Hi Graham, 

my view is the answer is 'no'.  would not recommend.   

from your question, it's not clear what sailing experience you have or what your current boating experience is and type of craft you take on this journey currently.

candidly, its not just about the boat, but your overall risk management approach and how you would determine if the current conditions (wind, sea state, current, etc) plus forecast plus margin for error would leave you comfortable in a craft like this.   other factors that effect the calculus are ability to summon help, are you sailing with other boats of more conservative capabilities in close proximity etc....

its pretty clear that conditions out there can easily acheive a state that can easily overwhelm a craft like this (large open/floodable cockpit, low freeboard, relatively untunable sail system, short length and absence of high righting moments, low speed potential...etc) making you dependent on very effective risk management and superior sailing skills....or others for rescue....and for that reason alone...i would (for me) rule it out.

my experience, fwiw, is years of onshore and coastal sailboat racing and cruising experience on the northeast coast of the USA and a fair part of the european coast lines.   i tend to lean to the conservative side, but i would want something bigger and of a different design phlilosophy and ruggedness if i was planning on being 15 miles offshore.

h

hi...Graham again.

wish there was an edit feature. 

the thing i wanted to add is that 15 miles offshore is really considered ocean conditions.....and while you can take a coastal boat out to the ocean, usually you would stay within site of a shore if you aren't really ocean-going. 

15 miles is not generally considered within site of shore (10 miles is sort of the accepted guide). 

most reputable sources are going to recommend a sturdy, well built, ocen style sailboat of length 30 to 40 feet as sort of the minimum range for comfortable ocean work.   and this comports to my sentiment about the smallest thing i would want to be in if i was getting into a boat where my goal was to be 15 miles out in this part of the east coast.   it also comports to my experience of what the bare boat rental agencies will have in their inventory for coastal cruising in cruising grounds where you may get this far off shore.

h  

   I live in NC and sailed a 33' Yawl for years here. Do you intend to travel to the Outer Banks via the Sound for example? That could be a 5-15 mile journey, stay in Ocracoke overnight and do some fishing. Fun!

Or do you plan to truly sail offshore 10-15 miles. Even the huge cargo ships we see from the beach are 2-3 mile out. 

I agree with hispra. 

Dean

Where would you be sailing out of?  Could make a difference.

.....Michael