We departed Norfolk at 6:08 AM on Saturday, May 3, and arrived in Hingham Massachusetts at 3:00 PM EST on Monday, May 5, after running continuously for 57 hours and covering 474.7 nautical (545.9 statute) miles. 57 of hours of continuous running and 546 miles sets a new record for our cruising.
Explanatory Note: The previous article identified our weather window as Friday, May 2 to Sunday, May 4. Due to circumstances, our departure was delayed for 24 hours essentially changing the weather window considerations. The low that was forecasted over Maine for Sunday, which was not a problem for us as we would be arriving in protected Massachusetts waters, now became a consideration. The forecast for 4 to 6 foot waves over the open waters on the south shore of Long Island at Montauk Point and the open waters between Block Island and Buzzards Bay became a factor. Four to six footers were not enough to delay our departure but at the same time portended some rough seas on Sunday and Sunday night.
The "crew," Dick, Phil and I departed Waterside Marina at 6:08 AM on Friday morning. Skies were clear and winds were light and variable. We were in the "middle" of the weather window at departure.
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| Sunrise on Saturday Morning at Waterside Marina |
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| The crew (Phil, Dick and Lester) just before departure |
We traveled north on the ICW, traversed Hampton Roads, took a shortcut through the cut at the Bay Bridge & Tunnel and finally turned northeast on a course of 039 at 9:26 AM. We held that course for over 200 miles (or the next 25 hours).
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Phil on the Portuguese bridge capturing the sunset on Saturday night
Red at night, sailors delight (well not in this case) |
At 10:12 PM on Saturday evening, I recorded our position as southeast of Cape May, NJ. We observed on Sirius Satellite Weather four rather distinct thunderstorm cells on Delaware Bay moving ENE (east north east) with a weather watch box 16 NM north of our position. At that point we had covered 135 NM at an average speed of 8.5 knots. This was certainly cause for concern. Would the storms move out to sea before we crossed their path? The general consensus was that they would and that proved to be the case. We experienced no rain and seas remained at 2 feet.
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| Left Screen: Our course. Right Screen: Radar and Weather |
The next "event" occurred at 12:00 AM in the shipping lanes on the approach to Delaware Bay. Phil was on watch and I was sleeping on the pilothouse settee (so as to be immediately available). Phil woke me with the words "there's a ship to port and very close. It snuck up on us." Oops!. Turns out he was right. Also turns out the radar was set on 16 NM making close targets appear very small. Using AIS we quickly determined that we had a 900 foot cargo ship crossing in front of us. We slowed to idle and allowed the "monster" to pass north of us. It came within 3/4 of a mile. Needless to say this has caused me to rethink my watch procedures, Going forward, persons standing watch will not be allowed to change settings on the multifunction screens.
We awoke Sunday morning (at least those of us who were asleep) off Egg Island, NJ, to following seas with waves less than two feet. The wind was blowing WSW at 9.0 knots. We had covered 199 NM at an average speed of 8.4 knots.
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| Sunrise on Sunday morning (red in the morning, sailor take warning) |
At 8:45 AM, we recorded west winds at 13 knots with the barometer at 29.82 and steady. Seas were still following with waves heights at two feet. We saw broken clouds and some whitecaps. At 10:25 AM we crossed the halfway point (236 NM). Winds were still westerly at 14 knots. There were a few more white caps. We changed course to 073 to cross the New York City shipping lanes enroute to the south shore of Long Island.
At 12:00 noon we encountered a debris field with several very large floating tree trunks and a few telephone poles. Good thing it was not dark.
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| Dick Singer on watch and watching |
Shortly afterwards, our log shows that the winds picked up (west at 20+) and seas began to build. By 1:15 PM we recorded 30 knot winds out of the west with seas of 3 to 5 feet. The barometer was falling as we approached an area of low pressure. By 1:30 PM seas had build to 4 to 6 ofr our port aft quarter.
Guided Discovery's stabilizers were working to keep us stable and she was riding well.
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Sirius Satellite Weather at 4:09 PM predicting west winds gusting to 30 knots with seas of 4 to 6 feet
between Montauk Point and Martha's Vineyard and extending out to Block Island |
By 7:40 PM we were off Warner Island on Long Island's south coast at a distance of 7.7 NM from the coast running at 8.4 knots in four to six foot following seas. Shortly after that we began seeing fish trap markers. This was disconcerting as night was quickly coming upon us. I called the Coast Guard to see if they could provide some "local knowledge." They were not helpful. However, the Sea Tow Captain at Shnnecock Inlet, who had listened to our call, jumped in to provide some insight. He suggested that the traps would diminish as we proceed east toward Montauk and further suggested that we run our radar at 1 mile of less with the gain turned way up so that we might spot any markers. Talk about disconcerting. We were minutes away from sunset running in an area with fish trap markers.
Explanatory Note: Running over a fish, crab or lobster trap markers is fraught with risk. The line running from the marker to the trap can get caught in the propellers or in the gap between the stabilizer and the hull. The marker can strike the propeller and damage (bend) a blade. Fortunately we have cutters on the shafts that reduce this risk, I am not sure if we have deflectors at the leading edge of the stabilizers. I will find out.
We ran with dual radar, one screen on a mile range to spot fish trap markers and the other at 8 miles to spot ships. We also turned on the spot light every minute to help spot the fish trap markers, which is highly problematic in 4 to 6 foot seas with whitecaps. Even if you happen to see a marker the odds of dodging it even at 8.4 knots are not good. Luckily (and I emphasize luckily) we never saw the fish trap markers on radar nor did we hit any. Turns out the Sea Tow captain was right. Once past Shinnecock Inlet the traps diminished.
Next problem. At 11:12 PM we were 5 miles south of Montauk Light when the autopilot beeped, as it should, to alert us that the course was about to change.from 079 to 071. Further, we were in the process of changing watch responsibility. I was coming off and Phil was coming on. Two minutes later the autopilot began beeping indicating that something was wrong. I quickly determined that the Furuno autopilot was not receiving course information from the Garmin chartplotter.
This proved to be quite a problem. We were in 4 foot seas off the port aft quarter with an occasional six thrown in for good measure. Putting the autopilot onto auto mode was not effective as the seas kept throwing us off course. Helming the boat was necessary while I figured out why the Furuno was not getting course information. Phil stepped into the breach and held course. We both found it quite challenging.
Meanwhile, I needed to figure out why we lost course data. This proved to be challenging. Here are my clues.
- The waypoint numbers jumped from 0161, the waypoint where we lost data, to 148. What happened to 0160 to 0149?
- There was a course change where I had added a turn earlier to correct an error in the route. The magenta course line went over Block Island. However, there was no waypoint. Just an angle (turn) in the magenta line.
Background: Earlier in the day I had added a waypoint to the route when I noticed that the magenta course line ran over block Island. I found this strange as I thoroughly review the route once it is set to ensure water depth, clearance from buoys and obstacles. I definitely had verified that our course line did not touch land. So I followed the procedure to add a "turn" (i.e., waypoint). For whatever reason I either failed to notice or noticed but did not understand that while the system added a course change it did not drop in a waypoint.
I attempted to add a waypoint several times but was unsuccessful. At that point I should have remembered Einstein's definition of insanity (i.e., doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result). I finally deleted the entire route and further deleted over 100 other waypoints (none of which had any value for future use). Finally, I successfully entered a new route that took us from Block Island to 5 miles south of the Cape Cod Canal. Without going into detail, I made a number of procedural errors before I finally got the autopilot to steer the course in the desired direction. The entire process took one hour and 15 minutes. Phil did yeoman's work holding course (which was still a bit snakey but who cares).
More background: I have Garmin G2 Vision SD cards (i.e., chips) that provide additional features such as greater chart detail and route guidance. The features were working while we were in Florida but disappeared as we moved north. Since I had time on my hands I tried to figure out why I had lost the features and eventually consulted the instruction booklet. In the process I noticed that I had failed to inset the chips for the northern areas. Since I had the chip for the waters we were in the only question was whether it could be inserted while the system was operating. No problem said the instructions. Not true! Garmin tech support confirmed that the problem I experienced was related to charting detail errors in the chip.
Meanwhile, back to the cruise. As we passed Block Island during the night we experienced winds of 20 plus knots and were exposed to the open waters of Long Island Sound. Seas quickly built to 4 to 6 feet. Again no problem for the stabilizers, but the waves and whitecaps continued to make it difficult to see the fish trap buoys. Luckily we made it through the night without hitting any on our way to and through Buzzards Bay.
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| Dick and Phil early Monday morning |
At 7:35 AM on Monday we passed Cleveland Ledge Light, well into Buzzards Bay and just short of the Cape Cod Canal. Now the challenge was currents, which can run as high as 4 knots. My calculation showed that the optimum time for traversing the canal was 9:30 AM. At 8:00 AM we passed buoy G1 running at 1,400 RPM, which yields 8.4 knots according to sea trial data. Our speed was 8.0 indicating that we were running against the current (by .4 knots) as slack tide approached. At the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge at 8:35 AM our speed dropped to 7.8 knots suggesting a .6 knot current against us. Then as we proceeded through the canal the tide turned and our speed increased quickly (over 30 minutes) to 9.9 knots. We had hit the canal just right in relation to the current.
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| Approaching the canal with a favorable current |
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| Entering the Cape Cod Canal |
9:27 AM: At the east end of the canal we turned northeast and headed toward Boston. We passed Plymouth at 11:13 AM and Cohassett at 1:23 PM. An hour later we traversed the Hull Gut and 24 minutes later docked at slip I-35 at Marina Bay Marina.
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| The crew poses for a final photo |
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| Guided Discovery at her "summer residence" (slip I-35) |
Special thanks to Dick Singer and Phil Fuoco for helping me with this leg of our journey.
Now, let the summer begin.
Written by Les.
Wow, what a journey! 6 ft waves in the dark while dodging fish traps sounds pretty hairy. Glad you made it to Boston safely.
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