After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment. One fact that has become apparent is that slow and steady
wins the race. Another observation is that when the wind and waves
kick up, we are running as fast as anyone else and doing it a lot more
comfortably. Last but not least, we are still running on fuel that we
bought in May, 700 miles ago in North Carolina at $1.67 a gallon.

On balance, our trip north from SWFL was not all that slow either.
Thanks to the help of two old sailing buddys who joined us for the
trip, we were able to make several offshore runs which saved a lot of
time and distance.

We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks. From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.

Excellent post.

wrote:
After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment.

It is different... depends on which direction you're moving. Coming from
sail, I'm delighted with our average speed most of the time. I prefer
heeling to rolling though.



We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks.

Wow, now that's moving! You did have a pretty good crew.

From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.


Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Fair Skies
Doug King

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 08:14:19 -0400, DSK wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

Sounds like a great trip... you missed a lot of scenery in between. But
smart to skip going around Cape Hattaras outside. You picked a good time
to get out of Florida, Dennis is still deciding which way to go and
there's E,F, & G waiting out there in the on-deck circle.

Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
Speaking of slow boats, you seem to be the sail guy around these here
parts - what's a good, no frills, sail boat that isn't hard to sail
for somebody with some movement and strength problems - large enough
to carry, say four/five people in relative comfort for just day
sailing?

The catboat is a good call... there are a lot of them out there, my pick
would be either a new ComPac (easily trailerable)
http://www.com-pacyachts.com/com-pacsuncat.php

.... or a Sanderling (not so trailerable, but you can bring it home at
the end of the season). BTW the cabin looks bigger than it really is,
the cockpit is huge.
http://www.smallcraftadvisor.com/boa...anderling.html

Another trailerable choice would be a Flying Scot.
http://www.flyingscot.com/

A little bigger and not trailerable:
Sea Sprite 22
http://www.affordableyachting.com/archives/E443.HTM

Ensign
http://www.ensignclass.com/graphics/...ifications.gif

The last two might be the best choice for a person with movement &
strength problems, they will be much steadier on the water and easier to
work... especially if some attention has been paid to the running
rigging. It will still presnt some challenges.

If you really want the first-class option, easiest to sail with least
likely pain & difficulty, good performance, and don't mind spending the
money, put one of these under the Christmas tree
http://www.wdschock.com/harbor20/

I haven't sailed one myself, but have sailed in company with them.
They're very easy to handle, intelligently rigged, stable, and capable
of fun sailing in a wide range of conditions... more so than any boat
listed yet. There is a one-design fleet of these racing down near
Wilmington, I watch them when I'm J-24 racing.

Hope this helps... it would be interesting to hear what you decide and
how it works out.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 13:03:05 -0400, DSK wrote:

Hope this helps... it would be interesting to hear what you decide and
how it works out.

Thanks man - I'll check them out.

Appreciate it.

It was a good trip, weather was good to excelent the entire way, and we
had no major boat issues.

We were very impressed with the scenery in North Carolina above
Beaufort, almost made me reconsider our retirement plan in SWFL but
that is just about written in stone at this point. Oriental is a
wonderful little town that we are glad we stopped at, likewise
Charleston, SC. We had a fantastic, albeit expensive dinner at the
Charleston Grill right in the downtown area that was the equal of
anything I've had elsewhere. The Charleston City Marina is also a
first class operation which I would recommend to anyone.

wrote in
message oups.com...
It was a good trip, weather was good to excelent the entire way, and we
had no major boat issues.

We were very impressed with the scenery in North Carolina above
Beaufort, almost made me reconsider our retirement plan in SWFL but
that is just about written in stone at this point. Oriental is a
wonderful little town that we are glad we stopped at, likewise
Charleston, SC. We had a fantastic, albeit expensive dinner at the
Charleston Grill right in the downtown area that was the equal of
anything I've had elsewhere. The Charleston City Marina is also a
first class operation which I would recommend to anyone.


Welcome back to the land of fog, mist, and 55 degree water.
Sounds like you had a great trip. Congrats.

Eisboch

On 6 Jul 2005 05:02:51 -0700, "
wrote:

After a year of puttering around in our GB49 at 8 to 10 kts we are
beginning to adapt to a slower schedule but it has taken some
adjustment. One fact that has become apparent is that slow and steady
wins the race. Another observation is that when the wind and waves
kick up, we are running as fast as anyone else and doing it a lot more
comfortably. Last but not least, we are still running on fuel that we
bought in May, 700 miles ago in North Carolina at $1.67 a gallon.

On balance, our trip north from SWFL was not all that slow either.
Thanks to the help of two old sailing buddys who joined us for the
trip, we were able to make several offshore runs which saved a lot of
time and distance.

We left Cape Coral on May 21 heading east on the Okeechobee Waterway,
spent Saturday night docked in the wilds of central Florida, and then
made a 2 1/2 day non-stop run to Charleston, SC by way of Port St Lucie
and Fort Pierce inlet. We pulled into Charleston at the crack of dawn
on May 24, already 450 nautical miles from where we started. A day
later, and another overnight run, we were 200 miles north in Beaufort,
NC on the south side of the Outer Banks. From an over night stop in
Oriental, NC it took another 2 days on the Intercoastal Waterway to
reach Norfolk, VA averaging about 80 miles each day. Leaving Norfolk
at the crack of dawn the following day, we were able to reach Ocean
City, MD by late afternoon requiring full cruising speed of 10 1/2 kts.
Ocean City to Cape May, NJ was a leisurely 40 mile run at 8 kts, and
from there it was another 120 miles to NY Harbor, about 1200 natutical
miles total in 11 days, most of which was done at speeds of 9 kts or
less.

Glad you had a safe trip - I was wondering if you made it or not.

Thanks. We made it just fine, even had a chance to get reacquainted
with ham radio along the way via Winlink/Airmail/APRS, etc. APRS was a
real crowd pleaser with the friends and relatives back home who could
track our progress and position along the way. Meanwhile I've worked
about half a dozen countries from the boat in the last couple of weeks
on 20M SSB.

Winlink, Airmail and APRS are all fantastic systems and a real credit
to the guys who put it together and made it work.

On 6 Jul 2005 13:38:10 -0700, "
wrote:

Thanks. We made it just fine, even had a chance to get reacquainted
with ham radio along the way via Winlink/Airmail/APRS, etc. APRS was a
real crowd pleaser with the friends and relatives back home who could
track our progress and position along the way. Meanwhile I've worked
about half a dozen countries from the boat in the last couple of weeks
on 20M SSB.

Winlink, Airmail and APRS are all fantastic systems and a real credit
to the guys who put it together and made it work.

They did a hell of a job didn't they?