Crossing the Coral Sea from Vanuatu to Australia - Sailing Greatcircle (ep.296)

Victor and I are sailing 1150 miles across the ocean towards Mackay where we are going to be hauled out for new antifouling
Oh before I forget, Marijke has arrived in Mackay as well so of course her voice will guide you through the next episodes again…

[@phillippurdy5893]

WoW! Great SOG, 11+ SOG w/ AWS in the 13s! The drone scene was fantastiche !! One of the best sailing vids for 2023, Great Circle! Congrats!!!

[@zzzxxzzz3248]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AhmedYoussef-kd9nc]

Erik, your videos are outstanding - I struggle to watch other sailing videos now. I just binge watched all your solo vids. Keep it up, please??

[@CatGreatcircle]

Well in that case you might be busy for a while! Have fun from Cape Town, Mark & Marijke

[@alfreddaniels3817]

Beautifull footage and great editing. 👍👍

[@laurence9695]

You are arriving at night AGAIN!!! Incredible!

[@CatGreatcircle]

Looked like a super easy approach but again you see how much easier things are in the light

[@m.lugert9597]

We really love to watch your videos - they give us lots of inspiration for our own plans with Nxt Lvl (Lagoon 39). Your videos are so well done and cut and those where you have some commentary are even better to enjoy.

[@CatGreatcircle]

Did you see our L39 videos as well? We had an amazing year on that boat too

[@dietmarbecker8297]

excellent episode

[@keseltje]

Was weer een hele leuke en interessante episode,dank!

[@benskai2475akurfishing]

Greetings from Indonesia, seniors, healthy greetings always

[@louithefly63]

Missed seeing you on the water by a couple of days. Delivered a boat from Hervey Bay to the Whitsunday Islands and passed Mackay Friday morning. Safe travel and enjoy your adventure

[@CatGreatcircle]

We probably passed each other as we’re in Whitehaven now

[@Steve-qn8gn]

This cat flies

[@jonbeecroft4912]

Hey Guys I know these are behind real time but welcome to Australia the place i call home please enjoy it and what we have to offer

[@CatGreatcircle]

Not a lot behind normally but having trouble keeping up with all the experiences we’re having here

[@RGF56]

First time seeing your channel thanks for the content. It was very interesting to see this crossing in a performance cat V an "Expedition Cat" like Zatara for example. Also very comforting to see Bio Security doing their due diligence to keep pest and diseases that could decimate our agricultural industry at the border. What country is next ? Enjoy Australia .

[@venomguysydney]

I have never been on a cat when it rounded up like that, must have been a lot of wind and sail up

[@SVSeaChange]

You left Nuku Hiva a week before I arrived last year, and no way I could catch up with you, although I met quite a few of your buddies, like Loly. I really appreciate your videos this season from New Caledonia and Vanuatu as that is where I am headed later this season. But I have to wonder about your obsession with keeping your boat sailing as fast as possible. I understand it is a very expensive performance cat, but then once again you end up arriving at night (I am sailing solo with a lot less experience, so I always would heave to and wait for light in that situation). But I was also relieved to see even a big cat like yours gets the stern slewed around around by passing waves, at 5:15. Happens to my little monohull with every wave!

[@CatGreatcircle]

We like to think ourselves that we’re focused on the ultimate combination of comfort, looks and sailing characteristics 🤣 When in LGM at the start of the rally our sister ship Saga was 8 cm more out of the water so it’s clear that performance isn’t our only priority That wave under Santo in Vanuatu was a first, really nasty cross waves over there. Don’t envy you if you’re being tossed around like that the whole time 😎

[@m.ancelmo8731]

Vocês produzem imagens fantásticas. Entretanto a edição deixa um pouco a desejar. Mas aprecio muito seus vídeos.

[@CatGreatcircle]

Muito obrigado!

[@ninjaturtletravels]

Really doesn’t make fun to see how GC behaves with the waves at the beginning. I’m ready to proof that the Indian Ocean will be more relaxed 😂 Great Video again Markymark!

[@CatGreatcircle]

South of Espírito Santo we probably had the most annoying waves in 20.000 miles with this boat. Not even that big but really unfriendly

[@bencompton799]

Absolutely love all your videos but wish the sound was more balanced. I watch while on the treadmill and have to continuously jump on and off because now the sound is too loud and soon after it's too low. Maybe my Apple AirPods are too sensitive, but it seems something that could be adjusted fairly easily in editing. Please don't take this as a criticism, I LOVE your adventures and offer this only as a suggestion. Thank you.

[@CatGreatcircle]

I can only tell you it’s not easy at all. Apart from the recording quality, the biggest problem seems to be getting different feedback from people using different devices. Elisa is even helping by giving feedback on a preview on her treadmill in Austria

[@TheRaptor1967]

WTF was that in the first 30 seconds of the vid? Someone jumping to their death??? Why was that included? Whats going on? Please explain.

[@CatGreatcircle]

Watch the previous episode mate 🤣

[@chriskidzz]

main is over powering jib. reef down main will solve turning into the wind.

[@CatGreatcircle]

Yes very true, that’s pretty much what we explained in this video

[@mosca3289]

Crickets calling at 15:25!

[@CatGreatcircle]

Hope they’re in the background music 🙈

[@scarletbegonias2359]

Who came up with the name of your boat? I know what a Great Circle is, what I want to know is when did you decide on this name? It's perfect, really.

[@CatGreatcircle]

It’s from the time we were flying and we started a new company. Marijke came up with the name for the company and the company sponsored our second cat, the first Greatcircle

[@Coleen_West]

I don't understand why it keeps turning sideways... What is causing that? Looks dangerous. Was a rudder broken?

[@CatGreatcircle]

Just the really nasty waves south of the main island of Vanuatu lifting the back of the boat. Worse than we just encountered on the Indian Ocean. Not dangerous but not comfortable either

[@Coleen_West]

@@CatGreatcircle ..interesting. Sorry for all these questions.. I have heard, but never seen, of mono-haul sailboats doing an "unintended gybe" or "rounding up". Is that what happened when the boat turned like that? Did you have the boards in the fully down position? Would this have happened on a "blue water" sailboat like an Hallberg Rassy 54 or an Amel Super Maramu or something like that? Just really surprised by this.

[@tinadedekind5257]

Hi and welcome to Australia. Are you coming down to Mooloolaba? It's beautiful here, you should ❤😊

[@CatGreatcircle]

I’m afraid our route is up and then to the left again

[@williammalvers2780]

No lifejacket while on deck?

[@CatGreatcircle]

Only at night or in rough circumstances

[@thomasthomas001]

: )

[@robertlaird6746]

Having your full main up and a small self tacking job makes your cat want to head to weather and puts much strain on your auto helm. That's why I don't like the self tacking jib. The boat isn't balanced with your set up.

[@CatGreatcircle]

Which Outremer do you have as ours keeps sailing straight in medium conditions even if the autopilot goes on standby. Don’t think you can generalise the balance of a cat across all brands and models.

[@robertlaird6746]

@@CatGreatcircle I'm building a Mumby but have had a Tornado catamaran that did the same thing so I switched to Nacra catamarans. I was almost going to build a Schionning Arrow 1360 like the boat called Duet but ended up falling in love with the Mumby design. I couldn't afford the Outremer but was looking at it. The Outremer has to many luxuries that add weight which wasn't for me but it's a very nice looking boat. I don't believe that Outremer offers plans so I didn't pursue that design otherwise I probably would have. The dry weight of my boat will end up being about 6.1 tones which is very light and I think the lightest design you can get currently.

[@CatGreatcircle]

I’m way too clumsy to build my own boat, even from an existing design. You should be really fast 10 tonnes lighter than our full weight including water and fuel

[@robertlaird6746]

@@CatGreatcircle Yes, I know. Lightweight and simple is what I want. It's a sailors catamaran made out of aluminum. Sailing Life on Jupiter has one and Sailing into Freedom is building the new design. I haven't purchased the plans yet but was going to till Sailing into Freedom posted his new Tim Mumby design that I fell in love with. The Cyber 48 was the original Tim Mumby design and now he has the Odisea 48. Odisea Catamarans. I've heard that the plans will be available early 2024 and that's when I'm going to start the build.