Dauntless Crosses the Atlantic Again

Yes, safe trip indeed. Just out of interest how much is it to take Dauntless through the Panama canal, I have a friend thinking of doing it early next year & we were chatting about it last weekend at the pub.

Seems to be underway westbound at 6 KTs https://share.delorme.com/dauntless this AM

Sweeeet!!!

I did a little checking: From Hierra to BVI is about 2600nm. At 6kts that is 433hrs, or 18days. At 2gph, 870gal.

Nowhere to stop half way through, right?

Richard sent an update he wanted me to share on tf. Currently running at 1500 rpm 5.7 knots roughly 4nm/gal. great circle route distance is 2475 to Barbados. Winds 12 seas 2,3. Also only using the windward bird.

Will he cross directly from Canari Island? Isn't it a shorter atlantic cross to go down to Cape Verde than cross from there to barbados?

NYs in Barbados...good plan Richard.

What tankage does he have?

Yes, his pan is to cross directly from the Canaries. I asked him about this and he said this is what he wants to do. He has the fuel to make it with some cushion. As far as the tankage I believe he has 700 gallons but I will ask to make sure. He has been running at 4 NM per gallon.

Looks very tight to me. From what Imsee on the map Hierro to Barbados is around 2850 nautics, and at 4n/g this gives somethings like 712 gallons.
Anyway I don't know how I can dare commenting on this, he knows better than me what he is doing

Sea Life formerly Searcher did this trip in the early '90s with no additional fuel and the same tankage. So definitely possible. I would have to find the account by the original owner to know the details though. If needed he can lose a knot or so and the range increases exponentially.

Side note: she had no stabilization, I added it for this trip!

Stabilizing definitely kills some fuel mileage though. He should be able to control the angle of the birds for a less aggressive dive, yielding better milage also if needed. I think he has the same birds I do.

How many people does he have to share helm duties on this leg?

These are what Richard said were his averages for the trip from Providence, RI to RI to Ireland.


Average = 1.59 gal/hr.
Average 3.6 nm/gal= 1.7 km/liter

Wow such an inspiration! Maybe someday.....

Safe travels sir.

Looking at the pilot charts, he should have .5kts current with him. Don't know what he had going over... Speaking from personal experience the sea state on these particular hulls makes all the difference.

Found this
More than 200 Krogen 42s have been built, and all but a handful came equipped with a single 135 hp Lehman diesel powerplant. While this hull form is limited to its displacement speed, as opposed to some trawlers with semi-displacement hulls, the Krogen 42's fuel consumption is truly miserly. With its standard fuel tankage, the boat comfortably cruises at 8 knots, with range of up to 2,150 nautical miles. Pulling the throttle back slightly results in an incredible 5,000 mile range at 6 knots, for those who appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

Larry M said:

These are what Richard said were his averages for the trip from Providence, RI to RI to Ireland.


Average = 1.59 gal/hr.
Average 3.6 nm/gal= 1.7 km/liter

Click to expand...

So, if his tankage is 700, that would give him range at 100% of 2520 nm? Surely, he has more fuel or bladders or something and not cutting it that tight.

If I remember correctly, he came into Ireland on fumes....

BandB said:

So, if his tankage is 700, that would give him range at 100% of 2520 nm? Surely, he has more fuel or bladders or something and not cutting it that tight.

Click to expand...

He can significantly increase range by a small reduction in speed. I'm sure he is closely monitoring fuel rate and load.

Also, on his trip east, he made a fuel stop that allowed him to push a little harder for at least part of the trip.

Looks like when he gets into some weather, it will be predominantly following seas. If it was head seas, his burn rate per mile could be real trouble.

HeyJude said:

NYs in Barbados...good plan Richard.

Click to expand...

They actually call it Old Years there.?

Latest update from Richard. "Winds now 090 to 120° ,10 kts. This way for last 24 hrs. 15ft swell from west Wind waves ftom SE, one bird still in water. I'm wanting to get further south to put us in the northeasterlies."

Here's some more stuff for those of you following Dauntless's return trip.

EOD stats day one: distance run 141nm, avg speed 5.89, course 250true, engine speed 1500 rpm, fuel rate 1.4 gph.

Fuel used over the previous run of 171.8nm from Las Palmas was 47.6 gallons over 34.25 hours running between 1500 and 1600rpm. Due to currents and having both birds in the water he averaged 3.6 nm/gal.

With a fuel load of 700 gallons he figures he has a range of 500 hours run time at 1500-1600 rpm. 2500nm/500hrs =5 knots and is his sog reference point. He has been running on one bird at 5.8kts and 1500 rpm for the last 36 hours. Tonight he pulled the remaining bird as winds and seas diminished. At his halfway point he'll re-evaluate. Running 200 rpm less he'll burn 1.1 to 1.2 gph, and as his fuel level goes down his speed will go up.

Sealife said:

If I remember correctly, he came into Ireland on fumes....

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You remember correctly. I was afraid he was going to have to row Dauntless into port .

Later,
Dan

Yes he did come in of fumes but when he fueled up in the Azores to head to Ireland he did not completely top off. He wanted to keep the weight down. Then he ran into awful weather and ended up taking a less than direct route. Hopefully he will not need to do that this time. He is dealing with some prevailing westerly trades. May the fare winds and seas be with him.

Much thanks to those of you providing the updates. I've been following along and watching the tracker.

When Richard was eastbound I believe he reduced his speed substantially in order to get higher mileage. With the same boat and engine we generally cruise at 1400 rpm and in seas without a current average about 6.5 kts.

Some more updates from Richard. "Seas are 2 to 4' wind driven fron SE. Larger Atlantic swell is much lower now. Maybe 8' from WNW. This combination causes a large cork screw motion. wo paravanes now, larger roll is +10° to -10°, while smaller is +-5°." This update his position info was:
Speed: 7.13 kts
Heading: WSW
Elevation: 21.00 ft.

Lat: 26.731076
Lon: -21.792305

Go Richard ! we are right there with ya...well in spirt anyway

Richard runs Dauntless on Greenwich mean time and his watches are 0400 and 1600. He gets bored, so do send him a note of encouragement via his delorme device on the delorme web page. Also for those concerned about his fuel and range, I found an old set of curves for the krogen 42 from Beebe's book.

25 years ago I was convinced that the 42 is a remarkably efficient hull. Today Richard, and many others keep proving it.

25 years ago I was convinced that the 42 is a remarkably efficient hull. Today Richard, and many others keep proving it.

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If ya think KK's have a "remarkably efficient hull" then you'd be even more impressed with the George Buehler Diesel Duck hull lines... About as fuel efficient as anything out there.

Note: Slightly biased opinion of course... but it is based upon actual data.... just ask any Duck owner.

Not to mention a typical Duck's fuel capacity is almost three times that of a KK 42

.

No need to
make this thread a competition between trawler builders...
This guy is just doing something that most of us would never have enough balls to do it.
Lets encourage him, check he is safe and be humble looking at his adventure.