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What's the furthest you've sailed in the smallest boat?
I've always been curious as to how far cruisers will go in a certain size vessel. I for one, have a 21' sailboat and often wonder how far it will take me...
So here is my question:what is the the longest distance you've sailed in the smallest boat you owned!?
I paddled about a quarter mile down and across the harbor in a 5' plastic toy pool boat when I must have been about 10. I wanted to see if the hamburgers at the Country Club (across the harbor) were better than the ones at the Yacht Club. I didn't drown or have need of my life jacket. Decided that the burgers weren't worth the trip. The background of my avatar photo shows the Country Club's golf course. The boat in the middleground shows the influence of a hamburger forty years later.
Robert Manry crossed the Atlantic in a 13ft boat in the mid-1960s.
In the end, I'm not sure these anecdotes translate to anyone else. One's success on any passage is influenced by a combination of one's specific boat and her condition, the skipper, the crew, the weather and luck.
Got a copy of his book Tinkerbelle on my boats bookshelf. Great read about a man and his dream. Unfortunately, his life was cut short but, he did get to fulfill his dream.
Took an Ericson 27 from SF Bay to Barra Navidad and back. I'm on the East coast now and commute between the Carolinas and the Bahamas in a Cal 29.
The only problem I see with a 21' foot boat is that you have no place to store beer.
I personally haven't traveled very far on a very small boat as I really enjoy my creature comforts. I do know of a young Japanese man who sailed a 19 footer from Japan to San Francisco. There is also a Mini Transat race for 21 footers.
So I'd say it wasn't a matter of how big the boat was, but the sailor's er xxxxs.
hay sharkbait did i meet you or was this before i got here???? i knew a fella in a ericson 27 in la cruz... he did a packing box of my rudder in exchange for some chain he needed... was that you???
I stay for weeks at a time on my 20 foot Mirage 5.5m. Sail all over Pamlico Sound, NC. I could easily go to Florida if I had the time off work long enough for such a trip. I stay on weekends in my 16 foot Chrysler on an inland lake (Kerr). It is really cramped but can be done. It is warm and dry at night.
It is more about what kind of a trooper you are than what kind of a boat you have. But I would not go smaller than 20 feet for any kind of long distance sailing.
... Cuttyhunk Pond. We've sailed many, many, harbors on the NE coast in this boat. In fact, in two small sailboats(under 10'), we've sailed hundreds of miles, many of those miles with 4 of us onboard.
But to your question, so far, we've sailed a Cape Dory 28 the farthest from our home waters. In our case, distance sailed from home - so far - had more to with our age at the time, than the boat.
These days I'm more engaged in the quality of the miles we sail, than the quantity.
... Cuttyhunk Pond. We've sailed many, many, harbors on the NE coast in this boat. In fact, in two small sailboats(under 10'), we've sailed hundreds of miles, many of those miles with 4 of us onboard.
But to your question, so far, we've sailed a Cape Dory 28 the farthest from our home waters. In our case, distance sailed from home - so far - had more to with our age at the time, than the boat.
These days I'm more engaged in the quality of the miles we sail, than the quantity.
Sailed my 24 foot Bristol from Long Island out to Block Island, Cuttyhunk, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket and all around Narragansett Bay. Even stopped off at Bristol Rhode Island to pick up a part at the factory. Sailed it to New York and Sandy Hook several times when going west.
I wandered from St. Simons Is., Ga. through the keys to Tarpon Springs, Fl. in my 26' double ended gaff rigger. That was primarily harbor hopping, longest trip I recall was probably Marathon to Ft. Myers. Fun days.
My wife and I once did a 4 month cruise in NZ on a 26'er. The longest non-stop passage was about 120nm. We now have a CC with an aft cabin - much nicer!!
Took a 16' Rebel sailboat to Catalina - Avalon and around other side to camp at little harbor. The ranger wanted us to leave as the place was empty. We ignored him and stayed two days the four of us. The girls liked the campground so ew went over regularly. Invited ranger to steaks and beer..
We sailed roughly 200 miles around Lake Huron's North Channel with my family of 6 in my previous MacGregor 22. That was before I got my "big" boat, a Chrysler 26.
It is strange what people consider to be a small boat
I recently resigned my column at small craft advisor because I now have a 26 footer
which in my mind is a large boat - until I take it to a Solent Marina where it is dwarfed by the 45 foot twin wheel scoop sterned cheese wedges in their serried ranks.
It is strange what people consider to be a small boat
I recently resigned my column at small craft advisor because I now have a 26 footer
which in my mind is a large boat - until I take it to a Solent Marina where it is dwarfed by the 30 foot twin wheel scoop sterned cheese wedges in their serried ranks.
I've always regarded 20' as the dividing line between "small" and "big" boats - probably due to the need to keep the big ones in the water for the most part.
As for "How far", Webb Chiles sailed most of the way around the world in an open 18' Drascombe Lugger. When that was happening I remember thinking that proved there was no lower limit on the boat, only on the skipper.
My first construction,SV Half Safe ,a gaff sloop rigged scow.over all length 5'8" beam 2.5 ' Sailed in near gale force winds to East Sooke (less than mile) AS if I had any choice in direction.
sharkbait--if it WAS you, i am deeply appreciative of th e assistance that was rendered. if not-- whoot.. sailing an ericson 27 in open ocean musta been a gas.
they sail well.
Sailed my old Catalina 27 from Perryville, MD to Cape Charles, VA and back, round trip about 500 miles as the crow flies, probably closer to 700 with all the tacking I did. Neat trip, had some rough weather near the mouth of the Patuxent River and holed up in a creek for three days waiting for better weather.
I don't understand Roger and his motivations. When I sail I love to be as close to the coast as possible - not for safety because as any fule sailor knows it is shore where the hazards are. But I am fascinated by the join between land and ocean. For me that is where it all happens - the wildlife, the history, the geography. It is a very full canvas.
Roger seeks a blank canvas - it is a sort of Zen I suppose.
For me the inspiration who showed that you could sail a partially prepared small boat to almost anywhere you choose to take her
You seem unable to read the restriction small boat. I know few people that go round world in an 8' to 10' boat. The op question is understood well by all other posters. If you sail aroun the world your "furthest" is the total miles traveled. Close to circumference of planet. Read it again slowly.
I hope I have added value to this thread.
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