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Real Ocean Catamaran Sailing | A Day in the Life – Sailing Florence Ep.203
April 11, 2025 · 27 min · 71K views
What this video covers
A crew sailing a Leopard 44 catamaran across the Atlantic Ocean manages a 3,000-mile passage without a functional autopilot.Watch The failure forces the four-person crew to maintain a continuous hand-steering watch, limiting individual shifts to two hours to manage fatigue and concentration.1:30 The vessel lacks electronic wind instruments, relying instead on a visual flag and a compass for navigation.9:43 A chart plotter with an internal GPS frequently loses its position fix and triggers false alarms, leading the crew to disable it in favor of a laptop-based backup system.9:50 For weather routing and data, the crew utilizes a Starlink maritime package, which provides faster connectivity and larger-scale weather file downloads compared to their previous Iridium Go setup.18:59 The catamaran’s stability allows for easier movement, cooking, and laptop work compared to the crew’s 37-foot monohull, Florence.12:20 The crew monitors squalls using GRIB files and maintains a cautious reefing strategy, particularly when approaching the Caribbean.20:17 Hand-steering remains necessary for all maneuvers, including fishing and sail adjustments.13:56
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