What difference do the facts of the original transportation for the DXpedition have to do with this story? Some of you OM desperately need a hobby. And a life.
Nice ship but: They will need a crew larger than 3 people to make that long of a trip. There is some bad water in that area of the world.
Not necessarily as yacht has been designed-to-charter, any seas. But if I were part of R-As embarked, I could not lay idling in my berth, I'd offer my share of cooking, dishing, maintenance, watchkeeping or steering if needed by crew, wx or sea. Remembering that any man/hour is valuable on board a sailing yacht. Oliver
Just saying that for a safety reason, they're going to be out for weeks in very rough Seas. There's really only two active Crew members the Captain and First Mate, the third person is the cook. They are very experienced, however working in rough Seas 24/7 will get the best of anyone. January 13 to February 28, 2023. The amateur radio crew cannot be relied on for sailing duties, they have their own priorities. They have spent a lot of money to get landed on the island on time and safe. And they have to be in top form to get their equipment set up and to make the operation successful. Sure in an emergency everyone will do their part. Godspeed, to everyone on this trip
Grew up sailing around all the islands of southern California. Can't imagine a trip all the way to Bouvet,, besides I prefer warm weather !!
Cooking isn’t a full-time job. Splitting watches among three people is typical on long passages. The hardest part of this trip is trying to adhere to a set schedule regardless of wind and sea state.
Come on! a piece of cake to the Horn from Baja California, then it's an even more breezy 2,350' (Great Circle) sporty experience. Oliver
That's the thought behind my reaction: On a Sailboat? I grew up near Lake Michigan (Chicago/suburbs), and most leisure activity on the lake was in the short summer season. Winter was for ice fishing (farther north) and commercial transportation. But this is a different world. It's not comfort, but it is what they do all the time.
Interesting name "Marama" it's a Fijian word for Lady so I'm interested to know if the owner has any history with Fiji (3D2) as I do, is it the vessel's home port. I'm looking foward to working the DXpedition in coming months and have made my small contribution, see you on the air in 2023 and I hope the pile-ups are well behaved. 73 & thanks for your efforts with another activation, stay safe VK4KX, Bernie
Sailed in the Bass Straits in the late 80s while in US Navy. Top-side had been secured due to "inclement weather". During that time, they also passed this message at one point: "Top-side secured; Green water over the Bridge". This translates as the ocean wave had not 'broken' to create the white water you see when a wave hits the beach, and the waves were still yet higher than the Bridge. The Bridge deck on that ship was 65 feet above the normal waterline if memory serves me correctly. Granted, the sea state was definitely high, but it goes to illustrate what kind of weather can be generated in the seas down south.
I obviously like sailing, see my avatar, but losing the engine is not a good thing - that is where our electricity comes from! Some boats have a lot of solar, but I don't really have enough to keep up 100% with normal demand.
