Wooden Rowboat to go across the Atlantic

[bajansailor]

Unless you are following a tradewinds route, you can be guaranteed that you will spend a fair amount of time either hove to, with a sea anchor out to try to reduce your rate of drift when you have a head wind, or going backwards at an impressive rate.
When my friend Stein rowed across the North Atlantic in 2016, his tracker was all over the place, including a couple of large circles, and quite a few instances of going backwards. He probably covered at least 50% more mileage than the rhumb line distance from New York to where he was rescued.
Stein Hoff - Atlantic Row 2016 https://www.facebook.com/soloatlanticrow2016

 

[Milehog]

Maybe soon, he will be asking questions from a position of well informed.

Maybe. But so far he is not listening.

 

[fallguy]

Maybe. But so far he is not listening.

He needs to spend some time with a lifevest on..

 

[bajansailor]

And @Dakillr013 has not checked in here since Sunday evening - maybe he is going off the idea of ocean rowing.

Unless you are passionate about rowing, and have a personal Everest to conquer here, then it would probably be more fulfilling and fun to build yourself a sailing boat instead and take it across an ocean.

 

[Dakillr013]

Hmm, I got busy with life for a bit so sorry for not checking in. I've read through all of these comments and damn, this seems really unlikely to be sucessful eh? No matter though that's what makes it fun I guess. About the comparatively high death rate, I don't really care. I'm still young, and I want to strike this and a couple of other things off my bucket list while I still can. I have done far too many things that were stupidly risky, maybe even riskier, so this is just another one of them in that sense. Even then, it appears that I won't be able to leave two more years more so I guess I'll just prep up in that time. About whether I've rowed before, I have, but that was in a much smaller boat in a lake, and I didn't find it very difficult.

About the sailing boat, it's not of that much personal significance to row a boat, rather it has to do with what I am as a person. Since as far as I can remember, I've been a dogged person, often to the point of irrationality, and I owe to this trait my success in life. The only reason I will go on a rowboat despite it being very inadvisable is because I made up my mind to do it when I was a teenager and I wrote it down on my bucket list. Now I understand this sounds very immature but I do not care.

Sorry for that long talk, I will post more messages and questions as I make progress. Thanks for all the help and for the time being, goodbye!

 

[philSweet]

This is a darn good yarn. Two professional Polish mariners took a Polish lifeboat out for a couple years.
https://www.amazon.com/Open-Boat-Journey-Poland-Americas/dp/097641130X

The boat did swamp in a storm, and the two were forced to stay in the swamped boat for about 2 days until they could begin to bail it out. That cost them a lot of food, water, and supplies, including their best sextant.

 

[BlueBell]

Thanks for all the help and for the time being, goodbye!

Goodbye Dakillro13!
Good luck with your childhood, bucket-list dream.
Don't overthink it, just do it.

 

[ThomD]

There is a video you can get from Ray Jardine about his Atlantic crossing with his wife. They bought one of the plywood boats, and spent the off season on rowing machines, then set out, and made it. They had never done anything like it before, though you can't easily find an outdoors couple with more experience, and they had circumnavigated by sail, so certainly watermen. Either before or after they had done a lot of kayaking.

The problem with these kinds of objectives; highest, longest, straightest, is they aren't much fun. Camping on the ocean for a few months seems like a worthwhile task, but I would want to do it with at a minimum, a kite, a drogue, a pedal system, as well as the oars. I don't have anything to prove. The idea one is rowing is bogus, but the pace and survivability seem OK, just need something that has a few more options for forward progress, or continuity if one injures a rotator cuff. If there were a few days were a small sail would make the boat thrash less, or one got a heavy pull from a kite (not too fond of the idea of a kite, but I hear good things), it would be so exhilarating, why pass it up. Oddly you can get your name out there for rowing, or for doing it with an outboard. But just doing it in a semi sensible way is so old. "People will little note, nor long remember..." so it might as well be somewhat sensible and fun.

 

[bajansailor]

@Dakillr013 has not been seen on here (logged in) since the 13th June, so it looks like he has said 'sayonara', at least for the time being - but I hope he will check in again.

Maybe I should not post this link below, in case it also inspires him...... but each unto their own re personal challenges.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...made-boat-the-size-of-a-trash-can-191948.html

More updates re Big C on Andrew's Facebook page -
Big C Atlantic Challenge https://www.facebook.com/people/Big-C-Atlantic-Challenge/100082612007911/

 

[bajansailor]

Andrew and Big C set off from Newfoundland, bound for the other side of the Atlantic, but they did not get very far - more details on their Facebook page.
Big C Atlantic Challenge https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082612007911

 

[rwatson]

Very pertinent comment from the Facebook Page, underneath his sobbing apology.

"This is not meant to be cruel, but the number of errors you made in this process- no extended sea trials with a full load, no safe means of getting air when in heavy weather, leaving the boat in the water AFTER detecting an ingress(frankly just leaving it at all), and finally, lifting it by its rigging when it had filled with water- these mistakes alone indicate an astounding lack of seamanship.
The people you should listen to are the sailors, not your supporters- most of whom very likely have no sailing experience, much less open ocean in the Atlantic.
After the pain of letting people down subsides, hopefully you’ll realize how lucky you are that the mistakes you made means you’ll be around for your daughter and the people who care about you."

Anyway, it looks like he has had enough free advice for now.

"Facebook : Big C Atlantic Challenge limited who can comment on this post."

 

[bajansailor]

Absolutely - I had asked him on his FB page in September last year if he was going to do some overnight sailing trips initially as a build up to a longer passage prior to the big adventure this year, and he said 'We are on it' - but I never saw any subsequent mention of any further trials other than brief potters to try to gain advertising / publicity / possible sponsorship.
Even if he had taken Big C over to Southern Ireland (on a trailer, with the ferry), and then attempted to sail to say Cornwall, that would have still been an impressive achievement on it's own if he had succeeded.
I saw photos on his FB page showing a travel lift lifting Big C in / out of the water with 'conventional ' lifting straps which looked a bit precarious - surely for a vessel this size a single point lifting eye on the keel inside the 'cabin', with the cable coming up through the hatch would have been better? And then they could have lifted her out gradually, while pumping to lighten the load of all the water that had come in.

 

[wet feet]

A ludicrous and dangerous stunt, which may have been driven by noble motives. It would surely have benefited the chosen charity more if he had simply donated the cost of the boat plus expedition directly to the cause. After an extended period of enforced immobility,the occupant of such a confined vessel would surely be suffering from muscle wastage and possibly salt water sores and may well require medical treatment that would further negate the proceeds of the voyage.

 

[fallguy]

of all the stupid...won't be able to sleep or stretch bis legs for 60-90 days and the boat failed because it filled with water...on the ocean, imagine that...water

 

[gonzo]

The only reason I will go on a rowboat despite it being very inadvisable is because I made up my mind to do it when I was a teenager and I wrote it down on my bucket list. Now I understand this sounds very immature but I do not care.

Not at all. It takes determination and the capability of enduring lack of sleep, cold, wet, and a couple of months of misery. I would advise you that instead of taking off to cross oceans, first take a boat for a week into the ocean and see if you still want to do it.