A little idea that's been niggling at me for a while. Is it possible?

Maybe possible but capacity for stores and weather reports questionable

offcourse its possible, it called adventure, go for it

It is certainly possible. It has been done before from Brisbane to Hayman Island way back when Caper Cats had just been released as a promotional exercise.

The event was written up in Australian Seacraft Magazine which morphed into Cruising Helmsman Magazine.

There were two or three Caper Cats that did the trip WITH a back up vehicle team that met them at predetermined points and communicated via radio. That was pre mobile phone and hand held VHF days.

If you are serious about doing this, approach the project with research, caution and professionalism.

The Caper Cats have probably 150 to 200 litres of storage space in each hull. Be careful you do not overload them weight wise. Consider putting divisions in them.

One thing is for sure. You will have a wet arse most of the way.

If I was considering such a voyage, I would feel a lot safer doing it on one of these.

www.hobie.com/au/en/kayaks/mirage-tandem-island/

I used to sail in a club that had a mad windsurfer plus cat sailer he wind surfed from Melbourne to Sydney camped along the way from memory.
Later on he sailed and wrote a book called"windswept" Gavin Le Sueur plus a few others a very nice read actual
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Le_Sueur
now that looks like a bloody wet ride

There has been a young bloke who sailed a Corsair single handed from Sydney to Northern Queensland. Google will show it. I bought a Flying Dutchman years ago off a bloke who sailed an NS14 from Sydney to Shoalhaven Heads. There is of course books about blokes sailing Wayfarers across the North Sea.

Dinghies are better than catamarans for this sort of adventure because of better load carrying performance. They can also sail better with shorten down sail in heavy weather. They will hang off sea anchors and self right easier if your sailing solo.

Jesse Martin's book Lionheart includes recollections of his dad taking him and his brother sailing up the east coast on a small open cat, camping along the way. From the pictures it looked as if they didn't even have hats, shirts or sunscreen. You'd certainly have lots of options to duck for cover, I suppose. I reckon it'd be a fantastic adventure given the right supplies and safety gear and precautions. But don't take advice from novice sailors like me.

@captainyanti
Haha, thanks. This is normally my attitude but was thinking I should temper it slightly with a modicum of caution and advice from people wiser than myself in sailing matters. And like I said, at this stage this is just a niggling idea albeit one that is starting to crystalize the more I think about it.

@cisco
Wow, the Mirage Tandem Island looks like a fantastic fusion of kayak and sailboat. I would definitely feel much better on something like that dealing with getting through surf, righting etc. Only thing I don't like is the foot peddles. I do a bit of kayaking and have always been against contraptions that cost a fortune, are liable to break and require a lot of maintenance - would much prefer the simplicity of a buoyant piece of plastic and a paddle (and a sail in this case). This is the reason I was looking at the caper cat - they are cheap, have a bit of storage (I pack very light) and are pretty easy to manage single handed.

@Ramona
I never considered a dingy - but thanks, that is definitely an idea to think about. The reason I didn't think a dingy would be suitable is the lack of closed storage and also getting through surf at the beginning and end of the day. This is probably my biggest concern as I don't have a lot of experience in this area - grew up in Moreton Bay sailing around all the islands on my little dinghy so never had to deal with breaking waves.

@Everyone
Thanks for the great advice everyone. I should probably give a bit more details about what I was thinking. I don't have a lot of money, but have time enough and have always wanted to do a long sailing trip on a small boat. As such I was thinking of buying a little caper cat / hobie cat to sail back to Byron Bay to see my family for Christmas. The plan was to start in Sydney where I currently live and each day sail out a couple hundred metres off the coast, take a 90 degree left turn, sail until the afternoon or the weather started looking bad, turn 90 degrees left again, sleep on the beach, then repeat each day until I get to Byron. I guess it would take a week or two or three. Like I said, the biggest concern I had was getting through breakers each day. Capsizing/sinking the boat would be a bit ****, but I feel confident swimming a few kms back to shore if worst came to worse, and as long as the boat didn't cost me too much would not be a big deal.

The plan seems pretty simple to me, so given I don't mind roughing it, having a wet arse, losing the boat and hitchiking back to Brisbane I just wanted to check if anyone else could point out any fatal flaws - i.e. getting through breakers, winds blowing in the wrong direction that time of year, not being able to get back to shore if bad weather hits suddenly etc...

Also I'd be grateful if anyone could share there ideas on alternate cheap boats to do it in (ie a dingy), or whatever pearls of wisdom you have.

Thanks heaps.
Stuart

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captainyanti said..
offcourse its possible, it called adventure, go for it

I feel like a goose now! thinking about how fast you can travel and how you can beach anywhere, it would be sweeet.
i used to go on fairly big missions on my hobie 14 and load the hulls up with food and drink. Def go for it. thinking about it got me kinda excited for you!
I towed my hobie to SA and dropped her in the water everywhere. did alot around york pen, lakes in grampians, wilsons prom. the great thing about the hobie, is it was really comfortable to sleep on.

The hobie/Cat would be awesome . i always carried a kayak paddle with me as a back up motor. i used to sit over 1 of the hulls and kayak the hobie either into wind or when there wasnt any. dry bag clipped around the base of mast and provisions in the hulls. the hobie was my first boat and the only thing i didnt like too much was tryna right the thing in extreme winds. always managed but wasnt confident. this would be pretty important and capsizing in part and parcel of these things.

I imagine there great number of people who have done what you are contemplating, we just never got ot hear about it because in their minds they are un-important and no one is interested in what they do.

Of course there is always this story which seems to have been forgotten by most, but you must ask yourselves, would it have raised any interest if the people had been less well known?

hobieclass.com/?Page=7766

I was sitting for a several days seeking shelter behind Hope island up North. The trade wind was howling a good 25 to 30 knots and I was trying to head south.

Anyways about the second day a little hobbie or something simular sailed in parked on the white sand in the lee of the island......the couple then removed there stores and spread there stuff on the beach to dry. They camped for 2 nights and then departed the following morning in about 22knots..... I was still there for another 2 days in Aboard my 37 footer seeking shelter! ( mind you I did have a nice Latvian backpacker onboard!) .

It just goes to show what can be done in a little cataman. Actualy I think that's the island Jessie Martin use to sail to with his Dad perhaps it was him re-living some memory's! Haha

The problem with catamarans is when they capsize. When I was the duty rescue boat driver at a local catamaran club [50% of the boats were actually dinghies and trailer sailers], once the breeze got up the off the beach catamarans, especially Hobies, always needed all the rescue boats time. Even not carrying cargo these boats are hard to get up, some cases took two boats to pull them up. Shudder to think how they would go with some weight in each hull. The dedicated racers like Nacras could fend for themselves.

At the time I was racing a Pringle 16. These are an off the beach cat but actually a very clever design with all the faults of Hobies sorted. They can be difficult to right though because of their width and a need for plenty of weight out on the righting strop. I installed a windsurfer wishbone under the tramp. It pivoted off the front beam and was held up under the tramp for normal sailing. In case of a capsize the wishbone was released and swung out 90 degrees to the hull and I could get my puny 90 kilos well out from the hull. Rope and jam cleats held it in place. Once righted the wishbone was released and pulled up under the tramp. The wishbone idea came from one of the several catamaran forums!

My old quick kat was easy just walk out on the center board and lean back with the main sheet the A class never fell over and my sting ray was much the same .
I always sealed my masts so they tended to float a little longer . I loved that old quick cat on a reach I did nose dive a few times they pull up real quick Ha ha
never cart wheeled though close
I wish I was still as flexible

Hi all

Once again thanks for the advice. Have been having a chat with a few old hands and a few more issues (but also solutions) to the idea have become apparent.

Getting through the break
I definitely feel the biggest issue is getting back in to the beach at the end of the day. It will be quite hard to see how big the surf is from behind and I feel anything over a couple foot might be too much to handle (speaking from zero experience whatsoever). I think that capsizing in rough seas will be tough as you pointed out Ramona, and capsizing in the surf will almost certainly be the end of most Hobies/Capers. The only way I see around this issue is to rethink my boat choice and as such, I've started leaning towards Cisco's suggestion of using a kayak/tri type boat, but then in my research I came across the SmartKat ( ). Does anyone have any experience with these? It looks perfect because it's: buoyant, easy-to-handle, beachs easy (it has a automatically collapsing keel for when you hit the beach hard), can travel much faster than the hobie island. I feel the buoyancy would help it handle breaker's and it would be much less inclined to nose dive. Also it only weighs 50kg so even if it did capsize in surf I could probably just drag it to the beach. I dunno, let me know what you think???

NSW Coastline
I've heard at the time of year I'm thinking of going (late November, early December) this can be a tricky stretch. Apparently there are quite a few people who do long distance on Qld coastline in little boats because its sheltered by the reef and there's never much surf. However, most beaches in NSW will have a couple feet of surf, currents are running South (not sure if this is still true if I sailed just beyond the break), winds are usually northerly and conditions are generally rough. Does anyone have much experience with this stretch and any thoughts on how a little boat would handle it??

Cheers
Stuart

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





was an excellent write up in multihull magazine of a guy that traveled the east coast of Queensland and far north on a hobie 17 or 18, oversized stays etc probably 14 yrs ago now,even met and traveled with a lovely lady from the other side of the pond, fished and lived the dream, not sure id give the laser 2 an attempt but he sails an inflaitable cat in another clip, sure is a difference between being alive and living. But traveling the east coast of Australian would be an awesome adventure in a small catamaran.

Capsizing could be a problem. I was always able to right my 14 foot hobie but once. Downwind 30 knots, waves, and cartwheel. My experience at the time limited. I shoulda been gybing but instead I had the sail right out on a downwind run. When I cartwheeled the stay went through sail coming apart at the seam making the sail hopeless. I installed a baby bob on top of mast which is a great thing to stop you turtling. November is predominately northerlies? Might be a tricky one but hobies point really well nonetheless. Yeah coming into beaches... How would ya do it. I think you'd have to know your spots and swell etc.

Hobies surf reasonably well, plus if he has the time what's the rush, I was pondering the idea of a sea anchor as a way of righting a capsized boat, would come in handy in more ways than one. Wow! Jealous of your adventure , what a hoot.

Stick with readily available craft. There is a reason those odd ball catamarans are rare. Hobie cats are everywhere, try eBay or recycle yards, You need to spend enough so that you can just walk away!

IMO hard to do, the sailing bit wouldn't to hard but the getting in and getting out of all the river mouths would be an exercise in futility, there is surf on almost every beach, that's why they do these trips in Qld

After hiring a hobie and loving it on magnetic I was gonna hire one at home. Ended up buying one for 600 bucks instead. Got me into sailing and was so cheap.

Came across a couple videos which give me a bit of confidence.







I know what your saying Ramona - have even see a few negative reviews about inflatables on here and elsewhere. However, I get the impression they are from people with a slightly different set of requirements to my own. Having said that, seeing how the Hobie handled in the surf in those videos and the fact I could pick one up a hell of a lot cheaper has put me in two minds.

14 foot hobies are cheap. Think there's one on now for 800. There are more easily managed than a 16or 18. I used to pull it off trailer, right it, push it across sand etc on my own. The guys in the bigger hobies needed 2-3 people. You can hang right out balancing the boat. stay way back when going over waves and surf in!

Catamarans are amazing in surf and the ability to sit on ten knots all day makes sense.
The rudders take a hiding though If you come and go off a surf beach.

Are re you doing it solo or with a crew?. A crew would be recommended but you would need a bigger boat To carry the extra weight.

Also most otb cats are quite overpowered and things like halyard locks make sail lowering at sea quite hard. You need something you can reef or lower the main and sail on the jib.

Dont forget get the epirb and vhf.

Edit! Where are you going to sleep. You can't always sleep in the sand dunes.

you might also need a small outboard for getting into harbors and creeks.

Not it trying to put you off just some thoughts about practicalities.

Regards

Stephen

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HG02 said..
I used to sail in a club that had a mad windsurfer plus cat sailer he wind surfed from Melbourne to Sydney camped along the way from memory.
Later on he sailed and wrote a book called"windswept" Gavin Le Sueur plus a few others a very nice read actual
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Le_Sueur
now that looks like a bloody wet ride

Gavin Le Sur... He is my Doctor here in Cairns.

as long as you have a handheld gps with maps on it or navionices ect i dont think it would be any trouble to find safe places to land for the evening.

If the swell is southerly and under 2-2.5 m the north facing points from lennox to byron will rapidly grade the surf size down as it moves along the point and it would be pretty easy to wait in deep water for a lull and then time your run in.i cant really speak for the coastline further south than lennox, though i recon crescent would be good.

You would just have to make sure you were through the surf before sunset or you would be in for a long scary dark night.