Sailing the Southern Ocean 

Thanks Kristoff -it was a quite a ride!

a lot of people don't like to film waves and storms in the sea reason bad lucky

we sailors are a superstitious lot aren’t we 😂

@@omarrodrigues900 never heard that...a superstition that cant be older than the invention of the widely available personal video recording device...I thought we had evolved past making up nonsense but i guess not.

Indeed, I had some not so pleasurable sail with small craft and baby on board this summer and even though we did not get the worst parts on video, it looked almost completely flat on video. Seeing this mountains on camera I can not even imagine what it had to be onboard.

It's a catamaran. They are pretty stable. But that's scary as hell man

@@Patriot2499 depends on the point of sail and swell. Easy to fall off waves and bury in a trough if they're tight , hard to tell when over powered compared to a mono, so can put a shit load of undue force on a rig. I wouldn't wana take a cat on seas like that, bigger balls than me!

It could just as easily have gone the other way, mate. They got lucky.

@@mangore623 oh for sure, that's what I mean. It's pretty wild

The Polynesians crossed high seas in canoes. The Leopard is more than capable. It's the quality of the seaman that's more important.

All real sailors are unhinged. you have to be. A normal person would lose their mind when confronted with the awesome power of nature.

I'd guess 8-10 . That's balls out, and perhaps too dangerous. They should have planned and adjusted their course?

On a cat like that that averages 6 knots and in such a big ocean there is only so much you can do. However scary as it may seem, believe it or not the low pressure point might just as well be 500 nm away or more...and while that's some fairly big seas you see no breakers so it's still a helluva ride but you're not in imminent mortal danger.

RE Marketing agreed. Every bit of 20. Some reaching 30. Those are some very large seas.

I guess it has to be really crazy for it to look crazy which doesn't normally get captured on video ...

Height of the waves ?

​@@yyaa2539easily 15 m waves

Thrills my ass. You are rolling and pitching every which way, and up and down, and on and on forever. And you know that there is no such thing as being sea sick. The sea and the sky don't give a fuck about your illusions and stupidities.

Bullshit.

Size is irrelevant: the point is to stay on top.

@@dabbbles That easier said than down. I've been on some 2 meter waves on the great lakes in a 35' sailboat but that was a picnic compared to this.

@@epistte Yep. Should've gone in a large hollowed-out cork! ;)

@@dabbbles I'm not that brave to be out in seas like that. I'm not a strong swimmer, so I would be terrified, even if I was only a 1000' freighter. I'm impressed that others can do it. Id love to circumnavigate but I'd do it in a 65'+ monohull, like an Oyster. I'd also take a different route than the southern oceans.

@@epistte I would too. By nature and age I'm a person who needs a purpose to do things (eg. getting from point a to point b), which going around in circles doesn't achieve. But I remember my first trip (about 50 years ago, from Cooktown to some island off New Guinea was a stunning experience. We had a swell of 30-odd foot ~ but not the least bit rough ~ and once land was out of sight all one could see were the peaks and the small patch of sky between them. Felt like the only person in the universe, particularly at night. Stunning! Done a few different trips since, and struck some REALLY wild weather in Bass Strait . But that was aboard a fishing boat, which was built for it, and with a crew that was used to it. No fear: but an almighty bitching about why it didn't stop once the point had been made! At my age now consequences no longer matter, so I've been looking at boats recently with a view to visiting a couple of spots on opposite sides of the world that have always intrigued me. Will see.

How can you tell all that?

@@tonylawrence9157 Everyone says cats arent worth a shit in heavy weather, look at the length of the ropes hes trailing , through the trough and up the height of the waves. to run a production 40ft cat down wind on bare poles like that in that sea takes serious seamanship or blind luck and a good boat...

The seamanship coupled with the integrity of our vessel allowed across the 40's. Thank you, Peter

Most pitch poles are caused by sailing to slowing when directly before the wind. The vessel is overtaken by a sea, her stern lifts and then she drives her bow under. Sure drag a drogue, if you are of that mind, but do not get over taken.

Actually, this is John. I don't know I ended up osting under my wife.

Hey Peter! Good to see you! So, I finally decided to go for it and quit the rat race. My L45 is #138 in the queue :-)

Depends on what your concerns might be, or if you even have any concerns about these beauties. The fact is, there is simply nothing to fear. Q: What is the worst that could possible happen? A: You sit at home and spend your life watching youtube videos of others living life. Death, loss of limbs, boat or other do not concern me. Not being able to risk it all concerns me. Bring the big ones.......

Thank you, Friend

Totally agree. Waves are much larger then on film or photo.

Height 3 meters ?

These waves ARE massive!

Why are "the waves simply scarring", because you think it is a smart thing to say that?

Hi Roger, good to hear from you and that the 39 is still going strong. It is a very stout boat. There were times when I thought for sure that she would just implode but she always pulled through. I looked back at my paper work to see if I could find the hull number to confirm it is the same boat but I couldn't find it. I think there may have been some distinguishing marks though left behind from our crossing so send me an email to khoiem@yahoo.com and I'll send you a picture. Cheers, Kenneth

Hi Kristy -yea, we were concerned about that happening pretty much every day...the boat tracked surprisingly well bit I think we had a bit of luck too. Glad you made it to tell the story! K

Thanks Kenneth. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about it.

Hi Jared, I can't remember details but we thought the water was rising pretty quick, maybe 30 minutes max. No one really knows how far down they will settle until it happens.

Kristy, where can I read about your incident?

Hi David - There's an article in the August 2010 Latitude 38 called "Funhouse Ride from Hell" where they did a really good job of getting the facts together. Other articles that were written were largely speculations. - Kristy