Andrew Bedwell knows big dreams can come in tiny packages. He plans an Atlantic crossing in the 99 cm “Big C,” spending 60 days alone at sea
Next spring, British sailor Andrew Bedwell will attempt to break the record for sailing across the Atlantic, in a boat that’s just 99 cm long. That’s right: 99 cm, or roughly the size of a large suitcase.
Bedwell, 48, will set off from St. Johns, Newfoundland in May and make the perilous 3,058-kilometre crossing to Lizard Point in Cornwall on England’s west coast, hoping to set a new record for the smallest vessel to ever sail across the pond.
“I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy. But all my life I’ve taken on unusual challenges, though this is the ultimate,” Bedwell told Robb Report. He adds: “My wife thinks I’m crazy.”
Bedwell’s goal is to break the record set in 1993 by American sailor Hugo Vihlen in his 163 cm boat Father’s Day. More than 60 cm shorter, his pint-sized craft will be even more spatially challenged for the 183-centimetres-tall Englishman.
“I can just about sleep if I’m curled-up tight. And if I’m sitting upright, the top of my head is just 2.5 cm below the transparent dome that I use to see out of. There’s not much room to move around.”
Restroom facilities? Don’t ask.
There are also 12 watertight compartments—eight inside and four on the outside—to store supplies. Andrew hopes to complete the journey in 60 days, but will carry enough provisions for 90 days at sea. He’ll also have a manual water maker that will fill a 4.9-litre container in the bilge.
To power the yacht’s navigation gear, chart-plotter and radio there are solar panels on the stern, plus a tiny, hand-cranking generator as back-up.
“We’ve designed the boat to survive a Force 10 storm [average wind speeds of 95 km/h] with the hope that it’s just a Force 6 [45 km/h]. For such a small boat, a massive amount of thought and planning has gone into its design.”
In a single-minded focus on using every inch of space, Bedwell’s wife Tracy has concocted a special high-protein dried beef jerky that will line parts of the hull.
“I’ll literally be eating the boat,” he says. “The stuff tastes pretty nasty, but it’s packed with all the nutrients I need. Sadly, there’ll be no room aboard for treats.”
The boat was originally designed by Bedwell’s close friend, fellow micro-yachting enthusiast and trans-Atlantic record-breaker, Tom McNally, who died in 2017 of cancer. In honour of his friend, the little boat is named Big C—also a play on big seas—and next year’s voyage will raise money for Cancer Research.
Bedwell, a sailmaker by trade, isn’t new to sailing big oceans in small boats. In 2016, he single-handedly piloted his 6.4-metre Mini-Transat yacht around the entire coast of Britain. Two years later, he sailed the same tiny vessel to Iceland and into the Arctic Circle.
Bedwell has also set up a GoFundMe account. His progress can be followed through the Facebook page “Big C Atlantic Challenge.”
This story was first published on Robb Report USA
