Are Performance Catamarans MORE Comfortable at Sea? Mid-Atlantic Update

Are performance cruising catamarans like the Outremer or Balance or HH more comfortable at sea than a slower, heavier cat like a Leopard, Lagoon, or Fountain Pajot? I give you my opinions on that, from part way across the Atlantic Ocean.
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[@KKop]

No need to apologize for posting content this way. In fact, I prefer this type of content over more polished episodes. Thanks for taking the time to post from the Atlantic (and also thanks Elon!). Love the multiple cameras views - it's as close as we get to being there with you. Very effective.

[@RivieraStar]

I so agree with you

[@davidgshore]

Me too

[@perkygrubb]

Me three

[@theguccipilot]

Me four. Stay safe, buddy...

[@davidleonard3053]

Me 5 😂

[@dpurrington]

I really like the multi-panel presentation for this kind of dispatch from the passage.

[@JRTurgeon13]

Me too! Especially the boat data: AWA, TWA, AWS, TWS, boat speed, SOG. And you can see the boat's heading change as the autopilot adjusts to the waves/swell.

[@RebootTheCatamaran]

Same! My squirrel brain enjoys jumping around and looking at what’s going on

[@Gladtobemom]

Yes, definitely edifying.

[@geraldhowse8597]

Thank you sooooo much for the update. I'm 73 years old, can't really be a patrean but you get a thumbs up from me every week. I really hope Megan recovers from that bug soon. Good luck.

[@TheOKellys]

She’s tough and on the mend. Appreciate the well-wishes. Payment enough.

[@TheBrandonForrest]

You should consider doing more videos on weather routing-you certainly have some authority there-and I think this is a skill we all need to hone more to become better sailors. Routing around the weather and avoiding the nasty stuff should be the primary strategy for managing heavy weather and is just good seamanship. All the best for Megan’s speedy recovery!

[@p.t.anderson1593]

The split screen presentation, especially with the navigation data, was super cool. I would like to see more sailing channels do this when they are just talking to the camera narrating. Performance Vs. Party barge - The Wynns debated a lot about this when they were picking out their new boat, which wound up being an H&H performance cat. When they realized that they could sail in much lighter wind conditions than their Leopard, which usually come with smaller sea state, that's what sealed the deal. Thanks for the update!

[@markribkoff]

I must admit I have been fast forwarding through the majority of your videos up until today. The 5 days of hard sailing has brought you back to your sailing roots and it shows in how you approached this video with honesty and clarity. Keep it up and thanks for sharing.

[@TheOKellys]

Like coming to my dinner parties for years and now admit to feeding the meal I worked so hard on to the dog under the table. Glad you like the meal today!

[@markribkoff]

It was delicious!

[@ConstrianedVideo]

Love the Quad display and seeing the real time chart plotter and sea state! You can’t edit but you are still innovating! Well done at mid ocean!

[@michaelslack7359]

I’d love a cold opening sketch from you guys with nick trying to present the weather like he’s on tv whilst in some of these 20+ knot conditions on board to really convey how tough it is! Good luck guys!

[@TheOKellys]

lol. Need to get the band back together,,,

[@kennyesposito6477]

what an absolutely fantastic video, especially in this day and age. Thank you for your straight up honesty as this combined with your extensive knowledge and experience were truly eye opening and very helpful. We hope that Megan is soundly onto the road of recovery as you two are inseparable 😊 Stay safe and look forward to watching your adventures together

[@TheOKellys]

Thanks. Appreciate that.

[@johnward8755]

Hi Nick, thank you for the great video! I would add a few things. First, I crossed the Atlantic on a catamaran with moderate bridgedeck clearance, and the constant slamming was very uncomfortable for most of the 3000 mile crossing. I also did a major ocean passage on an Outremer 51 and while we did get an occasional slam, it was dramatically more comfortable overall. We got a gale on both passages (sailing DDW in Force 8, gusting into the 40s, with the bigger waves pushing 4-5 meters), and in these conditions also the Outremer was dramatically more comfortable. I was nervous on the heavier cat, it didn't track as well in the water and it felt like it could round up. The Outremer, on the other hand sliced easily through the water like it was on rails. Another time when Outremers are far more comfortable is in light or contrary wind. It's really frustrating on a long passage in a low-performance catamaran to tack back and forth in light wind and make practically no progress to weather. Light air is where the Outremer really shines, and this is a condition that you will encounter often. Frederique and I don't particularly enjoy motoring. Fair winds!

[@daveamies5031]

"out of adversity comes opportunity", if you hadn't had the weather conditions that made editing impossible we would have missed out on this gem of insight 👍

[@TheOKellys]

Good point! There is always a learning and (hopefully) teaching moment if we know where to look.

[@davecummings6170]

That split screen was really great. It’s nice to see the instrument panel for long enough to be able to understand what I’m looking at. Often times the camera stays on the instrument panel for two or three seconds and that’s not enough to see what’s really going on.

[@TheOKellys]

Glad everyone so receptive. I'll do another one explaining all the numbers and arrows, etc. B&G electronics are awesome.

[@Charlie-Oooooo]

Your viewpoint and words have great value (to me anyway). The choice of those 4 views displayed is a winning combo and I hope it becomes a standard for you and/or anyone uploading an interesting passage like this one. Just a very enjoyable dialog overall. I hope Megan has recovered by now and is feeling better. Looking fwd to watching more of your content. I have subbed and provided the ritualistic👍. Cheers!

[@mckenziesonthemove807]

Great video and I agree with all you said. Coming from being an outremer owner I’d have to say the fun factor comes into it also as performance cats more fun to take out for a blast than a heavier boat that’s less performance oriented

[@jameshuggins7320]

This is the old style content I’ve been missing. Out on the water getting technical.

[@perkygrubb]

My intention to get a performance cat is EXACTLY for the reasons you say: I’m not up for really rough conditions and would prefer a sailing vessel with capabilities I could use to avoid those states.

[@moniker5]

On the contrary, this was a fantastic video! It felt like a daily update type of vlog, a little more raw and real. 11/10 would watch more videos like this. And as others have said, the multi-panel layout was a really savvy move. Nice work Nick! I say don't worry about the editing; daily mini-updates that are 5-10 minutes would be awesome. (Not sure how KZbin would feel about that from a monetization viewpoint, I realize.) - Andre And get better soon, Megan!

[@TheOKellys]

Thanks Andre. Appreciate the feedback. Can you go to Bagel Land for me and have a poppy with cream cheese, then write me a note about how awesome it is? LOL. Cheers to you my friend.

[@moniker5]

@@TheOKellys Hah! Now that's some targeted advertising KZbin could only hope to achieve.

[@OGbrewser]

As an amateur sailor this video is what I hope for to keep learning. I love seeing your other videos and not saying to change, but absolutely enjoy the visuals of the two external facing cameras (which makes me feel like I am in the spot of conversation) and the tech specs are very cool to see! Videos like these would be cool supplementals. Wishing Speedy recovery to Meg.

[@carsonc1272]

I like the split screen. Great idea. It gives a bigger picture and keeps the entertainment value up. I hope Megan can settle in and take it easy so she can get better soon.

[@ianpepe9287]

Light weight is one factor and I absolutely agree with your generalisations BUT waterline length is as much a factor as weight imho. My experience is covering some 50,000 nm on circumnavigations (on a 1995 Lagoon 42, a 2006 Lavezzi 40 and now a 2001 Bahia 46). All these boats were mid-weight for their waterline length, and have good sailing qualities and good bridgedeck clearance. Our north-west Pacific crossing in the relatively light Lavezzi (6.5t) was really tiring because the short waterline length (39ft) created a jerky motion that we rarely experienced on our 42 and 46 ft cats. Also the big differentiator for me on the 'Comfort Cats' is that you have to motor if sailing downwind when winds drop below say 12 to 15kn. That definitely has an impact on the 'comfort' of a passage and the motion is different compared to when under sail in the same conditions. Love the 4 screen presentation!

[@seniorsdesflots]

Coucou, i sail on catamaran from 40 years now. I have had 2 English catamarans Iroquois (old perform cat). I rent also différents lagoons, Bali, old English productions, they are comfort cats but not performs cats. Now, we are sailing on an Outremer 42E, near Panama Channel, to an world wide tour. You are right on perform cats you have to reduce sail when comfort become too low. It is always when the sea is rough. Your cruiser speed is always more than on a comfort cat. Last year, we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean near a friend 42 lagoon. We had 2 reefs to stay not too far from our friends, sometime no mainsail. 4 days before the end, they ask to us to stop in Barbada because they had no comfort on board. They were very tired, always noise in the cabin, uncomfortable on the top and low speed. We have stopped at Barbada and they have had a nice night… My experience is different from yours. I prefer take reef on a perform cat instead of to have all the sails on a comfort cat. But the big difference is with light wind and nice breeze. On perform cats, you sail fast and comfortable. Perform cats are light and in bad weather that’s security, you can have a small sail, not too much forces on the structure cat, rigging… and you go fast to a safe anchoring or port. I see that comfort disappear on all the cats or mono hulls when the wind blows. The difference come from you stay less time in bad weather with perform cats. I like your way of life, always challenging some thing, idea, with personn respect.

[@TheOKellys]

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, agreed. To those with experience, there seems to be no arguement with what my opinion here.

[@petervana1]

My thinking is that the 90% of the ride quality in a large catamaran sailboat is more dependent upon boat speed than displacement. One can always make the fast boat go as slow as the heavy boat to smooth the ride and reduce wear and tear.

[@DCGULL01]

Thanks, Nick! Seems like a pro crewed crossing to me. The boat, rigging, gear, etc.. is solid. The human aspect of constant bashing, or- scceleration/deceleration is what causes bad decision making, slowed responses. That is in addition to the other wave action, wind noise & slamming gear becomes a source of energy depletion. BTW, you look rough, it's wearing on you! Much love to both you & Meghan. Fingers crossed for rapid recovery!!!

[@bobf4765]

Nick, good to hear from you! Great video! Your break down of the Force chart is perfect, sporty to busy to uhh.. Hope Megan is feeling better, weather in the states has been interesting this year. Safe passage & fair winds...

[@Sailorman-xp9nf]

Great video! For us, the Sweet Spot is having a cat with overall good seaworthy design including high bridge deck clearance. I think performance cats generally lean more in this direction than many other cats but that’s not exclusively true. Heading south to the Bahamas this year in our 50 foot semi performance cat, conditions were very rough even for 15 to 25 kn of wind to the point where we had to slow down from the potential 10+ knots we could have been making to 8 or 6 or sometimes even less, so the off-watch could sleep and make meals. Even with our full 3 feet of bridge deck clearance, We were taking slamming bombs to the underside of the hull. But we could still sail effectively, taking 2 days from Charleston to st Augustine and 2.5 days from Saint Augustine to Green Turtle Cay. My impression from talking to people with cats with lower bridge deck clearance is they often took the intercoastal waterway and waited for calmer seas when they had to go offshore because the ride in rougher conditions was just too brutal. IMO, a well-designed seaworthy cat with good bridge deck clearance, which many performance cats have, will sail safely and reasonably comfortably where other cats may be extremely uncomfortable and potentially unsafe.

[@Sailor279]

Love the split screen, the instrumentation and the views you showed. Made me feel like I was right there, sailing along with you chatting about different performance versus cruising cats.

[@geoffthefarmer]

This was a great video and I like the format, so much so that I will now become a patreon. I used to travel often and I know how many bugs you can catch and how draining flying can be. Hope Megan get well soon.

[@TheOKellys]

Thank you so much Geoff!

[@Boody523]

Really enjoyed the performance screen, it usually just flashed up there and there’s so much info I can’t even come close to taking it in. That boat is flying

[@joelambing2430]

Nice video. I appreciate your perspective and like the format. One thing I have noticed on longer ocean passages in rougher weather is that the slamming can make it tough to rest. On a pacific crossing in a new Leopard 50 the waves between the hulls seemed to converge on the inside aft third of the hulls making for regular, loud slams in a variety of conditions. The boat made a lot of other noise too. I have been lucky to do two US east coast passages on an HH50 and in similar conditions that boat was much quieter and more comfortable. A similar trip on an older Outremer 55 was fast but also had slamming issues. So I think it is not only performance vs production cats but also quality of design and build. I agree with your point that the performance boat gives you much more flexibility and that short handed crews will slow (both types of boats) down when the weather gets bad, but even then the performance boats will likely make better VMG and, in my experience, be more comfortable and feel safer. Cheers

[@alfreddaniels3817]

I think there are so many factors involved that makes a sail more or less comfortable that the weight of a boat is only one off. Hullshape, buoyancy, windage, keels vs daggerboards( if you know how to use them), height of the mast and choice of the right sails for that boat in those conditions. Coarse in waves and currents. Sailors never stop learning. 👍👍

[@TheOKellys]

Of course. All important points.

[@ReefRunner1]

Get well soon Meghan!! Nick... really, really enjoyed the format of this video (love the ability to see the wind instruments on the display). And the wisdom, of course. It's definitely a topic that needs more discussion and dissection. All cruising cats are expensive... so its definitely worth some serious thought as to how different people will use them... differently.

[@TheOKellys]

Thank you

[@martinbeaumont1135]

Well done Nick, top work in adverse conditions! Something that Riley from SLV said was a fast boat is good because it can get you out of "trouble" fast but also you're exposed to "trouble" for less amount of time ie journey times are potentially shorter, thereby reducing risk. Anyway lets hope the sea states calm done and you get a good, smooth fast ride across.

[@jokoz1000]

Love your candor; as always. Keep the raw videos coming.

[@ronnpc]

Good no nonsense, experienced advice.

[@exploranator]

A quick physics note: as the boat hits a wave head-on, the energy for raising the boat UP comes at the expense of forward motions. Conservation of momentum and all that. Thus the more blade-like and slim the boat's hull(s) is/are, the less dynamic and static lift, which reduces the fore-and-aft slamming. There is not fore-and-aft slamming of a submarine sailing submerged.

[@julieantonic1908]

Thanks for another great informative video! Hope Megan is feeling better!

[@lionelfournier]

Fantastic insights ! Thanks for sharing, and safe passage .

[@Mac65]

I think you articulated your experience very clearly and even though I still have zero experience to either confirm or deny if you are correct, what you described makes total sense to me. Hope Megan gets well soon!

[@kptbillburkett8735]

The Heavier boat in Rough sea 🌊 is going to be more comfortable. But as you said, A lighter more Performance boat you can out run most of the bad weather. Know I believe the boat you are on Now, with more Experience and time you will Appreciate the speed of going from point A to point B. The big Question is can your Body take it ? The older we get the more Comfortable we like it. So would you sail in these conditions? No! Not if you didn't have too. But Can the boat sail in these conditions? Yes! At least it looks like it can. One Big thing I Noticed in your video. Was how Quiet the Boat was. And that is a Good thing. Unlike a Lagoon where you can't here your self think under way. Ok can't wait for the next video. So until next time, Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii! Cheers 🍻

[@TheOKellys]

Good points Cap. I'm not running this boat. There is another captain making the calls. Yeh the boat handled it all just fine. Forgiving actually.

[@matthewsellers82]

Excellent points well made. I've just come off a delivery were we had Force 8 off the beam, the boat handled it no problem. But even for the professional crew it was miserable, for guests (had we had any onboard) it would have been scary as hell.

[@ps4peace]

Nice to see the update... hoping the journey is kind. Feel better soon Megan!!

[@carlosvallejo4926]

Hello Nick This was a great video. Sincere and knowledgeable. Thanks for sharing it with us. Good luck.👍👍

[@davidbauerdorf1324]

Wow loving the 4 camera video!! As always Nick you are a wealth of knowledge and a great breakdown of the performance vs luxury! Safe travels. Feel better Megan!

[@bsparks3672]

I have a similar but nuanced perspective. The performance cruising cat has a slot speed where the boat is very comfortable. Our boat loves loves loves sailing at 8 to 11 knots. Above that while the boat carries on without concern the motion gets tiring for the humans. As the wind builds we reef down to stay in the slot. The slot on Moonshot is likely a bit faster. The difference between a performance cat and a slower cat is, well, slower. Also the performance cat will be sailing happily in light winds where the slower cat will be motoring.

[@TheOKellys]

Yes, I think you are right. I don't have enough time on the boat to know that speed, but she is very very happy at 10-12. Effortless actually. At 14 she feels very good, but you can tell the speed is building. At 16-18, there is more water noise but feels very confident. The same is true at 20-24 actually, but I start to look at the sea and hope we are at the right angle. So far have not been surprised or worried. More experience would inform on the slot for this boat, but 11-13 seems about right so far. She seems to have a lot of latitude and confidence.

[@scarletbegonias2359]

I learned a lot and the format works, thanx for figuring out how to overcome the conditions.

[@user-ku9wf3si5c]

Love the quad cam great video Nick thanks for the update. Poor Megan in the wars hope she gets better soon

[@jeffgurney1]

Great vid Nic, good points you make about the boats which is great for us to consider in the future boat adventure we are keen to do. Best wishes on Megan, what a bummer for her. Keep on trucking

[@peterpocock9062]

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with this landlubber! As others have said the split screen is a winner. Fair winds to you and your fellow crew 😊

[@skyedivers]

Nice, gritty upload, thanks for the update, Nick san. Sometimes no fancy editing keeps it real. Re: Which is more comfortable across oceans: big, heavy slow cat, or big performance fast cat - the answer is a monohull lol. JK. Having done 2x circs + on my 3rd on all types of mono and cats over last 40+ yrs in all types of shit sea states, I'd say either a big heavy mono or a big fast performance cat are my two fav. ways to go. But THE MOST FUN? It's the big fast cat.

[@justinstevenson5807]

Nice video.. really like the data overlay, and multiple cams. All the best to Meghan on her recovery!

[@davidlevitz3119]

REAL GOOD VIDEO NICK ! THANKYOU !

[@petenelson8136]

Nice to see your underway and making good progress. I've never sailed anything bigger than a Hobbie Cat 16, so I've got zero experience in what your talking about, but I love hearing how things are and what you and others think about different boats. My son (32 years old now) is dreaming of getting a boat and sailing around the world, so I've been watching sailing KZbin videos for years now. Thanks for sharing and best wishes for calmer seas and good winds.

[@sockeyevoyages8840]

Great video Nick. Really appreciate the split screens of you, boat data, and different sea states. The Giffords discuss route planning for sea states. I love your point that faster vessels offer voyagers more opportunities to keep to moderate sea conditions and avoid worse. Thank you for your effort during less than ideal conditions.

[@windycurrent]

Great video, Nick! Even though I do not have experience sailing catamarans like you have, and I am more of a full displacement motor yacht person, I really love and appreciate your content. You do a wonderful job keeping it simple and easy to understand what you are talking about. I can't wait to hear your full thoughts on this particular catamaran in 6 months from now. So far, it seems this is a very well engineered catamaran. Have a safe crossing.

[@philgray3443]

Excellent summarisation. One thing that I have noticed is the effects of quartering seas on wider sterned monos. Similar boats but different hull shapes seems to add to the experience of rolling.

[@anthonycook1406]

Great video, thanks for your perspective. One more factor to consider is a couple on the boat vs. a family of four, five or six and the difference in load capacity, and how it affects performance.

[@sylvaingregoire9008]

what a perspective, from the helm the swells did not appear that big but from the window, it was a different story, so i rewatched the vid 3 times, and now im wondering if a longer boat would make a difference ( 100 ft long) hope megan gets better soon, stay safe, and thank you for an honest and eye opening vid

[@rice0009]

I hope Megan recovers quickly. It's no fun being under the weather. The ride in the video looked good. Looking forward to more videos from the O'Kelly's!

[@TheOKellys]

Thank you❤️

[@user-wq4nw1ex2p]

Nice to have you back

[@jaymacpherson8167]

The quad display and respective views is intriguing and appreciated!

[@jamierodg1]

Like the 4 screen view - for this video it adds some useful info for understanding the real world conditions.

[@marceld6061]

I loved this multi camera set-up. It allows the viewer to choose a different view while paying attention to what you are saying. I found as you were talking about points of sail or wind speed or direction or sea state, I would look over to the instruments to see what was happening outside. Then compare it to the view from the helm. Fantastic.

[@AndrewMoizer]

Ditto. It worked so well. Will probably have to watch it again to take it all in.

[@marceld6061]

@@AndrewMoizer It was a lot! From watching that I am starting to wonder if I am cut out to do a crossing. Maybe I could get used to it with practice?

[@AndrewMoizer]

@@marceld6061 I would say you could for sure. I always wanted to do more but my longest crossing was across to the Bahamas in the early 80's. We sailed across during the night so we would arrive on the Bahama Bank at daybreak. Was on a 35' Wharram cat built by friends of mine. We were able to shut the motor off and sail, while the two 40' mono's we went across in company with were motorsailing the whole time. Great memories of that trip. Of course this boat is in a whole different league!

[@user-vo3ur4wd1s]

I love love it … that’s honestly a great point

[@MuddyDuck...]

Great to see you finally out into the Atlantic Nick, and to hear that Megan is safely back in the States. I loved the split screen feed of this video; showing you, nav info as well as simultaneous sea shots. So more of this raw chat format please (as you don’t have to spend as much time editing). An interesting discussion from your experienced perspective. All I would add is that one’s choice of boat will obviously depend to a large extent on its intended use. But a large performance cat like the Outremer 55 is something of a rare beast (unicorn), as it is capable of both fast coastal racing as well as transatlantic voyages. Anyway enjoy the crossing, hope the trade winds are kind, and look forward to your next update…👍

[@TheOKellys]

Yes, mission first. The 55 does seem to be able to do it all from what I have seen. She will really fly!

[@salliewhite-bishton5394]

Good education piece from your experience on conditions, comfort & speed. For those of us who are the "rocking chair" sailors, it gives us a better understanding of why a lot are going for performance boats. Thanks 👍

[@marcellacruser951]

This was awesome, Mr. Nick! We can almost feel the speed and the boat vibrate and move. Super engaging and a fair analysis by you.

[@TheOKellys]

thanks you

[@patrickmcsweeney5043]

Nick... you the man! Great video! I loved the content and the split screen showing the stats and the boat itself plowing through the waves. I just wished there was a scene of you screaming into the wind! 😂 Safe travels.

[@MichaelrennieG]

Always show your map locations helps following, thanks for the video

[@alanparlane8493]

I found this video very informative thankyou

[@windmolenfarm8030]

Love the presentation of this video with the boat numbers displayed. Agree with your assessment of characteristics of different classes of boats and the caveat you describe of how to get the best of the performance Cat which is NOT just the speed but the options it gives of Light air speed and getting around the worst of the weather and sea states that are uncomfortable through to dangerous. Great filler video and look forward to the next passage video. Sail Safe!

[@gebi4pejo1]

Great video 🎉. Hope Megan’s feeling better soon…

[@DB-hy9wl]

As always reasonable and sensible advice. A performance boat gives you more freedom, including the freedom to sail slower. But if you use it by too much cutting its wings, the additional cost is not worth it.

[@TheOKellys]

Agreed!

[@IgorFrost]

The Outremer 55 dominates as the ultimate performance and comfort catamaran in its price segment 😊 Happy sailing!

[@veryanoynimouse]

Really good analysis and advice. Reminds me of Steve Dashew's approach. Hope you hit those trade-winds soon. Best wishes to Megan.

[@bombadil776]

This 4 screen split with the one-take on a subject works well.

[@crowdfundcrew]

Love the direct video/information. The split screen was great for this type of video. Hope Megan is feeling better and will join you in BVI Donate for a Dream

[@SailingAlaneris]

Great review 👊

[@jeffwatson4908]

A revealing assessment that you do not get to hear often. Thanks for that. Best wishes for Megan.

[@anthonyexton7243]

Get better soon , all the best 💐💐💐

[@thermathome]

Great episode!

[@gavinferguson]

Kudos to even trying a video after a rough few days that took more energy than folks think as you said boat speed relates to crew stamina nice discussion about cat design fair winds and calm sees

[@pb8484]

Looks fun enjoy the ride ⛵️

[@77space-vt8wi]

Very interesting and informative presentation. It always comes down to the basic question "What are you going to use the cat for" Staying in the marina slip 90% of the time maybe racing a little now and then in the local events or cruising the islands dropping the hook every night in. calm cove and visiting the local sights and enjoying sundowners with other live aboard no dagger boards HH cat owners like Jason and Nikki Wynn.

[@johnwelch3938]

Real life I love it. Thank you from OREGON.

[@larssolem2507]

Afaster cat is especially better in ligth wind where you will sail rater than motoring, which by far the most you will encounter. Instrong winds and tough conditions you will obviously reduce sail and still do good time, while being comfortable. In my experiance a fast boat is always better as you reef and sail comfortably fast. Going slow is uncomfortable as the wave conditions "rule" the boat, rather than the boat attack the waves, not agressively but controllably. All this from sailing in a lot of different conditions. And, great to see the instuments and what the boat is doing in the instant conditions. Hope Megan will be at her usual good when you arrive in the US!

[@brianjohnson8967]

Love the 4 panel screen..... I think many of us would like more routing topics videos.... great video... will be interesting to know what your average SOG will be for the crossing....

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

Hey, thanks for the video update and for sharing your thoughts and knowledge. Much appreciated and really interesting . Until next time. 🙂🐿🌈❤️ [sydney australia]

[@benjamindahl8521]

Don’t know if you’re correct, wrong, or in between but great topic and perspective. Thanks for the thoughts.

[@k-ptenflam5508]

Excellent split-screen presentation, Nick. Absolutely fascinating ! 👍Maybe one of the best video on this chanel. Best wishes to Megan, hope she recovers soon. 🩺

[@TheOKellys]

Many thanks!

[@hansvandenbiggelaar8154]

Great video!!

[@jimshaw5450]

Great Video. Jim

[@jeffpiper7147]

Someone once taught me three words that I’ve tried to incorporate into my life as much as possible. Aviate Navigate Communicate so the ride and performance can be altered to suit the captains and crew preference,it seems to me that the performance boat just gives you more options. Thanks Nick for teaching me those words good words to live by.

[@TheOKellys]

Lol, Jeff. I agree, words to live by.

[@lowellmccormick6991]

Excellent video on the fly. Considering that most of the time spent cruising seems to be at anchorage or at a dock, I would choose comfort over speed.

[@arremsea]

Excellant episode.

[@Four_Words_And_Much_More]

A list of comments in order of importance. 1. Megan's experience in catching the bugs - plural - while in public transport is of great value to me personally. I hope she recovers to full health and vigor. I pray for her strength and wellness. 2. You clearly did not study certain sections of physics that some do. Not a lot of physicists know what I am about to share. First and foremost, I am going to take you from the time domain to the frequency and force domain. But I am also going separate the force domains. So onward with letters to differentiate this from what follows. A. The frequency domain can only be understood with complex instrumentation that measures forces in the time domain. This information is then transformed into the frequency domain through very complex math. Some terms are FFT for Fast Fourier Transformation - this is where what you feel as a person gets a useful view from another world. Frequency. The second term is time and space divisions of force. What you experience up and down is very different from left and right and forward and back. The magic of separation of these domains will open your eyes. B. Frequency analysis including the FFT. This gives a clear picture of the frequencies the boat is experiencing. The human is in general not terribly sensitive to different frequencies. A high frequency can be annoying but you quickly adapt. However a low frequency but with a large force can very disturbing as in severe sea sickness. So it is not just frequency but a correlation with force. This is can only be done once the separate analysis have been done and then correlated with subjective human responses. C. The direction of the forces is very important. First, side to side is not all that disturbing. It is like a gentle rocking. Second, forward and back forces above a relatively low level are very disturbing as you see this as a back and forth jerking. Then there is the up and down motion which has its own unique areas of comfort and discomfort. On a trampoline, the up down forces are with very low frequencies and are pleasant. However, if the frequencies increase the level of unease increases rapidly for a given level of up/down force. So the force domain analysis that breaks these complex real world forces is essential to understand what comfortable is. D. It is understanding the human response in the different domains created by set theory where understanding will occur. Lastly, I get it. This is way too much physics for most people. I understand these area of physics because I studied them. I am please to be able to introduce these to you. It will take a lot of instrumentation and analysis to lay out the physics and understand boat motion with human response. This is only a very abbreviated introduction. I only hope that you can understand that physics can settle these questions with certainty. Summary: Your seat of the pants explanations make a lot of sense. But the deep analysis and knowledge needed to bring clarity to understanding is a tough nut. Enjoy your journey. I love hearing your understanding. Nice work.

[@wendywilson9760]

Great video

[@hallgeirholthe9071]

These are very interesting reflections. Bon voyage

[@tomriley5790]

Great video Nick! Very impressed that you pulled it off! Completely agree that just because you could go faster doesn't mean you should/want to in rough conditions. For me the beneift of having a faster performance boat has always been in *avoiding* getting inot the rougher conditions or being safely tied up in more comfort in the dock than stuck out at sea in the storm :-)! The other point is that because you potentially cover more ground quicker you have a longer distance within which the weather predictions remain more reliable and so it becomes relatively easier to route avoiding/selecting weather. Agree if you're sailing short distances or not going to route then a big traditional heavy monohull (a Colin Archer for example) is probably going ot outlast anything else in a hurricane. Poor Megan that's really bad luck! I might suggest masks though (I know this is going to bring a load of abuse)

[@SteveTull]

Im not really convinced to be honest. I've done two Atlantic crossings, one on my old lagoon 421 (where we got in before a Catana 50) and one in my current Saba 50, together with a Pacific Crossing as well as cruising the Med, the Azores, the Caribbean and the Pacific. On most of our passages I've been bbq'ing out the back without a problem. Currently in NZ, which is a tricky place to sail to, but we managed to sail here through periods of light winds. In my 15 years of owning 3 catamarans, I can't think of a time when I've been caught in bad weather because i haven't had a faster boat. The bad weather I've been through is usually because of a "calender" issue! Brent from Cat Impi (a lagoon 440) put together a good video on the same subject in response to similar claims by La Vagabonde and this is well worth watching. I also think talking about comfort at the dock is a bit disingenuous, as you well know most of us cruisers spend the majority of our time at anchor and this is where i really enjoy having a comfortable and roomy cat. Thought I should take the time to respond to give people an alternative view, as its very much an individual decision which way to go.

[@TheOKellys]

Steve, I appreciate your perspective and experience, but respectfully, the video is about comfort underway in various sea states, and if anything dispels claims that performance boats are more comfortable underway in all conditions. I purposely tried not to wake the dragon of the light vs heavier cat “debate” which has somehow supplanted the mono vs cat debate…it devolves into an I know more than you sort of thing, and I have no interest in that. Perhaps it is better framed as a question of speed. How much do you want and need for the kind of sailing you enjoy? Met a chap on a Schionning 1800 at Norsand in Whangarei last year, told me he does NZ to Tonga in five days or less. A boat like that could get up or down without meeting a front pretty easily. Gotta be lucky or use a bit of fuel to make that run without hitting some bumps in a heavier boat. Your Saba has a bit more comfort than that boat, and none of us should judge which is a better choice. As for similar claims as La Vagabond…not familiar with their claims and not making any myself. Tried simply to explain that if you do make speed a priority for whatever reason, you have to understand routing to take advantage of the opportunity to avoid the stinky stuff. If you don’t…because of lack of skill or impatience, your fast boat won’t be so fast as you throttle back to avoid broken ribs or spilled coffee at the very least. The whole thing is a journey of exploration for me, not a debate. Perhaps if I continue in this racket, I’ll end up on a heavy cat. I know a pro Gunboat captain….his personal boat… a Lagoon 421. Cheers.

[@SteveTull]

Thanks for your quick reply. Hope your passage is going well. Its an interesting topic. The run to NZ took us 5 and a half days from Minerva Reef which is a couple of days out of Tonga. There were times we were crawling along at 4kts in light airs. There was a fair bit of planning and for this passage we employed John Martin as a weather router, so I'm not sure you can call it luck - although it turned out to be a great weather window. The video from Cat Impi is at kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKndlWOabt-SbK8si=cNPggOimTSmv9LlR if you are interested. @@TheOKellys

[@usefulcommunication4516]

Excellent point! I've been pondering and researching forever. Getting closer and closer. Been easing away from the big, fat, blue water tank to spacious, modern, nimble yoghurt pot, and this has been an excellent new insight taking me further towards the plastic fantastic. If you're drifting off tropical beaches for 95% of the time, with the odd ocean crossing to get to the next set of beaches, just make sure your crossing is in the lighter winds that the lighter boat can take advantage of. I guess the only reason to get the tank is if you're a pro taking a bunch of paying passengers/crew - like a Kretschmer - and are always on a schedule and you have to blast through the heavy stuff.