Shipping vs. Sailing across the ocean?

Get them to register a couple of their ships in the USA so they can run back & forth from say New York/New Jersey to Palm Beach/Ft Lauderdale. I know I'd miss running my boat down but my liver could use a break. All kidding aside, If they could make it work for a reasonable amount of money, I know alot of people would be doing it. Last spring, it cost me over $12,000 in fuel alone for a one way trip from Palm Beach to Greenwich Connecticut. Figure round trip, transient dockage along the way, food, beverages, airfare, ground transportation & misc, the total would be roughly $28,000 on a good day. Then factor in maintenence & god forbid mechanical breakage, I it could get alot worse. If they could do it for around $10-$12,000 each way, it would be well worth it.

I know of about 5 big boats that are going across the pond either to the USA or the Caribbean. I might be on one myself. Regarding weather in the med. I have not experienced one year in the med that we have not been hit by a Force 5 or stronger.
Regarding checking the computer screen for the latest pressure maps as mentioned by Loren i have to say sorry but even the most up to date weather on the internet can be wrong.
We dropped off the owners in Venice and we checked the weather and it would be a Force 4-5 when we hit the corner of the shoe on the Italian coast we were hit by a force 8 with 45-50 knot winds up to the coast of Malta and that was not nice!!!!!! We were in the Cannes boat show and after the boat show we left heading back to Palma the weather said force 3-4. We checked it via our sat phone and got a weather overlay on our plotter but as soon as we hit the Golf of Lion once again we were hit by a force 8 the swell was 4-5 meters. If i had to choose between the gulf and the med I will choose the gulf. Here is another example of the weather in the med. A Spanish cruise line left Tunisia and was heading back to Palma Just off the coast of Sardinia the were hit by a freak wave that broke the bridge windows and took out all the electrics on board the lost their engines. They were basically a dead ship for several hours until the Italian coast guard and Spanish Coast guard come to the rescue. Several people broke arms or legs and quite a few landed up in hospital.
I know there a a mith regarding the Med as calm and beautiful weather but be prepared as that beautiful weather can turn nasty quikly. My boss is thinking of taking his 84' accross the pond

I just unloaded a 72' in St. Thomas that came down on Dockwise. I figured our break even point was anything over 14-15 days and we were saving money by using dockwise (assuming that nothing expensive broke). Boat arrived reasonably clean, I had seven days off, and nothing was broken on-board. I fired up the mains and pulled into Crown Bay and started a wash-down. It took Dockwise 10 days from when I loaded to when I unloaded.

nas

nas, I think Dockwise has a good operation. Not that I have shipped with them but just recently spent a day on Super Servant 3 for a story in this month's The Triton. Their operation is complex but smooth and everyone has a vested interest in doing a perfect job (since errors can be costly and cause injury) basically it's because that's what they do, transport yachts. I met captains and crew who were on the SS3 for up to two months and with really no complaints. See my story for more details.
Capt Tom

The Med around Greece is not a nice place when the old Meltemi hits.
Been on a number of cruisers with a 5metre swell and 45-50 knot gusts!

If you can get a piggy back from the elements - use it, as it will save:-
Your boat
Your sanity
Your knees (For those who need to kneel down while hurling!!)
Your pocket.


Jay - Talon

Honeywell electronic air filters is the answer , and possible A fresh air intake heat exchanger.They allow fresh air to brought in while capturing around 90% of the heat in the exhausted air. They also let you bring in fresh air while not pumping all the cold air outside in A/C mode,same efficiency.

The Honeywell will remove 99.97 % of smoke and all Odor's down to 0.3 microns in size, when installed correctly and the air flow over them is correct in cfm and velocity. I like to design for 6 air changes a hour. What that means is all air conditioned or heated space will get 100% of there air filtered every 10 minutes.Of course this number can be made every 5 minutes just as well as fifteen minutes , again this depends on Btu's of heating or cooling units & design.

If installed correctly Honeywell give with the purchase of the unit a 10 year clean coil guarantee. What that means as long as the filters are cleaned when the light sates they need cleaning,Honeywell will pay to clean your ac coil for 10 years if its gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. every A/C system I install gets At least 1,it depends of cfm. they can even trap bacteria and viruses that live on the 0.3 micron sized particles or larger.In test particles as small .01 micron have been trapped in the filter elements

You can also add to them activated carbon charcoal for a even better job.These can't be cleaned ,but 99.9% of my customers don't feel they need them.And can be added latter as simple as sliding them into the slots provided.
The unites consist of metal pre-filters,about 4" thick electronic cells that have wires that charge the particles that go by by so the plates with the opposite charge will trap the dust. a frame and a electronic circuit board and they uses about 40 watts. Even a remote sensor is available for about 25.00 that can be mounted that tells the status of the unites from anywhere.off ,on,needs cleaning, fault. Had 1 fault on a unit of the thousands sold. I think if was from a lighting strike.


Here's a list of what they capture:

Pollen and plant spores
Dust
Viruses, bacteria, and fungi
Pet dander
Human skin flakes
Dust mites, droppings, and their carcasses
Cooking smoke and grease
Mildew and mold
Cigarette smoke

They really cut back on the dust chores for the crew.Did you know that the dust you see settle on your furniture is only about 1% of the total dust present. It's the other 99% to small to see that carries odors ,soils drapes and carpets and so forth.

The cells have unlimited use as long as the are handled and not damaged during cleaning. The Best method of cleaning is to put them is the dishwasher.
The dishwasher will return them to new condition with one exception, it will not remove tar and nicotine from cigarette smoke. To do that a special chemical needs to be sprayed on them before putting them in the dishwasher. there are other methods to clean them also .They can simple be hosed with hot water.

They on for ducted A/C systems and heatings systems designs. if you systems uses chilled water you may want to consider a free standing model that looks like a square end table. The free standing model is 18" by 14" by 20 inches high.

Add a ultraviolet like source and your vessel will be virtually free from dust and disease's. I posted what UV light kill twice here in other threads, so I not going to repeat.

Carl, any update to your conversation with Dockwise?
Capt Tom

My vote is with Dockwise! Once upon a time I worked for a gentleman that thought his shippy little 115 footer was a "go to sea boat" so thats what we did! With two seasons in the med with him we docked it once, only because when he got off in Sept., I told him I would not see him till Christmas, well he just had to be back for FLIBS.
At the time I estimated a savings of around 40K going on my own, although when you figure how quickly that could be eaten up in a break down or storm damage it was not much.
These days you see 180' foot yachts on Dockwise, when I started this was very rare.
After 7 crossings I will now only go by Jet airplane!! Yes, many boats can do it, but why bother with the wear and tear on crew and vessel.
Be a nice owner and ship it

Tom,

I spoke briefly with Catalina on this and she was receptive to the idea. Will try to meet with Clemens in the next few weeks. I'll post more when I know more.

BTW... you DO know that you don't need to sign your name with each post, right? You're screen name is tells all.

I realize that. It's just a habit since I sign every e-mail at work. Thanks, it will save me a few keystrokes.
Capt T...oops, old habits die hard.

I think it's really simple actually. If the boat is designed for it (in most cases they are not) and the owner will also be on board to enjoy it (they probably won't be), then sail. Keep in mind that some exposed elements on yachts won't be really bad whether ocean friendly, if I may put it that way.

Of course most yachts ain't designed for the blue water, and in most if not all cases the owner won't be on board. I think shipping is actually more economical.

Interesting points of view, although the whole essence of yacht ownership and yachting in particular seems to be missed.
One could mistake yacht ownership to fine art collecting or as a posing platform at the local marina without ever knowing the pleasure of being a true seaman and telling your mates that you have crossed the ocean expanse not once but twice or more.
Experiences like that enrich the individual and make life worthwhile.
Dam the wear and tear, that’s why you bought the boat for in the first place.
*Just a rant guys, as the majority of yacht owners probably don’t care for that yucky wet stuff., and what if it’s cloudy or god forbid raining.

Outmywindow, I can see your point and I totally agree with you. However, you gotta keep in mind that most owners of mega yachts have other commitments in their life. Many of them still have to work or at least pull some strings here and there to maintain or enhance his wealth.

Also, your worldview might change when you reach that point in your life. For instance, the 20 something might want to cruise around the world with his dream yacht, invite Keira Knightly on board to impress her...etc.

For those who already made it, they probably ain't young any more. They probably are married, so Keira Knightly will be too high profile. Instead of spending two weeks crossing the ocean, which will pretty much give you the same view for majority of the trip, they probably got better things to do. More importantly, why take the risk when there are so many other good things out there that life has to offer.

Perhaps this is why I have so much respect for Tom Perkins, the owner of Maltese Falcon. He actually enjoys sailing and the sea from what I can tell.

We have all heard that sailing is like standing under a cold shower tearing up $100 bills.................... Some of us seem to enjoy that. If you are, then crossing oceans under sail is a great and wonderful experiance, even better when it is someone elses money. Under power it is different I guess it's in the arrival that makes it worthwhile. Of the uncounted miles at sea that I have done it is the miles in small sailing boats that I remember the most.