Does anyone know if it is possible/ sane to single hand a Hobie 17 from Florida to the BVI's? I have had plenty of experience sailing larger keel boats in the ocean, but the Hobie brings up a bunch of questions I haven't encountered before.

1) How far can I expect to sail in a 12 hour period with moderate winds?

2) What the hell do I do if the wind dies 30 miles from land?

3) Can I sleep on this boat in the ocean at night? And if so, for how long?

4) Can I buy wheels that are light and portable? How do I get this thing safely on the beach at the end of each sailing day?

5) X factors?

If anyone has any tips I would really appreciate it, this is pretty much all I think about.

Are you out of your mind? Other than getting run down during the night or getting off course and drifting into Castro's Cuba there are Pirates in the area, but I doubt that they would want a Hobie 17.

12 hours maybe 100 miles
If the wind dies 30 miles from shore, you may have the same fate
You should be able to use two boat fenders to roll a cat up on a beach
My tip is don't try I had 2 friends try a similar trip, but in the Pacific and they were never seen again although a freighter did spot thier boat and took pictures it appeared that the boat had started to take on water because the bows were sticking straight up with the transoms facing straight down.

H17 are not the best at handleing waves so it would not be my choice for this type of trip.

It is probably best to have the support of a powerboat and others... but it is possible, has been done, and would be 1 hell of an adventure.

1. You can average the same as the wind... so 12 hours with 10 mph wind = 120 miles.
2. drift
3. yes you can sleep on a hobie.
4 i have seem people use 2 pvc pipes to roll the boat up the beach
5. storms, sharks, whales, metorites, bermuda triangle. sunami's, capsizes, a horible flaming death....

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Andrew Scott
Mystère 5.5

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Man what a trip. Does anyone remember that short lived show "I Shouldnt Be Alive?" pretty sure it got canned anyway. There was 2 guys that tried to make the trip across the Sea of Cortez on a hobie 16. Long story short..it was way overloaded with gear, so they unloaded the important stuff...like water. Storm trounced the cat. Surrounded by hammerheads. Stranded on an island for days / week + with no water. Damn near died before they had to talk the rescue boat into actually rescuing them...

man what a trip...if you do it..you got huevos grande!!

take pics and share.

leave a will...is your wife hot?...lol

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edited by: turtlecat, Aug 19, 2008 - 09:29 PM<!-- end editby -->

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Turtlecat
Central Texas
H14T
Nacra 6.0na
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Supposedly there were guys who crossed the Northwest Passage (Arctic Ocean) in a Hobie18. I can't imagine it.. but i heard it was true, and done over 2 seasons.


"in 1988, skipper Jeff MacInnis and crew Mike Beedell completed a long, cold journey, becoming the first to cross the Northwest Passage in a solely wind-powered boat. Their craft? A Hobie 18 Magnum, of course."

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edited by: andrewscott, Aug 20, 2008 - 01:10 PM<!-- end editby -->

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Andrew Scott
Mystère 5.5

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There is some seriously rough water north of Puerto Rico. Routinely. I have only known one man who did something like this. The man who made my G-Cat 5.7. Hans Gessiler. When he designed the 5.7 he was so sure of the design that he put three hulls together and left St Petersburg, Fl. and sailed to Mexico with the help of a small honda motor. I told Hans people would think he was crazy, he said that sometimes it takes being crazy to get your message out.

I lived in the USVI a number of years... DO NOT try it!. Shackleton might have managed it... but it is not in keeping with good sailing practices.

GR

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Deepsees
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If you are insane enough it is possible. But get right with god before you push off. The H17 isnt the best blue water boat. Loaded with supplies it will be very low in the water. I would suggest a H21 or Beneteau 42 or something like like. If, I mean when, you capsize you will just float with the current and wind. The trades will just take you back to fla. Make sure you wear a harness so when they find the boat your body will be attached to it. Yep, you are insane and you need help.

If you're interested in a bit of an extreme adventure, I have a few catsailors interested in joining a trip around Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest for next summer. Its almost exactly 1000 km's and I'd be prepared to have our 20' inflatable with a 115HP escort us provided that the participants can help with the fuel costs. You'll need a bigger cat though.

The race will be called the Gau Shi 1000 which although is a name derived from my last name, it also means Dog Sh*t in Cantonese...how apt. Anyway, its still in the planning phase but its entirely doable.

Let me know asap if you're interested. I'd like to keep it small to avoid a Worrell 1000 repeat.