Very informative video. Andy knows his stuff. One comment I must make on a different subject is that I do not understand the new format on youtube. It makes it very difficult to find your newest video. I finally did find it on the youtube home page, but not on yours. Where is it hidden?
This is hundreds of years old knowledge, you can read it in every old sailing book writen befor the internet still exists. North to the bermudas, youmay stop there or go north till you hit the westerly winds. We have done it twelve years ago on a 30 ft sailboat, a friend of us some years later on a 25ft boat, both without serious problems.
Very interesting and useful information! We just missed you while you were in Bermuda. The Bums on a Boat were sailing with me in the Spirit of Bermuda Rally and we overlapped in Bermuda. I always enjoy your videos. A great combination of very useful DIY information and very funny content at times by Sophie! You really are a comedian!
Thanks for putting this in. Always interested in the manner sailors determine their routes. Look forward to your upcoming videos. Will you be showing us your intended route(s) vs. the one actually taken?
Yep! Last year committed to helping a friend bring a trimaran from Portugal to Florida before I checked what was going to be involved. Knew we had to go down the African coast to catch the trade winds. Wasn't expecting the early days of Covid19. Had problems getting the boat 100% ready for the cross, but we left anyways rather than taking the chance we get stuck there. West to East crossing the Atlantic? No way, Jose. Always head west, young man
How exactly do they know which direction and how strong the winds are at any given location in the middle of the ocean? Do they have weather stations? Is there some method of measuring the wind speed and direction directly? Or are they inferring the information with the isobars? Come to think of it, how do they measure the isobar locations?
Usually, going from East to West across the Atlantic is more difficult than West to East, unless your starting point was the Canary Islands. In fact, many famous explorers like Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean as a result of winds coming from the East along the Tropics. When Columbus was sailing back to Spain, he usually went North until the latitude was comparable to Iberia and then East as winds in that latitude came from the West.
How do you think you have changed from the sailing challenges ( weather, alone at see out of sight of land, etc.) you faced and learned from ? Thank you. To the skipper and crew of Polar Seal.... stay safe.
Hej på er. I like your videos and as well all info about safety but I do have a remark on this. what I don’t understand is. Why have you no Hydrovane mounted. You save battey power., It works better at ruff sea than an conventional autopilot. In case you lose your rudder you have a good emergency rudder. When losing the rudder you are fucked so it’s quite important. 2 autopilots is good but without 2 rudders what is the point? Cheers Patrik
This is a good question. I simply don't like how the hydro gear mounts to our boat, So we don't have one. Yes, if the rudder goes, so does the boat and is the risk we are willing to take. To help mitigate the risk we do lots of regular checks and maintenance on the rudder and steering. If we hit something we hit something and it's probably going to do more damage than just taking out the rudder. This is just our thinking... its not right, it's not wrong, it's ours and a lot of though has been put in to it. It might change in the future which does not mean our current thinking is bad or wrong either. Just my two cents.
Ryan and Sophie, the roughest, and coldest part of your Atlantic circuit is now behind you. Watch out for those cats attic winds as you approach The Canaries, I would sail from the Canaries south to a position close to the Cape Verdes. Like Bermuda I would bypass the Cape Verdes but use them as a ‘ fall back ‘ position if I needed fuel or provisions , But do not plan on making a landfall there… The Verdes are a 3rd world country with poor provisioning, poverty and not a lot to do or see… The rest of your trip is going to be warmer and easier.