On 2007-10-03 23:14:05 -0400, Wayne.B said:

On Thu, 04 Oct 2007 01:02:12 GMT, Jere Lull wrote:

You know, I was about to say that I wouldn't hesitate to advise them
against it, but then reread and thought: We could be described
similarly though I'm considered fairly competent by those whose
opinions matter to me, the ones who have done it.

It really comes down to more than competence in my opinion. There are
intangibles that come only from experience, and those lessons are best
learned in small doses where the situation is less likely to spiral out
of control when (not if) things start to go wrong.

That was part of what I was saying. They *could* have sufficient
experience in dealing with these things from many days out.

Boats and people both react a great deal differently when offshore in
blue water, as opposed to coastal cruising in relatively protected
water with a nearby harbor readily at hand. When the wind is blowing
25 to 30 kts things can get pretty ugly offshore, people get fatigued
and the gear is severely tested.

Other than the length of time, that's psychological with a properly
prepared yacht and crew. I'd far rather tackle 25+ knots in deep water
than on the Chesapeake, where that's *ALWAYS* ugly.

I tried to convince the owner to plan a stop in Bermuda but was
unsuccessful. That would have given them the equivalent of a 3 day
shake down cruise and a chance to regroup if things were going wrong.

I dunno. The Caribbean 1500 sounds like a safer bet, as Bermuda's a bit
off of the rhumb line.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/