Hi!

My boyfriend and I recently bought a capercat and are looking for some insight, recommendations, tips, basically any knowledge about whether sailing from Ulladulla (three hours south of Sydney) to North Queensland would be feasible/possible.

We bought the capercat 5 months ago, and go sailing once or twice a week in a lake.

Neither of us had any prior sailing experience but I think that we have picked it up pretty well and have done a lot of research.

We've bought a radio and epirb, and have life jackets. Is there any other important safety precautions you'd recommend?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

And make sure you can tell your arse from your elbeau.

Please, reconsider!!!!aahhhhhh

On the other hand,nothing is impossible!

I have met a couple of adventurers doing this trip before you. It is highly doable. The crew i met were also on a 14' cat. I had them over for dinner and beers on my boat in ballina. They got all the way to the whitsundays. I would recommend a small outboard to assist getting in through coastal bars. Being constantly wet is the biggest hurdle. Good wetsuits, drybags a light tent and sleeping bags, some requsit safety gear, a keen eye on weather and enjoy. You will meet amazing people and have a great adventure no matter how far you get.

Been done a few times, including as a promotional trip back by the dealers back in the late 1970s

Well Elbeaucapercat
You have certainly started a bit of a discussion here with a variety of comments.
Of course I will add my bit

looking for some insight,
You are beginners and have to start at the beginning.
You will be amazed at how much there is to learn about sailing and boats,seamanship and navigation in general.
If you like learning , that's a start.
You can learn by yourself and sailing on the lake is a good start, but someone with experience can make the learning faster and more stress free.

sailing from Ulladulla (three hours south of Sydney) to North Queensland would be feasible/possible.
Yes it is feasible and possible.

Neither of us had any prior sailing experience but I think that we have picked it up pretty well and have done a lot of research.
The unexpected or the thing that you have never experienced will either do you in or teach you a lesson.
You will get this experience as you go. If you stay in your homeground for ever you will never gain the experience to go further.
Many sailors start very young and by the time they have enough money to actually sail away, they have years of experience under their belts.
I jumped from a 14 foot surfcat to a 32 foot sailboat and took off.

We've bought a radio and epirb, and have life jackets. Is there any other important safety precautions you'd recommend?
It is good to see that you are thinking about safety from the start and are wilingl to spend the money.
I am sure that you don't ever want to use that equipment, so attention to weather, sea conditions, route planning that gives you options, (i,e, not trying to enter a port under the worst conditions) and 100 other things is essential.

I am sure you have dredged the web for youtubes, but this is the man. Simon Carter. He has my respect.
Watch, pay attention and learn.


gary

Great adventure, though I think something like a windrush 600 might be much more enjoyable.

users.tpg.com.au/kkmiller/jessemartin/jesse_martin1.html

Dont know if this is what inspired you or not but this a good read. Same boat. 1000km trip up the east coast.

Hi Cisco
That is not me or my bumcrack (spell checker had trouble with that one),
No life jacket.
If you go through Simon's videos I think you will see his philosophy is "Stay on the boat".
He is by no means a risk taker.
He sails solo so if he goes over the jacket will keep him alive until he dies. (My opinion, not his)

Reefing foresail.
Funny how that brought out two opposed opinions.
I didn't have roller furling years ago so I had a deep reef in the genoa.
It was very easy to use and meant I could usually get away without a sail change.
My jib was a high cut "yankee".
So the reef in the Genoa gave an easy to use extra sail for about $200. Great value.
Now I have a furling headsail.
It will be coming off next week for maintenance.
A well maintained roller furling sail is also great.
So in my opinion, if you don't have a furler, add reef points to your genoa.
If you do have a furler, maintain it.

gary

cisco said..

Post us a pic of you in a very skimpy bikini and you will be sure to draw assessments of what your physical capabilities may be from the forum members. We haven't had much "eye candy" for a while.

this kind of comment really detracts from the forum. is it the rum talking, or is this how you generally view and relate to women in everyday life?

fishmonkey said..

cisco said..

Post us a pic of you in a very skimpy bikini and you will be sure to draw assessments of what your physical capabilities may be from the forum members. We haven't had much "eye candy" for a while.

this kind of comment really detracts from the forum. is it the rum talking, or is this how you generally view and relate to women in everyday life?

Being ex-Navy Cisco was just looking at the engineering aspects of her form, after all at sea you need
a robust boat and a robust crew. I'm sure he's just thinking of the mechanics of the body in relation
to the toil it will be subject to.

shaggybaxter said..
I call troll.
Anytime an OP posts once , is their first post to a forum, ensures they post "no sailing experience" and then does not respond to a wealth of well intentioned advice, it screams of a juvenile mindset to me.

Pffft, let them have some fun.
Don't worry about all the safety Nazis here and enjoy your adventure.
I'm sure cisco and shaggybaxter never said **** it and did anything fun when they were young, and look at them now. being so diligent at the keyboard and dishing out advice because they know better.
"wealth of well intentioned advice" Ohhh please?! It's an internet forum. All you're ever gonna get is opinions.

hoop said..

shaggybaxter said..
I call troll.
Anytime an OP posts once , is their first post to a forum, ensures they post "no sailing experience" and then does not respond to a wealth of well intentioned advice, it screams of a juvenile mindset to me.

Pffft, let them have some fun.
Don't worry about all the safety Nazis here and enjoy your adventure.
I'm sure cisco and shaggybaxter never said **** it and did anything fun when they were young, and look at them now. being so diligent at the keyboard and dishing out advice because they know better.
"wealth of well intentioned advice" Ohhh please?! It's an internet forum. All you're ever gonna get is opinions.

??
Find a pea in your bed petal?

The beach cat concept has a number of advantages over a traditional keel yacht for coastal cruising including the ability to be dragged up any beach (assuming you are strong enpugh) and sit out bad weather. I would assume the trip would be a series of day trips.

However the trip requires very careful planning regarding weather as anything more than 20 knots will make it difficult to handle leading to capsize and potential disaster. So think about that.

One thing you might want to check is where you would stay during stops. You cant just camp on the beach in moat places so you would need to locate camping areas accessible by Caper cat in each town.

My experience is related to the NSW sth coast on my small trailable yacht. It also cant deal with storms at sea, cant be dragged up the beach but does have its own accomodation.

SR

garymalmgren said..
That link didn't work so I will try again

gary

I have to say, if he was working bow on my boat I'd quietly ask him to keep a firmer grip and/or sit down when working gear on the foredeck....actually maybe not that quietly. I always wear a harness singlehanding in such situations; it's not to drag you alongside (although I can get back aboard) but to stop you going over the side.

Look at Volvo, Hobart and TP52 vids and you see bowmen moving quickly but holding on much of the time, and being very well balanced almost all of the time. Being a good offshore bowman is a specialty skill just like being a good windsurfer or a good skiff sailor, and having sailed with Volvo and AC guys I'd have to say they normally work in a much safer manner than in the vid.

I think sailing up the coast in a Caper cat is an unnecessary risk in relation to the amount of fun you will have. It certainly can be done if you pick your days but you will probably find you will get board of it all in a matter of time. Especially with having no where to hide from the sun (or rain) day in and day out. Constantly being wet, and if in the case of a capsize ..and you will capsize as the Capers are known for digging the nose in like the Hobie 14 and 16's trying to right the cat back up especially with the hulls full of gear in a heavy swell and a stiff breeze. Make sure you both tether yourselves to the cat as it can be frightening how quick the cat will want to catch a breeze with the trampoline acting as a sail when the boat is on its side in the water and you too are in the water trying to swim towards it with a life jacket on and wet weather gear. Not a nice feeling trust me!No doubt the cat will be at least a 30 year old so it goes without saying to triple check the boats sailing integrity. Especially where the beams connect to the hull and how dry the hulls will stay internally. You didn't mention if its the 14 or the very rare 18 foot Caper cat you intend to sail up the coast? This would also make a big difference in the trip such as stability and speed and sitting higher above the waves.
I would be far more tempted to trailer the boat up north and do island hopping around the many sheltered Island's in the Whitsundays.

Hope i have been some help like the other posts on here.

I think this would be the end of the discussion as you haven't yourself contributed to the comments suggested.