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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/09/2005 : 21:19:58

For those of you that asked I keep telling the stories....

TU (trip update) (I'll add some photo's later....)

Hobby horsing----a sleigh ride----TOTAL silence.

It's Monday night, and I'm about sixty miles SE of Charleston, SC, heading SW skirting the inside edge of the Gulf Stream. So far this second trip to Fort Lauderdale from the Chesapeake has been a mixed blessing. High pressure has provided me with stable weather, but winds have been mostly out of the South West. (Murphy was a sailor). After an almost all motor run down the Bay to Norfolk I dropped off Ed, the "Bay Crew", and refueled. Now single handed, I went right back out, across the tunnel and I've been outside ever since, including a no-stress-under-sail rounding of Diamond Shoals. But just like on the Bay there's also been a lot of motoring and motor sailing, and hobby horsing.....4 knots, five knots whoa uuuupp.......doooowwwwn BOOM...3 knots, four knots, five knots uuuuup......I hate that. Slowing down a little helps some, but then it takes longer…..
This morning, Monday, at 4am about 30nm west of Frying Pan Shoals, I was motor sailing in a 10-15 knot South West by Westerly, about twenty degrees off the starboard bow. Falling off and sailing would have put me in the wrong-way Gulf Stream...plus for these trips I have a rule that says to always keep it aimed in the direction you want to go, and keep it moving....don't try to second guess what the wind is going to do. Then at about 4am it backed to a close reach. I rolled out the genny for the umpteenth time (my hands are sore in spite of the wussy sailing gloves I'm wearing) and for the next twelve hours I had an unbelievably awesome ride. Flat water, (ocean wise speaking) and SOG hovering between 7 and 8 knots.....Heeee-haaa!!!
But now that's over. After another spectacular sunset it is dead, and I mean dead. Zip, zero, nothing. Aside from a long, gentle swell coming in from "out there" the ocean is flat. Its surface is shiny as glass. I've lowered the sails, for there is one thing I hate more than hobby horsing.....and that is roooolllll, SPLAP......rooooolllllllll SLAP.....plus it's hell on the rig. The sky is clear and the moon and the brightest of the stars reflect in mile long strings of christmas lights. (Amazing what you see without light pollution...) I'm leaving a wake I can see for a mile back, as I'm motoring again, but slowly, stretching every gallon, for I do not have enough to motor all the way to the next sensible fuel stop, in Jax or St. Augustine, and doldrums seems to be a nightly afair this year. I could make a hard right and head for Charleston or Savannah, but that would add at least a day to the trip, and I would burn much of the fuel I'd buy getting back on track.....
Just for grins and giggles I shut the motor down. Lady Kay rolls gently and I try to silence all the onboard noises. I can hear the ball rolling in a Sailkote spray can, the rolling silverware drawer organizer, lines clanging on the mast, the needle in the wind direction gauge. I get most of them , but not all the little creaks. It is a boat after all. I sit in my helm seat and listen. There is no noise from the ocean. Then, several times for ten seconds or so, Lady Kay sits on the swells just right and stops rolling. And it is silent....completely and totally silent. I do not recall ever having been somewhere outside where there was no perceivable sound whatsoever….there's always something, a rustling leaf, a car in the distance....but here there is no one and nothing, a complete and total lack of noise. I hold my breath.....it is awesome. And, ironically, I am still moving in the right direction at about a half a knot, compliments of a favorable eddie off the Gulfstream. According to the GPS we will arrive in St. Augustine December fifth of this year.....
Then it's over. I hear an engine running on the horizon. Radar says it belongs to a big ship twenty miles away. Overhead in the sky there are three military airplanes engaged in what looks like an in flight refueling. (I know there's military operation air space overhead, it's always "Sorry, its active right now." when I want to go through it.) I fire up the motor and start cutting through the glass at about four knots.....slightly less than half a tank, 165nm to go...I will HAVE to do some sailing somewhere.....

More sleigh riding----new tricks (for me)

I have a very peaceful night of low RPM motoring, few traffic alarms from the radar, and thus lots of good fifty minute napping. I have a sleeping bag in the cockpit inside a nylon cover bag to keep the moisture out. It is all quite comfortable... A cooking timer goes off every hour so I can record position, course and speed, as well as check on auto pilot and radar. If needed, I can start a DR with a known position less than an hour old. By 5.30am there is a 5-10 knot breeze out of the North West and we're doing 4 or so knots. After another spectacular sunrise, the am call to the Admiral, and breakfast, I decide to put up the reacher...gennaker....a-symmetrical....whatever you want to call it. (I know those are not the same, but I'm still not sure what I have.) The seller said it was an a-symmetrical, and I got a good deal. But it is always in the way down below, and will only fly with the wind just aft of the beam, and well forward of a dead run....and becomes a hand full if the wind goes over 15 knots. Also, it's a surefire way to change the wind by putting it up. Still, I go for it.....with Luther Allison cranking "Little Red Rooster" from below it fills, and the speed jumps up to between five and seven.......Oddly the wind doesn't notice and stays right in it's corner at ten to 15 knots. The boat is well balanced like this, and the undersized tiller pilot has very little trouble keeping up......life is good
Did you know it takes 1.8 Ah @ 12V to make a medium brown toast? Of course perfect never lasts... As the wind goes aft, four hours later, the main starts blocking the chute and it starts collapsing.......right up there with hobby horse and SLAP! in my book.... Ideally I need a pole to bring the tack of the chute to windward, and use it as a symmetrical......but that needs some hardware. Also, I don't like having the main up dead downwind. Beyond 45 degrees boom out it easily hits the aft swept spreaders, with the resulting chafe. So I drop the main, and the chute behaves instantly. Then I try poling the jib out to windward....this works, quite well as a matter of fact......once again boat speed is up and the autopilot is settling down. It's almost a benefit of having a marginal auto pilot: it forces you to keep the boat in trim.....
I have a "No bare feet on deck rule." Wonder how many more times I have to hit my toes on a chain plate or fairlead before I stop forgetting about that rule....It hurts you know....Oh, and I also have to stop banging my head into the ships bell.....it creates a terrible ringing.

Breakage----Me? Officer, me?----Dolphins with a sense of humor.

Meanwhile the wind went past the stern to the North East, and it was time to gybe the whole show up there. Seas had built a little and we were starting the roly-poly…….The operation was not quite the success. I'll save you the gory details, lets suffice to say that I'm in the market for a new claw on the (mast)end of my already battered whisker pole (2-1/2").....(last year I folded it, and it went from telescoping to shorter and fixed.....) Ironically Chichester does the same to his poles on Gipsy Moth V.....what is it with these things? Anyway, we're down to the chute, no jib or main. Still doing 4-5 though. If the wind keeps going to the East I can add the main again. Then again, very little of what the weather people have been spouting regarding winds has been accurate over the last few days.
While this is going on I'm being passed by a warship....oh, 200 or 250 feet long, doing a "Oil prices? Screw oil prices! It’s only tax money!" 40 knot cruise, very impressive to see. As he is abeam I hear on the VHF below:....."Sailing vessel in position blah blah this is warship of your port bow, you are violating a security zone blah blah blah....." That sounded close to where I am.... I am "WHAT?" 100 miles off shore? You know I try to comply with all this security stuff, but I just can’t keep up…..I’m sorry….don’t shoot me please!! So I pick up the radio and reply....but he doesn't reply back and restates, several times the original message. Now I'm confused. Then he says: "Sailing vessel, I am off your port bow, a you are on my port bow......" No you're not" I think....."wait a minute. This guy is not slowing down.....he is not the one talking and no one is talking to me". Then they repeat the lat/long and it's a few miles down the road... That's why I got no reply, I was never heard by the original talker. I heard them because they have bigger power VHF than I'm allowed to have. Bet the boys on the bridge of the one that passed me figured it out and had a good laugh....
These dolphins have to stop sneaking up on me……especially at night. They know exactly where my field of vision is. One quietly comes up behind me, then surfaces and "whooosh"….upon which I launch out of my seat…….then they all come up and have a good laugh…..

The rock and roll….. (Get me OUTAHERE!)-----

Tuesday afternoon……I’ve been back and forth a few times whether to indeed go to St. Augustine or not. For a while I was aiming for Ponce de Leon inlet…..then I was keeping on keeping on for the shoal at Cape Canaveral. I’m down to no more motoring, unless it is to go in to get fuel. I hate to waste the time diverting. I know it’s not a race, but it’s not a vacation either. More like a delivery. And it’s my nature to keep moving. Aim it where you want to go and keep on trucking. But the decision has been made for me. I had to get away from where I was….the rolling was getting out of hand. Two wave systems 2 to 4 feet each at almost right angles to each other, in combination with light winds make life impossible. It’s like a giant pool with 200.000.000 kids in it! The boat rolls back and forth, 15 to 20 degrees to either side of plumb, frequently for 10 or so rolls, and occasionally hits 25 degrees. The damn stove is hitting the stops…..Screw the wing, give me a fin!!! No combination of sails stops it, all they do is they slap violently. The whole rig shudders. Even when I am down to a handkerchief sized jib, just to make steerage, it is whacking so bad I thought it will rip. I wonder if it is my proximity to the stream. I remember it from last year, but we had a lot more wind to power through. Still, we rolled pretty bad for three days, and that’s how we broke the whisker pole and ripped the boomvang off the mast. Also saw it near the coast by Miami, near the stream. I need to get to the bottom of this. If there is a way to stay out of it I need to find out.
Meanwhile I’ve fired up the motor and am heading for St. Augustine…..Get me out of this stuff…it’s maddening….like a non stop wake from a mega stinkpot….aaarggh!!
Wednesday, 2am. Once again the place is glass, and very humid and hazy. Very cool, but weird. The wind waves have died, but the swell from the east is still there. The rolling has gotten less severe, finally, but not gone away. I’m motoring along at 4 knots to stretch the fuel. It’s going to be close. I wonder if, like cars, boat fuel gauges have a few secret gallons reserve built in, for idiots like me….
I can see the glow of Jacksonville over the horizon. 30nm to go to St. Augustine. Time for a 2am egg sandwich. I’ll be arriving at slack or early incoming tide. I remember the current in the inlet being pretty hefty at the end of the flows. Motored out there in my 250 with almost full power doing 1-2 over the ground. That would make for a 4-5 knot rip…not good for fuel efficiency if I’m going against it. STOP THIS ROLLING….
Oh great, some a-hole is broadcasting music on 16. After five days at sea I must start mentally preparing myself to deal with humans again. I’m not sure I’m ready …..time for a nap.
At about 4am a breeze picks up from the North. The rolling is almost gone. I raise the sails and get a pleasant 2.5 to 3 knots going. Now it’s 7.30 and the inlet is 10 miles ahead…..Sunrise was spectacular as always. Suddenly the world disappears in a Maine style pea soup fog…..surprise! Fortunately the bank is off shore and two miles later someone lifts a curtain and "LAND HO!!!"
BEEP…"You have three new messages"….hmm that’s not bad!! Guess that means I can post this…..What do you mean I’m not authenticating? Here we go again, back in the game……AAARRRGGHH!

St. Augustine is 6 miles.....

Fort Lauderdale 250.......

Captain Oscar, USCG/OUPV ATP/737-757-767
C42 # 76 "Lady Kay" (Ex. C-30 #681, Ex. C250 WB #618 )
Georgetown MD/Fort Lauderdale FL

Edited by - Oscar on 11/12/2005 09:16:00

sailorman
1st Mate

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USA
69 Posts

Response Posted - 11/09/2005 : 22:41:36

Well, I see standing night watch is getting to you. Wish I had the chance to do the same. Thanks for the posting. We who are land- locked really appreciate the descriptive post. "We are all poets in the night". Thanks

Edited by - on

Ben
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USA
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Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 07:56:08

Loved it!

Thanks Oscar.

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byh2os
1st Mate

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USA
32 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 08:24:11

You paint a great picture. Bill

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 08:27:13

Wow, what a great trip report! Thanks Oscar, you write well. Since my boat is only a C-25 and not designed for offshore passages, I don't suppose I will ever be making a trip like yours, so reading about them is the best I can expect. Just wondering, with your flying schedule how often will you get to spend time on your boat while it is in Ft. Lauderdale? Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 09:13:16

Thanks Oscar for taking us along with you. I enjoyed the trip especially the ball rolling about in the Sailcoat can, Lord that's quiet.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
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Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 09:41:21

I'm jealous... T-minus 4 years and counting to my cruising career.
Very nice account.. keep 'em coming.

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OJ
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USA
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Response Posted - 11/10/2005 : 10:59:49

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Oscar
. . . I hear on the VHF below . . . bet the boys on the bridge had a good laugh....
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This reminds me of the following by Frank Koch in Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute.

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light bearing on the starboard bow."
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out.
Lookout replied "Steady, captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."
Back came a signal, "Advisable you change course 20 degrees."
The captain said, "Send, I am a captain, change course 20 degrees."
"I am seaman second class" came the reply, "you had better change course 20 degrees."
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send, I am battleship, change course 20 degrees."
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse."
We changed course.

Edited by - OJ on 11/10/2005 11:00:53

Ray Seitz
Captain

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USA
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Response Posted - 11/11/2005 : 06:55:00

Thanks Oscar for keeping us updated. Lots of cool info and reflections.

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Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2005 : 10:35:25

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Since my boat is only a C-25 and not designed for offshore passages, I don't suppose I will ever be making a trip like yours<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Don't sell yourself short...a 25 went around the world. OK, it's not ideal, but properly equipped and with a respectful eye on the weather there's a lot of challenging coastal sailing you can do.

Part---2

Speed auction----EMERGENCY!----

Into St. Augustine at 9am and tied up at the Conch House Marina. After the fuel delivery truck arrived, an hour later, I took on 40 gallons of diesel and enjoyed a real shower. Back out at 1pm. A light Easterly brings leisurely sailing in the general direction of the shoals East of Cape Canaveral, then sunset, then glass. (again…) Once again I’m motoring (faster this time, I have fuel a plenty), and thanks to lack of any commercial activity, enjoy some good napping. But there is a sense of change. A cold front is anticipated to come through, and at 3 am the wind starts picking up and shifting to the west….. My, and Lady Kay’s, favorite point of sail: 60 degrees off the bow!! For the thirtieth or so time in a week I hoist and unfurl the canvas and am currently enjoying another pristine ride…. Relatively flat water and speed! "I’ve got 5 and a half, five and a half, let me hear five point six, THERE, five point six, I’ve got five point six, let me hear, five point eight, I’ve got…six! I’ve got six, I’ve got six let me see those numbers….is there a six point one? Six point one I have six point one….let me hear six point two, I’ve got six point two…." So far the bidding is at 6.2, but the wind is supposed to increase. Heeling is too, as we speak, let me go look…..nope, false alarm, only 6.1 We’re crunching out miles though. The wind is supposed to pick up this morning and stay at or behind the beam for the rest of the trip….. Fort Lauderdale is 168nm as the crow flies (do ALL crow’s fly in a straight line?)…..time to get out dividers and parallel rulers and thread a nice course through the shoals and around the NASA security zone. The "safe" way around the buoys adds a lot of unnecessary miles. Hope they don’t drop any launch debris on my head….. Sing it Janice. Beep beep, we’ve got company. A commercial fisherman. Just realized they don’t do pots down here…sure is nice not being in a mine field all the time. Time for another twenty in the sleeping bag.
6.4 You know you’re living right when you wake up for a course change, and the wind went aft in the last twenty minutes, and all you have to do is hit the auto pilot button a few times and leave the sails where they are!! - 6.8 - I can tell it’s going to be a blast today. NASA has their launch towers lit up, kewl sight. Once again the sun is rising over the wall of cumulus clouds over the stream about 40 or so miles of my port beam. Sing it Jimmy. -7.3- Sing it Annie. Tea time.
Whaaahhhh! Captain what’s that noise? Don’t know it’s coming from the helm! "ENGINEERING TO THE BRIDGE…..ENGINEERING TO THE BRIDGE!!!" It’s the autopilot drive belt sir, it’s slipping. Can you fix it? Maybe, let me take it off. Is there anyone here who can drive this thing by hand? You? Good sailor, maintain course 172 degrees. Eh sir, in order to remove the drive we have to take the wheel off sir. Take the wheel off? Do you know how fast we’re going? We should go hove to sir. NEGATIVE! NOT AN OPTION! We can do it very quickly sir. And we’ll put the brake on, she should stay put. OK, Do it man! Here we go….hmm a little sticky, someone get me the lithium grease….it’s down below? Quick, go get it. WATCH THE HEADING WATCH THE HEADING, WE"RE GOING FOR THE NASA SECURITY ZONE!!! WITH WHAT SIR? THERE IS NO WHEEL. Here, here’s your wheel back. HARD TO PORT…. HARD TO PORT!! Phew, that was close. Good news sir, the belt tension is adjustable. We have it tightened. But we have to take the wheel off again to put it back on. We’ll be quick, it’s lubricated now. See, there, only took a second. OK, Sir, you’re back in business. Guess what? We found out you can adjust it without taking it off…ha ha ha……Go wash your hands, and make me that tea you promised me a half hour ago. Yes Sir. And I’ll have some granola, with fresh blueberries and yoghurt. Yes Sir, right away Sir. Eh, the yoghurt is frozen Sir. What? Did I ask for frozen youghurt? No Sir, eh , so is the OJ, and the Soy Milk Sir. WHAT? ENGINEERING TO THE GALLEY! ENGINEERING TO THE GALLEY! ON THE DOUBLE!!! Rebel Rebel…..Sing it David.

More Engineering.

The autopilot is slipping again. The autopilot is very, very high on the siglehandlers priority list….that’s why I spent the money on a new drive last year. Truth be told I need a below decks (no I don’t want an oil rig on the back deck, although I might have to rethink that) Problem is in electric there’s too small ($800-ish) or the real deal but we’re right up to 3 large….ouch. Not in the budget.
So I guess what I subject the drives to is not light use…..As a last resort I pull out the manual and tension the beast properly…..then I rotate the belt 180 degrees, as it is constantly working the same spot….no help. Fortunately I kept the old piece of doo doo this one replaced…the one with the screaming motor, two penny nails and other Oscar Special fixes that carried it well past it’s useful life. This requires replacing the torque stud which requires removal of the engine instrument panel…..I go hove to. Fortunately I have taken all this stuff apart a hundred times, so an hour later I’m back in business….albeit with an occasionally screaming asthmatic helmsman. Now I’m hungry…..sing it Msrs. Page and Plant.

Singlehandlers will tell you that the last night is the most dangerous one, actually I knew that from April, but some kids have to burn their fingers twice before they believe the stove is hot....The first day you have sleep in reserve....you can go all night....but as the trip progresses you've drawn your sleep account to minimum balance. You're putting in just enough deposits to keep up with the withdrawals. Miss the afternoon nap, and whammo.....INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.

I set an alarm for a thirty minute nap......woke up at 06.30 instead of 02.00...... Sun just coming up.....everything calm and serene, took me a few minutes to figure out what the hell happened....

I had slowed her way down, broad reach, main in hard, engine just above idle,....two knots....Had the room......no buoys in the next 10 miles, seven miles from shore, off shore breeze.....radar alarm was on.... Never heard the cooking timer, or waypoint arrival alarm.....wonder if the radar would have woken me ?

Screaming Asthmatic Helmsman came through.....dead on course almost 20 nm to the good.... Good Morning Palm Beaches. Egg sandwich Mr. Trump?

30 miles to Lauderdale....

Wing on wing speed 5-7 knots....a finale in style?

Chute up.....:

Off the coast of Florida...in cellmodem range yapping on the forums.....radar and gps facing the table, screaming asthmatic helmsman driving......

Edited by - Oscar on 11/11/2005 10:48:40

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 11/11/2005 : 20:20:32

I see you remembered to put your deck shoes on this time.

Edited by - on

Oscar
Master Marine Consultant

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2030 Posts

Response Posted - 11/11/2005 : 20:30:51

Part 3-final

It’s now noon and compliments of a very non event cold front we are running down along the coast on a 15-20 knott breeze. First wing on wing, doing 5-6. The windhas now swung through to the North East and there’s a few good puffs. Another sleighride!!! The Grand Finale!!
7.5……7.8…….THERE! THE Big 8.0….8.2……8.4…….Eight point five heeeee haaaaaaa The screaming asthmatic helmsman is straining to keep her on the rails….the wheel is 45 degrees over…..60….80……90…..BOOOOM….the drive explodes!!!! WE’RE ROUDING UP, GRAB THE WHEEL STOP THE TURN…..IT’S JAMMED…SORRY, HONEY I HAVE TO CALL YOU BACK…."ARE YOU OK?" YES….GOTTA GO!!!

The Screaming Asthmatic Helmsman, my hero, who saved my life last night goes down in a ball of flames!!! (Actually snaps into the two pieces it is….loose from many, many unsnaps and snaps, and the belt is out of place)……here we go again…..with the wheel JUST on the spindle I manage to get him back together "And HE"S UP…..eat your heart out Mike Tyson…..this guy is unbelievable!!!"
Note high tech ABYC approved electrical connections (yes those are bare metal…long story, remember this thing was relegatged to the bilges untill yesterday) and yellow "compress" in dislocation location

Epilogue...

Lady Kay is safely moored in her slip in Fort Lauderdale. I entered the channel into Port Everglades at 15.45

Here are the numbers:

8 days 8 hours...total 200 hours....that's to the minute, not rounded!
8 hours of not moving towards destination (fueling etc....)
974 nm traveled
Average speed 5.07 knots
Sailing: 44% Motoring or Motorsailing: 56%
9 sunrises, 8 sunsets....(didn't miss one...)
Maximum wind velocity 25 knots
Precipitation: 0
Days above 70 degrees: 8
Nights below 60 degrees: 2
Adverse weather: Fog, 1/2 hour, off shore.
Highest speed attained 9 knots
Fuel consumed: 50 gallons.
Bananas consumed: 17
Average fuel burn: <.5gph (Much motoring was done at reduced rpm)

I must be living right.
Initial contact with humans was pleasant.
Now I'm going to sleep without waking up every 45 minutes.
Tomorrow I go home.
I had a ball.
Do it again in April. (Back North).

Edited by - on

stampeder
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Response Posted - 11/12/2005 : 01:20:42

Great read.
I look forward to the trip back.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 07:45:27

Oscar, you've inspired me to make the trip next year. What charts and other publications do you use to plan the trip?

Edited by - on

Ben
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USA
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Response Posted - 11/14/2005 : 13:37:03

Excellent stuff Oscar. It makes me want to quit my job, sell my house, move to the coast, and be a vagrant in a sailboat.

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Ben - FL
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Response Posted - 11/15/2005 : 02:02:59

Very sorry I missed you in St. Augie. I would have drove down to help you dock up if I had know.
And as they say, any sail trip you return from is a good one! Yesterday I watched I Shouldn't Be Alive on Discovery Channel about the Ketch Trashman and her 5 person crew. Only two survived.

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 11/15/2005 : 19:30:06

Yes, Trashman.....I refuse to watch that.

Lady-A (13year old daughter) did....still not sleeping right.

Steve, I have three chartbooks. One for the Ches, one from Norfolk to Northern Florida, and one for the rest of Florida. The last two are by Maptech. Then I have a Raymarine 435i plotter, with two Navionics Gold chips to cover the trip. Between the plotter and the books I usually figure it out. Another very important piece is a book that details the inlets on the Atlantic Coast, the author of which slipped my mind right now. That and the Coastal Pilots pretty much covers it. The chartplotter povides tidal and current information. I also carry a Reeds almanak, but don't refer to it very much.

As far as planning.....not much. I don't program routes.....I use the cursor to mark the next point on the plotter I want to go to.....and hit "go to".....bottom of the Bay, Diamond Shoals, Lookout Shoals, Frying Pan Shoals, follow the 50 fathom line around the corner and hit the refueling stop of choice in North Florida. Then follow the coast down to Lauderdale. South of Stewart you need to be very close to shore......(plenty of water) to stay out of head currents.

Of course weather can force me in any moment and then it's Intracoastal time. Skipper Bob is the source there. Chartbooks and plotter cover inside as well.

Hope this helps, feel free to e-mail any time. I can make suggestions for more "bite sized" travel.

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Cloudveil
1st Mate

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USA
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Response Posted - 11/17/2005 : 12:09:02

Oscar - Just finished Baja-HAHA San Diego to Cabo San Lucas on C&C 48. 11 days/nights sailing/motoring with layovers
at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. Your trip sounds so much like ours - wind, no wind, fog, warship encounters (Yes, we
had that also - warning @ 0200 of live gunfire excercises.) 819 hours actual travel, 57% with diesel running. Although
we had four crew with 3 hour night watches, sleep was a problem. We also had the inescapable equipment problems, broken
spinnaker tacker, bent & broken preventer shackle (exciting). Dolphins escorted us many times, with phosphorescence tracks
at night. All in all a good trip, but glad to be back!

Edited by - on

glivs
Admiral

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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 06:59:51

Oscar,
Thanks for sharing your adventure...fantastic voyage. Out of curiosity how do you track your location relative to that of the Gulf Stream/Florida Current...location, water temps, satellite thermal imagery?

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 18:01:11

On the way down I generally follow the 50 fathom contour, or W/N of that. If you look at the large area charts you'll see that this is about the "average" inside limit of the stream.

The satellite imagery I have found does not have enough resolution to be exactly on the edge.....

I was able to see the stream, off to the east, under the line of cumulus clouds every morning....

I do keep somewhat track of water temperature, but that doesn't give high resolution either, it really only tells you when you're in the middle of it.

Most importantly, I look for favoring currents. Eddies....a half to a full knot in my favor.....

On the way down it's better to be well out of it than a little in it.

Now, on the way up I WANT to be in the middle of it, and then the satellite images and thermometer are very helpful as is the GPS SOG.

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Leon Sisson
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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 19:58:04

Oscar,

I'd like to hear more about "South of Stewart you need to be very close to shore......(plenty of water) to stay out of head currents." How wide did you find that gap to be between north running currents and waves breaking on the beach? Also, could you tell if the wave action in close like that was significantly different than was being forecast by NOAA on the VHF marine weather band? I went south on the ICW through there all the way down to Port Everglades, and vowed I'd never take the inside route again if I could manage to avoid it.

-- Leon Sisson

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 20:07:17

Close for me there is a mile off shore. in 10-15 a C25 would do quite nicely, waves 2-4, 15-20 if you're the sporting type, an occasional 5 footer. Unless it's a beat, motorsailing with an outboard in bigger waves is not good. There's quite a bit of water in there 30+ and quickly more. Water is quite pleasant.

One thing to realise is that the water right by the inlets is often the worst. Ocean bars, strong tidal flows....sometimes you have to punch through it to get to the better water. Grit your teeth. Even Port Everglades, which is a class A commercial port with a big ass straight, wide and 40ft deep channel can be quite unsettled, especially with the mega stinkpots blowing in and out. So you have to punch through that. Once clear the ride is much better.

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existentialsailor
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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 21:39:14

I'm curious Oscar. You said your highest speed was 5 knots and highest wind 25kts. I know little of the Cat 42, but is that as fast as it can go or do you keep it down for a reason?

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dlucier
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Response Posted - 11/18/2005 : 21:46:13

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by existentialsailor
 I'm curious Oscar. You said your highest speed was 5 knots and highest wind 25kts. I know little of the Cat 42, but is that as fast as it can go or do you keep it down for a reason?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

He said his average speed was 5.07 kts, but his highest attained speed was 9 kts.

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existentialsailor
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Response Posted - 11/19/2005 : 08:26:40

Your right Don, and I meant to type 9 kts. My question doesn't change though. Am I wrong in thinking that seems slow for a 42? I know Oscar is a much more experienced sailor than I (hell, most of the people on this board are), I just thought a boat that much longer than my Capri capable of a much faster speed. What am I missing?

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 11/19/2005 : 17:38:44

Theoretical hull speed for a displacement hull = 1.3 * square root of the lenght of the waterline.....

Waterline changes with loading....but for the 42 you're talking around 8 knots.....vs 6-ish for the 250 or 25

As you can see the theoretical hull speed increases slower than the size. (It's that square root thing...the opposite of exponential.)

Anything over requires surfing (we're certainly not going to plane out boats

)....and for surfing a 42 you need big-ish waves, and for big waves you need sustained 20 or over winds.

One note, the 9 knots was SOG, off the GPS. My boatspeed transducer is dead. So boatspeed might have peaked higher.

Finally, just like the other Catalina's, the 42 for it's size is not a speed demon. It's a cruiser, not a racer.

Edited by - Oscar on 11/19/2005 17:49:35

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