You were probably already asked this, but: did you fear pirates/ did you carry a piece?

@JustifiableCause
You have to read the thread - de captain goes into detail regarding this. Yes, he did have a gun onboard (and even used it twice).

@de captain
First off, unbelievable thread. I've been reading it the past two days. Whenever I had to get up from the computer I couldn't take my mind off of this thread (especially while working my "9-5"). I was lurking on the forum, but had to sign up just to tell you how great this thread was and to ask a few questions.

1) In this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj0yD...ature=youtu.be it seems like you have a nice gash on your knee. Any story behind how that happened? What is the most serious injury you and your brother have experienced while at sea?

2) How common was it for dolphins to be swimming in your wake? Approximately how often did you see whales?

3) Would you say that you went on the circumnavigation trip to "find yourself" or was it more just a new challenge and something that fit with your lifestyle?

4) I know you said you read many books during your time at sea. Now that you have an iPad did you do most of your reading on it or are there too many situations where reading on the iPad wouldn't make sense for fear of it getting wet/ruined?

5) Did you not bring any sort of thermal clothing on the circumnavigation? Do you remember what the coldest temperatures were that you experienced on that trip?

Thank you for writing all of your detailed, non-romanticized updates and answering everyone's questions. It truly was an inspiring read. I had already booked some live-aboard ASA lessons in the Pacific before finding this thread. Reading this thread has made me even more excited for my upcoming trip. I've always been interested in doing a circumnavigation, although it seems like there would never be a "right time". Your thread has made me realize how doable it really is with the right mindset.

One more question: Do you have any specific or general comments on the differences between sailing around Hawaii versus in the Caribbean in regards to learning how to sail?

Awesome thread man! Just read through it all and love all the stories.

Right now I'm down in the BVI's with my parents and 2 sisters on a 44' c&c. I did one semester of university then flew down just before christmas. Taking a semester off from school . My parents and sisters sailed down from home (ottawa, canada) and left in september.

We've been to most of the BVI islands and are currently at North Sound, Virgin Gorda. Been here for about the last week, kiteboarding everyday, it couldn't be better!

We'll probably be leaving the BVI's sometime in the next 2 weeks and going to check out many of the leewards and some of the windwards. Any of them stick out to you that maybe we should hit?

The plan is to be in Charleston, SC by the end of May after going to Turks & Caicos and maybe the Bahamas so its a pretty loose plan. Anyways, gunna check out your book on Amazon. Thanks for the read!

We had a very extensive medical kit onboard. There are a couple of books that give very comprehensive lists of what to take (listed below). Our kit turned out to be huge. We took the list to a doctor and got prescriptions for everything from multiple antibiotics, seasickness meds, to narcotic pain relievers in pill and injection form.

We had basic first aid stuff as well as suture kits, scalpels, saline iv's, slings & splints and even a dental filling kit.

No one's ever taught me to suture, I've just been waiting for my chance to learn/ practice on my brother. For our last few trips Irieguy gave me a dermabond pen (super glue for cuts) but I haven't gotten to use that yet either.

We've been pretty lucky and not had any major problems. I've never had my appendix removed. One of the 2 books we had onboard though told you how to remove someone's appendix at sea if necessary. It also covered pretty much everything imaginable including amputations.

The 2 books we had were:
Advanced First Aid Afloat
The Onboard Medical Guide
There are links to buy them through amazon on my blog, if you can't find them. I have the top 6 first aid books for sailors listed there.


Thanks

1. That's fish blood. I've gotten my fair share of gashes but nothing that a little sea water wash and duct tape couldn't stop from bleeding. It is quite easy to cut your fingers when your filleting a fish with a sharp knife on a pitching deck.

We've both had some pretty good cuts and some falls that left us bruised for days but nothing too major.

2. It's pretty common to see dolphins. Maybe every other day? Probably would see more if you were actively watching all of the time. They're generally never in your wake though. They like to swim alongside and right in front of the boat usually.

3. It was just a challenge and seemed like fun. I still haven't found myself, not that I've ever looked so that definitely wasn't it.

4. We both use the ipad all of the time on passage now, it's great. I don't read much on it ( I have a kindle that I read alot on). We mostly use the ipad for watching tv shows and movies, playing games and we keep the ships log and various lists on it. I can't imagine going on passage again without an ipad.

5. The circumnavigation was largely equatorial. I didn't take any long underwear or anything but had pants, sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts, full foul weather gear and boots ( I wore the boots once). The coldest it got was coming around the Cape of Good Hope and I don't think it ever got down below about 50.

Good luck on your future sailing. I'd have to say the Caribbean is probably better for learning. There are more ports, more wind shifts and calmer waters. All of those things combined make it easier to get experience with more situations than Hawaii. There's also a larger fleet of boats and more charter companies, schools, private charter boats.

Wow, have fun, I'm jealous. The BVI's are really hard to beat. I'd probably say check out St. Martin for sure an Grenada and Trinidad if you get that far down.

The Bahamas are really shallow but there are some incredible secluded places there to hang out. Be sure to post a trip report here for us.

"whats that?" hoopah," anti shark cage" quint," let me get this straight, cage goes in the water you go in the water sharks in the water our shark? farewell and ado to you fair spanish ladies" lol i couldnt help myself.

FWIW, I research chartering in Hawaii and it is essentially non-existent, as most sailing forums will tell you. One answer I received was because of a lack of anchorages (due both to physical conditions and protected zones).

you stated in the thread that it was not possible to turn the boat around for a man overboard.
just curious, could the other person not drop the sail and use the engine to go back?

Pretty much this. I think that the anchorages they do have are deep water. Anchoring in 60' of water isn't easy. People who charter boats have trouble anchoring in 15-20' of water let alone 60'. The other huge benefit of a place like the BVI's is there are harbors every few miles giving you lot's of options and the anchorages are shallow + most have lots of moorings so you don't even need to anchor.

I'd be surprised if that's what I said. I think what I probably said is it's very unlikely to turn the boat around and get back to find the person. Yes, you can drop the sail and motor back or come about and sail back. Back to where? How likely do you think it is you'll find someones head sticking out of the water even if you've only gotten 1/2 mile away? There are no reference points or landmarks to go by either.

The issue is getting back to the person and finding them. In an 8-12' seaway it's very difficult to spot a person's head. If you are on deck and see the person go overboard during daylight hours you're chance of getting back to the person are probably 50/50. If you have good boat handling skills, a lot of experience, know to instantly mark the position and jettison everything that floats, they're probably a little higher. If you don't see them go overboard or it's at night, forget it.

Even if you're on deck during daylight and see the person go overboard you're moving along at 6-7 kts and it could easily take you more than 1/2 mile to get the boat turned around. You're chances increase if you have a chart plotter turned on and mark the spot immediately as well as throw cushions and anything that will float overboard.

If you're not standing right there and see the person go overboard you can be miles away and have no idea where the person is, that's a nearly impossible situation. It's very hard to find a volleyball floating in the ocean. If it's at night and you go off watch and go to bed only to come back 6 hrs later and find your crew gone you can easily be 30-40 miles away. Add in wind, drift and currents and the search area for the person is gigantic.

I read somewhere that the chances of surviving an overboard situation were less than 80% and that number included all man overboards, most of which happen in bays and near land, during the day and within range of radio contact to get other boats and helicopters to search.

Consider too that there is a good chance the person you're searching for either drowned or got eaten by a shark. Imagine how hard it would be to tread water in 8' waves with the water constantly crashing on you and getting mouthful after mouthful of water.

If you're 1000 nm offshore there is no one coming to help.

I highly recommend just staying on the boat.

ok i understand most of your points. again i was talking about both ppl on deck and one falling over. also please excuse my limited boating knowledge. i just know that the gps on my dads boat will leave like a breadcrumb trail and you can reverse course and follow it back. weve had to do that before because where he lives its a 9 foot tide and sometimes 12ft when that happens all the creeks and rivers flood and u cant see the channels anymore just 1 body of water. like i said i have no clue was just curious.

Yeah, most of the boats we sail anymore have a gps or chartplotter that shows your "track". Most all of them also have a MOB button (man overboard) that will pin point a location and guide you back to that location. It's very useful if you see the person go overboard. If you see the person go overboard and it's day time your chances are pretty good I think -though lot's of people have been lost overboard during the day and not recovered.

If you see the person go overboard and it's night your chances decrease quite a bit since it's so much harder to spot someone at night. Obviously the conditions (sea state, wind and rain) will play a big factor. People have been lost simply because they weren't able to get them back aboard in bad conditions.

If you don't see them go overboard and mark the spot or at least know roughly how far away they are your chances go down exponentially. Even if you know your track there is a lot of drift, current and waves moving the person. They could be miles off your track within an hour ( 2 kts per hour + currents are very common offshore). Within an hour of a person falling overboard you could have a 20 square mile search area pretty easily. It's really tough to spot a person in the water from much over 100 yds away, in good conditions.

There's also the matter of hypothermia. It can be 70 out but the water can be 50. You don't last very long in 50 degree water.

all very good points great thread. like i said was just curious not knowing. ive only been "outside" twice and one of those was only a few hundred yards the other could still see land. we usually just stick to the creeks rivers and sounds around the island. by the way we dont sail its a 20' trophy center console.
thanks for all your info so cool.
how did you like seattle did u play at the muck?

are there not little transponders people can wear? they don't make a bracelet or something that will send out a signal to a gps or something? or am i being dumb?

Glue is good for wounds were skin doesn't much move (eg. behind ear)

Fast track to becoming a surgeon.

Lucky MOB incident:
http://www.thedailysail.com/offshore...board-incident

This is the Most amazing thing i have Read... I cant wait to be able to do something like this... You planning anything again soon.. would love to tag along... Im not an expert but can help with anything you needed.. im a good cook also...

Have you thought about doing a Travel Blog or something you can make money of.. You can play poker anywhere.. i love poker also.. ill play you heads up..

there is nothing i would like to do more then this right now... Sounds like the most amazing thing you can do in your life.. You have a Knack for making everything exciting... Thanks again for posting it really is worth while looking thru it all... Hope to talk to you soon.. I to will drink or smoke a joint with you anytime... Stay safe...

chris