how long will it take to sail a 27ft yacht accross the atlantic from East of ireland to Costa Rica at 8knots?

Answer 1

Three to six months. If you HAVE to be there faster FLY.

Actual time on distance cannot be provided, as there are too many variables. The times provided herein are for direct, non-stop sailing legs. Islands are provided as waypoints, (you get there, you turn to the next waypoint – no stopping!). Time will depend on the season (October – June generally best for the equatorial legs) and personal luck. My last trip, Seattle to San Francisco (1,100 miles) took 6 days (145 hours) on a 44 footer. We averaged 7.6 knots speed over ground. Winds 20-25 knots sustained, current 1.25 knots, boat speed 6.3 knots.

A couple of points.
1) Sailing direct (Ireland - Costa Rica) will take more time than sailing South then West. This is because for a goodly portion of this route, the direct route is uphill (against currents and prevailing winds). The parallel (latitudinal) routes (Azores to St. Croix or Canary Is. to Martinique) are downhill (with current and prevailing winds) as is the Ireland - South portion.

2) A 27-footer displacement hull can do this trip; it will sail at approximately 6 knots (= 144 nmiles/day) maximum boat speed. Depending on current, this could (probably not tho) equate to 8 knots (= 192 nmiles/day) over ground. So, I have will provide best-case scenarios to both. The best routes will be along the West Coast of Europe then across.

3) DO not take these guestimates as read! 200 miles/day equates to eight knots for 24-hours straight, a very rare occurrence for monohulls less than 50'. Sustained mileages of this order, in a monohull, are stories for legend; these mileages can be common for catamarans, but 20+ days would again be legendary.

Route 1: Ireland to Costa Rica, passing just offshore (west) of the Dominican Republic.
4500 nautical miles
at 8 knots 560 hours = 24 days
at 6 knots 750 hours = 31 days

Route #2 5200 nautical miles Total
Ireland to Canary Islands 1300 nMiles
Canary Is to Martinique 2600 nMiles
Martinique to Costa Rica 1300 nMiles

8 knots/hour 650 hours = 27 days
6 knots/hour 875 hours = 37 days

Route #3 4800 nautical miles Total
Ireland to Azores 1300 nmiles
Azores to St. Croix 2300 nmiles
St. Croix to CR 1200 nmiles

8 knots/hour 600 hours = 25 days
6 knots/hour 875 hours = 35 days

Based on continuous sailing (no stops) and conditions that are 100% favorable for maximum daily travel (approximately 15 knot winds), you are looking at 24 – 35 days. Realistically 40-60 days non-stop, worst case 50-80 days. So take some time and appreciate the islands bewteen.

Good luck, have a great time.

Answer 2

Jimmy J covers it very well......just to emphasize a few points......

8 knots sustained in a27 footer is physically impossible. The max speed of a displacement boat is the square root of the waterline length times a coefficient ....usually 1.25 as good working number. So a 27 foot overall boat will be about 22 foot waterline; 4.7 x 1.25 is 5.8 knots.That is full out sailing at the edge of disaster and cant be kept up for a long time. Having sailed 30,000 miles and spent 30 years around cruising sailboats I'd say you should figure 100 miles a day made good.
The best ( downwind and down current) route from Ireland over to here is as was said, down to the Canaries, across with the Trade Winds then across the Caribbean from Martinique or the Virgin Islands.....take the miles given for these routes, divide by 100 and that's the MINIMUM passage time.......got enough space aboard for food and water to make each leg? Add 15% to be sure.

If not, add a week at least for stops in the Canaries and the Caribbean islands each.......

it's a do-able trip in such a small boat........What an Adventure!

Good Luck!

Answer 3

It depends on the season, weather and route taken. The northern route is said to be faster and more dangerous. The southern route takes longer but is safer. There are currents to consider. 27 foot is small, and 8 knots for that waterline is high. We sail a 30 and top hull speed is 6 knots. There is a group of yachts(around 100) that leave UK in the fall and take a flotilla to the Carribean. One year the ones that elected to take the northern route ran into storms and several were dismasted.

Answer 4

I'm not sure but, I sail Sabots, FJs, 420s, 29ers, and J105 and they are the best. SDYC rules

Keep Sailing!

Answer 5

Longer than the flight.

Answer 6

too long and too dangersous
pick a new hobby