6200nm sailing passage on new performance catamaran: top 5 questions answered (Ep8)

We answer the top five questions we've been getting about our 6200 mile offshore sailing passage from South Africa to the Caribbean onboard our Balance 526 performance catamaran. From provisioning to sea sickness and weather, we try to provide insights to the questions we've received. We also cover a little about Lithium Ion batteries, solar power, and our Integrel alternators.
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Little Bird is named in honor of Cecilia Rose. If you enjoy this video, please consider making a tax deductible donation to a great cause at:
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We're Tif and Frank. In a significant act of vanity, we're making KZbin video of our sailing exploits. In 2021, we sailed our Balance 526 Catamaran from Cape Saint Francis, South Africa to the island of Grenada in the Caribbean on a 30 day passage. Since then, we've been sailing up the islands exploring beautiful anchorages and meeting great people. Over the next few years, we'll be sailing through the Bahamas, San Blas, Panama, and across the Pacific. With any luck, eventually we'll sail around the world.
We're from Santa Cruz, California and grew up in and around the water. This is our third catamaran (we also had a Seawind 1000 and Catana 431) and eight boat (fishing boats, monohulls... boats tend to take over sometime!). We love fishing, stand-up paddle boarding, surfing and Tif has a yoga and workout addiction. It has been fun to learn to wingfoil, perfect our snorkeling skills, and watch others kitesurf (maybe someday we'll give it a try).
Timestamps if you'd like to jump around:
01:14 The Top 5 Questions
01:50 What did you learn the most?
01:58 ONE: Provisioning and food
03:35 Biltong and Rusks!
04:04 Fishing... not
04:44 TWO: Routine and Watch Schedule
06:32 Exercise when sailing
07:23 THREE: Weather and internet at sea
07:40 KVH V7hts satellite communications
08:39 FOUR: Sanity & Dealing with Seasickness
09:03 Tif and seasickness and her secret cure
11:22 FIVE: The Boat
12:12 What's best? Sailing in light wind
13:09 Lithium Ion batteries, solar, and Integrel alternators
Link to provisioning spreadsheet in the video:
tinyurl.com/5y...
#svlittlebird
#capetown
#grenada
#balance526
#balancecatamarans
#nexusyachts
#sailing
#travel
#boatlife
#sailinglife
#catamaran

[@davidgshore]

Thanks for the practical discussion, more about what we need to do than showing bikinis and such as we see on other channels. Looking forward to learning from your experiences going forward. Will add to it when I can

[@admir_]

Really cool video and quite valuable! What is special about you, compared to some other channels, is that you share your experience straight as it is/was, no click-bating or artificial "drama". Thanks!

[@SailingLittleBird]

Thanks much!

[@jacksbackable]

I agree! 👏

[@unglabooboo]

This is awesome, it's great to see a channel with a larger/higher end performance cat! That's a great boat too. My wife and I considered purchasing a 526 but ultimately didn't get along with Phil so we went with another yard. Cheers!

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

I've never met Phil but he seems like a great guy. He seems to have strong opinions, BUT they're informed by a ton of experience. What didn't you like about him, if you feel like saying? I also think their boats seem very well built, especially the design of the mechanical and electrical systems. Love the very practical and modern styling too. Great sightlines, etc.

[@unglabooboo]

@@LoanwordEggcorn No doubt Phil is intelligent and builds a great boat. He however is not a people person and this bleeds into his staff as well. He was a straight up dick to my wife and there is no coming back from that. We went under contract with Neel before realizing they had a crap culture as well so walked away from them and our deposit. We finally came across Windelo who has been great and have a 54 Yachting on order.

[@btrotta]

Would love to see a more detailed look at your entire electrical system. From your descriptions, it worked well. Running AC for 20 days straight at sea is impressive.

[@SailingLittleBird]

We'll try and put a video together! It's working really well.

[@paulbritton9926]

Great video Frank and Tiffany. In fact - they have all been great so far! We leave for CPT on Sunday June 5th with all of our possessions to be there for last 3 months of our 482 build before we take off in September for Brazil. Lets catch up again soon.

[@chrisstephen4563]

Love the Balance Cats

[@SailingLittleBird]

We do too!

[@cartmanrlsusall]

That simple explanation of fishing patterns was very good information. Good job and it answered a lot of questions

[@SailingLittleBird]

Glad it was helpful!

[@beneastwood1336]

Thanks for this one! I’m the owner of 442-2, and will be following you north sometime soon. this was very helpful. I’m also in California!

[@SailingLittleBird]

Congrats on the 442! You'll love it.

[@markjohnson3990]

Great videos , thanks . I’m doing the same trip later this year . Can you tell me the name of the provider in st Francis that did the meals for you - sounds like a great idea !

[@SailingLittleBird]

Hi Mark, I sent a message to the caterer to confirm her contact info. I will share here once she responds.

[@SailingLittleBird]

Hello Mark, the company is called Gourmet to Go. Contact Rose on WhatsApp at [phone].

[@markjohnson3990]

@@SailingLittleBird thanks very much .

[@jacksbackable]

Really interesting, thanks for sharing! 😎🐬⚓️🏖🌴☀️🇦🇺

[@l.kuster7369]

Hi, Very happy for you guys! Very cool videos!I am getting my new Nautitech 46 next February and was wondering what insurance you guys use? Thanks and Aloha from Maui.

[@SailingLittleBird]

It was pretty limited for this year with a new boat and the South Africa crossing (and US flagged). We ended up with Concepts Special Risks. All the brokers basically only had that to offer. And, congrats on the Nautitech! Great boat.

[@l.kuster7369]

Thanks!

[@anthonyellis9804]

@@SailingLittleBird I'm interested in insurance specifics, like which policy and why chosen. also any endorsements did you choose for peace of mind?

[@davidgshore]

Regardless of the noise, your comment about charging a half hour for a day off your generator alone. Fantastic. And how much is the solar doing on top of that. And why not have a wind vane? All great redundant power opportunities

[@SailingLittleBird]

Solar can handle the recharge most days without running motors. Wind vane would be nice, but comparatively to solar or generator doesn't put in nearly as much...

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

Almost no one seems to be adding windmills lately since solar is so much more effective now. Particularly on a cat with a big coachroof, but even for monos. That and Lithium ion batteries for lots of storage and power. (In fact some people are removing their windmills after adding more solar.) Also quieter at anchor, no moving parts, etc.

[@gerhardvanwaltsleben8944]

Lekker man lekker 🇿🇦

[@alexandertaranenko2811]

Дааааа But I love Moss Landing. Hello from "Lightfoot"

[@kirkb3473]

Great video guys! I loved the scene of the cash getting flushed down the toilet lol, so would you go ahead with the KVH7 if you did it all over again or just do without?

[@SailingLittleBird]

If you need internet (like zoom meetings) it's still the only thing. Maybe starlink someday will be an option. But it's stupid expensive. The v3 is cheaper for the dish, but the v7 is cheaper for airtime. It's also ugly and heavy. Not sure I'd do it again. Maybe Iridium Certus for better weather. What we do love is our peplink sim antenna -- gets cell service very reliably with multiple sim cards.

[@kirkb3473]

@@SailingLittleBird Thanks for the info, the cost does seem egregious when we investigated. Technology moves fast though, maybe by the time we launch who knows. Keep up the great videos!

[@deonm641120]

It looks great. What a challenge! Do you need a special license to do a crossing this far?

[@SailingLittleBird]

Not for a US flagged boat. Although insurance carriers may require certain levels of experience/certifications.

[@g.i.gondesen3266]

Great video summary about your passage. How many watts have you been using during your passage in average daily. Did you use the engines at all to recharge during the passage or could you get away with solar only?

[@SailingLittleBird]

Looking back at the victron logs, we were generating about 30% more solar than consuming in each 24hr period while running ac at night (20+ days). Then, last 5 days must have been cloudy and hot... We ran ac nearly all day/night and needed to cover about 20% with integrel charging. 15 minutes of both engines I'd think.

[@g.i.gondesen3266]

@@SailingLittleBird thank you. It seems Integrel is a very efficient solution 👍

[@anjelisonstegard7523]

⛵️🐥 would love to know more about. your integrel system.🐥⛵️

[@SailingLittleBird]

We'll put something together soon!

[@LoanwordEggcorn]

The Balance Catamarans channel has a summary.

[@bret1tmcleod]

Do you guys live in Santa Cruz? We live in Scotts Valley and have an Outremer 45 at the harbor.

[@SailingLittleBird]

Sure do. We go by your boat all the time! Minga (our old Catana 431) used to be on end of b dock and we still have a fishing boat in upper harbor.

[@bret1tmcleod]

@@SailingLittleBird Was that boat for sale in San Diego?

[@SailingLittleBird]

@@bret1tmcleod Yes, that's the one.

[@thomasthornton5737]

😄👍👍👍❤

[@chrisstephen4563]

Love the Balance Cats