Sailing across the atlantic

[joeyjo]

Hi everybody! I'm new to this forum and i hope you can help me

I was wondering if you'd be able to give me some advice regarding sailing across the atlantic - how long (roughly) would it take to sail solo west to east Fort Lauderdale - Bahamas - Azores- Dublin in a 32ft boat, from the end of May, without using the engine much.

I realise it hugely depends on the wind and other factors but i would appreciate any comments at all as my dad is currently doing this passage (he has nearly 40 years of experience) and i wanted to find out a bit more about his current journey!

Thanks
Joeyjo

[paulk]

We sailed from Connecticut to Cork, Ireland - a comparable distance- in a crewed 38' sloop. It took us 22 days. A 32' boat would be slower and a solo sailor may be less likely to fly the spinnaker and shake out reefs as quickly as we did, making him even slower. If he stops in the Bahamas (how long?), it could easily take him five weeks to get from there to the Azores, perhaps longer if he has headwinds. We planned supplies for a 40-day trip, just in case. You don't say what kind of boat he's sailing: a Mini Transat can hit 20 knots while a Bristol Channel Cutter tops out at about 7.

The distance from the Azores to Dublin is lengthy as well - about half of the transatlantic trip- and more likely upwind or variable. Dublin is also a good ways North; he may want to put in to a French, English, or other Irish port en route. If he left the Bahamas in late May, he should be getting somewhere over there soon.

[joeyjo]

Thanks very much! Got a call from him an hour ago saying he's sailing into the Azores now. He said it was dead calm out on the Atlantic hence the lengthy journey of 43 days from the Bahamas!!!

Now - the second leg of the journey which is going to be quicker i hope!

By the way does anybody know best makes/models of satellite phones to be used on boats?

Cheers!

[sailingdog]

For overall use and reliability, go with an Iridium-based phone. Far easier to use than the Inmarsat ones, and their network is far more reliable than Globalstars.

[joeyjo]

Excellent!! Many thanks!

[seabreeze_97]

Always a good read on an Atlantic plan.
S/V Kestrel - The Plan