How big a ship must be to cross an ocean

>Single handers must sleep sometime
But I do wonder why his radar detector and AIS alarm did not warn him in time.<

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Sounds like he was not the only vessel that was not under command at the time.

IF I were attempting a stunt like this I would glue a small microphone to the hull and plug it into an amp and a speaker.

Ships put huge noise in the water , and even 5-8 miles away would be easy to hear.

Weather one could row out of the way of a 25K wall of steel with 5 min notice is a different question.

With luck they might have running lights to figure where there heading .

Risk

... of course, tankers are not the only risk in the Big Wide Ocean....

36 vega pilothouse

Made the crossing from cali to Hawaii in 18 days steamin 24/7

Lostsailor13 said:

Made the crossing from cali to Hawaii in 18 days steamin 24/7

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Is there any way you could not steam 24/7?

Greetings,
Mr. m. Heave to, drift...

We were in English Harbor when the trans Atlantic rowers came in. Had the opportunity to examine those vessels. They universally had every navigational aid including AIS. Many had canopies that could be enclosed and with a drogue or sea anchor could be expected to survive severe weather. Although not plush basic comfort issues were ingeniously addressed. There were all kinds of teams including a all female one.
Our basic rule on passage has been to start avoiding intercepts as soon as a ship shows on AIS. That’s usually 16-18m as our antenna is slightly over 65’ high. With the VLCC and the huge non Panama container ships want to stay >5nm away from stem or stern. They leave a big hole in the water so want distance behind them as well as in front. Not infrequently they will convert swell or waves that are not breaking to break. With go 90 degrees to their path if point of closest approach gets to 2nm. Your vision is very deceptive. They’re moving much faster than you think so repetitive ask for closest approach, SOG and course from the AIS. Asking for a gam or “state intentions “ is usually worthless. Just get out of the way. Cant see this happening to a rower if he was paying attention.

As far as a big ship noticing a boat that small...I read in John Dowd's original book, Sea Kayaking, to imagine your kayak up on the bow of the ship, then imagine something that small in the vastness of the ocean and you'll get an idea of how likely the ship will see you.

Saw this in a museum. Used to cross the Atlantic. LOA 6' 3".

HopCar said:

How big a ship must be to cross an ocean
It's not the size of the boat that matters, it's the design.
I once met a man who crossed the Atlantic in a boat less than six feet long.
He didn't seem crazy.

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I would even go further... It's not the size of the boat that matters, it's the size of your [emoji460][emoji460].
You need big ones to go out there!

L

ssobol said:

Saw this in a museum. Used to cross the Atlantic. LOA 6' 3".

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Hugo Vahlen lived next door to a friend of mine. He had April Fool in his back yard. My friend introduced us and Hugo gave me a tour of the boat. It was a short tour.

Just for you anchor nuts, it had a Danforth.

HopCar said:

Hugo Vahlen lived next door to a friend of mine. He had April Fool in his back yard. My friend introduced us and Hugo gave me a tour of the boat. It was a short tour.

Just for you anchor nuts, it had a Danforth.

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Is it the best anchor? (I know I am nasty) [emoji1]

L

ssobol said:

Saw this in a museum. Used to cross the Atlantic. LOA 6' 3".

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What a lightweight

Real men use washing machines





https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/crazy-sailor-who-quit-teaching-13181462

MurrayM said:

You want small? How about Ed Gillette's successfully solo sea kayaking, in a 21' kayak, 2400 miles from California to Hawaii;

interview starts at 1:25

Paddling a kayak from Monterey, California to Kahului, Maui (1987) - YouTube

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What a great interview! totally Carson, entertaining yet serious as necessary. Thanks for digging that one up.

In 1896, two Norwegian-born Americans in a clinker-built 18' dory, rowed across the Atlantic from NYC to England in 55 days. No support vessel.

Watched the rowers come in in English Harbor at the their conclusion from going transatlantic. Most remarkable little vessels. Most had canopies. Elegant nav systems, bunking areas and efficient sliding seat rowing stations. Ladies and men, young and not so much. An interesting subculture of folks. Wife commented that we bitch about passage having all the comforts of home and these folks crossed the Atlantic with no showers, unable to stand, stretch and walk around, and every activity of daily living a big undertaking.

large enough to hold the food and fuel for a 2 week transit at an economical speed without escort or replenishment.

the 82 foot patrol boat I was on was more then sea worthy enough, did many 30 foot waves on her, very uncomfortable to say the least. it had a narrow beam compared to maybe a fishing vessel of the same length. it might have been able to store enough food if you also stored food in the boatswain hole and the lazerette,(after steering), and the void under the forward berthing would have to be mostly dry stores. you’d run out of fresh food and frozen fairly fast. no way it could have carried enough fuel.

HopCar said:

Hugo Vahlen lived next door to a friend of mine. He had April Fool in his back yard. My friend introduced us and Hugo gave me a tour of the boat. It was a short tour.

Just for you anchor nuts, it had a Danforth.

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Seems very foolish to me to cross an ocean with a Danforth anchor!

backinblue said:

Seems very foolish to me to cross an ocean with a Danforth anchor!

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True but the 10,000 feet of chain was impressive.

In the navy most warships have 2 or 3 anchors. 2 navy standard anchors and a danforth. The danforth is used all the time.

“Sven” she said “Make the boat a bit smaller, clean out the cellar and build her there. Then in the spring we dig her out”

The cellar was not very big but neither was I or my needs. The biggest problem was that the house was very old and rested on a solid foundation of good Swedish granite stones, three feet thick. The cellar was four feet underground.

From the outside there was steps leading down to a small door. It was through that door the boat would have to be taken out. So one of the fundamental design requirements was how to draw an ocean going yacht small enough to go through that small non-flexible door.


https://www.yrvind.com/my-life-texts/