I think this is the 5th time I’ve watched your video. Seems a perfect passage. Especially for brothers. I don’t have a brother, but I hope a good friend will join me.
Wow, thanks for the kind words, that means a lot! If you have any of your adventures to share, I know myself and others would be interested in hearing about them!
The video gave a great sense of being at sea and lovely to see two nice young men, brothers, having a good time together. Enjoyed watching - thank you from South Africa.
I live between Seattle and Tacoma, and I grew up 20 minutes (no traffic) North of the Golden Gate bridge. The PNW and northern California coast are pretty brutal. Not many sandy beaches or natural bays. I remember sailing from Richmond, up San Pablo Bay towards the Carquienez Straight. Upon returning, we got caught in the shipping lane heading back into San Francisco bay. Easily 12' swells. We were tacking through the swells and at the peak of one, our rudder came out of the water, the wind spun the boat almost 360 degrees. We recovered, learned to turn upwind as we came close to cresting and eventually made it back to the marina. Nothing like being in a gale in the Pacific for two days, but a fond memory. I'm glad you made it safe.
Enjoyed your video. I and three crew were about a month behind you sailing from Pearl Harbor to Neah Bay in 21.5 days aboard my Tayana Vancouver 42. Ours was a more Spartan voyage as we did not have a water maker (no showers), refrigeration, furnace, or genset but our 4x140W (560W) solar panels kept the batteries charged. We used a Monitor windvane rather than autopilot to save power. We did enter a gale off the Washington coast and hove-to for 30 hours. A true adventure.
Sounds like you had a great and memorable trip! I much prefer the windvane as the primary steering source and autopilot as the backup, I just didn't have time to install one on this boat before the trip. All my previous boats have had windvanes and I love the peace of mind with a simple mechanical device as opposed to a complex electric/hydraulic device. I'll be installing one before our next long offshore passage though.
Great vid . You two sure got along well together. So much more fun to watch than reality TV where people scream and fight with each other. You guys are obviously very ship shape... !
Man I envy you guys. I've always wanted to sail, and am slowly trying to get there. I bought a little 15' sailboat for $400. I figure I'll sail it around in the shallow bays here in Texas to get a feel for it, while taking lessons, etc. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be doing what you guys are. Really cool that you brothers have each other to do this kind of thing together. Cherish that. You both seem like laid back, intelligent fellows. You are living the dream.
Great video. I didn't think I'd watch the whole thing but I couldn't turn it off. Seemed like an awesome adventure. The only thing I was left wanting was actual temperatures when you said it was cold.
Thanks for watching Doug! When I said it was cold that was from the perspective of a Californian. I'm just guessing here but at the coldest we were seeing maybe 45-50F at night outside and 50-55 in the cabin. Very manageable with appropriate clothing. There were just a couple days like that, the rest of the trip was mostly comfortable temperature wise.
I like the looks of that boat, how about a boat tour and some info? At least you're aware of the wind noise! I'm sure you'll address it in time... But please keep rocking the sea shanties in the background, not many appreciate them these days, so we few ha e to stick together!
We were behind you about 2 weeks, departed from Hanalei Bay June 26 after 7 months in the islands. Our track very similar to yours around the high. We chose 90 degree or greater true wind angle after the first day, for comfort. Also, we would run off the wind further for lunch and dinner time for comfort at meal times. Beneteau 423, 21 1/2 days to Neah Bay. Used asymmetrical spinnaker in the same geography as did you. Also caught the flood tide and wind from Neah Bay to Port Angeles where we anchored in the bay and along the shore park just west of the ferry dock. Memorable anchorage because of first full 8hrs of sleep in nearly a month for both of us! Congratulations on your achievement. Lastly, I recommend a whisker pole for your head sail next time you have a down wind trade wind opportunity, it is a joy.
Hi Dale, small world, our boat was hauled out in Port Angeles getting some work done when you would have arrived. I like the idea of running off for lunch, especially those first few days out of Hawaii which are always a challenge for eating. Not sure why that's never occurred to me, thanks for the idea! We do have a pole mounted on the mast, I'm just usually too lazy to use it. We ended up doing the San Juan's in August and then bringing the boat back to SF (our home) in September. We don't have a voyage planned yet but toying with the idea of Hawaii to Alaska in 2018. Any big trips in your future?
Hello Todd, Thanks for your kind reply. We are planning an extended cruise to South Pacific beginning from Seattle in August 2018. SE Alaska is glorious you will love it. We did that 2013. Much more difficult than a passage in my opinion. We went as far as Skagway and Glacier Bay. You will benefit from full enclosure and a stout heater such as 30,000BTU hydronic system with engine heat exchanger we used regularly. You may experience little wind to sail as did we. We "sail" the currents in the PNW as you may know already. Tides as high as 25ft, deep anchorages (one was 20 fathoms!), plenty of solitude and rain as well as hazards such as trees, logs, icebergs, kelp wheels, whales, fishing nets, fog, strong current, cruise ships narrow water and some charts with just not enough resolution. Always exciting!
Looks like an amazing trip. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it after. And your thoughts about cruising your boat in the puget sound. I’m preparing to go the other direction…
It's a great trip in both directions going to and from Hawaii, I'll gladly go in either direction since both routes are delightful in different ways and both routes have different challenges. On the way there, the challenge is having to make so much southing along the WA/OR/CA coast, where the conditions can get uncomfortable and there's a lot of shipping and fishing traffic. On the way back it's the first few days of beating to weather and then not being able to reliably forecast what the weather will be like when you arrive above 40 north to make your easting to Washington, so it's not uncommon to experience a low pressure system on the way back. Either way though, as long as you go at the right time of year you'll have a blast with maybe a couple uncomfortable days at most. I loved cruising the Puget sound. We sailed the boat down to California after that, but I would love to go back to cruise the Puget sound again.
A few things I would make sure to have is 1. Solar panels 2. Wind generator 3. A wind steering vane (uses no power, autopilot probably uses between 3-4 amps...) 4. A GOOD heater 5. Lots of books
The solar panels were great and put out a ton of power, so wholeheartedly agree there. The wind generator was a disappointment in that it only produces substantial power in strong apparent winds which you don't get much of when sailing downwind so I wouldn't install one again. My last boat had a wind vane which we used for this same return trip and I much preferred that to relying on redundant autopilots. The power savings from a wind vane are substantial and if we'd had one we probably wouldn't have needed to burn fuel to make power. A good heater would be nice but the challenge is carrying enough fuel for it on a longer passage like this. We had one on our previous boat but almost never used it on passage so I view appropriate clothing as a lot more important than a heater. Especially in these latitudes in the spring, summer, and fall where it gets chilly but never below freezing. Agree, books are 100% essential! I also like to bring movies and tv shows to watch on the laptop, music and podcasts to listen to, an instrument to play, and audio books.
I believe you said that your brother flew in to help you sail..... is that cool or what? I have two brothers and we have all helped each other with delivering our vessels. There is at times no help.... but a brother will make it happen! That voyage will make the two of you closer..... and the memories..... priceless. I loved the vid and would love to see more. Stay safe and enjoy
It's remarkable that you found a competitively priced boat in NZ! I have given up looking for one locally and have decided to go to the US/Caribbean to find mine....I hope to end up with a cheaper and more modern boat than i could get back home..
Yep, the strait was very gentle to us both coming and going! We had the downwind run mostly under spinnaker going to Port Angeles. It did build to 30 knots for the last hour but even that was mostly downwind so it was pleasant. Leaving the strait a few months later we had no wind so we just motored out with the tide and had a nice 12-25 knot downwind run to San Francisco bay (where we live and keep the boat).
Great video, guys. Would like to have seen more of the interior of the boat. Sleeping quarters, engine room, head, etc. A trans oceanic sailing is so appealing right now, but living in a landlocked Canadian province will probably never happen.
AWESOME video! I love sailing. Only family trips in the BVI, but I have always wanted to do a long 2-4 week sailing trip. Must be so cool to see it go from hot to cold as you sail more north. I feel like sailing at night would be scary though!
Jordan WIlson very exciting! I’ve generally sailed to Hawaii in May and then departed around July. I’ve done that 3 times without issue. Hurricane season runs June-November so that’s an important factor to consider. Personally I’d be very comfortable departing Hawaii in August/Sept since you immediately head NNW away from the hurricane risk and you can time your departure based on the forecast. I’d have reservations about sailing to Hawaii from Seattle in August/Sept/Oct because the last week of the trip has hurricane risk so you’re more at the mercy of luck since outmaneuvering weather is tricky. As an example Hurricane Douglas just grazed the islands 5 days ago so that would have been a terrible time to be approaching the islands.
Very cool video, thank you. Have you ever seen anyone put cameras outside on the mast too see what's going on out there when your in the cockpit? Also do you have any plans for a heater now?
My plans are for better long underwear rather than a heater. I had a heater on my last boat and we rarely used it. Heaters use a fair bit of fuel and most boats aren't well insulated so carrying enough fuel to run a heater on a passage like this can be a challenge (on top of what you might need for the engine/genset). As for the camera on the mast, I think it'd be hard to visually identify ships through a camera lens that will inevitably become salt and moisture covered so I think it'd be difficult to do effectively in practice. I rely on AIS and periodic 360 visual scans in good visibility and AIS and radar in poor visibility. However, thermal and infrared cameras are starting to become available to recreational mariners so it'll be interesting to see if/how those affect watch keeping techniques in the future.
I'd guess we did about 1/4 of the trip with no main. I usually prefer to keep the main flying unless I'm sailing deep downwind or if there's swell causing us to roll but not enough wind to keep the main full. Both of those situations tend to pretty common in the 2nd week when sailing from Hawaii to the west coast.
Looks like an awesome trip. And, love the 447 - awesome, comfy bluewater cruiser from Perrry (not to mention - relatively affordable). I'm intrigued by the hard dodger / dog house. Did the previous owner build it? Would love to see more about it, specifically if you ever have a chance to make a clip. Cheers!
The previous owner had the hard dodger custom made in New Zealand. I'm not sure who made it but it was one of the features that drew me to the boat when I saw that it was for sale.
So much fun! Thanks for making this video. I've become obsessed with the Norseman 447. Have you guys still got your boat? We are looking for one if you every decide to part with her. We're down in San Diego. If you're still in Washington it would be a great adventure for us to sail back down here. xxx
Hi Grant, glad you enjoyed the video. We recently sold her and she's now in Mexico with her new owners. The 447 is a fantastic boat and I highly recommend it, I'm going to be doing some land based traveling for a while, but when I return to the sea, I'd happily do it on a Norseman 447 again.
Quick question. I am a newbie to the sailing world and I am very curious. Since you have the boat on autopilot and have a radar that tells you if there is oncoming traffic. How sensitive is the radar. Im curious, does it pick up larger debris you may hit? Silly question, just wondering since at night there is no way if seeing this especially in bad weather. Great video and thanks!!
Hi Robert, most of the time we're not running radar and rely solely on AIS and going into the cockpit to do visual horizon scans. There's really no technology at the moment that'll identify debris in the water when sailing offshore so you just take your chances there. We have forward looking sonar on the boat to see depths of an anchorage in front of the boat but it would be totally ineffective for debris detection.
Of all the cruisers I know, only a very small percentage choose to stay sailing full-time, so don't sell the house, instead rent it out. After a couple years most choose to move back ashore or split time ashore and time cruising. Cruising is often amazing but it's also stressful, hard work, and sleep depriving. The highs are really high but they are balanced out by equally low lows. The sailing press doesn't really talk much about the negatives: when the idyllic dream meets the reality of the hardships of living on a boat full-time. I think most sailors are happiest cruising part of the year and living ashore part of the year and those full-time cruisers who sell the house and take off for good are the rare exception.
I made an offer matching the asking price but contingent on the previous owner getting the boat back to the US (because that's the cost prohibitive part). It was a long shot but the previous owner agreed, we surveyed the boat in NZ, the owner then sailed her to Hawaii, and I brought her home from there. I'd already sailed to the west coast from Hawaii so that's a passage that's within my comfort zone (unlike NZ to Hawaii which is a lot more challenging).
DIY Oregon In my opinion any kind of keel and rudder configuration is suitable for offshore passage-making as long as it’s a well designed offshore boat. Full keel or a skeg hung rudders may help us feel better about a boat but the reality is that the real risks when offshore passage making come from lack of maintenance and human fatigue. I’d choose a well maintained fin keel and spade rudder design over a poorly maintained full keel design to cross an ocean any day. Sure, if I were to run aground into a reef a full keel or metal boat will have slightly better odds but well maintained far outweighs those design considerations in my book. My Norseman 447 is a long fin keel with a skeg hung rudder. My first boat was a Hans Christian 38 full keel. Both are solid well designed offshore boats.
Hello my name is Rahil and i am emailing from London, England. I desire to sail all the way from England to Hawaii. Now is it legally allowed or not as i am confused by an individuals video on UA-cam. @ from this guys video i kind of get the message that parking yacht is restricted by the authorities in Hawaii is that true? even if someone is happy to pay extra money for the parking?. I thought i should counsult legal advice from the Hawaii authorities.
Thanks for watching! We didn't have anyone to greet us at the dock since Port Angeles isn't our home, it was just our landfall destination before continuing on to the San Juan Islands and then eventually back to my home port of San Francisco.
You should have told me you would be there as I am only an hour away from Port Angeles and about a 30 minute boat ride in my boat to the channel you guys would most likely go through to get to the San Juans!
I have watched hundreds of videos if not over 1000. Your trip in this video was wonderful and inspiring how you remain calm. I am a brand new sailor, age 60 with my first sail from Marina Del Rey to Catalina Island, a whopping 33 statute miles. Our recently acquired Cape Dory 22. We had some tough seas for our little boat. ua-cam.com/video/C52Su4uuiTs/v-deo.html
Hello Mike. Sounds great! I'm right behind you at 57. Located in Oregon. Sailing classes are currently canceled due to the Corona Virus,so studying on my own. Studying about many different boat models as well.
I think this is the 5th time I’ve watched your video. Seems a perfect passage. Especially for brothers. I don’t have a brother, but I hope a good friend will join me.
I saw this 4 years ago and it changed my life. I got one and nothing was ever the same. Happiest sailing to you. may your sails always be full!
Wow, thanks for the kind words, that means a lot! If you have any of your adventures to share, I know myself and others would be interested in hearing about them!
The video gave a great sense of being at sea and lovely to see two nice young men, brothers, having a good time together. Enjoyed watching - thank you from South Africa.
I live between Seattle and Tacoma, and I grew up 20 minutes (no traffic) North of the Golden Gate bridge. The PNW and northern California coast are pretty brutal. Not many sandy beaches or natural bays. I remember sailing from Richmond, up San Pablo Bay towards the Carquienez Straight. Upon returning, we got caught in the shipping lane heading back into San Francisco bay. Easily 12' swells. We were tacking through the swells and at the peak of one, our rudder came out of the water, the wind spun the boat almost 360 degrees. We recovered, learned to turn upwind as we came close to cresting and eventually made it back to the marina. Nothing like being in a gale in the Pacific for two days, but a fond memory. I'm glad you made it safe.
Fun video Todd! Thanks for sharing!
Quite a boat you have ! u made it look easy.
Great choice on the Norseman hull design. It is my dream boat. Jim Rodgers
Thanks, they are wonderful boats!
Enjoyed your video. I and three crew were about a month behind you sailing from Pearl Harbor to Neah Bay in 21.5 days aboard my Tayana Vancouver 42. Ours was a more Spartan voyage as we did not have a water maker (no showers), refrigeration, furnace, or genset but our 4x140W (560W) solar panels kept the batteries charged. We used a Monitor windvane rather than autopilot to save power. We did enter a gale off the Washington coast and hove-to for 30 hours. A true adventure.
Sounds like you had a great and memorable trip! I much prefer the windvane as the primary steering source and autopilot as the backup, I just didn't have time to install one on this boat before the trip. All my previous boats have had windvanes and I love the peace of mind with a simple mechanical device as opposed to a complex electric/hydraulic device. I'll be installing one before our next long offshore passage though.
Awesome adventures. Thanks for sharing.
wow! love the vlog ; please keep making them ; you make my life better.
John The Limo Driver in Kansas city
That's a beautiful boat. Love the center cockpit. In the market for just such a vessel. Stay safe sailors!
Great vid . You two sure got along well together. So much more fun to watch than reality TV where people scream and fight with each other. You guys are obviously very ship shape... !
Man I envy you guys. I've always wanted to sail, and am slowly trying to get there. I bought a little 15' sailboat for $400. I figure I'll sail it around in the shallow bays here in Texas to get a feel for it, while taking lessons, etc. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be doing what you guys are. Really cool that you brothers have each other to do this kind of thing together. Cherish that. You both seem like laid back, intelligent fellows. You are living the dream.
Thats how it starts, next thing you know you'll go up to 27 feet, then to 36 and so on :) good luck!
Most enjoyable to watch guys....like your yacht.
Thanks for sharing. Amazing journey guys!
Thanks for the mini vacation . Love your boat...
Great video. I didn't think I'd watch the whole thing but I couldn't turn it off. Seemed like an awesome adventure. The only thing I was left wanting was actual temperatures when you said it was cold.
Thanks for watching Doug! When I said it was cold that was from the perspective of a Californian. I'm just guessing here but at the coldest we were seeing maybe 45-50F at night outside and 50-55 in the cabin. Very manageable with appropriate clothing. There were just a couple days like that, the rest of the trip was mostly comfortable temperature wise.
Dang this looked awesome, I’d love to do something like this with my brother one day!
Great vessel! Thanks for sharing.
Great video Todd, I enjoy watching your videos, keep it up!
Awesome Journy......Love the freedom :)
what a great trip and beautiful boat
Beautiful boat guys.
Mahalo for adding the subtitles! It DOES make a difference for many of us who happen to be sailors, and profoundly deaf.
There are foam covers you can get for your microphone that'll cut down the wind noise considerably.
Enjoyed your video.
Nice job guys!
I like the looks of that boat, how about a boat tour and some info?
At least you're aware of the wind noise! I'm sure you'll address it in time... But please keep rocking the sea shanties in the background, not many appreciate them these days, so we few ha e to stick together!
Beautiful boat. Love the hard dodger.
We were behind you about 2 weeks, departed from Hanalei Bay June 26 after 7 months in the islands. Our track very similar to yours around the high. We chose 90 degree or greater true wind angle after the first day, for comfort. Also, we would run off the wind further for lunch and dinner time for comfort at meal times. Beneteau 423, 21 1/2 days to Neah Bay. Used asymmetrical spinnaker in the same geography as did you. Also caught the flood tide and wind from Neah Bay to Port Angeles where we anchored in the bay and along the shore park just west of the ferry dock. Memorable anchorage because of first full 8hrs of sleep in nearly a month for both of us! Congratulations on your achievement. Lastly, I recommend a whisker pole for your head sail next time you have a down wind trade wind opportunity, it is a joy.
Hi Dale, small world, our boat was hauled out in Port Angeles getting some work done when you would have arrived. I like the idea of running off for lunch, especially those first few days out of Hawaii which are always a challenge for eating. Not sure why that's never occurred to me, thanks for the idea! We do have a pole mounted on the mast, I'm just usually too lazy to use it. We ended up doing the San Juan's in August and then bringing the boat back to SF (our home) in September. We don't have a voyage planned yet but toying with the idea of Hawaii to Alaska in 2018. Any big trips in your future?
Hello Todd, Thanks for your kind reply. We are planning an extended cruise to South Pacific beginning from Seattle in August 2018. SE Alaska is glorious you will love it. We did that 2013. Much more difficult than a passage in my opinion. We went as far as Skagway and Glacier Bay. You will benefit from full enclosure and a stout heater such as 30,000BTU hydronic system with engine heat exchanger we used regularly. You may experience little wind to sail as did we. We "sail" the currents in the PNW as you may know already. Tides as high as 25ft, deep anchorages (one was 20 fathoms!), plenty of solitude and rain as well as hazards such as trees, logs, icebergs, kelp wheels, whales, fishing nets, fog, strong current, cruise ships narrow water and some charts with just not enough resolution. Always exciting!
Looks like an amazing trip. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it after. And your thoughts about cruising your boat in the puget sound. I’m preparing to go the other direction…
It's a great trip in both directions going to and from Hawaii, I'll gladly go in either direction since both routes are delightful in different ways and both routes have different challenges. On the way there, the challenge is having to make so much southing along the WA/OR/CA coast, where the conditions can get uncomfortable and there's a lot of shipping and fishing traffic. On the way back it's the first few days of beating to weather and then not being able to reliably forecast what the weather will be like when you arrive above 40 north to make your easting to Washington, so it's not uncommon to experience a low pressure system on the way back. Either way though, as long as you go at the right time of year you'll have a blast with maybe a couple uncomfortable days at most.
I loved cruising the Puget sound. We sailed the boat down to California after that, but I would love to go back to cruise the Puget sound again.
A few things I would make sure to have is
1. Solar panels
2. Wind generator
3. A wind steering vane (uses no power, autopilot probably uses between 3-4 amps...)
4. A GOOD heater
5. Lots of books
The solar panels were great and put out a ton of power, so wholeheartedly agree there. The wind generator was a disappointment in that it only produces substantial power in strong apparent winds which you don't get much of when sailing downwind so I wouldn't install one again.
My last boat had a wind vane which we used for this same return trip and I much preferred that to relying on redundant autopilots. The power savings from a wind vane are substantial and if we'd had one we probably wouldn't have needed to burn fuel to make power.
A good heater would be nice but the challenge is carrying enough fuel for it on a longer passage like this. We had one on our previous boat but almost never used it on passage so I view appropriate clothing as a lot more important than a heater. Especially in these latitudes in the spring, summer, and fall where it gets chilly but never below freezing.
Agree, books are 100% essential! I also like to bring movies and tv shows to watch on the laptop, music and podcasts to listen to, an instrument to play, and audio books.
I believe you said that your brother flew in to help you sail..... is that cool or what? I have two brothers and we have all helped each other with delivering our vessels. There is at times no help.... but a brother will make it happen! That voyage will make the two of you closer..... and the memories..... priceless. I loved the vid and would love to see more. Stay safe and enjoy
It's remarkable that you found a competitively priced boat in NZ!
I have given up looking for one locally and have decided to go to the US/Caribbean to find mine....I hope to end up with a cheaper and more modern boat than i could get back home..
I was specifically shopping for a Norseman 447 and, yes, was surprised that the best deal available was in New Zealand.
The strait was pretty kind to you. Usually it is pretty nasty with 4-5 foot swells and anywhere from 15-50 knots of wind.
Yep, the strait was very gentle to us both coming and going! We had the downwind run mostly under spinnaker going to Port Angeles. It did build to 30 knots for the last hour but even that was mostly downwind so it was pleasant. Leaving the strait a few months later we had no wind so we just motored out with the tide and had a nice 12-25 knot downwind run to San Francisco bay (where we live and keep the boat).
Great video guys.
Great video, guys. Would like to have seen more of the interior of the boat. Sleeping quarters, engine room, head, etc. A trans oceanic sailing is so appealing right now, but living in a landlocked Canadian province will probably never happen.
Matthew Crich Hey Matthew, I'm in the same "boat" as you in Alberta. Just gotta make it happen eh.
Thanks for sharing!
Great sailing, man! 😁 Congrats from Portugal!
AWESOME video! I love sailing. Only family trips in the BVI, but I have always wanted to do a long 2-4 week sailing trip. Must be so cool to see it go from hot to cold as you sail more north. I feel like sailing at night would be scary though!
Thanks!
Such a great boat, but no heater? That was the first thing I installed...a Wallas 40dt forced air diesel heater.
Fantastic!!
Nicely done!
Good day,
Please inform whst is the boat type and size.
Thanks.
Will waiting for your replay
In the description where it often is
Enjoyed your video..
Love the video guys Planning on making a sail from Seattle to Oahu next month, when you did the sail what tone of year did you do it ?
Jordan WIlson very exciting! I’ve generally sailed to Hawaii in May and then departed around July. I’ve done that 3 times without issue. Hurricane season runs June-November so that’s an important factor to consider. Personally I’d be very comfortable departing Hawaii in August/Sept since you immediately head NNW away from the hurricane risk and you can time your departure based on the forecast. I’d have reservations about sailing to Hawaii from Seattle in August/Sept/Oct because the last week of the trip has hurricane risk so you’re more at the mercy of luck since outmaneuvering weather is tricky. As an example Hurricane Douglas just grazed the islands 5 days ago so that would have been a terrible time to be approaching the islands.
Very cool video, thank you. Have you ever seen anyone put cameras outside on the mast too see what's going on out there when your in the cockpit? Also do you have any plans for a heater now?
My plans are for better long underwear rather than a heater. I had a heater on my last boat and we rarely used it. Heaters use a fair bit of fuel and most boats aren't well insulated so carrying enough fuel to run a heater on a passage like this can be a challenge (on top of what you might need for the engine/genset).
As for the camera on the mast, I think it'd be hard to visually identify ships through a camera lens that will inevitably become salt and moisture covered so I think it'd be difficult to do effectively in practice. I rely on AIS and periodic 360 visual scans in good visibility and AIS and radar in poor visibility. However, thermal and infrared cameras are starting to become available to recreational mariners so it'll be interesting to see if/how those affect watch keeping techniques in the future.
Awesome !!!
447 has a nice center console.
Thanks for the whole quality presentation. Did you sail most of the trip with no main?
I'd guess we did about 1/4 of the trip with no main. I usually prefer to keep the main flying unless I'm sailing deep downwind or if there's swell causing us to roll but not enough wind to keep the main full. Both of those situations tend to pretty common in the 2nd week when sailing from Hawaii to the west coast.
Looks like an awesome trip. And, love the 447 - awesome, comfy bluewater cruiser from Perrry (not to mention - relatively affordable).
I'm intrigued by the hard dodger / dog house. Did the previous owner build it? Would love to see more about it, specifically if you ever have a chance to make a clip. Cheers!
The previous owner had the hard dodger custom made in New Zealand. I'm not sure who made it but it was one of the features that drew me to the boat when I saw that it was for sale.
So much fun! Thanks for making this video. I've become obsessed with the Norseman 447. Have you guys still got your boat? We are looking for one if you every decide to part with her. We're down in San Diego. If you're still in Washington it would be a great adventure for us to sail back down here. xxx
Hi Grant, glad you enjoyed the video. We recently sold her and she's now in Mexico with her new owners. The 447 is a fantastic boat and I highly recommend it, I'm going to be doing some land based traveling for a while, but when I return to the sea, I'd happily do it on a Norseman 447 again.
@@toddhuss Awesome thanks!
Quick question. I am a newbie to the sailing world and I am very curious. Since you have the boat on autopilot and have a radar that tells you if there is oncoming traffic. How sensitive is the radar. Im curious, does it pick up larger debris you may hit? Silly question, just wondering since at night there is no way if seeing this especially in bad weather. Great video and thanks!!
Hi Robert, most of the time we're not running radar and rely solely on AIS and going into the cockpit to do visual horizon scans. There's really no technology at the moment that'll identify debris in the water when sailing offshore so you just take your chances there. We have forward looking sonar on the boat to see depths of an anchorage in front of the boat but it would be totally ineffective for debris detection.
Thank you very much for the reply. I'm learning and watched your video with admiration. Thanks
so tempting to quit my job, sell the house, buy a boat and do this.
Of all the cruisers I know, only a very small percentage choose to stay sailing full-time, so don't sell the house, instead rent it out. After a couple years most choose to move back ashore or split time ashore and time cruising. Cruising is often amazing but it's also stressful, hard work, and sleep depriving. The highs are really high but they are balanced out by equally low lows. The sailing press doesn't really talk much about the negatives: when the idyllic dream meets the reality of the hardships of living on a boat full-time. I think most sailors are happiest cruising part of the year and living ashore part of the year and those full-time cruisers who sell the house and take off for good are the rare exception.
nice boat.
Nice video :)
Why did you buy the boat in NZ? Are they a better price there?
I made an offer matching the asking price but contingent on the previous owner getting the boat back to the US (because that's the cost prohibitive part). It was a long shot but the previous owner agreed, we surveyed the boat in NZ, the owner then sailed her to Hawaii, and I brought her home from there. I'd already sailed to the west coast from Hawaii so that's a passage that's within my comfort zone (unlike NZ to Hawaii which is a lot more challenging).
@@toddhuss I see. Is that considered a full Keel? Since you have the experience, what do you feel is the safest keel for passages?
DIY Oregon In my opinion any kind of keel and rudder configuration is suitable for offshore passage-making as long as it’s a well designed offshore boat. Full keel or a skeg hung rudders may help us feel better about a boat but the reality is that the real risks when offshore passage making come from lack of maintenance and human fatigue. I’d choose a well maintained fin keel and spade rudder design over a poorly maintained full keel design to cross an ocean any day. Sure, if I were to run aground into a reef a full keel or metal boat will have slightly better odds but well maintained far outweighs those design considerations in my book. My Norseman 447 is a long fin keel with a skeg hung rudder. My first boat was a Hans Christian 38 full keel. Both are solid well designed offshore boats.
A round surplus parachute works downwind.
How much gallons of gas do you need to reach hawaii?
Pretty much none. We sailed the whole way and only turned on the motor to bring the boat into the harbor.
Oops, I thought you were talking about my other video. On this trip we used about 5 gallons to run the generator to power the watermaker.
Hello my name is Rahil and i am emailing from London, England.
I desire to sail all the way from England to Hawaii. Now is it legally allowed or not as i am confused by an individuals video on UA-cam.
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from this guys video i kind of get the message that parking yacht is restricted by the authorities in Hawaii is that true? even if someone is happy to pay extra money for the parking?. I thought i should counsult legal advice from the Hawaii authorities.
can I option the movie rights?
Ha, you're the highest bidder so the movie rights are all yours Andrea!
I'll get right on it!
Looks like a well built and maintained deep water passage maker...no one to greet you at the dock after 25 days!?..
Thanks for watching! We didn't have anyone to greet us at the dock since Port Angeles isn't our home, it was just our landfall destination before continuing on to the San Juan Islands and then eventually back to my home port of San Francisco.
You should have told me you would be there as I am only an hour away from Port Angeles and about a 30 minute boat ride in my boat to the channel you guys would most likely go through to get to the San Juans!
Nice dodger!
That's what I was just thinking.
I have watched hundreds of videos if not over 1000. Your trip in this video was wonderful and inspiring how you remain calm. I am a brand new sailor, age 60 with my first sail from Marina Del Rey to Catalina Island, a whopping 33 statute miles. Our recently acquired Cape Dory 22. We had some tough seas for our little boat. ua-cam.com/video/C52Su4uuiTs/v-deo.html
Hello Mike. Sounds great! I'm right behind you at 57. Located in Oregon. Sailing classes are currently canceled due to the Corona Virus,so studying on my own. Studying about many different boat models as well.
Fastnet, Force Ten, a book every sailor or wannabe sailor should read. It's the antidote to Dove.
Don't think I dont notice fellow WEEN fans there.
good video. maybe study flat earth.