Another CO26 - Twice around the world

[nick]

A French Canadian friend is setting sail in May of this year, in his Canadian built Contessa 26, singlehanded. Check out his site at http://valkyria.prolonix.com/

I particularly enjoyed his trip overview!! :

Start Date     May 15, 2008 (Weather pending)
Approximate Finish Date    June 2013
Starting Point    Sandy Hook, New Jersey (USA)
Number of crew onboard    0
Total Distance    ± 50 000 Nautical Miles(57 538 miles, 92 600 kms)

Yikes! Nick

[Zen]

interesting...however...I am wondering , from looking at the map of his route. Technically he is not circumnavigating, except by distance, not by actually going around. Is that nitpicking?  :-\

[AdriftAtSea]

Zen-

Technically, that's just an extra long circumnavigation of Africa. :)  I can understand why he's planned it that way... he gets most of the benefits of a circumnavigation, seeing various countries...but avoids having to transit the Panama Canal or go round Cape Horn.

[nick]

Heh, true, it isn't technically around the world, but, hey, what a trip. He is a super minimalist sailor with a tiny budget, and I think he finds it considerably cheaper to cross a few more oceans than blow his kitty on that ridiculously costly canal. I feel his sentiments... It's a really big cost for small cruisers. Any business savvy man with a truck, would park himself at the entrance of the canal, and take small boats at half the cost.

I think his only electrical device onboard are the navlights, and there is no engine... & don't quote me on this, but I  think all of his navigation is astro. He might be French Canadian, but clearly the French craziness is undiluted!

nick.

[Pappy Jack]

Hmmm,

A double circumnavigation without going around the world even once ???...I'm thinking that the guy is either a lawyer or a politician ::). Either way you look at it, it sounds like an interesting voyage and I wish him all the best.

Fair winds,

Pappy Jack

[StephaneTremblay]

Good morning all,
Well after all these talking I think it's time that I talk too.
I'm the person who will do this expedition

-A circumnavigation is considerate to be going around something.
I will go over the same longitude then when I will leave NJ on the coast of Argentina, so technically it is a circumnavigation

- Did you know that you have more chance to hit nastiest weather doing Indian Ocean in the typhoon
season like I will do it (Need the wind in the good direction) then the cap horn on the good season ?

-The reason why I don't use Panama Canal it's purely to don't encourage them with their monopole and price rising every year.

-With no engine, almost no electronic(Only a VHF), singlehanded and limited fund on a 26 footers,  I think we can still say that it will not be as easy trip then what some person can think.  ;)

Thank you

Stéphane

[Captain Smollett]

Welcome to the board, Stephane.

Quite a few of us would like to hear more about your preparations, plans and ultimately, the execution of your journey.  It sounds like a fascinating voyage.

[CharlieJ]

Second that for sure. Tell us as much as you have time for.

[Zen]

Welcome, yes we would love to hear the scoop!

[TJim]

Steph, for what it's worth, some people are moving their boats across Panama by Truck/trailer at considerable savings of both time and money. TJim

[StephaneTremblay]

Thanks, yes i heard about truck in Panama. I heard about some in Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala and a lot of other place but never meet one or have a better info then ... I heard ...

And personally ... my boat doesn't like to be on land, but prefer by far being in the water  ;)
Time is not a issue for me, i live on water and on boats since 6 years now, first time right now I'm on land more then 2 weeks ... If i do this trip and this route, it's for a reason more then money and time...

But thanks for the advice.

I will give more info soon, just crazy work right now that doesn't let me a lot of free time  :(

[CapnK]

Welcome aboard, Stephane! Grog to you, sounds like a really neat journey you have planned! :)

Are you in NJ now, working to get underway? With just a couple months before you leave, it's no wonder you are busy! ;D

[CapnK]

Stephane -

On your site, you have the name of a sponsor - Gilles Jetté, from Quebec. Does he have a French-made aluminum hulled boat he finished, about 50 feet in length, that is somewhere down south right now?

If so, I know him - he stayed at our marina last year, and was tied up over by town on the waterfront this winter. I stopped and talked to him a couple times, they were putting a cork deck onto his boat. It'll be interesting if it is the same person. :)

[StephaneTremblay]

Hi CapnK
No I'm presently in Toronto, Ontario working and saving money for the trip.
Somebody hit my windvane when i was gone to see the family, and it's a old Navik Plastimo. Plastimo doesn't supply parts anymore ... I try to look for a new one but price are ridiculous !

So mainly working(Until 25 April), and looking for a used one, in the worst i got a plan to make myself one in SST directly on the outside rudder(Trim tab system).

No sorry, the Gilles Jette from the sponsors have a fiberglass boat a 32 footers ... and didn't own a Aluminum by what i know.

Have a good one !  :)

[StephaneTremblay]

OK, i think i will go by bits and pieces because my lack of time will never let me enough to write the whole story  ;)

The Journey start in my head around 5 years ago, and during those 5 years I sail offshore the more possible on all type of different boat. Removing every time a part of electronic and other device to be the more self-sufficient and to develop more my skills then depending on machine.

Joshua, my Contessa 26, and me just arrive from around 3000 miles of sailing last year, for what we can call the "test run" and I need to say that Contessa are really great boat to sail.
Easy to handle, even tacking upwind in a crowded narrow channel, or sailing on a 40 knots breeze. A little bit small inside, but all the advantage compensate for this only issue.

The meaning of the route itself is more then what my limited English can explain, but just for the fact of supporting a great organization like OceansWatch (www.oceanswatch.org) is already a good one.

........ Need to go ... Crazy overtime work!

[Oldrig]

Welcome to the board (Bienvenue!)

Please keep us posted. The Contessa 26 is a wonderful, ocean-capable boat that embodies so much of what this board is about.

Some of us will probably never get to make the trip that you're planning, but we all wish you well.

--Joe

[StephaneTremblay]

Thanks for your support!
Ok let's go for a little more ...
So basically I sail with Joshua it's been a little bit less then 2 years, after losing my last boat a wooden 36 foot trimaran yawl rigging engine less.
(Full story here: http://www.peacefuljourney.ca/whales.pdf ).

I spend a lot of time on the bank of the Bahamas last winter for testing, the bank are a great place for testing the boat in heavy wind with no seas. Even at 50 knots of wind the seas is only 2 to 3 foots. I enjoyed sailing at every nastiest depression with Joshua, Doing 8 to 9.8 knots under storm jib on 55 knots and gusty. Strangely I was the only boat sailing .... Never understand why!

After I've sailed all the way back to New Jersey by offshore, with only 2 large scale chart covering Canada to Venezuela, and a sketch of  the Beaufort inlet made by hand with a old book I barrow to Bika (Another Contessa 26 sailing around the world) before leaving the bank. I try to make it all the way, but I hit a pretty bad depression with NE wind when I try to pass Cap Hatteras. After beating up for 2 ½ days upwind in a building up seas, and waves breaking at the bow and finish into the cockpit, doing less then 20/25 miles a day and getting a weather forecast announcing the same weather for 8 days, I decide to go take a rest in Beaufort, NC and have a good meal and a good night sleep. In Beaufort the coast guard give me a chart of the area and I found a good anchorage to relax until the front pass.

When I left, a good 25 knots was blowing and gaining some good speed, until I've reached Cap Hatteras again and there the wind just die. Stay at the same spot for a while, after drifting between 0 to 1.5 knots the whole way. Glad I got a lot of new books in Beaufort!!

By the way sorry for my English ... I'm a French speaker ...

[AdriftAtSea]

Thanks for the updates, and keep us posted.  Also, thanks for the whales.pdf file.... I plan on reading it tonight. :) 

BTW, no need to apologize for your English, when it is at least as good as some of the native speakers here, and far better than the French for most of us. :)

[StephaneTremblay]

Good evening everyone,
like you all know the PeacefulJourney is about to begin.

Because of the increasing popularity, it became hard for me to send email to each of you to give update. For those interested to keep being posted, I've install a mailing list system on the website where you can easily subscribe.

Go to : http://www.peacefuljourney.ca and click on "Subs. Mailing list" on the side menu.

Thank you for your understanding.

Stephane Tremblay
http://www.peacefuljourney.ca

[Captain Smollett]

Thanks for the update, Stephane.

Best wishes as you begin your journey.  May you have Fair Winds and Following Seas.