Sailing From Halifax to Bermuda in November (10/2007)

Question: I just brought my 34-foot sailboat down the Saint Lawrence to Nova Scotia, and I'm considering making the passage to Bermuda in November and then continuing further south for the winter. I've been hearing all kinds of differing opinions about the safety of heading out from Halifax in November, and I thought you could offer an experienced perspective. The boat is a well looked after double ender with cutter rig, storm sails, self-steering, etc. My experience with the weather systems in the North Atlantic is minimal, so any advice you have to offer is greatly appreciated.
 

Answer: This is a hard question to answer without knowing more about your boat, your own offshore experience and the strength and experience of your crew, if any. What I can say is that an autumn trip to Bermuda can be tough. The window is small (and sometimes nonexistent) between the end of the hurricane season and when the winter storms really get going. Add the Gulf Stream to that mix with its potential to generate mountainous breaking seas and violent squalls and you have a passage that should not be taken lightly.

We don’t recommend it to crews that don’t have prior ocean crossing experience, either on their own boat or with others. Coastal cruising simply does not adequately prepare you for a November trip to Bermuda. If this would be your first ocean crossing I recommend that you wave it off and cut your teeth on something like a June trip to and from Bermuda—generally a much easier voyage than one in November. Or you could go down the waterway and then get valuable offshore experience along the 'Thorny Path' heading east down the island chain from Florida. If you feel good about how that works out, you could then return north via Bermuda in the spring.

I know that the above opinion will not be a popular one, particularly since it is true that many new cruisers start off their voyages with this autumn passage to Bermuda and most make it just fine. However, be aware that I would guess that on average at least one boat is lost every year on the fall trip to Bermuda. Coincidentally, last year it was a boat that left from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia that was abandoned after a roll over with one of the crew quite badly injured.

For more information on the fall trip to Bermuda, see Sailing Routes in the North Atlantic.

Trans-Atlantic Singlehanded (08/2007)

Question: I’m at a point in my life when it’s time to live the dream that I’ve had since childhood and that’s to sail across the Atlantic single handed. I’m a complete beginner to sailing. I’m currently doing a skipper's course which will take me up to advanced cruising, coastal navigation and radio operation, although blue water cruising is not included since I’m based in Montreal.

I know it’s an achievable dream but I need to put some reality to it, your help and advice will be greatly appreciated. Where do we start; my guess is boat selection? My plan is, as I will be working in Boston next year, to get a boat to live on and get as many hours sailing as I possibly can. I’m not after a big boat, 24 to 27 feet will do, but obviously sea worthy.
 

Answer: Your project will be a substantial challenge but, nonetheless, we think it is doable.

While boat selection will be important, I think the first and most important order of business is to map out a program that will give you the experience and confidence to make your voyage both safe and enjoyable, not an ordeal. I think the key to this will be for you to get as much experience as possible in conditions like those you will face on your crossing. While the course you are doing in Montreal and living on a boat in Boston will provide a start, both areas have much more benign conditions than those you are likely to face in the North Atlantic, even in summer.

First off, we would suggest working toward a British Royal Yachting Association Yacht Master Offshore certificate. Although you can take the courses leading to this qualification in the USA, we would recommend doing them in UK waters where you will get exposure to the strong tides and more challenging weather that you will face toward the end of your trip. There are many good UK sailing schools that provide intensive residential courses leading to the Yacht Master.

After, or possibly concurrently with, the above, it would be a very good idea to do at least one substantial offshore trip on another boat before setting off on your single handed voyage. The bottom line is that there is just no way to know what it is really like offshore without going there. There are several ways to do this, including just hanging around the docks in places like Newport when boats are looking for crew for the annual fall migration to the Caribbean. However, the problem with this approach is that you might end up going to sea with an inexperienced crew or on a poorly prepared boat. A better, albeit more expensive, approach might be to do a crossing on a boat that takes paying crew. We can recommend Hamish and Kate Laird on Seal or John Neal and Amanda Swan Neal on Mahina Tiare. We have also considered taking paying crew on Morgan’s Cloud but have not yet made a decision on that.

The other advantage of all this is that it will expose you to several different boats; experience that will be invaluable when the time comes to pick and fit out your own boat.

Preparing for a Trans-Atlantic (2006)

Question: I have perhaps a total of 40 hours sailing the New England coast. I have been invited by an experienced sailor to sail from Newburyport to Ireland in 2008 on a 32’ boat. My question is, what could I do between now and then to better prepare myself as a useful crewmember?
 

Answer: Sounds like you have an adventure in your future! That’s great.

A list of things to look into:

1. Make sure the skipper really is experienced and that the boat is a seaworthy boat in good condition (talk to someone experienced who could judge this).

2. Try and get out sailing with the skipper on the boat before you head across to make sure you are comfortable with the situation.

3. Try and get as much offshore experience as you can to make sure you like being offshore; not everyone does.

4. Practice sailing and sail trim—it will make it a lot more fun if you have an idea of how to trim the sails and make the boat move at a good pace.

5. Make sure that you are heading across at the right time of year—preferably between May and July—and that the skipper understands the danger of being anywhere in the Atlantic during hurricane season (as I write this, there’s a tropical storm heading up the east coast).

6. If you really want to get into it, you might want to spend a holiday taking a British RYA Competent Crew course (see www.yachtmaster.com). These are hands-on with actual sailing experience. Or else, a cheaper alternative would be to take a sailing course in the States that is hands-on with a focus on being a good crew member, versus a course that focuses on being a skipper (unless you want to go in that direction).

That’s all I can think of for now. Good luck!

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