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.

Hingham Bound: Alien Lights in the Night

Montauk Point to Block Island Rhode Island.

Note: You may want to read the previous article "On Golden (Blue) Pond" for context.

We had been on the "Atlantic City to Block Island shortcut" since 5:25 AM on Sunday morning and had covered 168 NM. Except for a dry cold frontal passage at around 2:00 AM Monday, where we saw a sudden wind increase from WNW winds at 15 to NW at 25 to 30 and a slight increase in wave heights (2 to 3 foot rollers of the starboard beam to 3 to 4 footer with whitecaps), we had been experiencing a pretty comfortable ride. That continued all the way to the Cape Cod Canal. So, this is not a weather story.

Explanatory Note: The shortcut is an open water straight line from Atlantic City to Block Island that eliminates the dog leg caused by running the Jersey shore north to Sandy Hook and then turning east to run along the south coast of Long Island. Upside: It cuts off about two hours of travel time. Downside: It put us further out into the North Atlantic thus exposing us to the potential for bigger seas should the weather change and further from shore should an emergency arise. One has to play the Weather Game to handicap the shortcut.

Now it's 1:48 AM and we are abreast of Montauk Point Light on the eastern most point of Long Island. Block Island Rhode Island is the next major landmark about 10 NM further east. I'm on watch. Wylie and Tom sleeping (I hope). I notice ahead some odd yellow lights ahead and assume they are a tow. They appear from my position to be headed further east and I do not have an AIS return or a target on radar. Hence no real concern.

Explanatory Note: Tows typically have AIS (i.e., Automatic Identification System) transponders which enables all other vessels with an AIS receiver to positively identify them. AIS is a satellite based collision avoidance tool. We can both transmit and receive AIS information. With AIS we can see a wealth of information including vessel name, length, type, bearing and distance from Guided Discovery, the vessel's speed and course, etc.

Continuing east the lights continue to be ahead of us. I see a series of five banks of yellow horizontal lights. The first bank, which I assume is the stern of the barge, and the last bank, which I assume is the front, are brighter than banks in the center. I cannot see the classic running lights of the tow but I was not thinking about that at the time (later I realize this was an error on my part).  What concerned me was that the lights were growing bigger and remaining in the same place on the windshield. We are on a collision course with whatever is ahead.

Meanwhile, I'm pondering whether to wake up Tom or Wylie or both but decide not to. I reason if I wake them and ask what do you think those lights are that they will be as puzzled as I. Hence, I let them sleep.

Perhaps the Coast Guard can help and I call them of VHF. I describe what I'm seeing and give my course position in latitude and longitude. They were unable to help. I continue on my course (063 degrees) as the targets continue to get bigger in the windshield.

Explanatory Note: My philosophy is to hold course and speed until I have hard data to dictate a deviation. Over the years I've noted that my crew members have a tendency to want to either slow down, change course or stop when they are unsure of what's ahead. You can waste a lot of time and energy deviating without facts. Hence, unless it's an emergency, the SOP is no deviations without consulting with with me.

Finally, at 3:00 AM off Block Island Light, the objects appear on radar as a line of five targets. Shortly thereafter a tower appears on night vision. That indicates we are within one mile the tower. I call the Coast Guard and report sighting the tower and they confirmed that it was a 5 tower wind farm off the south coast of Block Island. I make a slight deviation to port (see 3rd photo below) As I start passing the towers I wake Tom up - "Tom! Wake up! You have to see this!"

Wind turbine tower on night vision.
Photo by Tom Frakie - Thank you Tom!

The line of wind tower targets falls behind as we proceed east 

Tom goes into action with his camera Nikon camera but has limited success. The two photos above are all he was able to captures as we passed the towers. The photo below shows our deviation and the waypoints I added to mark the location for future trips.

Waypoints marking the Block Island wind farm boundary

Aftermath. I learned a few lessons and pondered a question; Why did the Coast Guard first say the had no idea what I was talking about and then said with absolute clarity, "that is a wind farm off the south coast of Block Island?"

Lessons learned:

1. Read the Notices to Mariners. Had I read this Coast Guard publication I would have been aware of the new windfarm.
2. Look for running lights. All vessels have them and their configuration tell what type of vessel you are seeing. 
3. Keep the Rules of the Road book close at hand. It has illustrations of each running light configuration.

Conversation with the Coast Guard: I called the Coast Guard on VHF and asked that someone in charge call me on my cell phone. Immediately I received a call from Petty Officer Stokes from the Southeast New England Unit. I posed the question to Petty Officer Stokes. He explained that VHF coverage overlaps Coast Guard areas of responsibility and that my first call was received by the New Haven Unit. He further explained that since it was not their area of responsibility they were not aware of the wind farm. I pointed out that since VHF coverage overlaps any unit that can respond to my call ought to be able to provide correct and timely information. Petty Officer Stokes acknowledged that I had a valid point. He promised to take action.

Tom came on watch officially and I stayed on for awhile. Together we watched the sun come up.

"Hours of boredom punctuated by periods of concern (and sometimes stark terror)." Tonight it was just concern.

Written by Les.

Hingham Bound: On Golden (Blue) Pond

I’ve rounded Cape Hatteras three times and two of those were, shall we say, “exciting” (which is probably better than the word scary). In November of 2014, we saw 7 to 9 foot seas resulting from high winds (54 MPH) associated with thunderstorms in a passing cold front. Then in May of 2015, Tropical Storm Anna, hundreds of miles to the south, gave us 10 to 12 footers as we rounded Diamond Shoal heading north. Finally, last November (2015) we had smooth ride in a 3 to 4 foot following sea. Now, as we refueled in Morehead City I was again confronted with what to do about the Cape.

When it comes to Cape Hatteras It’s all about weather. How one interprets that weather will determine which of three courses of action one takes; take the ICW from Morehead City to Norfolk (3 days), stay put until the weather changes or “go for it” (and run 24 hours non-stop from Morehead City to Virginia Beach).”

Explanatory Note (for new readers): Cape Hatteras is the most dangerous stretch of water on the eastern seaboard. Several factors account for this but the most significant is Diamond Shoal where, because of geography, you are effectively forced out to sea to get around the UNCROSS ABLE shoal. The geography is interesting. Hatteras Island sits 27 miles on the east side of Pamlico Sound (open water). Diamond Shoal juts out 7 more miles south east from the island. You must go around. Wave height is directly related to wind speed, time and distance over water. We went from 3 to 5 foot waves to 10 to 12’s in a matter of two hours on Thursday at Cape Fear.

Bottom line. You are 34 miles out to sea. Now add the fact that weather systems tend to favor this area to the convergence of the Gulf Stream and the Labradore Current and you have a formula for fast changing conditions and big seas. Oh, did I mention the fact that there are no inlets for 200 miles once you leave Morehead City for a boat of our draft (5 feet)?

Cape Lookout Shoal, just a few miles south of Diamond Shoal is no picnic either. Again, you are forced out to sea 16 miles and into bigger waves. Crossing this is risky as waves break over shallow water. Better to go around. We chose to cross at a deep spot in May of 2015 and saw confused seas, were hit with breaking surf and saw a depth of 9 feet under the bottom. Never again.

Friday’s coastal forecast for Cape Hatteras predicted west winds from 5 to 10 knots increasing to 10 to 15 knots with 3 to 5 foot seas with a wave period of 8 seconds and rain showers running from scattered to isolated as the day progresses. Looking ahead to Friday night and Saturday conditions remain about the same with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Given that west winds will most likely produce a following sea, we decided to go for it.

We departed Morehead City Yacht Basin at 10:04 AM and caught a 2 knot current down the Beaufort Channel thanks to an ebbing tide. Yes, for those who pick up on detail, we caught a favorable current both in and out. Then a little excitement. A naval warship was entering the Beaufort Inlet and warning vessels to stay clear. Clearly a Kodak moment.

Obstacle #1: Cape Lookout Shoal. As we headed on a southeast course along the southern side of the shoal in 4 to 6 foot seas we could see considerable breaking surf to our port side. We cleared the shoal at 12.41 PM. Turning north put the seas on our tail and gave us a smooth ride as headed direct to Cape Hatteras, some 4 hours to the north.

Obstacle #2: Cape Hatteras: At 8:54 PM we crossed the east end of Diamond Shoal in a 3 to 5 foot following sea. Wylie’s comment “Cape Hatteras is a pond.”

And it gets better. We had a following seas all the way to Virginia Beach, which we reached 24 hours after leaving Morehead City (10:35 AM on Saturday)

Now the question as we crossed the Chesapeake Bay was could we make it to Hingham without having to deal with bad weather. I came on watch at 1:00 AM on Sunday morning. Since leaving Virginia Beach we had experienced a smooth ride as seas subsided to 2 to 3 feet. Now we were off Cape Henelop (Rehoboth Delaware) some 318 NM into our trip. It doesn’t get much better.

Now to the upcoming weather. At 2:00 AM on Sunday, I got out my four dimensional chess board and started playing the weather game. The only precipitation was due west over the Shenandoah valley moving east. Good. The forecast conditions required a bit more thought. As of that moment, two weak low pressure areas with associated fronts were north and west of our position. A stronger low to the east and out to sea had a stationary front running east and west and a trailing cold front running south. Projecting the forecast out to 36 hours (in 12 hour increments) showed little change. What are the coastal forecasts for our route?

• Sandy Hook NJ: ETA 14:00 Sunday. South winds 10 to 15 knots with gust of 20 to 30 as the day progresses. Seas 3 to 5 feet with a wave period of 8 seconds. Analysis: Following sea. Favorable.
• Block Island RI (open water): ETA 2:00 AM on Monday. West winds 10 to 15 knots with gusts to 25. Seas 4 to 6 feet. Same winds during the day but seas build to 4 to 7. Analysis: OK enough. Still a following sea and, if necessary. we can duck into RI Sound where forecasted seas and winds are lower.
• Buzzards Bay MA: ETA 8:00 AM Monday. Southwest winds increasing during the day to 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Analysis: Favorable.
• Cape Cod Bay MA: Increasing west winds to 15 knots with gusts to 20 and 2 to 4 foot seas. Analysis: Favorable.

The Sirius Satellite Weather sea conditions forecast maps clinched the deal. Notice in the three photos below that a beautiful blue path seems to miraculously open up for us. We are still Hingham Bound with no stops or deviations.

Note: We have settled on three 3 hour watches starting at 10:00 PM and running to 7:00 AM. I’ve never tried this one before and it works better than what we’ve done in the past (i.e., six two hour or three 4 hour watches from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM). This approach has allowed each of us to get a  good night’s sleep.

Meanwhile, on my watch we crossed the Delaware Bay shipping channel and headed up the Jersey coast north of Cape May (3:15 AM). It was a busy evening with lots of traffic and great fun (since it was clear). I got to play with all the toys (AIS, radar, night vision and the VHF) and was able to see each target on all the toys and confirm each visually. This is a big confidence builder for times when the visibility disappears in fog.

Now it's approaching 5:00 AM and we’re off Ocean City New Jersey. Tom is officially on watch and I’ve stayed with him solve a puzzle regarding a bright white light ahead. I’m also contemplating whether to take the Atlantic City to Block Island short cut, a straight line from Atlantic City to Block Island, which knocks off about two hours by eliminating the dog leg created by running along the coast.

Short Cut: Ocean City to the mouth of Buzzards Bay

Explanatory Note: The decision to take the short cut is largely weather dependent. The short cut puts you offshore into open water where waves are bigger (i.e., Wind velocity over distance over time. The greater each, the higher the seas). Also to be considered is the distance from ports, which in this case is 45 NM or 5 hours to reach a New York Harbor at the furthest point.

Time to play "The Weather Game." Here's the data:

Radar Map:
We are south of Atlantic City. An area of rain and thunderstorms is north of us moving east

Sea Conditions as of  NOW.
Dark Blue = flat, Light Blue = 3-5, Orange = 4-6, Green 7-10, Yellow 10-12, Red 13-20, etc. to 36

Sea Conditions at 36 Hours
Notice the "blue" path to Boston
Notice the heavy seas to the east 

Time to make a decision. The forecasted seas going forward (12, 24 and 36 hours) show a widening path to Buzzards Bay that is good for 36 hours. We only need 24. The forecast maps (not shown) show a low pressure system east of our area, the cause of the big seas to our east. It is forecasted to continue north and east out to sea. To our west and south are a series of fronts associated with weak low pressure. A weak cold front west of the Hudson is most likely the cause of the rain system running north along the Hudson Valley. It's moving east and north slowly.

Yes, I know it is likely to cross our path. But it's moving faster than our 8.4 knots. It will move through the area in a few hours. We need 24 hours to reach Buzzards Bay. We are unlikely to be hit by the storm.  Decision: Reasonable risk. Let's go! It's 5:25 AM.

Below is the big picture as seen on the pilot house screens three hours later at 7:51 AM. A light area of showers is visible to the north on our radar (center) screen, The storms have moved slowly east past the Hudson Valley (starboard screen). So far so good.

Notice the tape on the T353 night vision and engine control
The tape is used to cut light that interferse with human night vision.

We continued on the new course in relatively calm seas ranging from 1 to 3 feet. At 3:15 PM we recorded winds as WNW at 15 knots and rolling pleasant 2 to 3 foot seas off the starboard beam. We commented "Gorgeous, lots of fishing trawlers and no precipitation on our route." At that point we were 24 NM south southwest of Fire Island NY.

15 minutes later the wind direction suddenly shifted northwest and climbed steadily to 25 and then 30. Seas started white capping and increased to 3 to 4 off the port aft quarter. The southeasterly swell was still dominant. The waves to port were wind driven. We were in sunny skies with no precipitation within 10 miles. I noted that we had experienced a dry cold frontal passage. We took heavy weather precautions just in case.

The winds did not last long. Four hours later (7:26 PM) we noted winds out of the northwest at 16 knots with 3 to 5 foot following seas. The comment says "no precipitation within 300 miles. Sunny. Comfortable but yawing." 

At 1:48 AM we were abreast of Montauk Light. The winds were WNW at 15  to 17 knots. I estimated seas as 2 to 4 feet. We were enjoying a very comfortable ride (although Tom and Wylie were sleeping). 

Essentially, our offshore "short cut" passage was at end at Montauk Light and we were now running along our normal route. Since leaving Sarasota we had covered 1,300 nautical miles (1,495 statute) and 519 nautical miles (596 statute) since leaving Morehead City. The Cape Cod Canal was about 8 hours away and the weather data showed no problems all the way to Boston. Today, we had won the weather game.

Also noteworthy. We have had a following sea since we joined the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart. Than you Neptune, Zeus and Poseidon.

But the game is not over. Boy do I have a story to tell. See the next article.

Written by Les.

Hingham Bound: Spoke Too Soon

The following two paragraphs are borrowed from my last article, Direct Stuart to Morehead City.

“Hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.” I learned this phrase years ago when I flew airplanes as an instrument rated private pilot and it very well describes what can happen. I have many tales. Now change the word “moments” to “hours” and the phrase now works for boating. As readers who follow this blog know, I have some pretty wild tales.

Sorry, no wild tales at this time and, hopefully, not on this voyage. On my 4 to 7 AM watch Wednesday night, I did a complete review of the weather for the remainder of our route and as of 8:00 AM the weather window remains open and OK enough. So much for boredom even on a three hour watch."

In the previous article I also mentioned that we had not reviewed the Abandon Ship Procedures and stated since we were 10 miles or more from shore that its review “might just be appropriate."

Time for a wild tale.

It's around 2:00 PM on Thursday afternoon. Winds are 15 to 20 knots and we have been running in a 3 to 5 foot following sea for several hours with a forecast for more of the same. That forecast also mentions a chance of thunderstorms but up to this point we have been in partly sunny skies with no rain. Ahead of us at Cape Fear and to the north of there, Sirius Satellite Weather is showing a large area of rain and thunderstorms.  The storms appear to be moving north at a speed greater than Guided Discovery's 8.4 knots. We should be OK.

Our position around 4:00 PM

So the three of us sit down at the pilothouse settee to review the four page Abandon Ship Procedures. 

Explanatory Note: Cliff Rome, Captain of the 70 foot Delta trawler Oasis, who Diana and I met in 2014 when we were commissioning Guided Discovery is the author of the Abandon Ship Procedures. Cliff, to his credit, is more OCD than I am and he wrote this brilliant document, which he generously shared. I adapted it to reflect our situation and equipment level.

At 4:00 PM, we paused our review to make a 4 hour log entry. It included the following:

• 20 NM south of Cape Fear 
• Wind WNW 26 gusting to 34
• Following Sea 6 to 8 feet (off the starboard aft quarter)
• Comment: We have clear skies with no storm visible for 360 degrees. Strong thunderstorms north and west of Cape Fear. A low pressure center is close to the boat. Barometric pressure is 29.56.

Side Note: It's probably not the best idea to discuss abandoning ship when you are in the vicinity of a place with a name like "Cape Fear."

Then, at 4:08 PM, Wylie noticed a Marine Warning (above) on the Sirius Weather screen. It advised "thunderstorms with gusts to 33 knots" We noted in the log that waves were off the starboard aft quarter. At 4:55, the marine warning was lifted. We noted winds of 20 to 25 knots. At that point we got out our standard Operating Procedures and prepared the boat for heavy seas (including securing the salon table).

Wind at 32.4 knots. We are 479 NM from Stuart

Winds and seas quickly built. We noted at 5:41 PM that winds were northwest at 40 to 44 knots with a 7 to 9 foot following sea off the port aft quarter. We also noted that the marine warning was reissued but noted it was not for our area. We were experiencing 8 to 10 feet big rolling waves. We could see storms around us at a distance but nothing close by.  

Winds came up fast, died down and then blew with a vengance

Heavy seas with wind driven spray

Seas viewed from the port aft quarter

Heavy seas

Explanatory Note: Gauging wave height and wave period is difficult when you are in a boat. Further, to avoid exaggeration, either high (to brag) or low (to minimize risk), I ask each crew member for an opinion and we agree on a consensus log entry.

When we crossed the narrow "short cut" passage at Frying Pan Shoal at 6:40 PM, we were in 10 to 12 foot (big - very big) seas with sustained winds in the mid-thirties. Once past the shoal seas started to diminish, albeit very slowly.

Throughout all of this turbulence we were relatively comfortable although we limited our movement. We had to re-secure the salon table, not fun, as our first attempt allowed some movement, which given its size and weight, well over 100 pounds, could do some significant damage if unsecured. We also became concerned about the refrigerator which groaned, suggesting it wanted to break loose on the 10 to 12 foot rollers. I had not experienced refrigerator "groaning" on past encounters with big seas, but then this was the first experience with a big following sea.

Thanks to Wylie, below is a link to a video showing us pitching and rolling. Enjoy.

 https://youtu.be/VKAJ7RMczrI

We had one casualty. Wylie announced that he was experiencing sea sickness and rated its severity at 8 on a 10 scale. Wylie, a pilot, had not previously experienced any motion sickness in his life. Tom to the rescue with a wrist band that puts pressure on the wrist pulse points, ointment behind the ears, and a ginger lozenge that he claimed would cure this and many other ailments. Well, too little, or depending on your viewpoint, too late, Wylie succumbed 10 minutes later. Wylie was lucky. His "bout" lasted only 5 minutes. However, he needed a full night's sleep to recover.

Explanatory Note: This is my fourth Sarasota to Hingham voyage (1,600+ statute miles each - 6,400 miles) and my track record is unbroken. Someone gets sick on every voyage. Wylie holds the record for the shortest bout. Other have fared worse with vomiting and dry heaving lasting for hours! The only good news is that once the person recovers, it's over and they seem to immune from future sea sickness (at least for the remainder of our trip).

Tom shooting photos as the sea rages around us.
Does he look concerned?

I polled the crew regarding anxiety and their opinion of whether we should head in. Both Wylie and Tom expressed some level of concern but not enough to call it quits. That said, heading for shore was not without a few problems. 1. We were over 10 miles from shore, which in itself translates to over an hour of punishment. 2. We were over 20 miles from safe harbor at the Cape Fear River. 3. Either choice required a turn to port which would have put the massive rollers on the beam. We would have taken some horrendous rolls despite our over-sized stabilizers. 

That said, I had little to no anxiety and, except for a flying refrigerator, no concern about our safety. Why?

1. I had experienced big seas including 10 to 12 footers in the past and knew that the boat could handle the seas.
2. The 63 Outer Reef is built to Ocean Category A standards, "Unlimited Navigation."
3. Outer Reef's shipyard in Taiwan is ISO 9000 certified. This provides some assurance of build quality, which two years running have confirmed.
4. The lazerette door, the engine room doors (forward and aft) and the pilot house doors are heavy duty with dogs to secure them. 
5. The chance of a mechanical malfunction was very small. The boat has run almost 1,000 hours without a hiccup to the engines or running gear (including stabilizers). 
6. I perform an engine room check every 6 hours. This limits the chance for a surprise.
7. Sirius Satellite Weather allows us to monitor the weather, including forecasts, radar and sea conditions. Again limiting surprises.
8. The storms were moving north faster than we were. 
9. The hour of the day worked in our favor. Storms tend to diminish as evening comes with cooler temperatures.
10. The seas would be smaller once we crossed the Frying Pan Shoal "short cut."
11. I'd used the Frying Pan Shoal short cut before and in the dark of night. I knew that while shallower than surrounding water, there is adequate depth to reduce being hit with a breaking wave.

Further, to ensure our safety, I called the Coast Guard to see if there was a Notice to Mariners on the Frying Pan Shoal shortcut. There was none. We proceeded through the shoal, noted that the G1 buoy was missing, and, over the next few hours seas began to diminish as the storm ahead pushed further north. The 8:30 PM log entry noted diminished NW winds at 16 knots, seas 3 to 5 foot and, the words "smooth ride."

Side Note: The Coast Guard was not up to date on the missing navigation aid. So much for ‘their” local knowledge.

A little perspective. The old cliché “experience is the best teacher” is valid for me at least as it relates to weather. With experience I’ve come to view weather more like a four dimensional chess board. Dimension #1 is NOAA weather reports. What are the facts? This includes current conditions, big picture forecasts (pressure and fronts) for the next 6 days. Dimension #2 is time. Where will we be in relation to our route (see chart of route with 100 mile intervals below)? Dimension #3 is the trend. What will conditions be before and after our arrival time at a particular waypoint? Dimension #4 is contingency plans. When all else fails, where can I go to seek shelter? With this approach it is possible to venture out into conditions that would previously have kept me at the dock.

A little more perspective. Here is the exact coastal forecast for Thursday, May 5 for the Cape Fear area, recorded at 5:00 AM that day. "West wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts to 20 knots increasing to 25 kts. seas 2 to 4 feet increasing 3 to 5 feet. Chance of a thunderstorm." The forecasts for the remainder of the route all the way to Block island (RI) calls for chance of thunderstorms or rain showers (which can also develop into thunderstorms). You could sit at the dock and wait for a "clean" forecast but you might be there a long time and that's still no guarantee. Weather can change.

Pilot house navigation and controls
L to R: Speed/distance, weather station, chartplotter, radar, and weather

Meanwhile, after crossing Frying Pan Shoal we finished our discussion of the Abandon Ship Plan as we proceeded north to Morehead City with a favorable tail wind and 3 to 5 foot following seas. The “sea gods” (Neptune et al) looked favorably upon us as we entered the Beaufort (Morehead City) Inlet on a rising tide where we saw speeds over 12 knots. Good News: We got to the Morehead City Yacht Basin at 7:03 AM on Friday. Bad News: The gas dock does not open until 8:30 AM. Oh well.

Guided Discovery at Morehead City Yacht Basin

Hours of boredom punctuated by moments (or "hours" if boating) of stark terror (or at a minimum if boating, cause for concern)." 

Statistics: Stuart to Morehead City

·         Distance: 596 NM

·         Time on this leg: 72 hours

·         Average Speed: 8.5 knots

·         Distance since leaving Sarasota: 779 NM

·         Time enroute to Morehead City: 5 days

·         Fuel Used this leg: 596 gallons

·         Fuel taken on since Fort Myers:

·         Cost per gallon: $2.12 including tax

·         Fuel Cost: $1,759

Written by Les and Wylie
Photo credits: Wylie, Tom and Les

Hingham Bound: Direct Stuart to Morehead City

I struggled a bit with the title for this article. I considered "Windows on the Weather" or "Weather Window Around Cape Hatteras." The first represents the utility of having three multifunction screens in the pilot house, which, when used for weather, allows us to see current conditions, forecasts and sea conditions without having to toggle back and forth between screens. The second, which represents very good news, are coastal forecasts as of Tuesday morning for relatively moderate seas (2 to 4 foot waves) on our 563 NM three day route to Morehead City and, best news of all, the forecast remains favorable for going around Cape Hatteras (3 to 5 footers).

Coastal Forecast for Tuesday

Radar screen showing storms north of us in Georgia

That said, the weather is not perfect - see coastal forecast above. While sea conditions appear favorable, the forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms. This is the result of a weak low pressure center situated over North Carolina with a slow moving trailing cold front. According to NOAA, that system moves very slowly northeast creating several days of mostly sunny weather with occasional showers along our route.

The "official" title, "Direct Stuart to Morehead City," encompasses the gestalt of a very good situation. We are 5 hours ahead of our original plan (see article Bank Error in My Favor) with a favorable weather forecast. So approximately 72 hours after clearing the Saint Lucie Lock and barring no surprises, we will be refueling in Morehead City on Friday morning and then headed for Cape Hatteras for an early evening passage.

Now to the trip.

Not wanting to sacrifice any of the 5 hours saved on Tuesday, we decided to depart River Forest Yacht Center early (6:27 AM) so that we would arrive at the Saint Lucie Lock, one mile east, well before its 7:00 AM opening and, hopefully, be first in line.  The first challenge was backing out of the marina. The photo below shows the marina configuration, which is a narrow channel with boats tied to the concrete wall on either side.  While it may have been possible to turn around, we choose to back out. No big deal especially with a remote control and no wind.

The plan worked. We arrived at the lock at 6:55 AM and were first in line. However, the lock process was slow. Paint dries faster. We waited 13 minutes to enter the lock and from there it took 30 minutes to lower us 14 feet to the Saint Lucie River.

Old work boat also contributed to the delay. He had difficulty securing to the wall

Now we were free. We continued east on the Saint Lucie to the junction of the Okeechobee Waterway and the Atlantic ICW where I had to make a decision on whether to turn north on the ICW and head for the Fort Pierce Inlet where we would access the Atlantic Ocean or access it through the Saint Lucie Inlet.  According to Active Captain, the Saint Lucie Inlet requires “local knowledge” as it is not a commercial inlet. A quick call to Tow Boat US said it was well marked and that the dredges were not a factor. The Tow Boat US captain also reported shoaling just short of the junction, which was a problem no matter which inlet decision we made. We saw as little as 1.5 feet of water under the keel as the entered the junction.

Picking up the Atlantic at Stuart rather than Fort Pierce had real advantages. First, the southeast wind would be on our tail producing a following sea and increased speed. Second, we could engage the pre-planned route to Morehead City and run on autopilot. Third, we would eliminate the narrow ICW channel and last, we would not be slowed by currents. The Saint Lucie Inlet was “as advertised” and at 9:40 AM we engaged the autopilot and headed for Morehead City NC 555 nautical miles and 72 hours away.

“Hours of boredom punctuated with moments of stark terror.” I learned this phrase years ago when I flew airplanes as an instrument rated private pilot and it very well describes what can happen. I have many tales. Now change the word “moments” to “hours” and the phrase now works for boating. As readers who follow this blog know, I have some pretty wild tales.

Sorry no wild tales at this time and hopeful not on this voyage. On my 4 to 7 AM watch Wednesday night I did a complete review of the weather for the remainder of our route and as of 8:00 AM the weather window remains open and OK enough. So much for boredom even on a three hour watch.

We have been busy ever since exiting the Saint Lucie Inlet. Once on open water we had time to review, in detail, the “Crew Orientation and SOP” and Medical Emergency Checklist” documents that I provided to Wylie and Tom weeks before departure. To their credit both had read the documents and our review led to a productive discussion of each item. We still have to review the Abandon Ship Procedures, which given the fact that we are 10 miles or more from shore “might” just be appropriate.

Other activities include checking weather, performing engine room checks, keeping our detailed log, making dinners, sharing stories, reading, playing Scrabble, discussing politics and, yes, even watching a little TV. We noted as of Wednesday that Donald Trump was now the presumptive Republican Nominee. (Another note. None of us our Trump fans.) I spend a lot of time writing blog articles.

We did have a bit of excitement on both Tuesday and Wednesday, both related to electronics. We’ll start with Tuesday. As the day came to a close we got out the SOP and worked through the preparation for night operation. This includes dimming the instruments and blocking other light sources. Finally we turned on the Raymarine T353 infrared camera. Oops, the unit did not boot up. Not good. The T353 consists of a camera mounted on the hardtop and a JCU (joystic controller unit) on the panel. The JCU had power and was responding as it should. The camera was dead. Fortunately we were on Eastern time. I called Raymarine and spoke with Steve Cruz. Steve and I have, shall we say, a relationship. Not all bad, but not all good. More in a separate fascinating article to come.  

Steve walked me through a series of troubleshooting steps, one of which was seeing if the camera moved left, right up and down in response to the JCU. The camera was not moving even though the JCU was responding correctly. I’ll spare you the details but we concluded that the unit was originally installed improperly (without a dedicated circuit breaker) and therefore was “on” 24/7/365. Because elements of my system are used without the T353, it became out of sync. Steve proposed a reboot on the entire system and, bingo, the problem was solved. More on this in a separate article.

Wednesday, as we were cruising along, Wylie asked me why the target tracking feature (MARPA), which is activated on the radar screen failed to show up on the chartplotter as it had the day before. Since it was mid-afternoon I called Garmin and spoke with Michelle, a technician. We worked together for over an hour during which time other glitches emerged. Interestingly, a restart of the entire system solved 80% of problems. Michelle did a fine job. I lost cell service before we finished so some issues remain open. Thank you Michelle. Michelle, like other Garmin techs, provide incredibly competent tech support.

Back to the Abandon Ship Plan.

Did I mention that this article was written on Thursday afternoon? (No. Consider this new information.)

Did I mention that we were 10 miles of shore when it dawned on me that it might be wise to review it? (Yes, and the plan is mention several paragraphs earlier?)

Did I also mention that there was a “chance of isolated thunder storms” in the forecast for our route segment today?

Did I mention that I took my own advice and we all sat down in the pilothouse to review the plan?

Did I mention that while reviewing the plan with the crew all HELL broke loose? (No, I did not but you might want to read the next article – “Spoke Too Soon.”

Written by Les.