UK to Australia

[Caylie]

Hi all, My husband and I are about to buy a yacht which will become our new home and take us back to Australia over the course of a year starting in April. We're looking at a 1986 Jeanneau 41- has anyone got any experience of the 80s Jeanneaus?

We have got lots of books, and are doing sailing courses all over the place, and plan to be well prepared- this web site is great for tips and explanations, and no doubt, I'll be posting questions here and there.

We are going to leave in April 2006, spending 6 months through the Med, then joining the 2006 ARC over to the Caribbean. After a few months there, we'll then head thru the Panama and then the Pacific to Australia. VERY excited, VERY scared, and VERY confident that we have made the right decision. The London bombings shook us up, and galvanised us into action to live our lives with the most control we could. Together with the weather and our boat, we will be the masters of our own destiny!

Nice to meet you all and I look forward to reading more and being part of this new community.

Welcome aboard and feel free to ask as MUCH as you like - the more the merrier. There are some really knowledgable members here that will always be happy to pass on their knowledge of the subject.

Feel "at home"

Fair winds.

[JeanneP]

Hi, Caylie. Peter and I cruised on WATERMELON, a Jeanneau Sun Fizz that we stretched an additional 3 feet. Our was built in 1981, and is still going strong out in SE Asia where we sold her several years ago (so we could go over to the "dark side" of power cruising).

For sailing, check out our web page, www.cruiser.co.za/hostmelon.asp

There's not as much on the Caribbean as on the S. Pacific and SE Asia, but it's got some good pictures (especially of hurricane damage :0)).

Also, my cruising dictionary is now available as a free e-book. http://www.cruisingconnections.co.za/ebooks.htm

or, to post questions, go to the original site, http://www.cruiser.co.za/faq.asp

or ask them here!

This forum has nice people contributing. No question is treated as too foolish, so ask away!

Fair winds,

Jeanne

[Caylie]

Thanks very much Jeanne, I have had a good look at your web page and love the dictionary! Very useful! Appreciate the feedback and the welcome.

Kind regards

Caylie

[Jack Tyler]

Kaylie, Jeanne will know much more about Jeanneaus than I will learn, but I do recall a lengthy discussion with a German skipper about his late-80's Jeanneau 40 or 41. He'd sailed it up to Norway 17 times when I'd met him, and he explained that Jeanneaus back then offered the customer to spec additional strengthening with Kevlar if they desired. His boat was in excellent condition (not uncommon up there, with their short seasons and fastidious nature), as well. That experience left me with the impression that, if I was shopping for a Jeanneau, I would try to find one with the Kevlar reinforcement.

Good luck on the big adventure. And given your cruising plans, I would strongly encourage you to obtain a copy of the SSCA's CD of the last 10 years of their Bulletins, which each month are full of letters from fellow cruisers all over the world. It's a very useful source of information on all things cruising-related, is inexpensive, can be easily, very specifically searched using Adobe Reader, and takes no room to store. Visit www.ssca.org to learn more about the organization. Joining is inexpensive and you can obtain your monthly Bulletins on-line rather than by snail mail, a good feature for cruising folks like us. Also consider using their Discussion Board just as you are using this one; very experienced people are onboard there. http://ssca.org/sscabb/index.php

Jack

[Swagman]

Hi Kylie,

We've a couple of pals out of Perth WA who sailed their mid 80's Sunshine from Freo up via Indonesia, India, Suez to the med.

The boats still there - and they pop out and back to Oz - but no issues I heard of in over 10 years of cruising her.

Good luck - sure you'll nejoy the trip.

JOHN