My brother, Ralph and I took his designed 21-foot flats boat 1,547 miles from North Carolina to Bermuda, then back to New York. We rode down the faces of 9 foot swells with 35 mph winds, for about 8 hours of the 51 hours over to Bermuda. We had so much fun, that when Ralph, asked me if I would go on another World Record Trip with him again, I jumped on it.
This time we will be attempting a voyage of 4,200 miles, in the same flats boat, this time with Yamaha motors. We hope to be departing from Boston, Mass then going up the coast of Canada, over to Greenland, to Iceland, to Scotland, ending in Ireland. The last time, we froze wearing rainsuits, this time we will be wearing Mustang Survivor suits.
Hopefully, we won’t have to surf down the faces of any swells bigger than 12 foot, at least not breaking. But it is the Northern Atlantic (i.e. TV show Dangerous Catch). If we do, we plan on putting out a sea anchor and riding out the storms.
It was a blast, wish we had more room, we’d love to take you with us. I wish I could strap a board to the t-top and maybe kill some time being towed. But with all the fuel and stuff, we are pretty tight. The fuel weighs around 2,000 pounds. Once fueled up, we have about a foot of freeboard (above the water line).
You can see some of the video of our last trip on Youtube.com just type in the title of my book about the last trip. Bermuda Suicide Challenge
If you get around to buying the book, remember it was written by a surfer/house painter. There are a few typos, it was never edited. I’ve been told it is a good read.
Having been a Northwest Atlantic commercial fisherman in relatively large ( ~30m /100’ ) well found commercial fishing boats, all I can say is that you’re a helluva sight braver than I am.
It gets awfully foggy up there plus lots and lots of rocks, and having watched the North Atlantic weather carefully for a long time, there tends to be a deep low that hangs out between NE Newfoundland and SW Greenland most of the summer. I have often wondered how the waves were there…and I suspect you’ll find out.
umm… I’ve been out in blue water on a 60 foot boat (with a keel) and it felt way too small when the weather got bad… having seen waves bigger than your boat, I’d like to wish you luck too but I can’t bring myself to encourage what appears to be insanity.
The day Eddie was lost , I was sent out on a 21’ dive boat to try and get a roll of film off a Coast Guard Cutter. We met the cutter about 20+ miles off Oahu in 20 foot seas. I have never seen anything like that before or since. Being a young fearless punk helped me from being totally scared out of my mind.
The boat we were in surfed down waves that were easily twice as tall as the boat was long, and the waves were breaking at the top. We’d be flying down the face then start pearling at the bottom. Once in the trough we’d be worried that the wave would fill the boat with water because they were passing us by like we were sitting still.
When we finally got to the cutter, it would totally disappear when the waves rolled between us, and we were as close as you could safely get to it. I can’t tell you how weird that is, but the cutter is a damned big ship.
The cutter was being hit broadside by the waves as it towed the over-turned Hokulea back to Oahu. The big ship rolled almost to the point of having the water at the rails. And guys were lined up on the rails puking.
The waves were breaking totally over our little boat, and I don’t know how we made it back in.
When I got back to the TV station they looked at me like they saw a ghost because the Coast Guard called and said it was certain we wouldn’t make it back in.
I guess Eddie or ke Akua didn’t want to see more lives lost.
This is no joke. We have also just hooked up with Make a Wish Foundation. Any money collected after trip expenses will be donated to Make A Wish Foundation. Also, it looks like Ireland may not be our final destination in Europe. We’re still looking for sponsors, who might want some name recognition on the boat. See web site: Irelandorbust.com
Have you contacted Guinness World Records to register prior to the trip, you’ll need to fit into one of their categories to beat or establish a new world record…
If they don’t have a category you’ll have to twist their arm to create a new one…
The trip is not as big a deal as some may think. We already went 1547 miles across the Atlantic, last year. This trip will be 4200 miles. We are already in the Guinness Book of World Records and in the World Record Academy for the last trip. Bob wrote a book about the last trip that I just learned was selected by the World Record Academy as the ADVENTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR. You can see his book at www.bermudachallenge.com
The boat is an INTRUDER by Dream Boats it is especially designed to operate in both extreme shallows and heavy seas. It is made of a special high tech weave that makes it light and strong. It won’t sink, and is extremely hard to tip over. It becomes more stabe when filled with water, and is self bailing.
To those who think this trip is too dangerous, remember what a World Record is. You go beyond the expectations of the rest of the World. I expect my business to do the same.
We have partnered up with MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION. MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION brings joy into the life of extremely sick children and their families. Unless you have been through it yourself, it is hard to understand how a prolonged illness affects a family. 100% of all net proceeds will be going to MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION.
