Sorry about not writing very frequently lately. My family returned from our trip to the coast, and it was quite nice to take a break. I haven't written much about how people came to sail nonstop around the world, so I guess it's time for some background information.
In 1967, Francis Chichester was welcomed home by over 250,000 people at the end of his solo circumnavigation in Plymouth, England. People had been sailing around the world for centuries, but his achievement was unique because he did it with only one stop, and sailed solo around the southern capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Cape Horn. For sailors in Europe, there was only one great feat left to achieve, a solo circumnavigation without any stops.
Many people at the time thought it was impossible, surely no sailor could withstand the gales and loneliness for much of a year. Chichester had a long rest and refit in Australia, and it seemed a sailing vessel could not take the stress of sailing around the world nonstop. But despite the unknown and the dangers, nine very different men made the decision to take on the challenge. A local newspaper, the Sunday Times decided to sponsor the event, naming it the Golden Globe, and offering a hefty reward for the first to be successful. The sailors that signed on included the now famous Bernard Montessier, Nigel Tetley, Chay Blyth, Donald Crowhurst, and Robin Knox Johnston.
The challenge became a complete disaster from quite early on. Realizing the true difficulty of what they signed on to, five sailors dropped out of the race before leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Of those that remained, Tetley sailed almost all the way around the world, but sank less than a week from home, and Montessier decided that fame and fortune wasn't for him and sailed around the world another time before landing at Tahiti. Crowhurst went completely insane, faked his position to make it look like he was winning, and eventually committed suicide in the Sargasso Sea. That left just Knox Johnston in his 32 foot wooden ketch, who was the only one to finish the race and sailed his boat to victory at Falmouth.
Fortunately for the solo sailor, we usually have more than a one in nine chance of finishing a nonstop circumnavigation. But the point remains that the Southern Ocean has changed little since the Golden Globe, and anyone who ventures there is taking a calculated risk. Interestingly, young sailors who have given it a try have been largely successful. For those interested in the Golden Globe Race, a great book is
A Voyage for Madmen. Back to work.
Ryan
I had a great fourth of July, which along with the nations birthday, is my birthday as well. That's right, I'm now sixteen. As I plan on leaving in a couple of months, and the trip will take about 9 months, I should still be sixteen upon my return. The current record for the youngest nonstop circumnavigator is eighteen years and 41 days old, by David Dicks of Fremantle, Australia so I have plenty of time to make it around.
As the departure date nears, you may wonder how I am feeling about heading out into the unknown. On one hand, I have a whole lot of work to get done before departure, and not a whole lot of time to do it. To put it mildly, it will be a very busy time. It will also be one of the most memorable times of my life so far, meeting all kinds of amazing people while preparing my boat and myself for taking on the world. On the other hand, going to sea will be a kind of relief from all of the craziness involved in getting ready for an expedition. In any case, there will be a lot of hard work and excitement before the voyage even begins.
I'm taking a few days to head to the outer coast for some backpacking along the ocean with my family this week. It will be nice to to take a little while off preparations, but I'm sure I will be anxious to return to the boat work. Interestingly, I will be sailing down the same coast that I will be exploring at the very start of my circumnavigation.
Best Marine Imports has donated some excellent sailing equipment, and I would like to thank them as well as everyone involved so far in making the voyage happen.
Fair Winds,
Ryan
I've been doing a lot of making parts and pieces for the boat out of wood lately. Most recently, this has included fabricating a new tiller, a bunk board, and a support beam for the cabin.
The support beam is a laminated arch which makes it much stronger than if it was made out of solid wood. It will go across the weakest part of the cabin to provide extra support in case of a knockdown. The wood has to be ripped to the right size, then epoxied and put in a frame to take the shape of the cabin top. Then it has to be removed and sanded and varnished. Installing it will be another matter completely.
I am also planning on replacing the wheel steering with a tiller, so the chance of it not working are almost zero. This will be a tricky task that involves extending the rudder shaft and making a deck bearing. The windvane will do most of the steering for me, so I will not have to worry about long hours at the helm.
Cheers,
Ryan
One thing that is really awesome about my voyage through the Southern Ocean is that I will be at the mercy of the wind and waves. For the modern day human living in a concrete jungle it is easy enough to be oblivious to the outside world and go on with their everyday lives. Buildings, solid and marvelously attached to the ground, create a safe haven from the storm outside.
For the offshore sailor in a small boat, weather is another thing completely. Just a thin shell separates you from the thousands of feet of water beneath your keel and the thousands of miles of open sky above your mast. In the deep south, you are merely a speck in the oblivion of the largest intact wilderness anywhere in the world. When the weather is kind, the sailing can be a smooth and beautiful ride. When the weather chooses to be rough, you are tossed around as if in a washing machine. In the Southern Ocean, you get a lot more of the latter. In his book about the Vendee Globe yacht race, Derek Lundy wrote:
"Deep in the Southern Ocean, the skippers had lived for weeks in wet foul weather gear in cold cabins dripping with condensation or wet with seawater that found a way in. The widely spaced boats were dealing with various weather conditions, none of them pleasant. At best, some were running uncomfortably, but not dangerously, before the gale-force depressions that travel unceasingly across the high southern latitudes. For other boats, there wasn't enough wind to enable them to handle the sea conditions- big seas persist for some time after the weather that created them has moderated. The boats were faltering in waves that struck anarchically from all directions without the governing discipline of strong wind."
It is quite clear that the weather is unpredictable at best in the roaring forties. This does make for a new appreciation of when the weather is nice though--the voyage will be no trade wind romp.
Cheers,
Ryan
It's amazing to think that in a few months I will be on my way south toward the Roaring Forties and beyond. As with preparation for most ocean passages, it seems like it is going on forever. I know that all the work going into the refit and equipping my boat will be worth it when I head out. Much of my time recently has been spent searching for equipment sponsors, which will be just as important as money since the boat needs to be properly equipped for taking on the world.
Some people have asked what I will eat while in the deep blue and how I can fit it all into a small boat. My method is to take the large quantities of food and separate it into monthly bags. Each bag will contain different varieties of food to insure I get all the necessary nutrients in my diet. In addition to canned and boxed foods, I will take a lot of freeze dried foods because one of my supporters is backpackers pantry. Freeze dried food will be great to take along because it has a very long shelf life and is extremely light weight. In addition, I will leave port with some fruits and vegetables (apples, potatoes, onions, cabbage, etc.) that will keep well for the start of the voyage. Once my fresh food has run out I will eat more canned food and grow sprouts in jars to make up for the lost nutrients. This method is being used by Reid Stowe who is planning on sailing nonstop for 1000 days!
I really appreciate the encouragement and support I am getting from so many people. Every small thing that people have done has helped make the voyage a reality. To make something like this possible, it takes all kinds of people from all walks of life. Hopefully, when my trip is over I will be able to use my skills to help someone else achieve a similar feat.
Fair Winds,
Ryan
Sorry it's been so long since I have had the chance to post updates. I have been spending a lot of time working out various details and when I get a chance I will list all that has been going on.
Cape Horn windvanes is interested in donating a wind vane which is really exciting as it is one of the most important pieces of equipment on the boat. A windvane is kind of like a small sail attached to the stern of the boat. When the wind changes direction, it pushes on a small auxiliary rudder that keeps the boat on course. There are all kinds of variations in design, but the concept remains the same. The designer and builder of Cape Horn windvanes made the first one for a trip very similar to mine, through the southern ocean. He ended up getting dismasted in the pacific, and had all kinds of difficulties, but the windvane worked perfectly. On his 28,000 mile voyage he only steered for an hour!
Cheers,
Ryan
To accompany my articles and dispatches about the voyage, I hope to also do some filming along the way. This will add another element to the voyage, and will be a lot of fun too. I'm still deciding what camera system to use, so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great. The Ocean Channel has kindly offered to feature video updates on their website ocean.com. They will also be viewable at globalwarming101.com.
Cruising World Magazine got me in touch with Tania Aebi who sailed around the world from New York aged 18 to 21. It's great to hear from someone who has gone through the same experience, even if it was 20 years ago. Her book Maiden Voyage is an excellent account of her voyage. She's going to write an article on her perspective on our voyage, so you can look for it in an upcoming Cruising World.
I now have just under three months until departure. It sounds like a long time, but I'm sure it will probably be the busiest three months of my life! If all goes to plan, I will head out sometime around September or October.
Cheers,
Ryan
One of the aspects of my upcoming voyage that I am looking the most forward to is self sufficiency. Since I will not be stopping anywhere to make repairs or take on supplies, everything I will need must be on the boat when I leave. For many sailors, this is hard enough for a weekend cruise, for the better part of a year it would be unthinkable. I think it will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the potential for everyone to be as self sufficient as possible. In the twenty first century, that means the generation of renewable electricity.
Onboard my vessel, all of my electricity needs will be met with a combination of wind and solar power. This will allow me to generate power when it sunny or windy, as long as it isn't neither. The wind generator will be the most helpful in the southern ocean, because of the lack of sun. The electricity generated will power my communication equipment, video cameras, lights, and radio. To have my electricity produced by clean methods all the way around the world will be really neat!
Propulsion of the vessel will be exclusively by wind and currents. I will have an engine as a backup in case of emergency, but will take all of the precautions not to need to use it. If your going to sail around the world, you've got to sail!
I have just recieved the foul weather gear and sailing clothing provided by Line 7. They will be really important because I will be using them to keep me warm and as comfortable as possibe (comfort is relative at sea) every day in the high latittudes. They are the highest quality sailing clothing avaliable and I would recomend them to anyone sailing offshore.
Globalwarming101.com has agreed to feature my dispatches on their expedition website. We are working out the software to use so I can send text, pictures, etc. directly to the website. This will be really exciting because thousands of schools and other organizations follow expeditions through their site. Sharing this voyage with the world is one of the main objectives of this trip, and globalwarming101.com will really help with that.
In the 1990's, youth sailors embarking on solo sailing voyages was relatively common. Within four years, the youngest circumnavigator record was broken three times, twice by Australians and once by an American. In the same four year period, fourteen yearl old Subaru Takahashi sailed from Tokyo to San Fransisco alone, becoming the youngest to sail the Pacific solo. What stands out in this period is the Australians introduced the Roaring Forties to youth pursuing age records. Until then all teenage sailors had circumnavigated by the trade wind route. Sailing via the southern route opened up a whole new series of difficulties and challenges.
Then, after Martin completed his historic journey, nothing happened. No one challenged the age records, except for Sebastian Clover and Michael Perham who crossed the Atlantic followed by their dads. It wasn't until quite recently that interest has resurfaced for the youngest circumnavigator. Now, Zac Sunderland, Josh Clark, Michael Perham and myself are all challenging the record.
For me, this voyage is not actually about records at all. It is the experience of being one with the ocean, boat, and yourself that I am searching for. I have dreamed of this voyage for most of my life and planned the details for years. Doing it while I am still young will show the potential for young people to do amazing things. A race against other young sailors, as proposed by Lattitude 38, is the last thing any of us want. The others going for the record are all older than me, and are planning longer voyages with stops. I made the decision to do this voyage long before I heard of any of the other sailors. However, I think it is wonderful that they are out their going for their dreams as well instead of playing video games and watching TV.
The ocean is a beautiful place and full of challenges and rewards. You have to work hard to get there, but it is definately worth it.
Ryan
