A proposition

blacklionboy

New Member
Hi. i sail a laser radial in general. but me and my friend have a preposition. we want to sail from Dublin(ireland) to Holyhead(Wales) in an RS200 or 2 lasers. We were wondering what thoughts people have on this. It is about a 60 mile distance and we guess it would take about 13 hours. and this would all be to raise money for charity.

What are peoples thoughts on this
 

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Re: A preposition

only thought is do it in a 200! that way u can take turns helming and sleep whilst your crewing, cos thats pretty much all the crew has to do in a 200! ;)
 
Re: A preposition

someone has sailed a laser across the channel so it should be okay, you should at the least have a RIB with you and possibly a 'mother ship' (motor boat/yacht with spares and emergany supplies etc.), You'll need to specially fit out the boats if you plan to sail in the dark and a VHF radio would be a must, also tell the coastguard what your planning and see if they have any suggestions
 
Re: A preposition

if its for charity its a great idea but dont do something for someone else if your life is on the line. do wutever you think is safest
 
Re: A preposition

Had to google RS200 to see what sort of boat it was as we don't have them over here.

The RS200 looks more practical as it is a two-person boat, and the crew could swap positions. However, doing it single-handed in a Laser would probably be more of an athletic acheivement.

As somebody mentioned, you would definitely need a support boat with supplies. You would also want the ability to tie up the sailboats to the support boat in case bad weather develops. Probably not too dangerous for properly conditioned and experienced sailors, but would still need proper planning.

And not to be a grammar nazi, but I believe you meant a "propositon" (an ideal, proposal, etc.), not "preposition" (to, for, etc.).
 
Re: A preposition

DO it Do it! NO support boat, just epirbs, flares and handheld VHF. What's to lose? Are you planning something more worthwhile for your life? You can only die once!
 
Re: A preposition

There are some very strong tides in that bit of water so check what effects they might have of your plans. Where are the predominant winds from and how reliable and predictable are they. What would your ideal wind strength and direction be and how would this act with the strong tidal currents (remembering that wind over tide can kick up quite a sea). Remember that 12 hrs gives you a "full cycle so you would get (and probably want) a full flood and full ebb - but that might be with the wind and against your ideal wind (depends on you ideal wind and the tidal currents). Met office could probably advice re: wind direction/strength, reliability, etc. at different times of year

Have you studied M. Blackburn's Bass Straight crossing ?

Its a bit further than the Channel Crossing - so just because somebody has done that does not make this project practical.

I would expect to have more than a single RIB as a safety boat. Its a fair distance. I don't drive RIBs myself but I would think 30 miles from safe harbour is a fair distance. Think about the sort of safety cover you would need and how you would get it. Maybe contact the RYA and Coastguard to discuss. Even a Laser can go quite fast compared to a yacht under power. You would probably want your safety boats to be under power rather than under sail so they can be sure of staying close and can react quickly if you need assistance rather than start messing around with their own sails. Thus you would probably be looking at a power boat for safety cover. If you don't know somebody, if the RYA are keen then they might be able to put you in contact with somebody (or help as well in other ways).

(Never having do such a distance in a dinghy) I would think that there is more to it than speed. Its a long way so a boat that is easier to sail but slightly slower might be more practical. Speed is not everything when it comes to endurance.

I do not mean to sound negative and think it is an excellent idea. There is a lot to check and cover so my initial/immediate thoughts are above - do not be put-off by them. "Go for it" (but check everything out several times first).

Ian
 
Re: A preposition

Little Isla Clery: "Grandma, what happened to great uncle Sean Clery?"

Grandma Clery: "Why, people say he died sailing his Laser to help the crippled children. But really he was smuggling arms to the Welsh Socialist Coal miners Co-operative."

Does this sound like you?
 
I think u'd be fine doing it in a 200, wayfarers have crossed the north sea before. All u need is a nice summers day, northely westerly force 2-3, and u can carry the kite all the way. Two large laser sailors would be fine, optimum weight for a 200 is 21stone, so if both of u weighed 13 stone, u might not have to even hike! The boats are easier than a laser to sail in a straight line, and the crew has to do practitically nothing! So whilst one of you is helming, the other could perfect their tan.
If u do it in lasers on the other hand, u'd probably eventually complete it if ur fit and mentally tough enough, but i cant imagine it being any fun....
 
You would want to look at the predominant wind direction, certiannaly when they did the channel they made sure the wind would give them a reach the whole way across, i dont want to imagine that long on hiking upwind.

also, I dont know the area but is it heavy on shipping, keep clear of the shipping channels, one of those things could mush a laser and not even notice. :eek:
 
Re: A preposition

someone has sailed a laser across the channel so it should be okay, you should at the least have a RIB with you and possibly a 'mother ship' (motor boat/yacht with spares and emergany supplies etc.), You'll need to specially fit out the boats if you plan to sail in the dark and a VHF radio would be a must, also tell the coastguard what your planning and see if they have any suggestions


We will have a yacht doing it with us
 
Re: A preposition

We will have a yacht doing it with us

What is the max speed of the yacht under power and in waves and how does this compare to the speed you will be going ?

A lot of yachts are not so fast under power (e.g. 6 knots is pretty good going and many would be slower).

Under power is important as if you should need assistance you do not want your safety boat having to mess around managing its sails, etc.

Ian
 
i think you should get off laserforum and do the damn thing nobody cares if you talk about doing it and never do it! By the way i wish i could come it would be sweet and good luck i hope you dont die although it would be great for your family to tell everyone stories about you but y would you care, youre dead! good luck and have fun
 
nobody cares if you talk about doing it and never do it!

The person who created this thread is looking for advice and input. It's a bit early to just do a crossing in a small boat with no planning. Patience. Also, what is it with this thread and the talk of death?
 
As much i appreciate all you guys and girls talking about me dying this isnt what i was looking for. i was looking how long it would take(max and min) .znd other things. this is for charity guys. we would appreciate some intelligent contributions
 
Well Dover to Calais, 3h 20, force 4/5, planeing the whole way. Not sure how the distance compares to yours but it could give you some idea.

Also from this website: http://www.gapyear.com/fundraising/crossing_the_channel.html

"How far will you be travelling in total and how long do you plan it will take you?
I plan for my Channel sail to take 16 - 20 hours but obviously the quicker the better. I will leave from the River Exe, near Exeter and sail to Cherbourg, France. This journey totals 103 miles!"
 
we would appreciate some intelligent contributions

Sorry, but I thought I had made a number of sensible points (though you don't seem to have paid any attention to any of them). Admittedly they were all in the form of further questions but I thought they were important questions that really did need addressing.

However, if that is you attitude then *****.

Good grief - I am absolutely stunned by such an attitude.

Ian
 
Sorry, but I thought I had made a number of sensible points (though you don't seem to have paid any attention to any of them). Admittedly they were all in the form of further questions but I thought they were important questions that really did need addressing.

However, if that is you attitude then *****.

Good grief - I am absolutely stunned by such an attitude.

Ian
well im sorry. i was very interested in your contribution. and thank you. bu some people were going on about how i will die and dropping shit on my profile. i want to know what im up against with this voyage.
 
It's very possible, but bear in mind it's about 3 times as far as the channel crossing that was done. I can give you the guy's email who did it if you pm me.

You may find that a yacht will be unable to keep up with you if the wind is right ;)
 
Actually its 40 miles less than 1 of the channel crossings, if you read the qoute i put up that was a 103 mile journey.
 
Well yes, but I can't find any record of her actually having done that crossing! The dover to calais is the only one I can find any record of actually happening, and I know that that one took place because I now own one of the radial sails that did it!
 

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