BoatBanter.com - August 21

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August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:26:52 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

There's a lot of talk of fatigue and multiple watchkeepers, yet
singlehanders seem to sail overnighters all the time.

Only when well offshore, inshore they have to stay awake, frequently
exceeding their endurance limits. I was reminded of that yesterday as
we cruised past Pt Judith lighthouse in Rhode Island. Sometime back a
young lady singlehander successfully sailed her 30 something boat all
the way across the Atlantic up to that point. After being awake for
over 2 days due to bad weather and heavy shipping traffic, she mistook
Pt Judith light for the old Brenton Reef tower, and parked her boat on
the beach just down the shore.

The waters in question where Skip is now are very congested with
*large* commercial shipping and also a wide assortment of fishing
vessels. You can not safely sleep, even for 15 minutes.

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:04:28 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:26:52 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

There's a lot of talk of fatigue and multiple watchkeepers, yet
singlehanders seem to sail overnighters all the time.

Only when well offshore, inshore they have to stay awake, frequently
exceeding their endurance limits. I was reminded of that yesterday as
we cruised past Pt Judith lighthouse in Rhode Island. Sometime back a
young lady singlehander successfully sailed her 30 something boat all
the way across the Atlantic up to that point. After being awake for
over 2 days due to bad weather and heavy shipping traffic, she mistook
Pt Judith light for the old Brenton Reef tower, and parked her boat on
the beach just down the shore.

The waters in question where Skip is now are very congested with
*large* commercial shipping and also a wide assortment of fishing
vessels. You can not safely sleep, even for 15 minutes.

Thanks for shedding some light on what Skip was encountering.
I do still suspect he'll have a different take on it, but we'll see.
It's my "impression" that he learned a lot from the Keys grounding,
and is putting some thought into his course.
You mentioned the Chesapeake Bay course to NYC, and the first thing
I thought of when Skip went offshore is that at least he didn't have
to constantly watch the sounder. He did mention avoiding shoals.
Does Chesapeake Bay present a special challenge for a boat of his
draft? It may be he wanted a good sail without those concerns.
Not knowing these routes and I'm all ears.

--Vic

August 21 - All at Sea

Vic Smith wrote:

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:04:28 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:26:52 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

There's a lot of talk of fatigue and multiple watchkeepers, yet
singlehanders seem to sail overnighters all the time.

Only when well offshore, inshore they have to stay awake, frequently
exceeding their endurance limits. I was reminded of that yesterday as
we cruised past Pt Judith lighthouse in Rhode Island. Sometime back a
young lady singlehander successfully sailed her 30 something boat all
the way across the Atlantic up to that point. After being awake for
over 2 days due to bad weather and heavy shipping traffic, she mistook
Pt Judith light for the old Brenton Reef tower, and parked her boat on
the beach just down the shore.

The waters in question where Skip is now are very congested with
*large* commercial shipping and also a wide assortment of fishing
vessels. You can not safely sleep, even for 15 minutes.

Thanks for shedding some light on what Skip was encountering.
I do still suspect he'll have a different take on it, but we'll see.
It's my "impression" that he learned a lot from the Keys grounding,
and is putting some thought into his course.

That was my idea too. I didn't think that the bad weather started
until he was off Ocean City.

You mentioned the Chesapeake Bay course to NYC, and the first thing
I thought of when Skip went offshore is that at least he didn't have
to constantly watch the sounder. He did mention avoiding shoals.
Does Chesapeake Bay present a special challenge for a boat of his
draft? It may be he wanted a good sail without those concerns.
Not knowing these routes and I'm all ears.

The Chesapeake IMHO is one of the best places to sail. We have a
friend with a boat like ours that has a 6'6" draft and he has no
problem sailing in the Chesapeake (and neither do we). After all,
freighters and tugs transit the Bay all the time. Anchoring close to
shore might be difficult for a deeper draft craft, but anchoring
farther away from shore means that you have less insects (usually).

Another problem in the Bay is crab pots - usually if you see crab pots
that will alert you to the fact that the water is getting shallow
there (and this also holds in much of the rest of the ICW)

BUT -- all the weather problems that Skip had, he would still have had
in the Chesapeake. And he would still have had the freighters etc,
and in addition would have had to do the Delaware Canal at the other
end of the Bay and the trip would undoubtedly have taken longer.

He can do the Chesapeake on the way back south.

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:22:56 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Does Chesapeake Bay present a special challenge for a boat of his
draft? It may be he wanted a good sail without those concerns.
Not knowing these routes and I'm all ears.

No. Some of the rivers and bays off of the Chesapeake are shallow but
the central portion is mostly deep water and very well marked. There
are many good deep water harbors.

If you are interested in learning more about east coast cruising I'd
recommend downloading the free NOAA charts along with a chart viewer.
I have spent endless hours in the off season "cruising" on computer
charts and planning the next trip. For me, there's always a next
trip...

You can also download the coast pilots for free which have a wealth of
detailed information. The Atlantic coast waterway guides are another
good source, along with the "Skipper Bob" books.

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:37:53 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

If you are interested in learning more about east coast cruising I'd
recommend downloading the free NOAA charts along with a chart viewer.
I have spent endless hours in the off season "cruising" on computer
charts and planning the next trip. For me, there's always a next
trip...

You can also download the coast pilots for free which have a wealth of
detailed information. The Atlantic coast waterway guides are another
good source, along with the "Skipper Bob" books.

Thanks. I'll probably wait until I get a boat though. Well, maybe
I'll download the Florida charts since I'll be there soon looking at
boats. What chart viewer do you recommend?

--Vic

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:32:49 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

The Chesapeake IMHO is one of the best places to sail. We have a
friend with a boat like ours that has a 6'6" draft and he has no
problem sailing in the Chesapeake (and neither do we). After all,
freighters and tugs transit the Bay all the time. Anchoring close to
shore might be difficult for a deeper draft craft, but anchoring
farther away from shore means that you have less insects (usually).

I've always wanted to visit there, and hear some of those Virginia
Yankees talking too. There was an old Virginia Yankee tending
lockers in Norfolk whose voice was like music to my ears.
Chesapeake Bay is on my short list of places to devote some time to.

Another problem in the Bay is crab pots - usually if you see crab pots
that will alert you to the fact that the water is getting shallow
there (and this also holds in much of the rest of the ICW)

I've been hearing a lot about props fouling because of crabpots.

BUT -- all the weather problems that Skip had, he would still have had
in the Chesapeake. And he would still have had the freighters etc,
and in addition would have had to do the Delaware Canal at the other
end of the Bay and the trip would undoubtedly have taken longer.

I'm starting to think my solution to shoals, freighters and crabpots
is a shallow draft boat with all of its own compromises.

--Vic

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:03:17 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Thanks. I'll probably wait until I get a boat though. Well, maybe
I'll download the Florida charts since I'll be there soon looking at
boats. What chart viewer do you recommend?

I use Maptech Offshore Navigator, mostly because I've been using it a
long time, all the way back to 386/486 DOS machines. Unfortunately
it is not free, and may not even be available anymore although Maptech
has done a good job with updates.

I believe there is a free viewer call Seaclear or something like that.
There is also a product called Fugawi that some people like. I
believe it is reasonably priced and has a free demo version.

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:24:38 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:03:17 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Thanks. I'll probably wait until I get a boat though. Well, maybe
I'll download the Florida charts since I'll be there soon looking at
boats. What chart viewer do you recommend?

I use Maptech Offshore Navigator, mostly because I've been using it a
long time, all the way back to 386/486 DOS machines. Unfortunately
it is not free, and may not even be available anymore although Maptech
has done a good job with updates.

I believe there is a free viewer call Seaclear or something like that.
There is also a product called Fugawi that some people like. I
believe it is reasonably priced and has a free demo version.

Thanks, Wayne.

--Vic

August 21 - All at Sea

On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:33:50 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Downloaded the SeaClear II, and the NOAA RNC for Charlotte Harbor
to Estero.

Good deal. You can get a pocket GPS with data and power cable for a
reasonable price, and there are lots of used laptops around on the
internet. You really don't need more than a Pentium 3 with Win2K
and they are dime a dozen right now. For the boat and car you'll need
a $40 inverter from West Marine, less from Walmart.

I'd forgotten you were a virtual neighbor. If you scan Google Earth
in Cape Coral you can actually find our trawler docked behind the
house, obviously not in real time.