Preparing Aqualibra for Cape Horn
2 April 2026 · 34 min · 2K views
Aqualibra's cabin interior after a knockdown, scattered items on the floor.
What this video covers
Pete Cullum, owner of Aqualibra, a 1999 Bavaria Yachts 50, describes how he prepared the boat for a 9,000-mile passage from Panama around Cape Horn to Porto Williams, Chile, then onward to Cape Town, South Africa — 32 days to Cape Horn and 23 days Cape Horn to Cape Town, non-stop.Watch Hull preparation came first: seacocks replaced four years prior, standing rigging and rudder bearings replaced seven years prior, keel bolts checked and re-tightened.10:16 A second fully independent autopilot — a Brooks and Gatehouse T3 hydraulic ram rated to 80,000 lbs paired with a NAC 3 brain — was installed alongside the original Whitlock/Raymarine system.18:29 A Watt & Sea Cruising 600 hydrogenerator mounted on the stern transom supplied 8–30 amps underway; the engine was never run for power generation.7:42 The boat carries a 115-sq-ft storm jib and an in-mast roller-furling mainsail, which Pete defends as reliable and capable of infinite incremental reefing, eliminating the need for a storm trysail.14:27 A drogue with 600 feet of one-inch Dacron line was carried for pitch-pole risk and potential Tierra del Fuego katabatic anchoring; it was never deployed.23:01 Pete frames preparation against the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations Category 0 standard and recommends it as a blueprint for any serious offshore passage.21:33
Boats in this video
More from Lucky Pete Sailing AQUALIBRA
From Lucky Pete Sailing AQUALIBRA — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.