The search for sponsorship for my voyage is still moving along, and there are a million other details to attend to from ordering food to studying the pilot charts. I had a great chat with Andrew Burton from Cruising World today about my trip and all of the preparations going on.
The trip around Vancouver Island was put of because my focus right now is finances, but getting some sea trials off the coast will be a must for before departure. A test run will show many of the weaknesses in the boat and allow me to fix them before it is too late. A few days of sailing to windward will reveal a whole lot about how a boat handles and what kind of improvements she needs.
As I am beginning to accumulate some piles of sailing the difficulty of fitting all the supplies for nine months is becoming more apparent. It will be a challenge, but I am sure it can be done. Since I will be living quite simply at sea, my most of the space will be taken up with freeze dried and non perishable food. That doesn't mean that a fair amount of room won't be sacrificed for sails, water, communication equipment, tools, safety gear... The problem will having some space left for myself!
There is a whole lot to do, and about seven weeks until blast off. I cant wait!
Fair Winds,
Ryan
One of the more common questions I get is "why would you want to do the voyage nonstop?" What kind of a person would want to leave the comfort and safety of home to sail around the world and not stop to enjoy the sights? There are many reasons I am planning the voyage nonstop, and I will try to briefly explain some of them here.
To complete any passage from one port to another gives the sailor a great satisfaction in knowing their vessel and themselves were up to the task. The ultimate passage would be one that goes all the way around the world. Instead of going from one port to another, you leave from one point and go all the way around the world to get back. In between, there are hundreds of days at sea, calms and gales, albatross, and a wake that is 27,000 miles long. What could be simpler;
One Boat
One Sailor
Three Oceans
27,000 Miles
You head south until it's freezing cold and keep the Great Capes to Port. Of course, what sounds so great now probably will lose some of its appeal in a force ten storm!
When I initially imagined sailing around the world, it wasn't
the Roaring Forties that I thought of, but the exotic landfalls and and coral atolls of paradise. But, to sail around the world at my age one usually does not have thousands of dollars to invest in a boat and equipment. This situation lead me to one of the more difficult parts of being a modern day adventurer; the quest for sponsorship. So many people have sailed around via the trade wind route that the solo sailing society has lost count. However, only 60 or so have sailed solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the world. This voyage presents one of the greatest challenges today. For me to make a voyage worthy of sponsorship, it needs to be something a bit different from the norm. As they say, if you're not living on the edge you are taking up too much space. I think this trip will qualify for living on the edge!
Cheers,
Ryan
I appreciate all of the opinions out there about my upcoming voyage, and realize that most who question my attempt do so out of concern for my safety. I would like to make it clear that I am taking all the necessary safety precautions, and will not leave until I am fully prepared for the upcoming challenges. Sailing offshore is in many ways safer than life ashore, and in many ways less so. I am acknowledging the dangers, and finding ways to minimize unnecessary risk.
On another note, I have two new important supporters:
Remote Medical International has agreed to provide a custom medical kit for my needs at sea. This will be really important in case of emergency, and could very well save my life when I am weeks away from the nearest port.
Beam Communications has signed on to provide my communication and tracking system at sea. This includes a sat phone and free call time to keep in touch with friends, family, supporters, media, etc. The racking system will send my position from the boat hourly, and will be set up to this site so you can see exactly where I am at any given time. They also will give me a back up battery so if all other electronics fail, I can still call and let everyone know I'm alright.
I had been hoping to leave in early September, but it looks like a more likely date will be early October. This will allow more time for careful preparation and to do more sea trials off the Washington, British Columbia coast. Although its not quite the roaring forties, the 'graveyard coast' offers challenges of its own like rocks and fog.
Cheers,
Ryan
I won't be the only sailor leaving the northern hemisphere on a round the world trip through the Southern Ocean this fall. Every four years, the Vendee Globe yacht race sailors zoom around the world in a few months aboard the fastest monohulls in the racing world. The vessel of choice for the Vendee Globe is the Open 60, a long, wide, flat boat with a huge sail area and a tiny keel, designed exclusively for speed. Unfortunately, the characteristics that make Open 60's so fast also make them less seaworthy, and there are disasters of some kind every year. Nevertheless, the Vendee Globe is an exciting adrenaline rush for both the sailors and those following it ashore. The website for the race said:
In theory, the Vendée Globe is an utterly simple affair. Its fundamental principles come down to a few sentences, compared to which even the roughest logbook would seem sophisticated. A sailing race around the world, for singlehanders, without any stopover. That’s it. In theory at least, because beyond these words start great stories.
Official supplier of legends since 1989, this race has impressed the maritime world and the public in general, to the point where even the strongest superlatives seem unable to define it. The sea also has its mythical summit, created 15 years ago by a sailor, two times winner around the world (BOC Challenge, with stopovers), who refused to rest on his laurels. Philippe Jeantot wished to go further, to give a new dimension to the world of maritime adventure…
“Time, he wrote, is a necessary factor to attain perfect harmony with one’s sailboat. We had to forget about stopping. A round-the-world race, without stopovers or assistance, such were the conditions to reach the desired communion. For the first edition, we set off towards the unknown. None of the 13 sailors who crossed the starting line in 1989 had the experience of a solo journey exceeding 100 days”
On November 9th 2008, 20 navigators will set sails aboard their monohulls, heading towards the three great capes, marking the southern tips of the African continent, Australia and America. The Vendée Globe will start, for the 6th time, from the harbor of Les Sables d’Olonne, where it was born. And as far as the rest of the story is concerned… well, it’s up to the sailors themselves now.
My voyagewill be similar to the Vendee globe in many ways, but I will be at sea much longer in a considerably smaller boat. My voyage is one of length, not speed. Not to mention, a typical campaign for a round the world race costs millions of dollars, while my budget will not exceed $100,000.I want to show that anyone with some perseverance, and a great dream, not millions of dollars, can do amazing things.
Yours for the Oceans,
Ryan
My father and I, accompanied by my brother Sam and friend Michael, finally moved the boat from Port Townsend to Port Angeles yesterday. Despite the fact that the wind was in our face the entire time, it was a great trip. We started with motoring because the wind was completely gone, but after we rounded Point Wilson a west wind filled in. It got up to 25 knots by the time we got into Port Angeles. Anyway, it was absolutely fabulous to be on the water and the boat took everything with a very solid motion through the water.
I'm still working at adding structural support for the cabintop for when she is knocked down in the roaring forties. I have built a laminated arch that will be bolted through the fiberglass in the least supported part of the cabin. Now that the boat is much closer, I will be able to spend less time commuting and more time on getting the tasks done. We are also figuring out ways to secure all of the stuff that will be onboard, as well as work out power generation. Everything will be environmentally friendly, so we will install solar panels, and either a wind generator or a towed generator.
We still haven't chosen an exact departure date, but I plan on leaving some time in September or October to avoid the Hurricane Season in the tropics and arrive in the Roaring Forties in the Austral Summer.
Fair Winds,
Ryan
As the fall nears, I have to make an increasing number of important decisions regarding the rig, equipment, hull, supplies, etc with the boat. The offshore sailboat has many different systems, and everything has to be examined, and all weaknesses fixed before heading offshore. This is extremely important because since I don't plan on stopping for repairs everything has to be in working order even after months at sea.
More people have become involved, and I would like to thank Best Marine Imports for the great sailing equipment, as well as 48 North Sailing Magazine. 48 North has agreed to publish articles I send articles while on the voyage, which will be another fun thing to do. As I sail into the high latitudes, I should have some exciting stuff to write about. Also, Cruising World will feature an article about my voyage soon.
I have tried to do as much sailing as possible while preparing for the voyage. This has recently been day sails around the Peninsula, but I look forward to doing some sea trials offshore when the boat is ready. We are working on the engine, and then I will move the boat to Port Angeles to be more convenient for working on.
The website is undergoing some work, and it should be improved with some more pictures and other improvements soon. This will include coming up with a good logo to represent the sailing voyage. Well, that's all for today.
Fair Winds,
Ryan
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
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