It's funny how some sailing stories get about. this morning, while perusing info I searched up on Seawind 24s, I found the following yarn:
"A bloke I was talking to told me a mate's soon and his girlfriend sailed a Seawind 24 from South Australia all the way up the east coast. living aboard and beach camping, they had so much fun they continued on to Indonesia and Sri Lanka I think".
Boat design.net/forum
A fellow in North America cruised the Caribbean for several months before living aboard for over a year with his partner. I read his blog.
This information, even the bits I know are true, are useful because I have confidence that a well handled Seawind 24 is capable of lengthy coastal passages and some ocean hopping. Apart from the Middle East and Red Sea sections, such capacity is enough to get one from here to Europe ... and beyond?
Ok the topic of fiddling in small cats, the known record held by Rory McDougal sailing a Tiki 21, Wharram designed cat with marginally less accommodation that the Seawind 24. Rory broke his trip up with a long, live ashore break in New Zealand, but it can be done.
My greatest safety concern with the Seawind 24 is capsize. There are only four things I can cling to here:-
a) the SW24 is considered "beamy" and "heavy" compared to other production cats.
b) the Tiki 21 had an increased sail plan, and while Wharram cats are conservatively rigged, 2 have capsized.
c) experience in the bank. Over the years I have aimed beach cats and was confident to fly a hull and avoid capsize. In any new boat, I would learn to sail her is all winds to get a firm grasp on her habits.
d) sailing conservatively at sea is my style. This means when making the decision to leave port, reefing and nursing the rig.
I hope that these factors, and good fortune with weather, would stand me in good stead. I imagine the difficult times would be during heavy weather, gusty conditions and under windvane steering.
I would try to emulate what Rory did during storms and heavy headwind conditions, to toss a parachute or sea anchor over the bow and wait it out. This is safer, in that it avoids sailing into the wind when the tipping moment id's greatest, conserves the rig and provides rest.
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