Hi everyone, Im a new member, and new to large sail boats,
I have just bought a 33 foot hartley tasman of EBAY, sight unseen.
(yeh, we all do silly things)
I purchased the sailboat before even realising it was a cement boat,
I am now having major drama's getting it trucked to melbourne from sydney,
Coming to the realisation that it will be too expensive to move this way,
as well as being told it is quite possible that hull damage may occur in the move
And there will be no insurance against this,
I have decided to sail it down single handed (apart from my dog BUDDIE) this xmas holidays,
Now I've sailed and owned a number of catermarans, (up to 24 foot)
but Ive never been in the open ocean before,
And not on a monohull, (oooh, scary)
I am asking any experienced sailors for some advise about a trip like this, as the tasman sea can be a real handful at times I am told,
I am a total nuffy when it comes to this,
So I want to learn as much as possible before embarking on such a trip,
I hope to cove hop and stay close to shore,
breaking the trip up into many 50 to 100 kay stretches,
I will not be sailing at night due to not knowing where I am,
and also never having sailed a 9 tonne cement boat before,
Any bit of info whatsoever could make all the difference in the long run,
even the most trivial things
So heres hoping you dont think im a fruitloop,
And can help me out with the unknown,
Anyone that wants to come along and share some experience is MORE THAN WELCOME,
Most of my friends have bailed at the idea


CHEERS