best Blue Water Boat - if I may state - men can buy The Hallberg-Rassy... And secondly demonstrates the sh...tty weather on the Nord Sea, where I (by coincidence) life... So...love this episode 🙂
@@sailinghaldis You're more then welcome - I truly hope to see many more EPIC episodes like this one - with your beautiful Hallberg-Rassy 44 and your craftmanship of sailing it. Will surely follow your future episodes - until you arrive in the Caribbean islands some day 😎. You're living the dream of many sailors...
Very happy to see how well you are using the boats "push button" options, constantly adapting the sail area to the ever changing conditions in the north sea! Giving your crew the least painful experience possible, given the tough conditions. The north sea is rarely a pleasant place to be!
Brilliant stuff. Like buying a Porsche RS and driving it out of the showroom straight to a track and wringing its neck. Must be a great confidence boost to now know that it can handle any conditions.
Well done!! Story nicely told. Now Breezy is resting in St Tropez on hard stand I look forward to the rest of the journey to the Med in new instalments.
Awesome episode! I live in The Netherlands (not Dutch) and have also sailed in the North Sea but not quite what you've been going through! On the positive side your HR44 got a pretty decent shakedown sail! Fair winds and enjoy your dreamy yacht.
Brings back memories of delivering a similar sized boat back from Hamburg to the UK some years ago, except it was November. Coming out of Cuxhavn at least the North Sea felt warm in comparison to the cold Elbe, but sailed around 2/3rds of the Dutch coast without seeing it. Yep, it's pure glamour all the way!!
@@sailinghaldis We came down the river and were getting the turbocharged exit, so didn't stop either (or when we had delivered the boat heading inbound). Meant to say well done on completing the trip, there's a fair bit going on out there between traffic zones, oil rigs, wind farms plus all the regular issues of shallow areas and tide flows! Very different from my usual boating in NZ. We were more fortunate than you with wind direction though.
Cool sailing thanks for sharing. It is also nice that you are opening up your feelings about the boat. From the video it is difficult to get the sea state and the height of the waves. It looks like very steep, but I am still a bit surprised how much the boat slams and the bow goes really deep to waves - I would have imagined the HR44 to not go so deep in the waves and have more buoyancy in the bow (it is probably a thin bow ?).
Thank you. Breezy likes to get her nose wet! I don’t believe that is too unusual. If you see older HR yachts they may even hobby horse a little more. This boat was stellar in the heavy stuff. It’s where I gained a lot of confidence. I was most frustrated with motoring upwind in seas with short wave periods. The boat would oscillate and slam on the 3rd or 4th wave.
Thanks for the honest video. Do i have to conclude that in contrary to what is told in commercial talks and test sails from magazines, the new flatter racier design of HR with maximised WL makes the boats slam. I have a HR42f and never experienced slamming in heavy seas, the big overhangs on both sides do their job…
My pleasure. I am ecstatic with the build qualityquality and the toughness of the hull. It handled some pretty ridiculous conditions that were brought on purely by my need to make progress towards the Mediterranean.
You’re so right about your beautiful vessel being a sailing machine. I have yet to be in a sailboat under 50’ that didn’t slam in heavy seas to windward…I think if the wave period is short enough any boat would slam…enjoy that beauty. ❤❤❤
@damage_control_sailing Thanks so much for that input. It’s reassuring to hear. The upwind motoring was the only time it was a problem. A certain wave period would induce an oscillation and every third hit would be a slam. Steering 30° off the wind with some main up helped but not 100%. Good to hear from you!
The waves did not appear to be that big, but any modern boat would slam to some degree heading into weather as you were. You are in a high quality yacht and the it handled exactly as would be expected.
If I might ask - why were you feeling down before the North Sea? Was there anything in particular about the boat? It sounds like you were uncertain about the boat - until you saw what it was capable of! Any thoughts you'd be willing to share would be great - I am living vicariously through your channel lol!
Thank you! I was feeling down about the incessant slamming. It was my own doing though as we were motoring hard up wind on a schedule forced by sequential bad weather systems. I was losing confidence in the boat then the North Sea happened and she crushed it. Just a bit more power and she was effortlessly carving and slicing through those waves. It was a great learning experience.
I truly fell in love with the boat after the North Sea. She did handle it so well. Tim, the pro skipper had more confidence than I did and he encouraged me to let out more sail, not less and that was the correct answer. Breezy was prancing across the waves all night and we made great time. I had the rig checked in Hamble and there was no rivet missing but there was one that looked newer so the thought was it was just a leftover blank that took its time to rattle down the mast. Not a fun find, but all was well.
@@sailinghaldis Or it was some cruel joke by Tim! Just kidding but I've heard racers will throw a spare bolt on deck just to see people scramble around to find where it came from 🤣
@@airgead5391 I wanted to but by the time we needed it, it was a bit too dicey to go forward! The foredeck lacks hand holds aside from the lifelines(this needs a remedy!) But, lesson learned…pre-rig the inner forestay and hank on the storm jib BEFORE entering near gale in the North Sea.
Congrats, man. It must be awesome to buy such a high-quality and solid boat like that and sail it in those conditions for its maiden voyage. It confirms it's money well spent. Curious: when was this video shot? Looks like a terrible weather for spring. Greetings from a colleague from Seattle ;)
Thank you! It was a long time coming but we pulled it off! We left Ellös June 2nd and the North Sea leg was June 9th. It was unseasonably bad weather or June. Low pressure systems just kept popping up delaying our progress. My son lives in Seattle btw! I will keep an eye out for you at meetings!
It was a really crappy June and there were Low pressure systems that kept forming over the North Sea. According to predict wind it was going to get worse, not better over the next week. This was our best and quickest weather window to make progress toward the Mediterranean
Hello Tom, this Maurice from Santa Lucia I see your boat still in the marina of Cogolin since 12 days. Did you get a trouble ? or will it stay there for Winter Time ?
Hi Maurice! Cogolin wound up being a great marina for us to keep her for the winter. She’s in a nice cradle, safe and sound. Thanks for suggesting the marina. We really like it there.
Yes, good idea. The trip from Ellös Sweden in previous video began June 2. This video is ending June 9. June was supposed to be a good month travel. It was unseasonably, cold and nasty.
You’re right, but I swear the waves were much bigger than the video shows. Plus, being there for the first time I felt…concerned. I gained confidence once I learned to drive the boat a bit harder through the sideways swell. Thanks for watching!
@@sailinghaldis I know exactly what you mean. Video never seems to catch the magnitude of the waves properly. That's a wonderful boat you have. Thoroughly enjoyed the video.
