Advice for long range cruising

[Appleby]

Hi,

Am looking for advice for long range cruising in my Avon SR5.4. The plan is to go from Co. Donegal/Ireland to Port Ellen/Islay. Single trip would be about 92 nautical miles. First day out, second day back. Would anticipate cruising speed of 25kts.

Engine and boat are in very good condition. I have GPS, VHF, 2nd portable VHF on life vest, chartplotter (separate from GPS), 2nd handheld chartplotter, depth sounder and mobile phone on board. Fuel capacity is 2x25L and will take jerry cans to bring this up to approx. 110L in total. Will take 2-stroke oil to match.

On board are also:
-Flares (parachute and hand-held, 2 each)
-Anchor
-Mooring lines
-Paddles
-Knife
-Basic toolkit
-Pump for tubes

I will be in a drysuit and lifejacket, will also have neoprene gloves, head protection and goggles. Food and water for a day will also be on board, as well as overnight bag. There will be at least another rib joining me on this trip. Cruise plan will be shared with friends onshore.

What else should I be thinking of? Any spare parts for engine/boat? If so, which ones? Anything else I am missing?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Appleby

Hi,



Am looking for advice for long range cruising in my Avon SR5.4. The plan is to go from Co. Donegal/Ireland to Port Ellen/Islay. Single trip would be about 92 nautical miles. First day out, second day back. Would anticipate cruising speed of 25kts.



Engine and boat are in very good condition. I have GPS, VHF, 2nd portable VHF on life vest, chartplotter (separate from GPS), 2nd handheld chartplotter, depth sounder and mobile phone on board. Fuel capacity is 2x25L and will take jerry cans to bring this up to approx. 110L in total. Will take 2-stroke oil to match.



On board are also:

-Flares (parachute and hand-held, 2 each)

-Anchor

-Mooring lines

-Paddles

-Knife

-Basic toolkit

-Pump for tubes



I will be in a drysuit and lifejacket, will also have neoprene gloves, head protection and goggles. Food and water for a day will also be on board, as well as overnight bag. There will be at least another rib joining me on this trip. Cruise plan will be shared with friends onshore.



What else should I be thinking of? Any spare parts for engine/boat? If so, which ones? Anything else I am missing?



Any advice would be much appreciated!

You seem a bit light on fuel to me. What’s your normal consumption at your intended cruising speed? If it’s around the 1l/nm I’d be carrying another 40l. If it’s an old tech 2 stroke, you might need even more.

[GuyC]

It sounds like you have thought it through which is most of the battle won.

The only things that I'd add to this would be a PLB, one of those clam seal things for if you manage to tear a tube on Islay and some bubble wrap for the Laphroaig.

You could also have a chat with the other RIB to decide what you would do if an issue arose.

Enjoy.

[Last Tango]

Try and "tank" the fuel you need for the longest leg.
Re-fueling from jerry cans in open water is a nightmare unless it's glass calm.
If you have to, I'd use a jiggle pump rather than try to pour it.

[Brian]

Sounds like you have thought of most things, Appleby.
Good luck in your adventure and be sure to let us know how you got on.

A couple of things:
Weather !! Can get a bit blustery around Donegals north coast-having been round there a few times, I can tell you!
Pick a fine day if you can, and put on/take suntan lotion in high summer, or, alternatively, take face protection, goggles, face mask etc. in cold.
Also be aware of various "duck-out" points if it get really rough or you have a mechanical problem.
Also agree your fuel is a bit light.

[neil.mccrirrick]

Capability to tow each other unless you can accept leaving the rib if you have engine failure. I agree with Dave you need at least a third more fuel than a passage plan dictates. Are you committed to a return on the second day? If you are and it’s rough are all the crew up for that, if not work in more time or agree how some crew could return another way. Pressure to return can lead to decisions you wouldn’t have taken setting out

[Fender]

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Fender

Nope! You’ve lost me

[Locozodiac]

Don't forget the liquor such as : beer, scotch, gin and tons of ice...

Happy Boating

[breezeblock]

It’s Scotland no ice will be required it’s cold enough the only thing I think you are missing is a plb I would have these over flares any day of the week I would go as far to say even ditch them

[Iron Dials]

I like your plan.

Sea anchor is a cheap addition if you have a breakdown in deep water.

A sustained 25 knots may be tiring over a long period if it's a little lively, so maybe run the run numbers at your rough weather comfort speed too? (not v familiar with SR 5.4 so maybe this isn't likely to be an issue)

( I suspect the elephant reference relates to bringing correct paperwork for leaving the EU- should that be the case)

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Nope! You’ve lost me

Is this the old auxilary outboard chestnut ?

[C-NUMB]

As mentioned a drogue anchor is good to have. Consider also the fueling how it will be done in possible high seas. If the weather will turn bad, You might want to have more fuel reserve than 110L for 92 nm. On mine can not do less than about 0,8L / nm but in semi displacement speeds playing with the throttle, probably much more, maybe the double....

[willk]

Sounds like you're fairly well set up A. I'm a regular on that run so feel free to bounce any ideas off me by PM. The other RIB sounds reassuring, but you might have to assist it, so plan for it! A PLB would be a must for me. That said, VHF comms are very good on that stretch of water and text comms probably join in the middle.

And ignore Guy. Laphroig isn't worth bringing back. Get down to Ardbeg quay and fill yer boots. If you have 2 nights free, that trip could be enlivened no end.

[Metz Antenna Man]

This sounds a fantastic trip that you are planning.
I agree with Pikey Dave, you need more fuel, I reckon about 150l each way to be safe. You know what your boat will do normally I presume, say with a full load of petrol and normal weight of passengers and can calculate the extra fuel required roughly. You could consider fuelling at the other end if the location allows. A lot of Scottish Taxi Drivers will meet you at the other end to take you to the nearest petrol station if planned in advance. Port Ellen looks like it has a petrol station.

The problem is on distances, is calculating the weight of the extra fuel. We did a long return trip once to the middle of nowhere (192nm) where we added up everyone's weight and worked out what we needed roughly and added a third to that figure. We had a 150l tank and figured that we needed 150l extra. I failed to calculate the weight of that 150l extra fuel – a schoolboy error, never to be repeated. We got to safety, but only just.

Petrol is 0.75kg a litre roughly (slightly under in reality 0.737 kg per litre). If you have 150l of extra petrol, you are carrying 110kg of extra weight. On a short journey of say ten miles, you might not notice it, but on an extended journey, you definitely would.

If not, I'd try a shorter journey of say 40nm nearer to home carrying the extra load in full and see what consumption you get. There are many other people on here who have far more experience of long trips, but the one I know best is ‘The Gurnard’ who has done some fantastic trips which are all on UTube.

I’d also echo the earlier comments about kit and have at least one floating PLB per rib such as Rescuelink Plus. You could probably do with charts for the journey, but it will put the cost up by about £48. Imray charts C54,C53 and C64 should cover your journey. They fold to A4 size in a plastic sleeve and are water resistant. If you prepare a passage plan with bearings to take, you have everything covered. We had our Lowrance GPS go down once a few years ago after hitting a wave badly which soaked the console. and we were out of sight of land. We took out the SD card and after drying it, it came back, but we had a bearing to follow anyway. It got replaced shortly after with a decent Garmin.

If you have a chart, passage plan and hand bearing compass (rib compasses are generally quite inaccurate), you stand a chance of getting to safety. I know its unlikely that all your devices could go down at once but sods law is that the day you go, we get a mega sunspot activity which knocks out the satellites Unlikely I know but I’d just spend the £48 to be safe.
I wish you the best of luck on your trip and hopefully you can post it on here when you are back safely. With best regards, Phil.

[Bushrider]

Have done the Round Ireland in a 5.4 and your targeted speed of 25kn seems to be very optimistic - depending on the weather of course . 25kn was the targeted speed for the larger boats while in the 5.4 we often were below 20kn or even were happy when we could go with minimum planing speed .

[John Kennett]

As others have said, I’d reckon on no more than 20 knots average over the trip. I’d also want about 150 litres of fuel to give a comfortable margin.

If you’re able to pick a really good weather window then everything will be fine, but don’t underestimate the effects of sub-optimal conditions on speed and fuel consumption.

[Bern Hanreck]

I used to have an emergency boarding ladder lashed to the A Frame because I knew what a struggle it would be to get back on board , especially if I was solo!

https://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/plast...yWm1-ZxMhCzBoC

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by Phil and Jane

>>> Port Ellen looks like it has a petrol station.
>>>>

Walking distance from marina..

[jeffstevens763@g]

on my long trips i take double what i need having worked out my consumption for 50 miles/18 ltrs with a good mix of planning and displacement speed. i carry an odeo flare,PLB,two radios,spare garmin handheld & strobes one on the lifejacket one on the boat.