[C320-list] How far offshore?

[Larry Frank]

Hi Troy,

Could not be said better.  I have met John a few times after his seminars and almost went on one of his training cruises.  He is the consummate expert, if there is such a thing.

Thanks!

Larry
WindSwept
C320 #246

On 8/29/20, 6:53 AM, "C320-list on behalf of Troy Dunn" <c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com on behalf of troutwarrior at gmail.com> wrote:

    Graeme-

    I think this video does a good job of answering some of the mail.   In the
    end ... it's a balance of your wallet, comfort, safety, and of course...
    style.

    https://youtu.be/nCIG_LPcqu8

    FWIW-

    Troy Dunn
    Hull #514

    On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 11:46 PM Larry Frank <WindSwept at stx.rr.com> wrote:

    > Graeme,
    >
    > What makes an offshore boat is a subject that has been debated at all
    > yacht clubs and harbor bars for hundreds of years.   I won't get into that
    > but will support the observations that a 320 will pound going to weather in
    > ocean waves.  Maybe not so much in swells like you might encounter in the
    > pacific, but definitely in the short choppy waves that are the norm in the
    > Gulf of Mexico where I sail.
    >
    > No one mentioned how far they have sailed offshore.  I know my trips are
    > not the longest but I have sailed 500+ miles from the coast of Texas to
    > Veracruz Mexico in a race back in 2006.  I think Catalina Yachts used to
    > have a spot on their website where significant cruises completed on
    > Catalinas were logged.  You might want to see if it is still there.
    >
    > As far as the open transom, I think your concerns might be misplaced.
    > When we purchased WindSwept, my wife liked that feature for swimming and
    > boarding the dink.  I thought it was very poor design that would put the
    > boat at risk in a large following sea.  I was wrong.  On one trip in the
    > Gulf we were sailing in a large following sea with winds in the 25 kt
    > range.  Of course it was dark, everything always seems to happen at night.
    > We were watching in amazement as the big waves would come up behind the
    > stern and the stern wound then rise up and the wave the passed under
    > WindSwept.  Until one didn't.  It broke in the cockpit.  The cockpit filled
    > to just where the first hatch board should have been.  The water then ran
    > out the transom under the insert in just a few seconds.  It could never
    > have drained that quickly through a more normal scupper arrangement.
    > Take a look at the offshore racing monohulls in races like the Volvo.  They
    > all have wide open transoms.  I now see it as a good thing.
    >
    > Larry
    > WindSwept
    > C320#246
    >
    > On 8/27/20, 11:49 AM, "C320-list on behalf of Graeme Clark" <
    > c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com on behalf of cg at skyflyer.co.uk>
    > wrote:
    >
    >
    >     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!
    >
    >
    >