Is this adventurous or foolhardy?

[blewie]

Thinking about sailing an old Tanzer 22 along the coast of Nova Scotia from Yarmouth to Halifax in three or four days. My sailing experience consists of daysailing a 20-footer in Halifax Harbour. I haven't bought the boat yet, but assuming it is seaworthy and has a reliable outboard, is this a good idea or suicide?

Thanks

Stu

[casey1999]

tanzer22.org / Reviews / Practical Sailor (1981)
Boat seems to be seaworthy- see above, I would have a professional survey done prior to purchase. Check standing rigging. Keel version seems better. Make sure you are set up for offshore sailing ( all reccomended safety gear including epirb). I am not familar with your sailing route but would you have a safe anchorage every day of your trip to pull into if needed to make repairs or due to bad weather? If the boat has an outboard will it work well in rough seas? Make sure you check long range weather forcast www.passageweather.com before and during you trip. I would talk to some people who have sailing experience in that area and take them along with you on your trip. Without some off shore experience I would not go alone or with novice crew.

[overbored]

Are you crusing or delevering the boat? if your experiance is only harbor day sailing, you might want someone with you that has a bit of off shore experiance . what are the prevailing wind directions, will you be sailing up wind or down most of the time. how big are the seas? an outboard is not good for anything over 3-4 foot seas

[casey1999]

Looking at the weather patterns in the area, I would plan to come in to a harbor/anchorage each evening. If that cannot be done- trailer the boat to destination. The low pressure systems form fast in your area I believe- you do not want to get caught up in those. Looks like some high wind/waves coming your way in the next few days. And if engine fails, you should be prepared to sail into anchorage/harbor- and your shore line makes that difficult. Let us know how it turns out.

[dabnis]

Not familiar with your area but a couple of local trial runs wouldn't hurt anything. If problems show up it's easier to deal with then close to home or even better, at the dock instead of at sea.

Dabnis

[Barquito]

Small boat and inexperience is a double whammy. However, I think those can be mostly overcome by application of prudence.

[catamount]

When I was 14, we (my father, uncle, cousin and I) sailed a Paceship PY23 from Saco, Maine, across the Gulf of Maine (and the mouth of the Bay of Fundy) to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and then back to Bar Harbor, Maine. Just because the boat is small doesn't mean the voyage has to be!

From Yarmouth to Halifax, you could make a continuous offshore run, or you could harbor-hop. If I didn't have a lot of experience, I would probably take my time and make the trip in small jumps. Get ahold of some charts and a good cruising guide and plot out your stop-over points.

Of course, if you are lucky and get a great weather window, and are able to time the tides right (you'll have a lot of current to deal with between Yarmouth and Cape Sable), you might want to just go for it.

[Boatinglifeaway]

Another person here not from the area but my philosophy of life is that if you can plan things the right way and it is plausible, I would do it.

[jrd22]

No experience other than harbor day sailing, new to you untested and unfamiliar boat, outboard of unknown condition, offshore for four (or more) days. I think that would qualify in my mind as foolhardy. That's not to say you couldn't do it, just that it would be hard to think of too many more things that could make for an "interesting" experience. With a good weather window and the ability to get into port each evening and a good check out of the boat and systems it's certainly doable. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

[DRFerron]

I wasn't going to respond but I can't help myself. A 22 foot boat, outboard, minimum experience at all let alone with this boat, open ocean. Just plain dumb.

But if you must do it, I highly suggest that you file a float plan with a few responsible folks before you leave and make sure that you have all the necessary safety equipment.

Good luck. Give us a holler when it's over.