I've Gone and Done it Now

[Prairie Chicken]

I'd log that as a success. Congrats. What chart plotter do you have?

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Sorry about not responding, all I had was the phone and I was getting pretty tired, then we jumped off of Marathon Fri. afternoon and headed straight for Panama City. I don't want to ever do that again, ran for a coupe of hours with less than a foot of water under the keel, took a year off of my life, but we arrived in Panama City at 4AM Sun. morning, I know the area well so just threw a hook in a good local anchorage and slept for a few hours. We did the trip without an autopilot, windless or a chart plotter as the one in the boat's chip is good only for South Carolina and N. Fl. It did give speed, and course though as well as present position. Mostly ran on paper charts (which are getting hard to find) and the Garmin blue chart app on my cell phone.
Admiral held up real well, got sick one day off the east cost when the waves were approaching six ft with a five sec. period and winds were 25 to 30 straight off the bow. Once through that she did fine.
Burned a LOT of diesel though, winds were favorable only for a day out of Marathon, the we motor sailed for a day or so, then just furled sails as there wasn't enough wind to keep them filled.
Had a few mechanical issues, mostly fuel contamination, but worked through them, seemed to have flushed everything through the fuel system by now.

Sorry about the lost years... You'll get 'em back when you've finished the transit and had a couple laughs about it with some beverages...

Six at 5 sec, ain't no fun at all !!! Make sure you tell the admiral that she weathered some pretty tough stuff... maybe it will make her feel better...

Motorin'....... Leave the main up and sheet her tight even if there is no wind... Swing her to a side with the traveler if need be to keep a steady push on one side... Waaaaaaaaaaay better motion...

Great news on the fuel finally being clean!

Update us when ya can!

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

I'd log that as a success. Congrats. What chart plotter do you have?

It's a Raymarine 435 I think, date on the "chip", it's a compact flash card is 2003, so I know it's an old plotter.
I won't replace it for quite some time. Only have so many boat bucks to spend and I'd rather have an arch first before replacing the electronics. I owe some money on the boat, but if I'm smart and don't spend a lot on her re-fitting it right away, I should be able to get it paid off this Summer. My little boat sold and that will help a lot.
We will be only day sailing her for the foreseeable future with the occasional short vacation from time to time, so I don't need fancy electronics, autopilots and a watermaker etc. yet so I'll wait until we retire before adding those. For the time being I hope to keep the boat simple and learn how to sail her first.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

It's a Raymarine 435 I think, date on the "chip", it's a compact flash card is 2003, so I know it's an old plotter.
I won't replace it for quite some time.

Found a few Navionics CF South and Bahamas for $50 on ebay...
Nice to have in your plotter... Use the newer stuff for detail work... Doublecheck coverage...

Navionics Classic US835L Chart Card South Florida Vol 19 | eBay

Navionics 64MB SanDisk US SE and Bahamas Southeast Bahamas CF 1G906XL3 | eBay

[letsgetsailing3]

Congratulations on your successful trip!

The main thing was just to get it there, and you made awesome time!

[Prairie Chicken]

I was going to suggest the same as HappyMD but he beat me to it. We've got the Raymarine 425 but no card. You can find a pretty good selection of old US cards on eBay for cheap--$30-50. That was my intent but I can't find one for the Med.

[Cuttyhunk]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Motorin'....... Leave the main up and sheet her tight even if there is no wind... Swing her to a side with the traveler if need be to keep a steady push on one side... Waaaaaaaaaaay better

A64, this is a really important point that someone coming to a sailboat from motorboats may not realize. I would recommend experimenting with this on your next leg. It's a big reason why I have a sailboat even though we use the engine a lot. I will also steer just off the wind enough to give that main enough wind to fill. A couple of degrees off the direct course can save you so much rocking back and forth.

I'm so glad to hear your wife is still on board (literally and figuratively!)

[a64pilot]

Thanks guys I had assumed due to age it wasn't supported anymore. Didn't think of fleabay. Do you think the SE USA and Bahamas card is the same resolution of just the Fl card?

[a64pilot]

I've got a lot to learn that is for sure. One reason I want to put off buying stuff is I think I need to learn sailing first before I go and spend money.
In the flying business I see often people buying GPS and autopilots etc. before they should. They need to learn their stick and rudder skills and navigation skills first before they buy automatic stuff. I assume it the same with sailing, I think I need to learn to trim sails etc. before I buy Otto.

[mrm]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I've got a lot to learn that is for sure.[...] I think I need to learn to trim sails etc. before I buy Otto.

Nothing gave me a better insight into sail trim and interplay of all forces involved than sailing dinghies (Cadet, '420', etc.). I learned a ton that way, and it was great fun in itself. Gave me memories of fun, and knowledge, which was useful on bigger boats. Give it a try if you haven't already

[s/v Beth]

A64 : I owe you and your wife an apology. From the internet, you did not appear to be ready. Glad you made it to your home port. May many good times come your way. If I ever get up that way, I will apologize over dinner. (I'm buying).

[a64pilot]

Newt, no problem at all you gave me sage advice and I did modify my plans somewhat based on them which helped, besides add a little weather or similar such mayhem and it may have been a different outcome

[a64pilot]

Truth is, I really didn't expect to make it, but had hoped to get to Tampa

[Prairie Chicken]

A64, you're exactly right about the stick & rudder skills, and translates to what mrm is saying about the dinghy skills. Those are the skills that will get you out of a bind, and they're way less expensive than buying toys that get obsolete fast.

Those old plotters came with a variety of cards. At least you know which card you have. It took me a while to find this web site Electronic Charts on Cartridge--Raymarine Plotters
to tell me what I was looking for. My point is, if you look on eBay, make sure you get the CF card. As to resolution--I can't help you there.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Truth is, I really didn't expect to make it, but had hoped to get to Tampa

That's what I was thinking, too, but I was assuming more sailing and less motoring than you ended up doing. I think your approach was the right one. You got it done.