Re: Crossing the Atlantic with a 21 foot OB
While this is billed as a fundraiser for disabled Vets, its basically a publicity stunt for the owner, who is also the manufacturer of the boat. He describes it as a flats boat that can handle open water.
To say that he will cross the North Atlantic Ocean, however, is not exactly accurate. In looking at his intended route, what he will do is to hug the North American shoreline, all the way to a point somewhere along the Labrador coast. He will then cross the Labrador Sea to the western coast of Greenland. This will be followed by a trip around the southern tip of Greenland, back up the eastern shore of the country. Next will be a leg to Iceland, with a similar trip around the coast line. In order to make it to the northern coast of the U.K., I would imagine that he would travel via the Faroe Islands. From this point, the passage to the European continent will be easier than some of the legs prior to it.
Even though most of this trip will be in relatively safe circumstances, he will have a few crossings of significant distances. Haviing sailed most of the waters along his route, all I can say is, "hope for good weather, very good weather!"
The good news is that he has some pretty heavy sponsorship. That might mean major financial support and lots of access to top level weather information services, an extensive support team, etc. Hopefully, it also means that bonds have been purchased to cover search and rescue efforts, should they become necessary. In fact, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if all the foreign nations along the route have required this as a condition of gaining entry to their ports.
It will be interesting to see if he is able to complete the trip.
