Skip Gundlach wrote in
ups.com:

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In our next installment, we'll talk about more we've learned :{))

Perhaps the first thing that you need to learn is to get your crew up early
and get underway so that you're not getting in after dark. You seem to be
doing this on a regular basis, and it isn't safe.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:29:55 -0500, Geoff Schultz
wrote:

get underway so that you're not getting in after dark. You seem to be
doing this on a regular basis, and it isn't safe.

I certainly agree with that, especially when cruising unfamiliar
waters with a lot of hazards. I like to have my day's route laid out
on the laptop the night before. By plugging in an estimated speed it
gives an ETA estimate, and during the day the ETA constantly
recalculates as conditions change. It's also a good idea to have a
Plan B if you start running late on the original goal.

One of the issues with cruising this time of year is the steadily
decreasing amount of daylight available. Just when you need to be
making good progress south, there is less time available to do it.

get underway so that you're not getting in after dark.

On the Chesapeake I'd stay in the main channel after dark, or near to it.
It'll likely to be free of obstructions, but you'll of course have to avoid
commercial traffic if it's present. And those freighters are moving a lot
faster than they look!

On 2007-10-29 20:03:29 -0400, "Bill Kearney" wkearney-99@hot-mail-com said:

get underway so that you're not getting in after dark.

On the Chesapeake I'd stay in the main channel after dark, or near to
it. It'll likely to be free of obstructions, but you'll of course have
to avoid commercial traffic if it's present. And those freighters are
moving a lot faster than they look!

I had marked other posts to respond to but this one encapsulates them.
Above about Annapolis, this is particularly true, and fish traps and
crab traps are uncomfortably regular to even 30 foot depths. The
Solomons had a particularly nasty fish trap that extended into about 35
feet.

I'm not often enough below the Solomons to offer current info, but our
experience has been that these things are far less a problem.

Still, if you see a light, particularly a flashing one, my recommendation is
to steer to deeper water.
--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/