Hingham Bound: Block Island to our Summer Home

The voyage from Block Island to Hingham took 12 hours and was quite pleasant.

At 6:00 AM we officially ended the Atlantic City to Block Island shortcut and switched to the Cape May to Cape Cod Canal route which would take us up Buzzards Bay to the canal. We also estimated our arrival in Hingham to be 3:51 PM.

A tug and a tow following us in Buzzards Bay

The next question was the current speed and direction in the Cape Cod Canal. Would we get a pushed through the canal on a favorable current or would we have to power through against the current.

Buzzards Bay, the Cape Cod Canal, Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay

Explanatory Note: The 7 mile long Cape Cod Canal connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay.  The canal is located in Bourne, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy defines its southern boundary with the Scusset Beach State Reservation as its northern boundary. A swift running current changes direction every six hours and can reach 5.2 miles per hour during the receding ebb tide. The waterway is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and has no toll fees. It is spanned by the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge and two highway bridges—the Bourne and the Sagamore. Traffic lights at either end govern the approach of vessels over 65 feet.

We can convert current speed into time for our passage. At slack tide the 7 NM passage would take 50 minutes at our cruising speed of 8.4 knots.  A favorable current, one running northeast at 4.0 knots, would reduce the time to 34 minutes. Likewise, a 4.0 knot current running southwest against us would increase transit time to 95 minutes. To compensate we could increase our speed to 12.4 knots but that would burn about 40 gallons of fuel as compared to about 8 gallons with no adjustment to the throttle setting.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy with the training ship Kennedy in the foreground
The southwest beginning of the Cape Cod Canal

Garmin presents current speed and direction with the chart below. In the upper left hand corner of the upper chart is the current speed, 3.7 knots, in relation to its high and low (+4.0 to - 4.0). The direction of the current is indicated in the lower chart, 83 degrees. 9:58 AM is during the time we were in the canal.

I've always struggled with reading this chart as it relates to direction. Is it coming from 83 degrees or going to 83 degrees? Fortunately, this time I figured it out. The number 83 degrees indicates the direction, northeast, TOWARD which the current is flowing.

Notice the current to the left of the buoy

The magic numbers for us at 9:52 AM as we passed the Massachusetts Maritime Academy were as follows:

• Current speed: 3.8 knots - a big push
• Current direction: 83 degrees - favorable direction

Yes!! We have a favorable current. Result. We traversed the 7 NM canal in 34 minutes with GPS speeds of 14.5 knots at the Bourne and 12.2 at Sagamore bridges.

Heading northeast under the railroad bridge with the Borne Bridge ahead 

Sagamore Bridge

Following a tow at the east end of the canal

At 10:28 AM we entered Cape Cod Bay where we turned north. We noted WSW winds at 17 knots, seas of 1 to 2 feet and "a beautiful day on Cape Cod Bay.  

Light at Plymouth  Mass

This changed around 2:00 PM when the wind shifted to the east and increased to 25 knots. Now we were in a 3 to 4 foot head sea, which for the 63 Outer reef is no big deal. We did however add spray and more salt to the already salt encrusted boat.

Boston in view as we pass Cohassett in a 3 to 4 foot head sea

Minots Light off Cohassett Mass
We came within 100 feet in 65 feet of water

As we traveled north we divided responsibilities. Wylie took the con (i.e., the watch), Tom cleaned the ENTIRE interior (and did a FANTASTIC job) and I blogged. The time literally flew by. At 3:25 PM we were abreast of Boston Light. Then 19 minutes later we entered Hull Gut and at 4:00 PM we arrived at Hingham Shipyard Marina.

Boston Light at the entrance to Nantasket Roads
Tom's photo catches the light.

Speaking of light (see photo above). We docked at the Hingham Shipyard Marinas gas dock and took on fuel. What does taking on fuel have to do with light you ask. Readers may recall that I have been struggling with a fuel consumption / remaining question for two years and up to now have been unable to reliably predict the following for both engines:

• Engine fuel used
• Generator fuel used
• Fuel remaining 

Working with Outer Reef and Caterpillar we have reprogrammed the engines Electronic Control Modules (ECM) using Cat's predicted fuel consumption in relation to data I recorded. Ring Power in Sarasota made a final change to the port engine ECM to compensate for data collected last November. They also supplied data for the Northern Lights generator fuel consumption. The number below show we finally, finally got it right.

                                                                       PORT ENGINE       STARBOARD ENGINE
                                                                       & 12KW  Gen          & 16 KW Gen
Engine Fuel Consumed (gallons)                       332                    345
Generator Fuel Consumed (gallons)                    50                      36
Total Predicted Fuel Needed                             382                    381
Total Fuel Added                                               372                    364
Difference (gallons)                                            -10                   -15
Percentage Error                                                 2.6%                4.0%

We were well received. Skip Roper, crew member with Guy Aries on the November 2015 run south to Sarasota, was at the gas dock with Diana and Kodi to welcome us home.

By 6:00 PM we had parked Guided Discovery on her T-Head on I-Dock (her summer home). Diana, Wylie, Tom and I broke out a bottle of champagne to celebrate our successful arrival in Hingham. Then we adjourned to Alma Nove for a celebration dinner.

Guided Discovery on the T-Head for I-Dock

Our summer home

View from the aft deck of our summer home at sunset.
The end of a spectacular voyage

Statistics - Morehead City NC to Hingham, MA:

• Total Distance: 641 NM
• Time Enroute: 78.2 hours
• Average Speed: 8.3 knots
• Fuel Added: 736.6 gallons
• Price Per Gallon 2.27 with tax
• Total Fuel Cost: $1,674.84

Statistics - Sarasota, FL to Hingham, MA

• Total Distance: 1,421.8 NM (1,635 statute miles)
• Time Enroute: 8 days and 9 hours (starting from 7:00 AM Sunday May 1).
• Average Speed: 8.4 knots (Stuart to Hingham)
• Fuel Added: 1870 gallons (includes non-trip fuel)
• Avg. Cost Per Gallon: $2.20 per gallon
• Total Fuel Cost: $4,118
• Total Cost of Moving Boat: $7,352 (includes Diana's car trip)

Written by Les.