Solo around the world on a open cat :: Catamaran Sailboats at TheBeachcats.com

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Solo around the world on a open cat

catmodding

Rank: Mate

Registered: Aug 11, 2010

Last visit: Mar 19, 2018

Posts: 424
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 04:35 AM

Hi,

Remember the topic on the guy who rounded cape horn on a nacra F20 ?
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ms/viewtopic/topic/13196

Well he's doing a new project; Solo around the world on a open cat
without gps or assistance.
He left France the 5th October, and made it to Panama so far, here's a map

And this is his news-site, its in French, but maybe our Canadian friends can
help translate, what I understand from it is he capsized the 5th of February losing
a autopilot, VHF and stove. And spend over 2 hours in the water before righting
the boat again, pfff.

http://ledefidyvanbourgnon.com/les-actualites/

What a guy! I mean if he left the 5th October, he must have been in the middle of
the Atlantic ocean around the same time the mini-transat boats were there.
They reported squalls of more then 50 knts over a weeks period .
Anyway, its not fore the most of us, but I like sharing this.

Grtz, André

Edited by catmodding on Feb 14, 2014 - 11:37 AM.

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--
catmodding

Rank: Mate

Registered: Aug 11, 2010

Last visit: Mar 19, 2018

Posts: 424
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 05:11 AM

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--
MN3

Rank: Master Chief

Registered: Jun 20, 2006

Last visit: May 22, 2024

Posts: 7089
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 06:47 AM

nutz!
he is nutz!
he has huge nutz!
Edchris177

Rank: Chief

Registered: Nov 26, 2009

Last visit: Aug 10, 2024

Posts: 2531
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 07:14 AM

The Atlantic has been done by several, & once gets across the first half of the Pacific, there are Islands every few days. The first 1/2 of the Pacific is the biggie.
My friend went from Vancouver to Australia,(monohull) the run from the Baja to Hawaii took 33 days.

Edited by Edchris177 on Feb 14, 2014 - 08:34 AM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--
Edchris177

Rank: Chief

Registered: Nov 26, 2009

Last visit: Aug 10, 2024

Posts: 2531
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 08:34 AM

A few highlights from a quick perusal of the site.
If I understand it correctly, the original intent was not to be a solo trip. His partner decided to leave the project, along with some of the financial support.
This entailed more fund raising, & more importantly modification of the boat.

"The nature of the challenge remains unchanged, it will continue round the world without GPS, without assistance, and without receiving weather board, helped only a sextant."
To continue solo, he stopped in the Canary Is to install an autopilot, & a "mast tilting"(shroud extender?) system to allow him to recover from a capsize.

19 days between the Canary Islands and Le Marin in Martinique .
He capsized at night, the spin jammed & he couldn't douse it,(sounded like pitchpole with spin out, he describes it as "ass over head"), took 2 hr to get the sails down & another 2 to work the system, difficult to right as wind died. Took 4 tries, using a righting pole.
Lost some clothing, winch handle, 1 VHF... & if I read this correctly, the autopilot caught fire,(due to water in the electrics, I think it was water in the port hull), he threw it overboard. I think he has one electric system for each hull, he lost the port one.
Cracked the mast 1.5 meter from the top.
The composite company strengthened the rudders, he added a 3rd reef to the sail, a 3rd wing to help with higher wind sailing & some sort of ballast system, I think it was to help with "hobby horsing" or pitchpoling.
Sounds like some money problems, must have been solved, he left for Panama on 4th Feb, quite a bit behind schedule. After the Canal transit he will head for the Galapagos.

"These few days Martinique allowed me to recharge the batteries, regain strength. Physically and mentally, I 'm pumped . The boat is like new. I am ready to write a new chapter in my ledger around the world!"

He is enjoying the warm waters of the Carib, & making 20 kts with favourable winds.
Closing in on the Canal, 2 days ago, he is experiencing several skin afflictions.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--
DamonLinkous

Rank: Administrator

Registered: Jul 19, 2001

Last visit: Nov 15, 2024

Posts: 3446
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 10:40 AM

Amazing, like you said, crossing the Atlantic is one thing, must seem old hat to him but the Pacific is a monster.

Solo? No weather info? No GPS? Why????

Seems like "just" doing a circumnavigation on a beachcat would be enough!

--
Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

How To Create Your Signature

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redtwin

Rank: Lubber

Registered: May 02, 2004

Last visit: Apr 26, 2018

Posts: 45
Posted: Feb 14, 2014 - 07:35 PM

Is he going East to West? Isn't that against the prevailing winds?

Edit: Wow! Look at that leg between the Galapagos and the Marquises. How does he carry enough food and water? Is he planning on eating fish and drinking turtle blood?

http://www.foxnews.com/wo…n-what-humanly-possible/

Edited by redtwin on Feb 14, 2014 - 07:48 PM.

--
Rob V.
Panama City, FL
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Edchris177

Rank: Chief

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Last visit: Aug 10, 2024

Posts: 2531
Posted: Feb 15, 2014 - 08:20 AM

QuoteIs he going East to West? Isn't that against the prevailing winds?

No. Meteorology recognizes six basic cells of circulation, three on each side of the equator. The driving force is the suns unequal heating of the earth, which creates pressure differentials. Wind is the result of these differentials trying to equalize.
These cells are not static, but shift latitudes, slightly lagging the "heat equator", IE, in the northern hemisphere they will move slightly north in the summer, south in the winter.
Some of this was known way back in Columbus's days, hence the route from Europe to the Indies was down to the Canaries, then across to the Caribbean, utilizing the Trade Winds, which are an easterly flow.
As you move further south into the tropics, the northern cell starts to mix with the first southern cell, known as Inter Tropical Convergence,(ITC). The two airmasses pile up on each other, & with warm water can result in a stationary line of monstrous thunderstorms that persist on a nearly continuous basis.
That will be his major challenge, otherwise, at that latitude, he should enjoy downwind and/or quartering tailwinds.
The other advantage is an ocean gyre. Weather & ocean currents would be very simple, & predictable, were it not for those pesky continents & the fact that the earth is rotating.
Opposing wind cells get the water moving, but Coriolis effect(caused by earth rotation) wants to bend the resulting current, & of course continents are always in the way.
Heading west from Panama, he should pick up a favourable current, the same current that brought that Mexican fisherman to the Marshall Is.

QuoteHow does he carry enough food and water?

With today's technology, food is easy. Water would be obtained by solar still, or small de-sal reverse osmosis unit. It could be electric with a hand pump backup, though I think the hand pump is quite strenuous.

Edited by Edchris177 on Feb 15, 2014 - 08:53 AM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--
nacraman57

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Apr 24, 2010

Last visit: May 04, 2018

Posts: 94
Posted: Feb 15, 2014 - 09:27 AM

Hey catmodding or Edchriss....do you have any info on the boat he's using and how it's modified? That thing looks a lot heavier duty than an off the shelf boat.
catmodding

Rank: Mate

Registered: Aug 11, 2010

Last visit: Mar 19, 2018

Posts: 424
Posted: Feb 16, 2014 - 02:54 AM

nacraman57Hey catmodding or Edchriss....do you have any info on the boat he's using and how it's modified? That thing looks a lot heavier duty than an off the shelf boat.

Its purposed built in La Trinité sur mer, France, by a team of experts.
Composite materials, fibre-glas and carbon.
Lenght is 6.20 mtrs , beam is not mentioned in the specs, dry-weight is 450 Kg.
Designer is Swiss naval architect Sebastian Schmitt.

Grtz, André

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--
Edchris177

Rank: Chief

Registered: Nov 26, 2009

Last visit: Aug 10, 2024

Posts: 2531
Posted: Feb 19, 2014 - 05:11 PM

QuoteHey catmodding or Edchriss....do you have any info on the boat he's using and how it's modified? That thing looks a lot heavier duty than an off the shelf boat.

Sorry for the delay, just got back from my Western place...Though the lawn was bare & dry, just west they had a meter+ (39") of dry powder in 48 hrs at Castle Mountain. The skiing was epic, it is not a well known mountain, mostly locals & a smattering of Calgary people, no line ups, you can ski right back onto the lift. There are still plenty of untracked powder lines, after 3 days! It was snorkelling conditions, Heli skiing for the price of a lift ticket. It was an exhausting dirty beer fuelled job, but somebody had to do it.
My French is not very good, but I read that it is not a high performance boat, construction is vacumn bagging, utilizing fibreglass/epoxy. It does appear to contain some carbon, I'm not sure exactly where.
Built by JPS Production ( Nicolas Groleau ) , La Trinité-sur -Mer
After the mold was made , hulls were laid in sandwich fiberglass / foam (15mm) fiber glass, impregnated with epoxy resin.
It sounds like they lay up all the layers(it was a 1 shot process), cover it, then apply vacumn. The resin supply is opened, allowing the resin to migrate through the layers. Resin flow is stopped, vacumn remains to compact the layers, & remove solvent fumes.
Here are a whack of photos. They are in reverse order, latest first. Some righting trials 1/2 way down, construction at the bottom. Suiv means "next", fermer means "close".
http://ledefidyvanbourgnon.com/les-photos-du-defi/
Specs

Materials: glass, carbon, epoxy
Technique: infusion
Length: 6.3 meters long (almost 21 ft)
Width: 4 meters(13 ft)
Height: 60 cm
Mast height: 12 meters(30.4 ft)
Weight: 360 pounds empty
Mainsail area : 25 m2 (270 sq ft)
Surface spi : 50 m2 (540 sq ft)
Number of sails: 5
Board material: 130 kilos(287 lb)
Crew Material: 170 kilos(375 lb)

Edited by Edchris177 on Feb 19, 2014 - 05:26 PM.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--
catmodding

Rank: Mate

Registered: Aug 11, 2010

Last visit: Mar 19, 2018

Posts: 424
Posted: Feb 22, 2014 - 05:44 AM

Hey Edchris,
thank you for translating, you master French much better than me, it seems.

This is what I found on a Dutch nautical website; Despite losing his sponsor
he disassembled his cat and transported it trough the panama-canal
on deck of a sailingyacht last week.
Friday the 21th, he reassembled the boat and this Saturday he is
doing a test-run to the isle of Perlas, some 30 miles of Panama-city.
His plan is to leave for the Galapagos isles next Sunday-morning.
There's a lot of controversy about his trip, some say he is crazy,
but everywhere he goes, local people and volunteers help him complete
his voyage.

His FB page has a lot of pictures.https://www.facebook.com/yvan.bourgnon

Grtz, André

Edited by catmodding on Feb 22, 2014 - 12:50 PM.

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--
catmodding

Rank: Mate

Registered: Aug 11, 2010

Last visit: Mar 19, 2018

Posts: 424
Posted: Feb 23, 2014 - 10:49 AM

According to his FB page, he's off to the Galapagos, left at 22.00hrs,
yesterday, local time.
He managed to get tangled in 2 fishing-nets, had to jump overboard
to sort that problem, and went for it.

Good luck Yvan !!

Grtz, André

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--
loganbetts

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Feb 01, 2014

Last visit: Sep 03, 2019

Posts: 38
Posted: Feb 27, 2014 - 07:14 PM

As awesome as this is it's just like why even do it. It's like over kill

--
Saint Simons Island, GA
Saint Simons Surf Sailors

Nacra 6.0NA
Nacra Inter17
Hobie Wave
PSI Laser
AMF Sunfish
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marekli

Rank: Mate

Registered: Dec 28, 2013

Last visit: Mar 04, 2017

Posts: 131
Posted: Aug 12, 2014 - 06:36 PM

fascinating journey...you must have really BIG BALLS to do a trip like this....

Well he recently made it to Galle in Sri Lanka but had his boat destroyed when his autopilot malfunctioned and he hit a reef just off the coast.

http://www.catsailingnews.com/2014/08/beachcat-round-world-yvan-bourgnon-hit.html

Here's his FB page, my French is not so good but maybe a few other interested folks can glean more information:

https://www.facebook.com/yvan.bourgnon.9?fref=ts

--
Marek
1992 Prindle 19
1981 Prindle 16
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