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I've had this crazy urge to obtain a free or cheap small 28+ foot sailboat, learn navigation and sail it to the Philippines from Florida alone or with my wife. It would be several weeks at sea, no land in sight.
That's not crazy at all. In fact, I think it's absolutely tremendous. How many people get to do something like that in their lives? To sail halfway around the world completely on their own initiative. I think it's just great.
Sounds fabulous- go for it if you can!
I believe there is a guy who posts on this site and who has done something similar. I hope he finds this post because he might find it interesting!
Hi! My boyfriend and I are on a sailboat in the Eastern Caribbean at the moment.
Fact 1: Panama Canal is really expensive. Buy your boat on the West coast.
Fact 2: You're idea is well within the realm of reality. Remember a small sailboat like that will only move at 5-6 knots. So adjust your time frame appropriately...
People have been sailing for thousands of years. It is not dangerous or difficult. However, the more experience you have before you leave, the easier your trip will be. You can gain some experience by sailing on other peoples boats on the weekends; just walk the docks of any marina, offering yourself as crew. The more experience you have, the better knowledge you will have buy the correct boat for your voyage.
By the way, uhm, nobody anchors at sea. You sail 24 hours a day. While single handing is possible, it's probably a good idea to bring the lady along or crew of some kind. Keeping watches at sea is pretty crucial as it's not like you can expect a ship to go out of its way to avoid plastering you to its bow.
Go for it! It's a blast!
O_o
As sweet as that dream sounds ... two people in 28 foot sailboat crossing the pacific... sounds like a very horrible way to die.
Take it from a former Navy sailor... you'll need a lot more than what you realize in order to complete this trip alive.
1) Crew. You need more than 2 people. Even if you drop anchor at night you will drift. Even Navy ships with 20,000 pound anchors drift around the anchor, so your little boat will too. This means you have to keep an eye on the helm. If you only have 2 people that's going to get VERY tiring.
And that's not factoring in the navigation adjustments, keeping logs, and tensions from being cooped up with just one other person.
2) Supplies. Do you know how much food and water it takes to supply a ship or boat? You need to learn that... and then you'll find out that your ship doesn't have enough space to hold it all.
Plus - fresh water. You might be in the ocean but if you start drinking sea water your death will be very painful.
3) As another poster stated - FL to PI is not a straight shot like you imagined. I know how long it takes a steam-powered ship to go from CA to HI. Even that would take a 2 man sailboat several weeks to complete.
Don't get me wrong - sailors have been crossing the ocean for centuries on sail-power alone. But they did it in much bigger ships with a real crew. And they were prepared.
I think that's cool, but you should probably spend a year or so studying maritime practices and picking up sailing techniques before you do that. Lack of expertise in sailing is almost a certain death sentence for someone who decides to embark on such a journey.
It sounds normal, but remember, if you're a Sailor or former Sailor, nothing that I said above applies to you and I think you should totally go for it because it sounds awesome. But from Florida to the Phillipines would take more than a few weeks, bro, considering you're going to be rounding about either Africa or South America, unless you have the clearance to use the Panama Canal. And legalization for authorized entry into the Phillipines. Don't want to be thrown in jail there. It will likely be where you will spend the rest of your days.