Hi everyone,

I'm new to sailing. I've been on sail boats before a few times, but always as a passenger only. Well I have decided that I want to cross the Pacific Ocean from Queensland Australia to California. It's pretty much a spiritual thing for me. Obviously, I am aware that there's a lot of stuff to know in order to survive this kind of journey. I want to know what is the steps I should take in order to build up my skills as a sailor so that I know just enough to survive if I were on my own on the trip. Which books do I need to read, in terms of equipment (boats, auto-pilot etc), sailing techniques and control, sailing routes, seasonal weather conditions, possible threats/dangers. EVERYTHING necessary, I want to learn, which books I need as well and what kinda experience I should gun for. I really don't know EXACTLY what im getting into so I want you all to give me realistic heads up.

I was thinking of first trying my hand at sailing at a local club, than maybe sailing coastally for a while, in order to get some sea miles. But also what kinda "specific" things would I need to learn, like sail routes across the Pacific, ideal stop-over locations... Thanks for the help everyone.

samsturdy said..
There are very experienced deep blue water sailors on this forum who will probably be
shuddering in their shoes reading your blog...MB would be one.
Were I in your place I'd be sailing in a Quantas 747.

Good luck.

Sam, I couldn't agree more !
One thing though, there aint no U in QANTAS !

You could be the next Alex Rust see below for the true story of "the worst sailor to ever sail around the world."

sailor92 said..
Which books do I need to read, in terms of equipment (boats, auto-pilot etc), sailing techniques and control, sailing routes, seasonal weather conditions, possible threats/dangers.

Read Jimmy Cornells World Cruising Routes first. You will quickly realise you are going the wrong way. Outside of the Monsoon season the trade winds are East to West.........

Then read every other cruising guide you can get your hands on.

Everyone has already jumped on your back about this but nowhere did I see what time frame you want to do this in. To me it sounds like you are starting off on the right track and asking questions first, then off to the local club and gain some experience. Halfway from the Panama Canal to the Marquesas is a bloody long way to realise the cruising life is not for you. So I agree in getting some smaller passages in.

It is not rocket science. Don't let people have you believe that it is......

As a non-religious person, sailing is as close as I get to something spiritual. But nothing can substitute for experience.... and experience tells me that insurance helps (see article below).

While its nice to have the idea of "finding" ones-self in the desert, don't forget to enjoy what you're able to do today and live in the moment. I am still in the early stages of sailing myself and I believe that the safest and cheapest way to be a happy sailor is lowering ones expectations! hahahaha

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it" - George A. Moore

Saw this article today:

www.news.com.au/finance/business/travel/young-couple-new-to-sailing-lose-everything-after-boat-capsizes/news-story/b70e7b44610626a9f46164f9777fedc0

i know nothing , but still enjoy advising . so here goes ....

move to hobart , join a club and learn to sail around tassi and the southern ocean .

then buy a good wide ass yacht fix it up , strap yourself in point east and hang on !!! lookout for bergs !

Berri2 said..

sailor92 said..
Hi everyone,

I'm new to sailing. I've been on sail boats before a few times, but always as a passenger only. Well I have decided that I want to cross the Pacific Ocean from Queensland Australia to California. It's pretty much a spiritual thing for me. Obviously, I am aware that there's a lot of stuff to know in order to survive this kind of journey. I want to know what is the steps I should take in order to build up my skills as a sailor so that I know just enough to survive if I were on my own on the trip. Which books do I need to read, in terms of equipment (boats, auto-pilot etc), sailing techniques and control, sailing routes, seasonal weather conditions, possible threats/dangers. EVERYTHING necessary, I want to learn, which books I need as well and what kinda experience I should gun for. I really don't know EXACTLY what im getting into so I want you all to give me realistic heads up.

I was thinking of first trying my hand at sailing at a local club, than maybe sailing coastally for a while, in order to get some sea miles. But also what kinda "specific" things would I need to learn, like sail routes across the Pacific, ideal stop-over locations... Thanks for the help everyone.

Wow, dreaming big! But not impossible ;) My husband and I are planning something similar, sailing up to Japan and then crossing over to Alaska or Hawaii (depending on weather forecasting). We've been working on this for the past couple of years, learning to sail, racing, reading books, watching vlogs (SV Delos, Sailing la Vagabonde, Sail to Fly), and sailing on our boat. SV Delos has a good section on books they recommend on their website as well, but there is heaps of stuff out there!

Past years? WOW that's quiet long. Is it because you have other commitments as well. I would have thought that 6 months of dedicated preparation would have been enough, but then I don't have any other commitments, I'm only 25. I'll check out those vlogs. The japan route would be great. Let me know how it goes.

Toph said..

sailor92 said..
Which books do I need to read, in terms of equipment (boats, auto-pilot etc), sailing techniques and control, sailing routes, seasonal weather conditions, possible threats/dangers.

Read Jimmy Cornells World Cruising Routes first. You will quickly realise you are going the wrong way. Outside of the Monsoon season the trade winds are East to West.........

Then read every other cruising guide you can get your hands on.

Everyone has already jumped on your back about this but nowhere did I see what time frame you want to do this in. To me it sounds like you are starting off on the right track and asking questions first, then off to the local club and gain some experience. Halfway from the Panama Canal to the Marquesas is a bloody long way to realise the cruising life is not for you. So I agree in getting some smaller passages in.

It is not rocket science. Don't let people have you believe that it is......

Solid information. Thanks

it's not rocket science, but doing it solo without much sailing experience would be somewhat foolhardy. your comment above about 6 months preparation is highly unrealistic in my opinion.

also, ideally you would know your boat intimately, and know how to repair and maintain all its critical systems.

sailor92 said..

FelixdeCat said..

As a non-religious person, sailing is as close as I get to something spiritual. But nothing can substitute for experience.... and experience tells me that insurance helps (see article below).

While its nice to have the idea of "finding" ones-self in the desert, don't forget to enjoy what you're able to do today and live in the moment. I am still in the early stages of sailing myself and I believe that the safest and cheapest way to be a happy sailor is lowering ones expectations! hahahaha

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it" - George A. Moore

Saw this article today:

www.news.com.au/finance/business/travel/young-couple-new-to-sailing-lose-everything-after-boat-capsizes/news-story/b70e7b44610626a9f46164f9777fedc0

True, I think that is for life in general, expectation management. I honestly had NO idea exactly how hard it is, but I did want to scare myself a little on this, just within reason, and not go so ambitious that I end up dead at sea. But I do want to face the elements so to speak.At some point when Columbus crossed the Atlantic, it was a voyage for the history books, but now it's considered a relatively easy passage, that people complete SOLO regularly. That's an incredible difference if you think of it, in how mapping routes, technology and all that can change the difficulty. Actually my original plan was to learn sextant and celestial navigation and sail with JUST that. No back ups, nothing.

Columbus was an extremely experienced sailor who crossed the Atlantic with an extremely experienced crew. It's very different.

I think you have to consider what is your budget, timeframe, desire to be the skipper.

A simpler option would be to gain some sound sailing skills. Log onto find a crew and find someone to crew with... you will still need to figure out if you consider the boat/ skipper sound enough to cross an ocean with.... a coastal trip or pacific island delivery would be a good start to see if you even want to cross an ocean.

If you want to do it yourself in your own boat........ you will need a large budget and probably a 5year target. You will be reliant on yourself when it goes wrong. A helicopter isnt going to drop out of the sky to rescue you when your 1000 mile off shore.

If this is your goal.....
Start crewing at the local club
Look at some RYA courses
Complete radio, first aid, sea saftey and diesel engine courses
Continue coastal deliveries
Complete some pacific island trips.

Once you decide you want to own a yacht. You have to find one, prepare it for your intended purpose and become confident in handling her.

Its not only knowledge and having a yacht, you need experience......
Its not impossible but it will take time.

I spent last weekend helping out on a Yachtmaster exam for three souls.
It was fascinating watching the instructor sail off, and onto, a dock with no engine and no sails in a 10-15 knot breeze and an opposing 2 knot current.
Then to rub it in, he sailed upwind, turned back downwind, then turned back upwind and came back to the dock. Not a sail in sight and the engine off.
it was beautiful just to sit and watch a master of their trade at work.
Half an hour later, all three students were doing it too. Really cool.

There are a couple of route options that will take you from AUS to USA across the pacific. But no matter which route you'll take, it will be a long way. You'll probably have to avoid the trades as much as possible and catch the westerlies in the north or south to make some way. And you'll probably miss most of the great destination in the south pacific doing this.

Depending on what you want to get out of it and how much time you have it may be a more enjoyable experience overall to do the usual coconut milk run. But don't take my word for it, I haven't done either yet, others that did it may have a different view. I'm still planning my trip.

There are plenty of books available, Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes would be a good start. Read some blogs, there are yanks that do the pacific circle, take the trades across the Pacific and then the westerlies in the northern hemisphere back to the US.

As others said, get sailing experience, join the local club, do a couple of courses and if you get the chance try crewing on an off shore race. You'll then probably realise and get a feel for how much more experience you would want to undertake such an adventure.
Then get advice to buy and fit-out a suitable yacht.

...and a word of caution with your intention of navigating with a sextant. There are uncharted or poorly charted reefs in the pacific. A lot of the charts are based on surveys done in the 1800's. While navigating with a sextant may be interesting to kill some time, the GPS will be better at avoiding reefs i.e. staying accurately away from them to make up for any charting errors, and finding your destination.

Thanks tomooh. Yes, not enough sleep will play havoc with your senses. I certainly agree that AIS is a great help and
I reckon it's one of the best safety devices invented. My next door neighbour Bill has an elderly Cavalier with a strobe
light atop the mast. Is this sort of stuff obsolete now AIS is here or is there still a place for it ?.

Hi Shags. Hard to describe the strobe. I suppose it is white and I do know that close to in the pitch black it's
very dramatic, it lights up everything around for a nano second, off for a nano second then repeats, it is very
intense and I would imagine it would attract those on watch in a large vessel. But it is old technology.

good question /\