From: Gardner Pomper <gardner@...>
Subject: Re: [harryproa] Cape Horn sailing
To: harryproa@...
Date: Friday, 2 January, 2009, 4:20 PM

Do you know much about the straits of Magellan? I have actually been trying to research it for a while now and can't locate a chart or anything. The US Coast Guard pilotage document lists sudden squalls of 50-100 knots occuring in blackout conditions of rain and snow (this is summer time) along with currents of up to 8 knots. Without some information on anchorages, I am having some difficulty understanding if it is actually any better than just lying to and getting beat up in open water.

 

The reason I ask is that I am considering that trip (Magellan) someday and am trying to get some hard info.

 

Thanks,

 

- Gardner

On Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 11:22 PM, Doug Haines <doha720@yahoo. co.uk> wrote:

I'd hide out up in the straits of Magellan till it was calm enough and pop round the island (cape horn island?), bail out for warm waters. --- On Thu, 1/1/09, Rob Denney <harryproa@gmail. com> wrote: From: Rob Denney <harryproa@gmail. com> Subject: Re: [harryproa] Cape Horn sailing To: harryproa@yahoogrou ps.com.au Date: Thursday, 1 January, 2009, 6:40 PM G'day, Sailing a harry round Cape Horn is right up the top of the things I want to do before i get too old.  With beam mounted rudders, I would be happier taking  RB round the Horn than any other 15m/50'ter not specifically designed for the trip, apart from Blind Date which has less weight and windage. The engineering is for normal sailing stresses, plus significant safety factors.  I cannot see any significant additional structural loads that would be added for cruising in extreme conditions (ie parachute anchor out, sails down, rudders up) apart from maybe thicker ww hull roof core/smaller panels in case a wave broke on it,  and dividing the saloon windows into smaller areas.   The rest of the time, sailing in high latitudes is pretty much the same as "normal" apart from the cold and bigger waves.   It only gets dangerous if you keep sailing when you shouldn't, or you approach a lee shore. There are a lot of mods I would make: big heater, smaller solid area on the bridgedeck,  better motor protection, more accessible sail controls, more sheltered helm, a second winch for the para anchor bridle, maybe bond in the beams and add more watertight bulkheads at the ends. If I was starting from scratch, I would go with a schooner rig (less to go wrong, redundancy). Having said this, I have not sailed round the Horn, so would be taking a lot of advice from people who had before i left. regards, Rob On Thu, Jan 1, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Gardner Pomper <gardner@networknow. org> wrote: All valid arguments. One question I would still have is if a "standard" harry would be strong enough. There is alot of pressure to keep the construction very light for speed, and I am sure they are engineered for "normal" sailing stresses. My question is if conditions like this would be out of the normal and would require beefier construction to prevent breakng rudders, cracking the hull/crossbeam joints, etc. Would you take Rare Bird around Cape Horn? - Gardner On Wed, Dec 31, 2008 at 9:05 PM, Rob Denney <harryproa@gmail. com> wrote: G'day, Great footage, and an amazing star.  Plenty of searoom, ability to lift underwater surfaces so the boat won't trip over them in big waves, low windage, double ended hulls, no cockpit to fill with water, lots of reserve buoyancy and nothing at the bow to trip over, shelter for the crew and an instantly depowerable rig are all attributes for handling storms which harrys have, and most other boats don't .  Add a drogue to slow you down, and a parachute anchor to stop you if required and big seas/strong winds should not be a problem.  Crew getting tired, sick or scared is a different ball game, but crew on a harryproa are less likely than other than those on other boat types to suffer from at least the first two.  regards, Rob On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 7:18 AM, chesapeake410 <chesapeake410@ yahoo.com> wrote: Hello Rob and gang, Take a look at this film from 1929. It was posted on the F-Boat group forum. Do you think the Harryproa can sail in such conditions?? This is most fantastic sailing account with a first hand narrative I have ever seen. It is claimed that boat is going 16 knots at one point. I had no idea a square sailed ship could go this fast. http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=-118458393 3122407708&hl=en Happpy sailing, George Kuck Chestertown, MD