The Next Adventure: Fort Lauderdale to Chicago on a 64 Pershing

My friend decided that he needed a new boat and proceeded to buy a spectacular new 2014 64 feet Pershing.  He asked if I would help him move the boat from Fort Lauderdale, where she currently lays, to her new home in Chicago, a distance of 2,460 nautical miles.  Of course I said "yes."

Pershing 64 (stock photo)

Here the Pershing’s vital statistics:

• ·        Overall Length: 65.7 feet
• ·         Beam: 16.4 feet
• ·         Draft: 4 feet 4"
• ·         Power: Two MTU 1623 HP diesels
• ·         Displacement: 79,146 pounds (empty)
• ·         Maximum Speed: 47.5 knots (55 MPH)
• ·         Cruise Speed: 42 knots (49 MPH)
• ·         Fuel Burn at Maximum Speed: 168 GPH
• ·         Fuel Burn at Cruise Speed: 142 GPH
• ·         Fuel Capacity: 925 gallons
• ·         Available Fuel: 832 gallons (10% reserve)
• ·         Type of hull: Modified V (planning hull)

This is the quintessential high speed luxury express cruiser and a very different boat than the Guided Discovery.  Guided Discovery’s basic statistics (length, beam, draft and displacement) closely match the Pershing’s but that where it ends.  The Outer Reef is a semi displacement hull with two 503 Caterpillar diesels.  Her optimum cruise speed is 8.4 knots (9.7 MPH) at 1,400 RPM.  Her maximum speed of 13.4 knots is for "rare" occasions due to its inefficient fuel burn of 50 GPH.  The Pershing moves fast but has limited range, 280 nautical miles mile with 10% reserve.  The Outer Reef moves slow but can cover 1,638 nautical miles with a 10% fuel reserve at optimum cruise.  Drop the 63's RPMs to 1,200 and the speed drops to 7.6 knots while the range increases to 2,208 nautical miles.

The other major difference is that the Outer Reef 63 is stabilized allowing her to cruise slowly with stability in seas.  The Pershing’s planning hull is not stabilized so that in a sea she has to run at speed to maintain stability.  Further, she does gain any benefit from running at her hull speed, 10.8 knots, as her fuel consumption at 1,200 RPM is 45 GPH.  Essentially that translates into 18.6 hours of run time (with a 10% reserve) or 200 nautical miles.  Even at idle (9.4 knots) she burns 23 GPH producing a range of 340 miles. This baby was born to move.

Note: Guided Discovery at idle (700 RPM) has a 2,925 nautical mile range at 4.5 knots.  She is capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean (in 20 some days).

Here’s some perspective.  Guided Discovery needed 57 hours to cover 480 nautical miles between Norfolk and Hingham Mass.  She burned 383.6 gallons.  The Pershing could do that trip in just over 10 running hours.  However, her fuel burn at just over 1,200 gallons requires a fuel stop enroute.  Still, she would be able to complete the trip in one day.

My friend asked me to construct a preliminary route based on his goal to reach Chicago ASAP.  This translates into a coastal run from Fort Lauderdale to the mouth of the Hudson (at New York City).  From there we cruise up the Hudson to Waterford where we pick up the Erie Canal and cruise west to the Oswego Canal with a destination of Oswego, NY.  From Oswego we head west on Lake Ontario to the Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.  Again we head west on Lake Erie to Lake Saint Clair at Detroit, connect to Lake Huron, where we head north to the Straights of Mackinac and Lake Michigan.  From there it’s 300 nautical miles to Chicago.

Below is the tentative cruising plan:  

FROM TO MILES CUM TIME FUEL MARINA Fort Lauderdale St Augustine 234 234 6.7 735.4 St. Augustine Municipal Marina St Augustine Georgetown 240 474 6.9 754.3 Georgetown Marina Georgetown Beaufort 165 639 4.7 518.6 Beaufort Docks Beaufort Norfolk 209 848 6.0 656.9 Tidewater or Waterside Norfolk Atlantic City 187 1035 5.3 587.7 Senator Frank S. Farley State Marina Atlantic City Troy, NY 218 1253 6.2 685.1 Troy Downtown Marina Troy, NY Oswego 218 1471 6.2 685.1 Oswego Marina Oswego Buffalo 146 1617 4.2 458.9 Pending Buffalo Detroit 231 1848 6.6 726.0 Detroit Yacht Club Detroit Alpena, MI 197 2045 5.6 619.1 Thunder Bay Shore Marina Alpena, MI Charlevoix 170 2215 4.9 534.3 Charlevoix Municipal Charlevoix Chicago 245 2460 7.0 770.0 Burnham 2460 7731.4 Total fuel 4.2 Cost per gallon 32472 Fuel Cost

In constructing this plan I used a conservative 15% reserve (786 gallons) and chose stops where the marina could accommodate a 64 footer.  A total of 12 runs are required with run times of 5 to 6 hours.  With daylight savings at this time of year we have at least 14 hours of daylight each day and the potential to make two runs per day including up to two hours for refueling.

Explanatory Note: Passagemaker used a 10% reserve when they calculated Guided Discovery's range at different speeds.  I chose a 15% reserve to account for the fact that the fuel consumption charts supplied by Pershing were for MAN rather than the MTU engines installed on the boat and we have not measured actual fuel usage by running a distance and topping off.

Now to the weather.  As of Sunday (May 11) when I started this article it did not look good for offshore running.  A strong cold front associated with a deep low pressure center over northern Lake Michigan that trailed south to Texas was forecasted to move east slowly.  NOAA was forecasting for each of the preceding four days winds out of the southeast at 15 to 20 knots with seas of 4 to 6 feet and a chance of thunderstorms each day.  Of concern was our inexperience with the 64.  How would she handle the range of seas (head, quartering, beam and following) that we would surely encounter on a 2,460 nautical mile run.

Now to the plan: Three of us were going to meet in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday evening, participate in the new boat delivery process on Monday and with the cooperation of the weather, unlikely based on the forecast, and the boat (i.e., making it through an orientation and sea trial with no deficiencies - also unlikely) we would be on our way on Tuesday.

I departed Hinghan Shipyard Marinas for Boston's Logan Airport at 1:00 PM on Sunday to catch a 3:10 flight.  Diana and Kodi drove me.  After a very short 35 minute ride I was at the airport.  Since completion of Boston's Big Dig getting to the airport is considerably easier.  Things were going well until I got to the gate where a 15 minute delay ultimately turned into a two hour and 15 minute delay resulting in a 5:25 PM pushoff.  Oh well, "if you have time to spare, go by air."

Written by Les.