Streaming North: Decisions, Decisions and Still More Decisions

Welcome back.

To fully appreciate what is going to happen over the next 3 days you need some background information. 

The boat was hauled on Tuesday, April 25, at Embree Marine Services to correct an alignment problem on the port engine. On that haul, Embree had removed 300 gallons of fuel from the auxiliary tanks to facilitate the lift. On my instructions, they returned all 300 gallons to the main tanks, which topped them off, and put the excess (31 gallons) in the auxiliary tanks. Therefore, I left St Petersburg Florida on Thursday, April 28 with 1,000 gallons in the main tanks. Upon arrival in Sarasota I noted a fuel burn of 39 gallons. At departure on Monday morning I had 960 gallons in the mains (and 31 gallons in the auxiliaries).

Guided Discovery on the hard at Embree Marine Services

The original plan was to fill up in Miami at the Miami Beach Marina, which is conveniently located just inside the Miami Inlet and then head back out and catch the Gulf Stream, which comes within 7 to 10 miles of the Miami Inlet. Then, weather permitting (defined as a southerly winds with favorable seas, preferably following) continue north riding the Gulf Stream to Cape Hatteras and then once past the cape, head north to Ocean City Maryland where we would refuel before the final leg to Hingham. If this all came to pass we would be in Hingham in a record 7 days. Note: The run from Miami to Ocean City is 818 nautical miles.

Now for the story.

Just south of Sand Key. Miami is 19,9 nautical miles north

At around 4:23 PM we off Sands Key and approximately 16 NM south of Miami. Our plan to stop for fuel at the Miami Beach Marina was not going to work as they close the fuel dock promptly at 6:00 PM. We would arrive at the open water buoy at 6:23 PM. So much for Miami fueling.

20 nautical miles south of Miami
We had covered 270 nautical miles, 243 NM since Venice
Current speed is 10 knots. Average speed is 8.1 knots (since Venice)

Decision Time: As we passed Miami around 6:30 PM we considered refueling at Port Canaveral early Wednesday morning and set up a route that kept us in the stream for as long as possible before heading northwest to the inlet. That plan was abandoned at 3:10 AM on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday evening at around 8:30 PM we were off Fort Lauderdale. Looking to the northwest we could see dark clouds. Sirius Satellite Weather was showing a large area of thunderstorms with various intensities, including some bright red cells. The system was slow moving to the south with a slight easterly component.

Rain and thunder storms ahead

Coincidentally, Diana and Kodi were in Fort Lauderdale staying at our friend’s lovely condo on the beach. Had it still been light, Diana could have spotted Guided Discovery with binoculars. I talked with Diana by cell phone and we discussed the storms. Diana was concerned as NOAA had issued a tornado warning and urged me to seek shelter.

Explanatory Note: The risk of thunderstorms include high winds and lightning. High winds are likely with a frontal passage and are more severe when they form a squall line. Lightening is not a life risk when we are in the cabin. However, a lightning strike can take out the boat’s electronics and electrical system and can even damage the engine’s ECUs.  At an electronics seminar at an Outer Reef rendezvous in 2013 (while the 63 was being built) I asked the moderator about the current state of lightning protection for boats. He responded by saying that no solution had been developed and that replacement of burned out electronics was a substantial part of their business. A lightning strike can occur at sea and at the dock. There was no advantage to heading for shore.

Around 9:00 PM off Boca Raton we experienced the frontal passage with rain showers, thunder and occasional cloud to cloud lightning. Winds quickly increased from 3 knots to 24 knots and clocked from southeast to northwest. We noted a drop in current speed from 11.4 to 10.4. However, we were still solidly in the Gulf Stream. Our average speed was now 8.5 knots.

The cold front that was kicking up the storms

Decision Time. At 3.10 AM on Wednesday, Bob and I (Guy was sleeping) decided to bypass Port Canaveral and continue riding the Gulf Stream north to St Simons Georgia, some 200 NM north. Current speed was now 12.5 knots and our average has increased to 9.0 knots. We ball-parked our ETA at Morningstar Marina to be around 3:00 AM the following morning. Morningstar has 1,100 feet of transient face dock so the likelihood of finding space would be good.

Route to St Simons Georgia
The leg from WP 1492 to WP 1497 is the west wall of the Gulf Stream

Here’s the logic. We would continue to take advantage of the Gulf Stream and some reasonably good weather following the frontal passage (see below). Fuel reserve 300 gallons, 150 in each tank.

The forecast for Altamaha Sound to Fernandina Beach out to 60 miles:

• Wednesday: Winds NNE 5 to 10 increasing to east 10 to 15 in the afternoon. Seas 3 to 4 feet with an 8 second period.
• Wednesday Night:  East southeast winds (a quartering tail wind) 10 to 15 knots with 3 to 4 foot seas with a period of 8 seconds
• Thursday: South southeast winds 20 to 25 knots with seas 4 to 6 feet.

At 4:00 AM on Wednesday we were 18 NM due east of Fort Pierce Inlet in 2 to 3 foot seas following the frontal passage. Our average speed was now 9.0 knots. We estimated current speed at 12.4 knots.

Passing the Fort Pierce Inlet. GPS Speed = current speed

12 hours later, at 4:30 PM, we were 58 NM east of St Augustine, Florida. Seas continued at 2 to 3 feet and our average speed had reached 9.7 knots. We had covered 550 nautical miles since leaving Sarasota.

Notice that as we continued north our off shore distance increased dramatically. That’s the reality of running the Gulf Stream. To stay in the stream you have to be willing to cruise way offshore. It would now take around 7 hours to reach shore and even more to reach a port. Favorable weather and well maintained boat are essential.

Decision Time: Earlier at 3:30 PM, Bob and I (Guy was again sleeping) decided to continue to Charleston, South Carolina. This was an easy decision. Why arrive in St Simons at 3:00 AM and waste time and good weather waiting for the fuel dock to open? Interestingly, this decision only added 60 nautical miles to the trip. Most important, it allowed us to continue in the Gulf Stream as Charleston was a straight shot 170 NMs north from our present position east of St Augustine Inlet. At that time we calculated 536 nautical miles made good. Charleston added 170 nautical miles for a total of 706 NMs. We calculated our reserve at 294 gallons. Readers with a sharp eye will notice that the fuel reserve to St Simons (300 NM) is identical for Charleston. How can that be? It’s simply a matter of heading due north instead of heading northwest (i.e., swinging the course arc). We would also conserved fuel by staying in the stream.

Decision to go direct o Charleston

At 1:00 AM on Thursday Morning we were 68 NMs due east of Little St Simons Island and mostly out of the Gulf Stream as indicated by current speed of 8.6 knots. We still showed an average speed of 9.7 knots.  Seas were running 2 feet or less as winds continued to back to the south. At that point we were 74 nautical miles south of Charleston with an ETA of 9:46 AM at the point where we would intersect with the Charleston approach buoys. We calculated our fuel reserve at 236 gallons including generator usage to the intersection.

The following words appear in the log for this latest entry. “Peaceful!!” BUT this is the “lull before the storm.” Read on. It clearly gets more exciting.

Written by Les.,