It we depended on the historical wind patterns for planning the Tybee 500, we'd only pack a chute.
The last two years I can only remember two legs where we were able to use the chute for a whole leg.
What I'm trying to say, is that don't rely solely on historical weather data to plan your timetable.
Sounds like fun.
Someone should
act
old and responsible here.
Have you ever sailed in the ocean? Has your friend?
You have been sailing for maybe two years I'm guessing. I'm a little concerned about you experience level here.
If you plan on reaching down the shore then you may have to sail off the beach with an on shore breeze.
Have you ever done a surf launch.
Don't assume anything will be easy, even sailing on the inside.
Two is one and one is none. Have a spare knife, tools etc. and don't store in the same place.
Bring some neosporin w/pain relief. Salt water is nasty on cuts.
Stay safe, we want to hear the stories from you, not the Coast Gaurd reports.
I'm done now
Think the only thing you have to worry about are tugs with barges. All ships take the Gulf or come from Galveston to Houston up Ship Channel. Pat he is going up the Laguna Madre, it is like a big bay.
Doug
Carl
Saylor Specialties
www.saylorspecialties.com
Now that's a great story....say, sorry I missed you in Columbia - but I didn't see you in the results. Did you make it?
Someone should
act
old and responsible here.
Have you ever sailed in the ocean? Has your friend?
You have been sailing for maybe two years I'm guessing. I'm a little concerned about you experience level here.
If you plan on reaching down the shore then you may have to sail off the beach with an on shore breeze.
Have you ever done a surf launch.
Don't assume anything will be easy, even sailing on the inside.
Two is one and one is none. Have a spare knife, tools etc. and don't store in the same place.
Bring some neosporin w/pain relief. Salt water is nasty on cuts.
Stay safe, we want to hear the stories from you, not the Coast Gaurd reports.
I'm done now
I have sailing in the ocean, it was on my uncles hobie 16 and we were launching into some surf that scared the [censored] out of me. Granted that was some time ago but I have read up on it alot and understand the idea.
I have been sailing since I was about...14 or so. I started on a Sunfish, then the Hobie 14, and now the Nacra.
I have alot of people playing the responsible father part, included in that group is my father and every other family member. But thank you I will make sure to have extra parts and tools everywhere.
don't *NOODLE* around with cuts on salt water. Good call there.
I have no idea what the services are in that area, but why not plan a trip where you can stop at differient bars/hotels/beach restaurants, etc?
You could fill up on water, and probably get a shower.
Bill
You could fill up on water, and probably get a shower.
From what I'm told, the Texas coast can be pretty desolate.
That isn't really what I am looking for. I have done alot of hiking back in the wilderness in New Mexico some of it 20 and 30 miles from the nearest road. I just basically want to take a camping trip by boat. It will be combining two of my favorite outdoor activities.
Sounds like fun. Things you need.
Knife, flint, water, food, vhf, cell phone, strobe, flares, signal mirror, whistle, extra line, extra shackles, a couple of tools(screwdriver, pliers). I'm sure there might be more things but this is a good start.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. In other words don't pack all your equipment into one backpack. Keep some on you, some on the tramp, some on the forward tramp. That way if you lose one thing you don't lose everything.
Remember to stay with your boat. Only enter a life raft by stepping up into it as your boat sinks.
Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com
There's a book called
Paddle to the Amazon
, written by a guy who paddled his canoe from Winnipeg MN, down the Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast, up the Orinoco and down the Amazon.
The section about the Gulf Coast of Texas may be helpfull to you. Even if it isn't, it's a good read.
Good luck on your cruise.
My experience has been:
Spare parts lead to extra weight and expense, you're better off being able to fix stuff.
Smoke flares are the best.
Wherever I goeth, the wind is on my noseth.
Regards
Chet
Look for Chris Green, Todd Bouton. Ask them what it's like.
If I'm not mistaken, you're traveling the same path as the Great Texas race, only hopefully doing it on the INSIDE of the islands, yes?
I've been south of Corpus, but that's not going to help you betwixt Corpus and Galv.
Oh yeah, talk to Andrew Tatton, he's from there, Refugio...
I'm surprised none of the above have chimed in but they may have been misled by the post heading. Anyway, go to TCDYC site, ask the same question, experienced folk should answer you...
gree2056, I've missed the part where you introduced yourself so, what is your name? Gary Friesen here.
Your friend who will parallel your course, is he a member of this forum too?
Here are a few things you can consider:
Can I reduce sail area when overpowered?
Can the bows and bow tangs handle the additional load from the forward tramp?
Can I recover from a capsize where I go
turtle?
Shouldn't I have an anchor to safeguard the boat from floating away during an surprising rise in tide?
How to do I make absolute certain that there will always be a totally clean and dry portion of cloth to wipe the oil off of my lenses and the sunblock out of my eyeballs?
When living in a marine environment, salt should be your companion, not the enemy. Learn to live with it. Where I come from, sea water submersion was actually a reasonable treatment of cuts. Yes, antibiotic ointment is far superior.
Don't fill the inside of the hulls up with weight; you'll get in trouble when
turtled.
Consider being able to pitch your tent on top of your trampoline. Fewer flea bites. Air on the underside promotes drying.
Investigate cell phone coverage in the area. Cell service providers should have coverage maps on the www.
File a float plan with somebody who is dedicated to be your information relay, ground support person who will know when they should or should not report you missing or overdue. Have an established protocol for what that ground support person does or does not do in the event that you do or do not contact them at certain times.
Wool socks can save you from blisters, even when wet.
Stand up and exercise the legs every hour to prevent them from going to sleep. (30 squats works for me)
National Geographic
Explorer Paper
will take normal ink jet ink and produce waterproof results. Print your tide charts, boat insurance information, boat registration, copy of your personal identification, health insurance card, important way points, magnetic compass courses between known landmarks, and emergency phone numbers. Also print maps, charts, etc.
Always have duct tape on hand.
Use di-electric grease (tune up grease available at auto stores) on all electrical contacts, especially those that may become exposed to salt. I use it on my batteries, spare batteries, charging contacts, and gps upload link cord contacts.
Water bottles easily tolerate being deep frozen. Play things right and you may be able to have the luxury of cold drinks for 1-3 days.
A small package of damp face wipes is a nice luxury. A freshly cleaned face can provide
that just showered feeling.
Keep a leash on your visor hat. A lost visor, days from the store, would be bad.
Wear foot protection. A barnacle cut or a glass cut on the sole of your foot could ruin a good time.
Bring a mosquito face/head net. Wear it over your hat so the visor keeps the net off of your face.
Carry along a log book and make entries at least once a day. You'll remember this experience for the rest of your life and will take great joy in reliving it each time to think about it. You will remember a multitude additional measure of moments that occurred during the trip if you have notes that were made when the thoughts and memories are fresh in your mind.
Make this event an expedition. Think of the event as the entire expedition, not just as a 4-day trip. A large part of the experience is this, the planing portion. The gearing up and the gearing back down to return to the busy society is part of the expedition. All of the expedition is deserving of your full attention and will reward you with many memories.
GARY
Sorry, I guess I should introduce myself.
My name is Vernon Green and I am a 20 year old college student. The friend going with me isn't a member I have tried but he doesn't look at the boards to often.
Thanks for all the advice, I cut and pasted it to my list I am making of stuff. I am looking at the planning and everything as part of the trip not just the five days on the water.
It is hard to address most of the stuff you said but I can sailing the boat in very heave winds, I have the ability to depower and to right the boat from a turtle. It isn't fun but I can do it.
Also as for first aid, I have taken many courses in it and have my first aid license.
I plan to take a small soft icechest with alot of dry ice in it. We use this same idea when we go on long hiking trips and the dry ice will keep water nice and cool for four days. I have been thinking and I now plan to sleep on the tramp. I measured my tent and it will fit on the tramp of my boat as long as I hang it off the back end a little.That would solve alot of problems. It would be cleaner and I wouldn't have to worry about the boat drifting away without me.
I already checked the phone service, according to the website i should have service the whole time. It is so flat that I will have a line of sight to a towner almost anywhere.
I plan to get in contact iwth the coast guard and tell them my exact plan also I will have a few people who are watching out for me from the land. I will have a set time each day that I will call someone and if I miss that by a certain amount I will have a plan for them.
I hadn't thought of the log book, I will make sure to do that.
Thank you for the great advice. I am very excited about this trip, it should be a blast if I am careful.
Vernon:
I would carry a VHF with you. When we raced at Texas Catamaran Chapionships in Palicios the cell service was REAL bad. Hit and miss at best.
http:/
Doug
Racoones can be BIG problem. They will try to get to your food and WATER. I hosted water and food up on a mast on my trips.
On a solo boat I found that oars works much better than single paddle.
Typically, you can survive on two liters of water a day, unless it's very hot. Gallon a day was more than enougth for me.
Why don't you try Watertribe Challenge - it's a lot af fun, and you can take all week to do it.
www.watertribe.com
It's a great resource too. I'd recomend to read some of the articles
http:/
http:/
http:/
http:/
Jake,
I did not make it, the weather looked like rain and little to no wind, Plus I had a Composites job to get out. As my better half always says
Eating is Good
<img src=
alt=
/> Thanks for asking, I will show up when least expected. Have my spin pole now, building model and molds for hoop. <img src=
alt=
/> Sorry to steel the thread.
Carl
Saylor Specialties
www.saylorspecialties.com
I live on the coast an hour or so north of Corpus, and it is indeed desolate in a lot of areas. Sounds like a fun trip, tho. Be aware that our spring winds can blow 20-30 mph for days, out of the southeast of course, but still. Good luck, and let me know if you make it down.
hey there gree. i did a build up on my hobie 16 several years ago and posted results in this forum. i built racks out of inexpensive pvc and managed a way to lash them to the boat. i made adjustable backrests and a rack that went forward of the mast. the rack that went forward of the mast was the ticket for mounting cooler(s). do a search for camper/cruiser in this forum with a limit on 5yrs. (or do a search on my user name) there are pictures too. the back rests were lifesavers too for all day comfort. ive been using this system on my boat since and have done a dozen sail/cruises. all on freshwater lakes of texas. twice on the very large lake texoma. on the second trip, the boat survived a wicked 55 mph wind front. very scary, but managed not to capsize due to the gear (wt) we were carrying. i had brand new sails and they were luffing so hard i thought they were going to rip. i did manage to break battens. i dont know what your max wt is on your boat but the hobie is pretty high. seems like it is 800lbs. one note is that the first time i loaded up the front rack with too much weight forward. the boat was level but with the jib up, it created a huge tiller load. after that, i figured out that if i kept the weight closest to the mast and just put large bulky and light items further out on the rack, tiller load became normal. oh yeah. if you plan to sleep on the boat, find a way to silence your halyard. i took the sail down first night out and the dang thing clanged all night.
the pictures are old pre digital camera. i can take new pictures if you want.
tx,
Are you saying you can put 800 lbs of gear on a Hobie 16? That sounds like a bit too much.
As far as silencing a halyard, it's common courtesy to do so if you leave your boat on a beach (as to not annoy the people that live next to the dunes). If you take your halyard and just wind it two or three times around the mast before you secure it, it won't make any noise.
yep, i double checked hobie website for max load capacity on the 16 and it is 800lbs. the 17s are good for only 400lbs. ive had 4 people (2 sm adults and two teenage kids) and gear on mine. there is not a lot of freeboard and no chance in hell of flying a hull, but it handles nicely and makes good speed.
The 5.2 will hold alot and I think has more floatation than the 16 but I will check into it for sure.
I would like to see some pictures of those racks, I could use some ideas.
Guys:
I have had 3 adults and a teenager on my Hobie 17 and with the wind that day it still tried to lift a hull. Rating are on the Conservative side for product liability.
Doug Snell
i always wondered why the 16 was rated so much higher than a 17. while i dont think 800lbs on any cat is practical, cats can carry more than you think.
gree, i guess you are trying to do this on spring break? you should be able to talk a couple of girls into going with you.
did you find my camper/cruiser post? there is a picture on that thread. ill get my digital out and take some new pics in a couple of days. my backyard is flooded and i need to get the boat out of the backyard to take the pics.
No rush to get those pictures, we are working on the female situation but for some reason sailing camping and now showering with two guys just doesn't appeal. My girlfriend will go in a second if my friend can find another girl but if he can't I don't want her to go because that would make things kinda awkward for my friend.
That is what I love about my girl, she is up for anything.
gree,
spend 10 bucks and get a solar shower. they work incredibly well. lather up with salt water. rinse with fresh water. if done right, you could do two rinses with 1.5 gal of fresh water. being clean once in awhile makes all the difference.
I had thought of that, we will be stopping in a town halfway so maybe we could do that then. I think my dad has a solar shower somewhere.
ok, here are some pics i dug up. the front rack and side racks.
Uhhhh.... pics?? <img src=
alt=
/>