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YellowFever said..
Steve, I normally ignore these forums but I feel it is necessary here for the sake of duty of care.
Forget all questions of suitability of the boat for now, and lets look at the suitability of the skipper. If I read this forum correctly you have limited coastal experience and limited navigation experience. These are remote locations, they do have some of the strongest tides in the world and some of the most challenging rocky reef outcrops in the country.
If things go wrong, they go very wrong. Also in that part of the world, the knee jerk saying is that you fall in there is no point in the boat coming back to pick you us as the Sharks will get to you first. It only takes only look over the side of an offshore vessel in tropical waters at night to understand this.
The strongest recommendation I can give you is to give serious thought to navigation courses, RYA now offer online courses that will help prepare you and there are numerous coastal skipper training providers who can better prepare you for what is, in all essence a dangerous voyage. Although you state coastal cruising is the aim, if you get stuck on a lee shore, the outcome will be far worse than what happened to M3 and help will be alot further away. You should probably start to learn to understand the indications of different weather patterns.
You need to properly prepare for this voyage, significant firstaid kit, full electronic charts, paper bakups and know how to use them, know how to take a fix using only a compass and boat heading.
Once you have the necessary skills to understand the impact of the trip then it is time to look at seaworthiness of the boat. Yacht racing has good standards that will help to define typical minimum safety requirements. These are worth reviewing and applying to your boat. It would be well worth going on an extended voyage in a strong seabreeze to test the boat. Wait for a good 24 knot seabreeze to come in and head south to Bunbury, this will prepare you for what you are in for.
It is great to dream of adventure but also do it with your eyes wide open. The sea is full of people who set off with a romantic ideal never to come back, but with proper planning, and good experience, then you can make the right decisions. For me, I am fortunate enough to have a yachtmaster ticket to my name, have spent a large degree of my working life offshore, and done many miles under sail at sea. If I was to attempt this trip, the Mac26 would not be a choice I would make. There are faster, more comfortable and more seaworthy options to consider, I would compare it to driving a mini moke around the country because you like the fresh air.
Think your next step carefully.
GDAY YellowFever
Thanks for your input ,dont really know where to start ?
I have owned the Mac 26 for just over two yrs in that time the longest time on my boat as been about a week the furthest i have been offshore was about 15 to 20 miles in winds of about 25 knots covering distance in that time down to bunbury and back. i have made an appointment to go see a yachtmaster at hillarys boat harbour to get his expert opinion as i have done on this forum with mixed results ,there in nothing set in stone as yet but i have done as much as i can around perth waters .I have all the safety equipment including 2x epirbs ,first aid kit, pfd , safety harness and a life line 25 meters long that hangs out the back as a last resort .
i think a lot of people have the wrong idea of what i would like to do ,i have lived a lot of years because i'm extremely cautious with everything i do whether flying or sailing
Still thinking of every step
cheers
stevetheadven
> 9 months ago, 27 Nov 2015
But sure to be fun to sail!
