Ericson 27, over 15,000 ocean miles
Andrew Urbanczyk sailed an Ericson 27, over 15,000 ocean miles - including a voyage from San Francisco to Japan and back.
A letter from Andrew Urbanczyk from Latitude 38 Letters - August 2000 in response to a article that said the E-27 is not a great sailing boat
https://www.latitude38.com/letters/200008.htm
NOT A GREAT SAILING BOAT?!
I never growl. Not even when - it just happened - UPS needed 14 days to deliver my express mail to Europe. I do not boil. Not even if the doors of a restaurant with a big sign reading 'Open', are closed. I do not call a lawyer if somebody, instead of paying me $2,200 as he should, asks me to pay him $4,400. But this time I must object, because I have an obligation to object!
In the July issue of 'Cruising World' magazine, there is an extensive article about small, used boats. On page 52 it evaluates the Ericson 27 by saying, "This isn't a great sailing boat . . ."
I could object on the grounds that in 1980 'Latitude' published an eight-page article titled 'Ericson 27, Class Act,' giving the boat an excellent review.
I could object on the grounds that at the time there were about 100 proud and happy Ericson 27 owners on San Francisco Bay alone. There was even a class association and it had been a one design racing class.
But I will object on that grounds that I singlehanded 'Nord III', an Ericson 27, over 15,000 ocean miles - including a voyage from San Francisco to Japan and back. I made the return voyage non-stop in 49 days, which was listed in the 1980 edition of the 'Guinness Book of World Records'. I later singlehanded 'Nord IV' an Ericson 30+, around the world.
Only Poseidon, the god of all seas, knows how many Ericson 27s are still alive. However, I believe that we - owners and ex-owners - share respect and maybe even admiration for these brave little boats. Brothers-in-sails, three cheers for the Ericson 27, for we know better than 'Cruising World'!
Andrew Urbanczyk
Montara
Andrew - The validity of the 'Cruising World' claim boils down to what they mean by a "great sailing boat". If they mean speed around a race course, they've got a point, as the Ericson 27 gets a significant amount of time in most PHRF fleets from similar size and similar era boats built by Cal and Catalina, to name just two. The Ericson seems to have suffered - in terms of pure speed - from an overly rounded bottom, an inefficient keel, and limited sail area.
But if "great sailing" means an ability to carry on in pretty rough weather at a reasonable pace, we think you proved that with your boat. So did Vito Bialla in the first Singlehanded Farallones Race, when he sailed his Ericson 27 over most of the course in 45 knots and more of wind, a race in which a number of boats were dismasted and at least one multihull was flipped. We had a small interest in an Ericson as our first boat, and thought it looked nice, sailed reasonably well, and had quite a bit of interior space.
This was from Ocean Navigator back in 2002 although the link does not seem to work anymore.
http://www.oceannavigator.com/January-February-2003/Redwood-raft-to-sail-from-California-to-Japan/
Redwood raft to sail from California to Japan
What is it with Northern Europeans and their raft expeditions? Andrew Urbanczyk, a Polish-American with some 100,000 miles of sailing to his credit, most of which is single-handed, has departed on a proposed 12,000-nm, round-Pacific cruise aboard a redwood raft. Urbanczyk's raft is built of seven 40-foot logs and has three sails that total 500 square feet in area.
"Everything is in order, and we are excited about the adventure," Urbanczyk proclaimed a few days before departure from Santa Cruz, Calif., in September. He had recently completed his shakedown voyage from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz and was confident that the trip, with three comrades, would proceed smoothly. He plans to sail to Japan, some 6,000 nm from the California coast, with help from the North Equatorial Current and the northeast trades, and then proceed back to the United States via the prevailing northwesterlies and the Japanese current.
The raft is powered only by wind and electrical power, supplied by solar panels. Rain water will be gathered in buckets for drinking and washing. Waste will reportedly be burned in a "garbage crematory," a source of heat that will be used to cook meals.
The 66-year-old Urbanczyk has sailed alone around the world in a 30-foot Ericson, achieved a record-breaking crossing of the Pacific in an Ericson 27, and sailed at the age of 21 across the Baltic Sea in a raft. He has a Ph.D. in world single-handed sailing, 1876-1993. He is in no hurry to complete his latest voyage, he said. "It may take a year; it may take eternity!"
The Raft Transpacific Expedition, based in Montara, Calif., has received sponsorship assistance from Davis Instruments, North Sails and Big Creek Lumber. *
More about Andrew: http://translate.google.com/transla...zej_Urba%C5%84czyk_(%C5%BCeglarz)&prev=search
And this. Not sure if he ever did complete that last expedition, but i'm guessing so:
http://www.hmbreview.com/raft-rider...cle_6faa95db-41e4-5fb2-a6df-00ddc9d32b80.html
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/artic...yage-across-Pacific-2776395.php#photo-2200436