[C320-list] How far offshore?

[Diane Fowler]

All good advice; but what I worry about is ports and hatches failing in large waves.

I raced your Isla Mujeres, Mexico, aboard a Tartan 4100.  His ports & hatches Are trimmed in stainless steel and we reinforced bow hatch with plywood before heading out.
Water is heavy!

We took Windy City from Florida to the berry islands in May 2018 in 25K winds on the nose.   NOT comfortable. The flat bottom slamming against the waves shook everything loose on the boat and all my ports and hatches leaked and they had never leaked before...

Previous comments about going to wind are correct. When we are out in 20 not winds, the wing Keel just doesn't do well. We slide sideways.

Best wishes!  Watch the weather carefully.

Windy City, #948

Captain Diane Fowler, CRS, GRI, e-PRO

Nautical Realty Group, Inc.
Let me help make your sale a breeze.    

239-850-4935
Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 27, 2020, at 12:54 PM, Jack Brennan <jackbrennan at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> 
> Tough question.
> 
> The fact is, people have sailed all kinds of boats all over the world. A Miami guy named Patrick Childress sailed a modified Catalina 27 around the world in the 1970s. People have sailed old Bristols (I owned a 30) from 24 to 32 feet across the Atlantic and Pacific.
> 
> The boat itself is well-built, much better than many of the ‘70s cruisers that are out on the ocean. Condition is key, of course. No old rigging. Minor leaks will become major in big seas. Probably need a survey to detect any hidden problems so they don’t haunt you on your trip.
> 
> But I think the biggest issue with the 320 is its flattish bottom and, in many cases, wing keel. You’re just not going to weather very well in rough conditions. That means you would have to figure out the best rough-weather tactics for your boat for if/when you get caught out.
> 
> If you go to a web site called atomvoyages.com, there is an article about the author delivering a 320 to the Caribbean in difficult conditions. That’s a trip longer, and perhaps even rougher, than your planned trip to the Med. 
> 
> He crossed a stirred-up Gulfstream. And the Caribbean has its notorious “Christmas winds,” in which it blows 25 knots every day in often-rough conditions. 
> 
> My worst rough-weather experience with the 320 was going from Key West to Key Largo in 25 knots of wind on the nose, with a strong current opposing. We had to motor because we had land on one side and a big reef on the other. Wide open, we were making about two knots, with the flat bottom slamming into every set of short, steep waves.
> 
> If I had been in my old Bristol 30, with its wine glass-shaped hull and long keel, I would have sliced right through that chop. 
> 
> On the other hand, I have found the 320 to handle itself well in 20-some knots and choppy conditions when I wasn’t going nose to wind. 
> 
> I think distance offshore is a red herring. Many of the worst and most dangerous conditions are relatively close to shore. You could heave to or forereach offshore and be perfectly fine as long as you weren’t in a shipping lane.
> 
> If I were you, I would spend some time reading books on storm tactics and by small-boat sailors who have done the Med. An old friend of mine named John Kretschmer from Fort Lauderdale has written several good ones, but there are tons more around.
> 
> Good luck. I think you could do it!
> 
> Jack Brennan
> Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
> Tierra Verde, Fl.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
> 
> From: Graeme Clark
> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2020 12:49 PM
> To: Catalina list
> Subject: [C320-list] How far offshore?
> 
> 
> Curious to know if anyone has sailed any significant distances offshore in a C320. 
> 
> I recall reading somewhere that it’s “not an offshore boat” but I have no idea why, nor at what point you are considered to be offshore. I think it’s a bit more than just out of sight of land?
> 
> Similarly I don’t really uNderstand the phrase “blue water sailing” beyond the fact that if you’re doing it, you’ve got a good chance of waves breaking over the coachroof and pouring down the companionway if you’re foolish enough to leave it open!
> 
> Here in Britain the furthest I’ve gone is 110nm across the English Channel to France but I’d like to sail down to the Mediterranean one day (no, not IN one day!) which Means crossing the Bay of Biscay. 300nm
> In some notoriously poor conditions if you’re unlucky Or the forecasters get it wrong! 
> 
> Is that a foolish prospect in a C320?
> 
> Graeme
> #366, 1996
> Sent from my phone. Excuse typos! 
>