[Rhodes22-list] Rik and Sailing the open ocean in a Rhodes

[Bill Effros]

Thank you, Richard.

Bermuda and the Bahamas both start with a "B" but they are very 
different problems.  Bermuda is over 600 miles from the US, and it's a 
tough sail.  Lots of people do it on larger boats than a Rhodes.  Lot's 
of people die trying.

I've been offered a berth on a good sized boated captained by a friend 
who knows what he's doing.  I declined.  (So far, he hasn't gone either.)

Bill Effros

Richard Smith wrote:
> Because some one sailed a 15 foot boat from the US to Hawaii does not mean
> that another larger boat could safely sail from the US to Bermuda.
>
> 1:  The Bermuda passage requires sailing in the Gulf Stream.  When a
> northerly blows (it does frequently) conditions in the stream become
> extremely hazardous for smaller vessels.  The passage to Hawaii on the other
> hand is mostly down wind, imbedded for a time  in the Humboldt Current which
> also flows south.  The guy's description on the Montgomery site experienced
> mostly, some times largish, following seas but not the vicious chop that can
> occur on the Bermuda passage.  He even slept so conditions must have been
> relatively tranquil.
>
> Just because the Montgomery is much smaller then a Rhodes does not mean its
> not an able sea boat.  In fact with its low rig, split head sails and
> relatively deep rounded bottom it may be a more suitable vessel for ocean
> voyaging (one person only).
>
> For what its worth... I have never read of a voyage by a small sailboat fro
> Hawaii to the US.  Boats are generally shipped back to the US as deck cargo
> rather then endless beating into the prevailing northerlies.
>
> No one boat can be all things.  I owned a Rhodes and thought it was a great
> boat but I would never use it for an ocean passage.
>
> Richard Smith
>
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