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#1
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
Prescript - Roger's right :{))
Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14 When we left you, we were making preparations for rolling up the anchor in our departure for Saint Simons Island. Conversation with our weather forecaster showed that we'd be facing some very stiff conditions on our way down, at least initially. The buoy offshore from Charleston showed 20-25 knots, gusting to 30, with 9' waves in a 6-9 second period (the time between wave crests). Still that was no worse than we faced when we first sailed our boat, with no experience whatsoever with her, when we took possession, and we did fine, then. We'd started out, then, with a single reef and staysail, and as the reefs in the original sail were much shorter (the third reef in that sail was about where our second reef is in our new sail), and eventually added more sail. So, we'd planned to start with a single reef and staysail. In the anchorage, the wind was relatively calm, and we wondered if we'd actually see all the wind forecast out on the open water. As is our practice, we started the engine before leaving, about 10:15. That would allow us to deal with any emergency without scrambling to get it started. I'd already done all the checkouts, beforehand... So, folks, please take your seats and fasten your seat belts and return the trays to the upright and locked position. Our departure this morning will be on time, at 10:30, as soon as the crew returns from the patio. We're number one for departure. Oops! Our mechanic has discovered a part failure in the engine room. There will be a slight delay while this is addressed :{/) We'd noted a great deal of salt on the starboard side of the engine, and couldn't figure out where it had come from. The best we could figure was that in the prior passage, during our radical heel to port, with all the waves, that water must have gotten in, falling to that location. However, just on the possibility that it was, in fact, somehow coming from the engine or related stuff, I started to go in the engine room on startup. Yikes! Water everywhere. Shut her down, and go in to see if I can discover the source. A cracked fitting! Dang! So, off it came and into Dad's Hardware Store to see if we had a replacement. The fitting in question was not in stock, but two other parts which, combined, would do the job, and, instead of nylon, this time, it was brass. Now to replace the hose I had to cut off to get to it. Hm. Nope. None seen. So, I scavenged one from a fitting designed to redirect smoke, and set about replacing the damaged or cut parts. When I get to a hardware store again shortly, I'll purchase the right brass fitting to replace the broken one, return the other two parts to stock, and use some of the leftover fuel hose to replace the entire length of the hose which had seen a short section inserted, making a better end result, anyway. A test start revealed that the cobbled-up solution held, and we prepared, again, to get under way, this time at about noon. The anchorage is very muddy, particularly where we'd come to rest. As I pulled in short sections of the anchor chain, it bobbed to taut, then sagged, effectively washing it off as I did so. However, we weren't moving. Hm. Apparently we were stuck-in-the-muds, but a small amount of forward power overcame the strong outgoing tidal current, and we shortly had the anchor back in the roller, and under way. By the time we got to the first marker in the channel about 12:30, we were glad we'd reefed and had only the staysail out, because we were beating against a 20-25 knot wind all the way out to the main channel. However, with all that wind, and the current aiding, we were also making 8+ knots, and by the time we reached the main channel, and were able to turn 30 degrees downwind to a close reach, we exceeded 9 knots out to our turn at the first buoy outside the breakwater. We received a hint of things to come as the waves built, but when we turned downwind, the apparent wind let up, and we were doing 8+ knots. Since we had to avoid a spot of shallows, we continued due south for a while before turning onto our rhumb line of about 222 degrees. Still with a single reef and staysail, I prevented the main. However, the waves were as promised, and we rocked and rolled rather much, and the staysail, a self-tending one on a boom with a traveler, went from starboard to port and then back again, gaining enough momentum on the return to fling the traveler sliding stop, and the end stop, overboard. RATS! Well, that limited the future utility of the staysail, but we left it up, sheeted tight amidships, to help act as a flopper-stopper. In the meantime, the apparent wind dropped, as we were now going in the same general direction as it was, rather than into it, and it was only 13-18 knots. It looked like the wind might be far enough inboard to put out the genoa, but it flopped enough that I shortened it up to about a 90% size and sheeted it relatively tight, adding to the flopperstopper action, but also adding some drive. Accordingly, our speed went up slightly, but more importantly, it helped limit the range of the rolls. We still rolled a lot, but only in an arc of about 15-20 degrees to each side. And, despite the very impressive waves, since we were going in the same general direction as they were, their motion under us was a gentle lift and fall rather than crashing as was the case in our beat. Once again, we admired the view as they rolled up, over our heads, then lifted the stern and passed under us, from our break on the patio. By 4PM, the apparent windspeed had dropped to 12-15, forecast to drop as the day wore on, and continuing to drop through tomorrow, along with gradually diminishing seas. So, we shook out the reef and continued on our way. Our speed picked up slightly as we did so, but the rock and roll continued. Eventually, it looked as though we could put out the genoa again, and run wing-and wing, as the wind appeared to have shifted slightly more to the stern, and the Windex at the top of the mast showed that we rarely rolled to more than about 20 degrees to what would be windward, still, if we were to pull the main over. So, I got back into my harness and went out to remove the preventer. Sheet in the main tight, turn slightly downwind to flop it over, and prevent it on the other side, and we turned upwind, returning to our original course again to put out the genoa. No luck, unfortunately, as the genoa luffed and filled and crashed as it filled, repeatedly. Still too much rock and roll, and with dark coming on, in rough seas, I was loathe to deal with putting out the spinnaker pole (serving as a whisker pole in this case). We reluctantly rolled the genoa back to flopper-stopper position and reversed our jibing of the main. There we remained, all night. I went down for a nap around 6, coming up at 8:30 PM to a brilliantly lit full moon under clear skies. We snacked on some hummus that Lydia had made on our trip into Charleston, and Lydia went down for her sleep at 9. By 10, we were seeing ship traffic - perhaps from Savannah? - but, only intermittently. It's impressive, from my eye height of about 8' off the water, to see ships of 50' height or more disappear for seconds at a time. The seas were still easily 9' but, still, mostly from the rear, and it's been a dry ride despite the impressive sight of the waves as they advance on us. The moonlight makes a huge difference in how you can see and read the water... Around 10:30, I had two close encounters with ships crossing our path. Neither responded to my hails on 16 and 13, but one, crossing fairly close to us (but nothing like Captain Star, the fishing boat on our way to Charleston), shot me a light signal as he passed, acknowledging our presence. Having a multi-hundred foot ship heading at you focuses your attention, for sure, but there was no real concern as with the fishing boat, as they were not making any sudden moves. By 1 AM, it appeared that the wind might be shifting. NOAA has been saying, on the VHF forecasts, and offshore buoy readings seem to agree, that the wind is from the ENE, but based on our course and apparent wind, it's at best NE, on the order of 040-050 degrees. That's too bad, because another 10 or 20 degrees would allow us to put out the genoa and stiffen up the ride considerably. As it is, however, we're making between 6 and 7 knots consistently. I did some calculations, and despite the luxury to come, assuming the wind stays in the same quarter, of a beam reach up the Saint Simons channel this morning, to head up into the wind enough to stiffen the boat, even assuming we gained an entire knot of speed, would cost us at least another two hours based on how far out that would place us as we made our turn, jibing into our heading for the channel. So, it's grin and bear it time, and I left it alone and we continued rocking and rolling along. I did, however, move the preventer further aft in order to put some downhaul pressure on the main, which stiffened it up considerably, and lessened the spillage loss at the top of the sail, speeding us up by a couple of tenths of a knot. Our wind continues to be 18-23 knots, with 12-17 knots apparent wind as we go mostly downwind at 222 degrees magnetic. We're crossing an area thick with artificial reefs, with numerous private, unlit, buoys, so we're paying very close attention to where we are, despite the otherwise straight line course we are able to make. So far I have yet to see any of them, but since our updated charts, as well as the older ones in MaxSea, say they're out there, we're giving them a wide berth. If they're anything like the usual navigation buoys, hitting one of them could ruin our day (not to mention grievously injure Flying Pig)! That was the story all night; we turned the corner by jibing about 100 degrees to starboard, having made more than 6 knots for virtually all of the straight-line, nearly downwind, rolly run from the channel in Charleston to the channel in Saint Simons Island. Even the runs in and out of the channel were great. We proceeded at flank speed, up the Saint Simons Channel, at about 8:30, and had the hook down and engine off by 10:30. We sailed the entire channel other than the anchorage, including swinging by for a close run on a beam reach so that our Angels could see us up close and get some pictures on the pier. We had a great run, covering 143 miles from anchor up to anchor down, in 23 hours. Run's the word, too, as 120 miles of that was literally a run. It was too rolly to use the pole, or we'd have gotten here quicker :{)) Our friends have biscuits waiting for us at their home, so we'll drop the dinghy, pick up their car they've left us in the parking lot, and see you next time. We'll be here for a few days, and then head out to Miami, when Day 8 will show up... Stay tuned :{)) L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) |
#2
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
On Oct 14, 7:49*am, "Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14 Yikes! Water everywhere. *Shut her down, and go in to see if I can discover the source. *A cracked fitting! *Dang! .....instead of nylon, this time, Skip SKip PLease tell me you dont have ANY nylon fittings threaded into your engine ................ If that is your S.O.P. even AFTER your major refit..... and major crash fix..... and constant motor looking and fussing..... Well, I let someone else comment. Bob |
#3
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
"Bob" wrote in message
... On Oct 14, 7:49 am, "Skip Gundlach" wrote: Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14 Yikes! Water everywhere. Shut her down, and go in to see if I can discover the source. A cracked fitting! Dang! .....instead of nylon, this time, Skip Skip Please tell me you don't have ANY nylon fittings threaded into your engine ................ If that is your S.O.P. even AFTER your major refit..... and major crash fix..... and constant motor looking and fussing..... Well, I let someone else comment. Bob Nope, not into the engine. It's a bypass for the water coming from and back to the oil cooler, at the top of a hose well above the waterline; the bypass dumps into the exhaust line, also well above the waterline... -- L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) |
#4
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
"Skip Gundlach" wrote:
"Bob" wrote in message ... On Oct 14, 7:49 am, "Skip Gundlach" wrote: Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14 Yikes! Water everywhere. Shut her down, and go in to see if I can discover the source. A cracked fitting! Dang! .....instead of nylon, this time, Skip Skip Please tell me you don't have ANY nylon fittings threaded into your engine ................ If that is your S.O.P. even AFTER your major refit..... and major crash fix..... and constant motor looking and fussing..... Well, I let someone else comment. Bob Nope, not into the engine. It's a bypass for the water coming from and back to the oil cooler, at the top of a hose well above the waterline; the bypass dumps into the exhaust line, also well above the waterline... But watch brass (as opposed to bronze) fittings carefully -- athey are subject to turn into red dust in salt water. Just keep a close eye. Michael Porter Marine Design mporter at mp-marine dot com www.mp-marine.com ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
#5
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
"Michael Porter" wrote
But watch brass (as opposed to bronze) fittings carefully -- athey are subject to turn into red dust in salt water. Just keep a close eye. I'll more than second that. Since this is a raw water line and operated at elevated temperaturs due to being in a cooling circut, it absolutely should not be brass. Even though it won't sink the boat if it breaks, water rising in the bilge could be a dangerous distraction in a difficult situation. The breakage would also be accompanied by exhaust leaking into the interior of the boat. You won't be able to keep a close enough eye on the interior of the fitting where the problems will be. Even if this is just a seldom used overflow that seldom sees salt water, it's still exposed to exhaust gas on the other engine cooling water. This is the place to invest in bronze. Brass should only be used in F.W. and fuel lines. -- Roger Long |
#6
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Nylon vs brass vs bronze vs Marelon (was) Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
"Roger Long" wrote in message
... "Michael Porter" wrote But watch brass (as opposed to bronze) fittings carefully -- athey are subject to turn into red dust in salt water. Just keep a close eye. I'll more than second that. Since this is a raw water line and operated at elevated temperaturs due to being in a cooling circut, it absolutely should not be brass. Even though it won't sink the boat if it breaks, water rising in the bilge could be a dangerous distraction in a difficult situation. The breakage would also be accompanied by exhaust leaking into the interior of the boat. You won't be able to keep a close enough eye on the interior of the fitting where the problems will be. Even if this is just a seldom used overflow that seldom sees salt water, it's still exposed to exhaust gas on the other engine cooling water. This is the place to invest in bronze. Brass should only be used in F.W. and fuel lines. -- Roger Long Well, you'll all be thrilled and comforted :{)) that today I bought another nylon fitting, as there were no bronze or Marelon fittings available. Next on the boat chores list is to replace the entire hose to which the leaky fitting fed, as it's getting old, at the same time as I replace the fitting. No pressure on it, but I have plenty of fuel hose, which is the same size, and as I'll route it so as to have no side pressure on it (as was the case in the broken fitting), I expect that will last the life of the boat as we own it, since I speculate what was there was original :{)) Meanwhile, I spent two hours on the silty bottom of the Frederica River today, after spending about 5 hours in the other Angel's boat doing hoses, rescuing an anchor and setting up a mooring, from the first Angel's couple-year ago loss by fouling on a huge lead cylinder with 6 INCH chain on it. Every bit of it by feel, as there was ZERO vis, even only ~10' down. More boat work in the first one tomorrow, and then I'll deal with my own boat's 1-2-3's (small daily chores)... -- L8R Skip Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it however." (and) "There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach, in The Reluctant Messiah) |
#7
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14
"Skip Gundlach" wrote:
Prescript - Roger's right :{)) Miami Passage - Day 7 - October 14 When we left you, we were making preparations for rolling up the anchor in our departure for Saint Simons Island. snip Our friends have biscuits waiting for us at their home, so we'll drop the dinghy, pick up their car they've left us in the parking lot, and see you next time. We'll be here for a few days, and then head out to Miami, when Day 8 will show up... Until I saw that you were visiting friends, I was going to say that we've always gone from Charleston down to the St. Mary's River or v.v. because St. Simons is backwards and a long way in. |
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