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Sailing down East Coast! (warning, many photos)

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Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/02/2007 : 16:54:50

Well it took me longer than I thought to get these written up and put with photos, but I will be posting my trip from crewing on a 2003 Hunter 420 Passage sailboat from Norfolk, VA down to Ft. Lauderdale. Here is the original [url="http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14886"]thread[/url] I created in the General Forum, but then I found we have a new Cruising Forum which I thought this would be better suited for.

Here is a start:
Saturday March 31, 2007.
Here is Doug’s Hunter Passage 420 ready to go in the morning.

We departed Cutty Sark Marina in Norfolk, VA at 10:00 am.

The crew consisted of Captain Doug, his son Brad, me, and Ray (left to right in photo):

Doug motored out of Little Creek and got us into the Chesapeake. Shortly after he gave me the helm and I navigated us out through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel and into the Atlantic. We passed Cape Henry at 11:40am.

Here is Virginia Beach from the Atlantic:

Just south of Virginia Beach there was a military helicopter performing some practices:

The wind was on the bow the entire time and we motored at 2200 rpm with a speed over ground of 7.6 knots according to the GPS. Next stop would be Cape Fear in North Carolina. We motored all day and night, non-stop out in the Atlantic with the winds coming from the south and south west. In the late afternoon I was beginning to feel a little uneasy. I didn’t feel like I was going to throw up or have a headache, I just didn’t feel right and wanted to simply lay and concentrate on the horizon. Doug cooked up some tomato soup with bread for dinner. It helped warm us up because it was chilly out there on the ocean. The dodger and canvas protects about ¾ of the cockpit which really helps protect us from the weather. Well, shortly after eating I threw it all up overboard. I was getting seasick for the first time. I took some ginger pills beforehand, but they didn’t help. I lost track how many times I went over to the rail, but I wasn’t doing well. I tried to keep myself hydrated and drank water, but it all came up. I ended up sleeping in the cockpit overnight.

Sunday April 1, 2007.

I was sleeping when we passed Cape Hatteras at 5:00 am.
I woke up to this sunrise over the Atlantic:

I was feeling better in the morning and decided to try some cereal. Doug was reluctant thinking I still might get sick, but I was hungry especially since everything I ate the day before came right up and I felt fine. Well, shortly after eating I was beginning to get that off feeling again and then I was back over the rail. I don’t remember how many times, but again I threw up several times. I actually found it some what funny how certain words just triggered me to throw up. Doug mentioned something about food and then suddenly I needed to go over the rail. Another time he simply asked me to look back to check the dingy and then I suddenly had the heaves again. When I wasn’t feeling well, I just wanted to look forward at the horizon and not move or do anything. I felt bad because I’m supposed to be crew and helping out, but I couldn’t do anything. I was also beginning to really think now I was going to lose my interest in sailing. I was laying there thinking how maybe I’ll sell my Sapphire Breeze and I will lose my whole passion in sailing. Here I am trying to recover from my seasickness; I didn’t realize Doug was taking a picture:

Later in the morning Doug gave me one of those sea sickness patches that goes behind my ear. He warned me about how when he used one once, he hallucinated and saw three monkeys up on the bow. Sounds crazy and luckily I did not have any odd side effects, just drank plenty of water and by the afternoon I was feeling great. It was such a relief because I was also wondering if maybe I should fly home at the next port if I was going to be this miserable the entire time. Doug cooked up some Denty Moore Stew for dinner, simple and tasted good.
Here is a photo looking forward with no land in sight.

We had a beautiful sunset that night.

Being out on the ocean at night is such a different experience than at home. The moon is so bright and illuminates the sea and boat. The stars are so much brighter and you can see hundreds of them.

Justin
Previous Owner of Sapphire Breeze - 1982 Catalina 25 SK/SR
My sail blog site: https://reveriesailing.com/

Edited by - Justin on 05/03/2007 18:56:51

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 05/02/2007 : 17:12:05

Monday April 2, 2007.

We passed Frying Pan Shoals at 5am. The wind so far since we left Norfolk has been on the bow and we have motored the entire time. There isn’t much to write about being offshore. The weather was good and was warming up the further south we went. I have been catching up on some reading and will be completing “My Old Man and the Sea” by David and Daniel Hays. It is about a father and son that sail around Cape Horn in a 25’ sailboat. There isn’t that much to look at out there on the ocean, just lots of water and sky. We did actually have the wind come from the south east enough for us to pull out the sails and motor sail.

We had been using the motor nonstop since we left Norfolk and as we were approaching Bald Head Island and Cape Fear, North Carolina we were on fumes. Doug was worried we may not make it to the marina to refuel, but we did.
Seeing land for the first time in three days:

Coming up the river:

We arrived at 1pm. Here is Doug’s “Island Time”:

Shortly after arriving, Brad had to catch the ferry inland to get on a flight home. We cleaned up and got some lunch at the marina restaurant, then went for a walk across the island to check out the point of Cape Fear.

We had a 3 mile walk to the other side down this straight road. It was a nice walk especially since we had been sitting on a boat for three days straight. You can see the small white dot of light at the end of the road:

We stopped along the way and saw “Old Baldy” Lighthouse:

This is the beach and further ahead is the point of Cape Fear.

Here is the point where the waves meet at Cape Fear:

Here I am at the point:

As we were walking back to the marina, we hitched a ride with a couple on a golf cart. The people that live on the remote island do not drive cars, only golf carts and you better have your license:

The only way to get to the island is by boat/ferry. Here was the sunset I saw this night:

It is a very nice place, but a little too remote for me. We went to the bar and had a couple drinks before calling it a day.

Edited by - Justin on 05/02/2007 17:21:40

existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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Response Posted - 05/02/2007 : 19:36:58

Looks like an Awesome trip! I always follow Oscar's trips from Maryland to Ft. Lauderdale and back when he does them hoping someday to do a trip like that myself.

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2007 : 18:48:37

Tuesday April 3, 2007.

We departed Bald Head Island at 8:45am. It was a calm day out on the ocean, with apparent winds 11-13 knots right on the bow. Ray gave me some Bonine which kept me feeling great all day long. I did not want to get sea sick again.
Here is a self portrait of myself while I was on my morning watch; Doug and Ray were getting some rest from their night watches.

In the afternoon the water became very calm. We were out in the Atlantic with nothing in sight just motoring along. It is weird how flat the ocean can be at times. Here is a photo:

We motored right passed this sea turtle:

We were motor sailing our way along.

Here is Ray. He has a ton of sailing experience and delivers yachts for a living.

Here I am:

While Ray and I were scanning the horizon, we spotted something way out in the distance. Ray turned on the radar and we determined its distance from us and its heading. It was some kind of boat and had a heading directly for us. Now, we are out in the ocean, probably 20-30 miles off shore and there is nothing in sight except for this boat heading for us. I monitored the radar and noticed they would change their heading off course for a few minutes, and then turn back towards us. They did this several times. It sounds silly to think of pirates out there, but that did come to mind. They were getting closer and I used my camera’s 12x optical lens and snapped this photo:

As you can see, they are headed right towards us. We kept an eye on them every few minutes and eventually they did take a course way behind us and apparently all they were doing was fishing. It is scary to think though what could happen way out there by yourself.

Later in the afternoon, clouds were beginning to roll in:

I do not have anymore photos from today, but we had quite a night. When we saw the clouds we tuned into the weather station and they had a storm warning with 50-60 knot winds and golf ball size hail. I looked up on the charts where this storm was located in reference to us and luckily it was to our north. Once on my watch from 8pm-12am we were hitting some very choppy seas. The boat was going up and down smashing through the waves with water splashing over the deck and dodger. I had my Bonine earlier in the day and feeling great. In fact, I thought it was fun as we were making our way through the rough seas. Soon the autopilot was having a hard time keeping us on course because of the waves. It was over correcting itself and getting off the course track. I woke Doug up and he adjusted our course slightly so we were not taking the waves head on as much. Ray came up at midnight to take his watch and let me get some rest.

Wednesday April 4, 2007.

We passed Charleston, SC around 3:30 am. Most of the day was pretty uneventful. We were just offshore and getting closer to Savannah, GA. We planned to arrive in the Wilmington River which takes you to Savannah this evening. Since we were getting closer to shore, I made several phone calls to family and friends. It was sunny with clear blue skies, but the wind was still right on the bow.

As we came closer to the Wilmington River inlet, there were these two large cargo/tanker ships anchored out.

This one sure does have a fresh coat of bright orange paint:

Coming up the Wilmington River was a challenge. The channel markers change as the shoals change and they are not shown on the charts. It was difficult spotting the markers especially with the sun directly in front of us. We used the radar to help locate them and we snaked our way up river. We arrived at a nice anchorage at 7:30pm, just as the sun was beginning to set:

It was a beautiful night in the anchorage. The sky was clear and you could see all the stars. It is nice to relax at anchor after being offshore for a few days.

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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Response Posted - 05/03/2007 : 18:54:19

Thursday April 5, 2007

I woke up at 7am to the cold front that came in overnight. The winds really picked up compared to yesterday as well. We weighed anchor at 9:40am and began our way up the Wilmington River. We arrived at Thunderbolt Marina at 10:40am. Here is Doug’s Island Time:

I like how much usable rear deck space there is with the center cockpit layout. There is more space to spread out and get away.

I walked around the marina and took several pictures of all the nice boats here:

A very large motor sailor:

I like this classic cruiser. I was told it is a Hans Christian:

Some mega yacht:

A very large modern looking sport cruiser and very nice sailboat on dry dock:

A close up of that very large cutter rig sailboat:

Here you can see the current flowing around the pilings and dock:

We walked downtown to the local breakfast café. The town is tiny, for example there were only about four parking spots in front of this café right off the main street. It seemed like a very small town just outside of Savannah. We ask about WIFI in the area and are told that Tubby’s Tank House Bar just down the street has some for free. We head back to the boat and do some cleaning up and change the engine’s oil. Afterwards we headed down to Tubby’s and logged online for the first time in a week. On the way I snapped these photos of someone’s little garden.

Here is a close up of the sign:

I got a laugh out of that.
I caught up on the latest and sent out some emails to family and friends as I enjoyed a couple nice cold beers. Our waitress mentioned they were having a live band later that night and that it’s a real happening spot. We get down there around 10pm and the place is packed and everyone is around my age, early 20s! I was wondering where everyone came from, since I thought we sailed into some tiny quiet town outside of Savannah. I was also amazed at the percentage of attractive girls down there; I’d say around 90% were all very attractive. Of course there are attractive girls back home, but I do not recall ever walking into a bar and seeing such a high percentage and even probably a 50/50 ratio of girls/guys. Why don’t we have a hot spot like that at home? Well, I attempted to talk to several different girls, but didn’t get much conversation overall. I got turned down several times; maybe they didn’t like my running shoes. They were the only shoes I had and I would never wear them going out, but oh well. From the little conversations I had I found out that apparently there is a university just a couple blocks away and that is where everyone came from. I would have had more fun if I were there with some friends.

Friday April 6, 2007

I didn’t do a whole lot today. I walked around town, worked on my laptop for a bit and made several phone calls. Doug and Ray went grocery shopping. Ray and I went over to Tubby’s again for some cold beers and free WIFI. Here are a few pictures.
This is looking down the river with Thunderbolt marina in the distance:

This is looking the opposite direction, towards Savannah:

Check out this catamaran:

Doug picked up some fresh local shrimp and fixed that for dinner. Afterwards, Ray and I went to Tubby’s again to get a drink. We were probably pretty popular there.

Edited by - on

Jarrett Anderson
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Response Posted - 05/04/2007 : 12:35:03

Great pictures! I have family in the Cape Fear area.

Across from Bald Head is South Port, try a little place called Provision Company next time you cruise through. It is a little less remote. They have great crab cakes and conk fritters. They have about 50 beers that you help yourself to, on your honor. You tell them how many you had when you check out. There is also a lot of good eats, too many to mention, in Wrightsville Beach a days sail north of Bald Head.

This time of year I would bet the water temp is going up daily. I will be there this time next month.

Jarrett_/)

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2007 : 19:08:51

Thanks for the compliments Jarret. Next time I make it down the coast I'll try to stop at South Port and check out the Provision Company. Around 50 beers?! Wow, impressive!

Here is the continuation of the trip:

Saturday April 7, 2007.

The plan was to wake up at 6am and depart shortly after. So we all woke up, got ready and Doug was listening to the weather report. Ray and I were anxious to leave being that this would be our fourth day here. We actually should have left Friday since we haven’t done much here other than waste time. I don’t recall exactly what the weather report was, but the winds were about 15 knots with gusts up to 20-25 knots. Doug was nervous about leaving the dock in those winds and the current of the river. He decided he wanted to wait until later to leave. Ray and I were getting a little fed up and we decided to go down to the café and get some coffee. Doug went into town and got a new cell phone since his broke on Friday. Ray and I headed back to Island Time around 10:30am and thankfully Doug was there almost ready to go. We were afraid we were going to waste another day sitting around.

We took off the dock lines around 11:00am and made our way out the Wilmington River towards the Atlantic Ocean again. We still had this cold front that came in on Thursday so it was a little chilly with the 15 knot winds and 20-25 knot gusts. We motored our way out the river and were passed by the large blue hulled mega power/sail yacht that was in dry dock at Thunderbolt Marina.

We watched as they motored by and as they got out in the distance, they failed to turn right out the channel. It looks as though you can simply motor straight out the river into the ocean, but you cannot. There is a shoal or sand bar and the buoys are not marked on the charts because they are moved so often. The channel snakes to the south along the coast before you can head out to the open ocean. We watched as that mega yacht was cruising at a high speed and abruptly came to a stop. He must have run aground and then corrected his course.

Once we got into the ocean we finally had a chance to actually enjoy some real sailing! We were cruising at 8 knots over ground.

I had my watch from 8pm-12am and we reefed the sails a little bit for safety overnight. We were still cruising over ground averaging 6 knots sometimes up to 7. It was one of our rougher nights with probably 5 foot seas and winds ranged from 18-28 knots. Then about every five minutes, the winds would decrease to 8-12 knots for about 30-60 seconds, then go right back up to the high teens and twenties. This was a tough night for all of us. I got seasick in the beginning of my shift, threw up once and then I was fine for the rest of the night although very exhausted. Ray relieved me from my watch at midnight and I was so ready to get some sleep. The Hunter is not made for sleeping while under sail. There were no lee cloths or boards to keep you from falling off the bed while heeling over. I slept in the dinette and I propped my right arm up against the table top to brace myself from falling off, but I was cutting off the circulation and my arm was getting numb. Then with the waves and the boat going up and down so much, banging through waves, it was so loud and uncomfortable. I barely got any sleep and around 3am I woke to Doug yelling and cursing out on the deck. The in-mast main furler line jammed on the drum while they were furling in the sail. We were all so exhausted and Doug was aggravated with his boat’s equipment. That furler jammed too easily and was a safety hazard. Doug was out there in the darkness while we were in the rough weather trying to fix his furler. Just imagine if the conditions were worse and we needed to get the main furled in a hurry, we could have had a lot more trouble.

Edited by - Justin on 05/08/2007 19:15:39

Justin
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Response Posted - 05/08/2007 : 19:14:01

Sunday April 8, 2007

I woke up and had my watch from 8am to noon. Here I am on my morning watch:

The seas were calmer now. On my watch I spotted something on the horizon and radar. We had this large cargo ship pass us:

You really do have to keep an eye out because those ships will come up on you quickly.
We spotted several dolphins swimming around us, but they are very difficult to capture in a photo. This is my best and you can barely make it out under the surface of the water in the center:

As the day went it on, it got calmer out. I spent most of the afternoon in the forward cabin, listening to music on my Zen player and finishing my book. That forward berth was so comfortable. I had spent the past 10 days sleeping on the uncomfortable dinette bench and sitting in the very uncomfortable cockpit. I should have spent more time below to relax and also to get away. Here is an evening shot as the sun was setting:

Monday April 9, 2007

I woke up to this beautiful sunrise:

Not much happened through the morning and afternoon, we motored about 8 miles off the coast of Florida to the Lake Worth inlet.
It was amazing how flat and calm it was out on the Atlantic this day:

A nice looking sailboat on this calm day:

Doug wanted to spend the morning washing the decks and polishing the stainless steel while we had these flat seas. He hooked up his deck wash system and I sprayed and rinsed as he scrubbed.

Yes the deck was coated with salt after the past few days being offshore, but Doug should have waited. That afternoon we had larger waves, not large, but enough to recoat most of the deck again in salt.

We made it to the Lake Worth inlet at 3:50pm:

After entering the Intra Coastal Waterway, we refueled at one of the first marinas. The boats were very impressive, large sport fishers, all perfectly clean, different colors, and nicely varnished teak trim. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo. After fueling, we started motoring our way south in the ICW. We are now beginning to see more mega yachts and will be going under many draw bridges. We were racing to make it under this bridge opening:

More of the typical mega yachts down here:

One of several of the nicely designed draw bridges:

We dropped anchor on the ICW in Lantana, Florida at 7:40pm.

I was hoping we would actually use the dinghy for once instead of just towing it and go grab some real food for a change at that restaurant:

Instead we had one of those frozen chicken, pasta and vegetable skillet meals diluted with tons of plain pasta. Oh well, it was nice to relax for a change since we had been offshore the past two nights. I am looking forward to getting to Ft. Lauderdale and flying home.

Edited by - on

djn
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Response Posted - 05/09/2007 : 11:53:44

Great write up Justin. Good luck feeling satisfyed with the C25 after that voyage. Cheers.

Edited by - on

existentialsailor
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Response Posted - 05/09/2007 : 13:57:09

Justin,

You ought to submit this trip to Latts and Atts for publication in their mag!

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2007 : 15:09:35

I'll try to get my final two or three days left posted soon. I'm at work right now and they are at home, plus I have to make adjustments for the photos to post correctly.

I am still very satisfied with my C-25 after this trip and will be even more so at the end of this month if all my projects go as planned. My boat is being hauled out this week so I can replace all the swing keel hardware, re-plumb the head, wash, rename, along with other projects. I didn't care for the Hunter that much, I'll post more on why in a bit.

I'm heading to Tucson, AZ soon for business travel and hope it won't delay my boat projects much. Anyone sail out in that part of the desert? Any lakes?

Edited by - on

Justin
Admiral

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502 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2007 : 16:18:15

Tuesday April 10, 2007

We woke up at 6am and weighed anchor at 7am. We started our way down the ICW again towards Ft. Lauderdale. Here is another draw bridge we went under:

I spotted what appeared to be a bald eagle in one of the trees:

A very nice classic looking yacht docked outside someone’s house:

There is so much more to look at while cruising down the ICW. The architecture of all the homes is very interesting. Most of it is Mediterranean style, with a few traditional homes mixed in. This home was the most unique that I saw, being very modern. Not my taste, but it sure is different:

Down in this area the ICW is like driving down a street with homes right along the side and with creeks/rivers branching off into the neighborhoods. They have their cars in their driveways and their boats in their backyard waterways.

We were making our way closer to Ft. Lauderdale:

It was cool making our way through downtown Ft. Lauderdale on the ICW between the city streets and large buildings.

I was up on the bow as we were passed by the large Jungle Queen tour riverboat and had to pull aside to let them by. As they passed full of passengers, I noticed a group of several cute girls waving. Too bad I couldn’t run into them somewhere in town. Later we took a turn onto some smaller river that took us into the neighborhood where Doug was going to dock his boat. Here is a nice sailboat dock alongside someone’s home:

We arrived at the slip around 2pm and started cleaning up. It sure was nice to arrive at our destination! Now Doug had to coordinate in getting a rental car so we have some transportation to get around town. We watched as mega yachts are towed through the narrow river with two tow boats, one at the bow and one on the stern. They negotiate these monsters around the sharp turns, draw bridges, and it is a tight squeeze when they encounter other boats. I wish I took pictures as they went right by us at the dock.

I was anxious to get home and was originally planning to fly back to Norfolk on Wednesday with Ray. I was then beginning to think I should check out Ft. Lauderdale while I’m down here. I can fly back whenever and don’t have a deadline. That evening I changed my flight registration and didn’t have any problems with that. Doug took Ray and me to some very nice restaurants for dinner and we enjoyed some delicious food.

Wednesday April 11, 2007

I spent the day walking around Ft. Lauderdale. I walked from the public beach all the way to the Ft. Lauderdale inlet. Here are some photos:

A pelican I saw on the beach:

The Atlantic from a different perspective compared to being out there on the boat looking towards land:

Ft. Lauderdale inlet:

Me:

This is looking from the inlet down the entire beach. I started way at the end, not sure if you can really even see it in the photo:

While out on the beach I made several phone calls to my business contacts to give updates on my situation and try to find out what the latest is. One manager wanted to hire me, but I was also waiting to hear from another manager about another opportunity. I still had no word about the second job.

After walking around the beach and the main strip of stores I went on a glass bottom boat snorkeling tour. Originally I only bought a ticket to ride the boat. I had never been on a glass bottom boat, so I was imagining a large glass bottom where you could see a lot. I originally wasn’t planning on snorkeling so I didn’t have my swim suite or a towel to dry off and I didn’t have space in my luggage to buy extras. Once I got on the tour boat I saw how the glass bottom was actually just two windows about 8’x2’ near the stern of the boat. I was also the only person not snorkeling. I then thought, why not just dive in with my shorts and just let the sun dry me off, although it would be around 6pm when we finish snorkeling. So I did it, rented the snorkeling gear and floated around checking out the reef and all the fish. That was my first time really snorkeling beside the once or twice I practiced in a pool. It was cool and I am definitely glad I decided to jump in even though I wasn’t prepared for it.

Once I got back to the city I wanted to get something to eat. There were lots of nice restaurants along the main street by the beach, but going by myself and the way I was dressed, still wet from snorkeling, I didn’t go to them. I ended up just getting a slice of pizza at some small place down the street. Then I went to what I was told to be the hottest spot in town, the ElboRoom. I walk in freely and the place is dead. There were three girls and a dozen or so guys. It didn’t help being a Wednesday night around 8pm. I sat down and had a beer, but left shortly after. I started walking towards another part of town that was on the way back to the boat. I picked up an ice cream cone on the way and continued towards the boat. This is a several mile walk, but Doug said he would probably be able to pick me up on his way back visiting his parents. It turned out he was running later than expected, so I was to either get a taxi or walk. I kept walking and watched for an empty cab. I learned the hard way when you hail a cab, to find one on the street you’re walking on in the same direction if possible. I hopped in a cab on the street I had just walked across. He had to make three lefts to get back to where we started; the problem was there was construction and detours. The fare was already over $10 when we got back to my starting point and then several minutes later we made it to the neighborhood where the boat was kept. I got back to the boat and shortly after Doug showed up. I finished packing everything up since we had to get up at 4am to go to the airport.

Edited by - on

Justin
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Response Posted - 05/10/2007 : 16:20:08

Thursday April 12, 2007

I woke up at 4 in the morning and shortly after Doug drove me to the airport. My flight was on time and we were in the air at 6:15am.

I got to Norfolk around 9:30am and found my car still sitting in the marina parking lot. That was a relief because it had been sitting there for two weeks, although Doug did say he had permission for us to leave them there. I was excited to get on the road and start heading home! I got home around 2 in the afternoon and had a lot of things to catch up on. It is nice to be home, to sleep in my real bed and have a normal hot shower for the first time in two weeks.

Would I go on another crew opportunity like this? I am not sure, but I probably won’t have the free time anytime soon. Will I cruise down the east coast again? Yes, I definitely plan to do that in the future, but next time with friends and/or family. I would also make many more stops in different ports to tour around. I learned that going offshore for several days at a time is quite boring. Your days just fade together and you lose track of what day it is. I got into this mode of having my watch from 8-12 in the morning and at night. In between watches I slept at night and read a book or looked around up on deck. This trip would have been much more enjoyable with family and friends. Going on this trip I learned how much I take for granted being able to see and talk to family and friends while at home. While I was out there living with two strangers for two weeks, I missed everyone back home. This also gave me a taste of what it would be like to leave everything behind. I was thinking about taking a job opportunity in Iraq for a year. After this trip, I have a better idea that I think I would prefer to stay at home, enjoy my sailboat, my place (not living in tents and shipping containers in 130F weather), and still have everyone here.

This trip also gave a good idea of what cruising is like. My whole idea that I had last winter of selling everything and cruising the world on a larger cruising boat than my C-25 is no longer something I have any desire to do. I was even thinking I would do it single handedly after reading some blogs and websites of people doing just that and since I most likely wouldn’t have anyone that could join me. After having the easy 8-12 watch on this trip, I found out how exhausting even that can be. Staring out at the vast empty ocean just makes me tired. To take short cat naps all night long while single handling, I think I would be miserable. Then since I found this trip boring offshore at times, to be offshore by myself for weeks at a time it would be very boring and lonely. I do tend to be on the quiet side, but I do enjoy talking and interacting with people. It would be very hard to not talk or see any person for weeks at time.

This trip also reinforced what I have read that with boats, larger is not always better. Yes, the space of the 42’ hull was nice, but there were just more systems that could go wrong and everything is larger and more difficult to handle. I was not a fan of the in mast main sail furling system. First off, it was so finicky and took 2 people to furl in or out. One person had to very carefully feed the furl line with one hand as they pulled the other end of the line tight with their other hand. The other person pulled the main sail outhaul line to let the sail in or out. I thought it was supposed to make things easier! One of my biggest reasons of disliking it was how easily the line jumped off the furler winch on the mast. It happened several times on the trip, the worst being that early 3am morning in the rough seas offshore. Doug had to go out on deck to fix it and this can be a big safety hazard. Another reason is there are no battens, so the sail shape suffers. It also furled/unfurled the sail so slowly, and if you had to get it down (in) quickly, it takes several minutes to roll it up. I was not a fan of the device at all, neither was Ray.

I learned about other things to look for in a boat. One example was how poorly designed the cockpit was on this Hunter 420. The seat backs were worthless, maybe 4” tall which made sitting in the cockpit very uncomfortable. The portable fold-up seats that are supposed to give you a backrest were almost worthless because as the boat pitches up and down you often fall backwards. There was also nothing to brace yourself against while the boat was heeling, just the steering pedestal. What was the designer’s intention in removing the backstay and using swept back spreaders? This Hunter could not sail downwind well at all. The boom could barely be let out, the aft end would line up with the hull’s side and the main sail would be already touching the spreaders. Without a backstay you also cannot adjust the tension of the mast. The headstay and headsail luff was loose under sail because you could not apply more tension. Then there is the whole issue with the rig being dismasted, mostly a factory defect in one of the rigging swedges. That really provides confidence in Hunter’s quality.

Overall this trip was a great experience. I accomplished one of my goals, to sail down the east coast. I did not think this would happen for many years from now, but I did it. It was over 1,000 miles added to my sailing resume and I have the U.S.C.G form filled out that I can use toward my captain’s license in the future should I pursue one. I gained some offshore experience, although we never did hit some really rough weather or seas. I will remember this trip as another one of life’s adventures.

Edited by - on

DaveR
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 08:30:25

Really great stuff Justin! When you talked about the tediousness of being aboard for several days at a time it reminded me of when I did the east cost of FL (all ICW though) in the 80's on a C-22. After a couple days it's really nice to get off the boat and stretch a bit. You didn't mention the "stoned" feeling though, after being on board for a few days, when you get on land you keep rocking, have to hold on to the walls in the shower

. I remember it took at least 24 hours for it to go away. Again, a great post! Thanks, Dave R

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John Russell
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 10:20:25

Great story Justin. Maybe a Mainsheet submission????

I've been following the adventures of Donna Lange and was thinking about how nut's I'd go so totally alone so far at sea. But, imagine the guys that did it without the benefit of satelite phones, e-mail, weather. They were REALLY ALONE. I think it takes a special breed. I applaud their courage but wonder about their sanity.

Edited by - John Russell on 05/11/2007 10:21:23

Champipple
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 12:04:48

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by John Russell
 I applaud their courage but wonder about their sanity.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

As I wonder about the sanity of Reid and the young girl doing 1000 days at sea. Less than 1/50th of the way there and they've supposedly already hit a freighter - though there is much discussion on a number of other boards as to whether it might have just been a can buouy...

http://1000days.net/home/

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Champipple
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 12:05:48

Lets see if we can get this account written up and put into the cruising section. Nothing's been added there in ages.

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djn
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 13:25:58

Hi John, it is a great story, but the Mainsheet is all about Catalinas......don't think it would fly there. However, it would be great for the Hunter forums. Cheers.

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Champipple
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Response Posted - 05/11/2007 : 13:50:34

Or - for our cruising page!

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Dave Bristle
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Response Posted - 05/12/2007 : 10:56:02

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by djn
 ...the Mainsheet is all about Catalinas......don't think it would fly there...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
...although maybe the part about the disadvantages of the B&R rig...

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 05/28/2007 : 17:10:10

Nice write-up Justin. I agree with you on the shortcomings of the in-mast furling and the B&R rig. My 42 also has back swept spreaders but not as bad as the Hunters, and NO in-mast furling. The aft cabins are "sleepable" no matter what the boat does, you always roll into a wall, with some pillows as padding it's comfy. Some people take a while getting used to the motor running (sometimes for days) on the other side of the plywood when there's no air. The two, Hunter and Catalina, being volume production boats my 42 is IMHO vastly more suitable for off-shore work.

It's funny how people react in different ways to being "out there...". I've done the treck you described six times now, 3 up, 3 down. Half with crew, half alone. Just a few stops, never more than one per leg, three legs non stop, in as little as 3 days 6 hours....(just this April, Lauterdale to Cape Hatteras.....)

I like it out there, especially when the winds kick up to 25+ knots and the seas hit 10-15...as long as I'm not beating the ride is fast and exciting..Last Novemeber we did from abeam Jaxonville to Lauterdale in 24 hours, thats 202nm. The winds were 30-40, waves 15-20'. Double reefed main, and a 'kerchief for a jib, beam to broad reach. It was very sporting, Mr.Toads wild ride....

I've also seen the ocean as flat as glass for days....I carry 60 gallons of fuel now, I can motor for almost four days at 5 knots if I have to...

I can stare at the open ocean for hours and hours and just do nothing.... It is the ONLY place I can sit and do nothing.

Yes night is intresting.....especially if you have to go on deck to straighten something out, like a bungled furler (my jib furler boogered up last trip) or a twisted whisker pole.....

All part of the challenge.....some people thrive on it......

Yes, send your story in to Latts and Atts....Editor Sue. You never know, they might publish it, they published the report of my first trip.

Edited by - Oscar on 05/28/2007 17:12:31

Justin
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Response Posted - 05/28/2007 : 21:25:15

Thanks for all the nice words everyone. I’ll catch up on some responses…

DaveR, I know what you mean about the “stoned” feeling or land drunk feeling. I was surprised that I actually never felt that on the trip. I thought I definitely would since I often experience it at home after being on my boat all day.

John, I’ve read about Donna Lang and others, like the guy on www.projectbluesphere.com. I used to read their stories and think I want to do that someday, but not after this trip. I would much rather have some company to share the experiences. It is impressive what they are accomplishing, but it sure would be lonely.

Duanne, what needs to be done to put this into the cruising section? I wasn’t even aware we had a cruising section other than this new part of the forum.

Dennis, that’s what I was thinking since it was a Hunter, although since I wasn’t a fan of the boat, their forum might get defensive about it.

Oscar, sounds like you have a nice sailboat. The Hunter I was on had no lee cloths and the forward cabin wasn’t a V-berth, it had the berth against the starboard wall. The problem was sailing south; the one night that we sailed the winds came from the west, so we were on a starboard tack causing you to roll right off. The dinette settee was very uncomfortable because it was so narrow. I got used to the engine noise almost 24x7, it actually wasn’t bad since it provided background noise to cover other distractions. We only shut off the engine and sailed only that one day leaving Savannah, GA. The rest was all motoring and partial motor sailing.
You mention your trips and some of the excitement. That may have had some to do with my dislike of being out there. We only had the one day with winds in the mid 20 knot range and that was exciting and fun. The rest of the trip was mostly calm and flat which was boring. I was actually thinking when we heard about the big storm of the coast of SC that this might be something exciting to look forward to and that I would probably live to tell a story of some huge storm we sailed through. Turns out it was too far north of us and we just encountered some choppier seas and moderate winds. If I were to do this trip again, I am sure I would find it much more enjoyable with a significant other/friends/and/or family. Living with two complete strangers for two weeks on a boat is not all that fun. It really depends on the people, but I’ll just leave it that the captain/owner was very eccentric on this trip.

Some of you are recommending that I submit this to Latts and Atts. I thought it would be too long for a magazine and especially too many photos. Being in another magazine would be cool. I was actually just published in one about a month ago. I might look into it.

Thanks everyone, I'm glad to share this with everyone.

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Oscar
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Response Posted - 05/29/2007 : 14:24:39

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I thought it would be too long for a magazine and especially too many photos.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Just submit it...editor Sue will tell you what to prune it down to (wordcount) if she likes it.

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