How Small Can You Go?

Andrew Bedwell is preparing to cross the Atlantic in a 3'10" sailboat

In May of next year English sailor, Andrew Bedwell, will attempt to sail his way into the record books when he sets off on the 1900-mile voyage between St. Johns, Newfoundland and Cornwall, England in his 3’ 10” boat Big C. If he’s successful, Bedwell’s Big C will be the smallest sailing vessel ever to cross the Atlantic. The current record is held by American, Hugo Vihlen, who made the same remarkable passage aboard his 5’4” craft Father’s Day back in 1993.

Big C—which is only slightly longer than a man’s footstep—was deceased adventurer (and former record holder) Tom McNally’s boat, which Bedwell has since modified significantly.

Big C’s rig is an A-frame mast with dual furling headsails. There are twin rudders for steerage and tank outriggers to add stability, and the tiny craft features a dozen watertight compartments for maximum flotation and safety. The “cabin” features sealable vents (Bedwell can keep the boat fully sealed for about 40 minutes before he suffocates) and there’s a tiny plexiglass bubble dome where Andrew can survey his surroundings and watch for traffic. A full harness will hold him in position when his boat rises and falls in the treacherous open ocean swells.

Electronics onboard include AIS, a VHF, a chartplotter and solar panels. There’s also a hand-crank generator and watermaker, with water stowed in the keel.

Bedwell estimates the crossing will take 90 days as the 1300-pound Big C burbles along at 2.5 knots. While his proposed voyage is audacious, Bedwell is himself an experienced sailor, sailmaker and boat-builder, and his planning appears thoughtful. Naturally we had lots of questions for the intrepid sailor.

Tell us about your boat. What are her specs and how is she constructed?
Big C is just over 1 meter long and constructed in fiberglass with a 12mm foam core.

We always assumed someone would come for Hugo Vihlen’s trans-Atlantic record (5’4” Father’s Day), but we didn’t expect the competition to show up in a boat this much shorter! Why did you go so small?
It’s part of a British tradition—“Let’s not just break it, let’s smash it!”

How else does your boat differ from Vihlen’s Father’s Day?
Obviously being shorter makes Big C different, but it’s also similar in a way. I have an A-frame mast system, which increases strength, but the A-frame means I don’t have a mast section coming inside the vessel. The hull shape is similar, but since we’re so much shorter the proportions are modified, and that has resulted in huge challenges in the way of stability—we need the vessel to heel backwards to counteract the wind, and that’s been a design challenge.

As you know, the micro-cruising cognoscenti like to speculate about whether a particular ocean-crossing micro is a “real” little sailboat that can go to weather, or more of a survival capsule that goes with the current. Which one is Big C? 
Big C is designed to be as strong as possible and it has 12 separate compartments. Being just over a meter long she won’t go upwind, but she’s not designed to either…however we’ve been exceptionally happy with the angle off downwind the vessel will sail to.

How satisfied were you after your maiden shakedown? Any new concerns?
We were quite happy, but we’re in the process of changing some aspects like the keel, since we wanted the weight farther forward and fractionally lower. So we’re working on that now, and later this year we’ll be back out testing.

Tell readers why you chose the name Big C for your tiny boat.
Big C's name came because that’s what Tom McNally was going to call her, so as we carried on with the build to finish it in honor of Tom, we knew we were keeping the name. But in addition, I’m taking some of Tom’s ashes with me to spread on the passage.

Tell us about the route and why it was chosen?
The northern route was chosen, as that’s the same as Hugo Vihlen’s passage, and our voyage, like Vihlen’s, will also be unsupported.

What are you expecting in terms of weather—best and worst case? 
I am expecting in a probable 90-day passage with approximately 20 days of storms where I will be locked inside the vessel with it all sealed down. On good-condition days I’ll be able to open the hatch, and then on perfect days I should even be able to have a swim while attached by lanyard to the vessel.

We understand you’ve done some extensive voyaging in small boats. Can you tell us briefly about your history in that regard? 
I’ve had a fair number of smaller yachts, my first being a Hunter Medina, then through others to include my second Mini Transat. I took most of these vessels on challenging passages, the biggest solo trip being in a prototype Mini Transat from the UK around Iceland and back to raise money for my daughter’s school.

And what did you learn from earlier passages that applies to this one? 
The most important has been that I love solo sailing and the challenge of it, but also that the bit I like the best is a very dark, quite rough night since it focuses you so much. Not many of my sailing friends agree on that last part.

Would you guess your proposed voyage is MORE or LESS dangerous than most people think? 
I’ve tried to play it down a fair bit for family and friends, but of course it’s hugely challenging and could be dangerous. I’m obviously taking as much safety and navigation equipment as possible, but I’m concerned about meeting a ship mid-Atlantic, so we’ll have a strobe on the mast top. Also an AIS transponder as well as a host of other things…so I’m doing as much as I can to be visible both day and night, but that’s my main fear.

Have you consulted with any other small-boat voyagers?
Yes, I’ve spoken to several, but the most important one has been Hugo himself. I’ve also been reading all of Tom McNally’s logs, as his other vessels were similar in design to Big C, only larger.

We have to ask about food stores. Is it true you’ll be eating the walls of your boat as you go?
That got publicized earlier, since I had planned to have an exceptionally light carbon seat, and to stiffen it we thought about molding edible panels into it, but we’ve axed that idea.

How do you expect to pass time during the months-long crossing? 
That’s one of the main problems. I’ll have an e-reader onboard with its own solar panel for charging, but it’s still a huge mental challenge. Fortunately, I’m strong and have been perfectly fine on other offshore passages, along with other land-based challenges.

Small-boat sailing legend Robert Manry once said, "I think one of the great tragedies of life is the fact that young people have many dreams and that when they grow up, colliding with harsh reality, they give up one by one, until they give up all of them. I definitely didn’t want that to happen to me.” Do you feel the same way? What is driving you to set off on this voyage? 
That’s a huge part of it. I want to inspire people to push their own boundaries. They may not want to do a challenge like this, but even if it gets a child to push him or herself a bit more, or encourages a sailor who only ventures out occasionally to try slightly more challenging conditions, that’ll be great…as long as it’s safe for them to do so. I recently went to a primary school, trying to help inspire the students, and a week later I was told they were pushing themselves harder at school, so it’s great to hear those kinds of results.

What has been the reaction from family and friends?
My family and friends know what I am like, and just expect it, but they also know I’ll do whatever I can to make the voyage safe. But linking back to the above question, they love the fact that I’m trying to make other people think “if he can do that, then I can do this.”

Where can readers follow your voyage and maybe help to support you? 
The passage will be fully trackable on our Facebook page 'Big C Atlantic Challenge', as well as on our Instagram page 'Andrew Bedwell'. On the Facebook page people can donate to support us, and we also still have some space on the sails for sponsor logos.