Crew Wanted: Norfolk to Bahamas

[mjscottinnc]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

I also have engine free boat with sculling oar and I'm doing the same trip same time! Not sure if I go to Bahamas, but I'm in Chesapeake now, and heading south in a month or two.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. I'm sure you will agree that going out into the Atlantic in winter under any circumstance heighten risk. Add in the inability to seek safe harbor in a timely fashion, why risk it? What is gained? Sailing vessels have existed long before the adoption of mechanical propulsion, and I get the minimal existence mindset. I again have to ask is it prudent - thoughtful?

The first sailboat I built had no engine and I sailed it for 2 years before adding one, so I have some experience with the subject.

The concern is for the safety of 'what appears to be' a green sailor.

Great story to tell or tragic loss?

God's Speed!

[mjscottinnc]

Originally Posted by SuW

Shipwreck, surely?

Call me superstitious but I never use the 'S' word unless I'm referring to an event that has already happened.


Self fulfilling prophesy and all...

[Fiveslide]

Originally Posted by mjscottinnc

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should...

Sean could probably tow the OP's boat all the way to the Bahamas! That doesn't mean every sailor and every boat is capable of sailing down the East coast in December and I think he forgets that sometimes.

That might be the only way the OP makes it, find that Bristol named Alexandra and follow it, do whatever Sean does, go where he goes.

[jibstay]

I recommend you watch The Rigging Doctor on YouTube, starting with episode 59:
https://youtu.be/sl9pFOJlfO0

They had an electric motor that is usable for only short periods of time. It took them longer than expected to sail down the Chesapeake. Then, when they headed offshore and hit a storm, they had to be towed in.

[Tornadosailing]

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

A new adventure begins. - Page 4 - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

I'm linking to page 4 of that thread that started much like your adventure is about to start. Seven days after he got on his new boat it was on a NC beach.

Hadn't seen this thread before. Didn't read all of it, but it's quite a cautionary tale.

A year ago when I moved my 48 foot cat from the top of the Chesapeake down to Florida, I knew there was a real possibility of some rough weather/seas around Hatteras. We had winds out of the North East @20 coming down the Chesapeake. We holed up in Norfolk for a day, mostly to visit my son. On the day we rounded Hatteras, wind was about 5kt, and seas were flat. I was never so happy to be forced to motor than I was on that day. The next two days we ducked in to Cape Fear to wait out 40kt winds. The rest of the trip was good, but would have been rough on a smaller boat. Winds on the port aft quarter @ 20-25 for 3 days, and managed to thread our way between squalls the whole way.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

That might be the only way the OP makes it, find that Bristol named Alexandra and follow it, do whatever Sean does, go where he goes.

With a lot more effort. Sean’s boat is about 3.5 tons. The OP’s is 7, with much higher freeboard and so windage.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by jibstay

They had an electric motor that is usable for only short periods of time. It took them longer than expected to sail down the Chesapeake. Then, when they headed offshore and hit a storm, they had to be towed in.

They basically wore out their TowBoatUS card on their way south. They went aground a bunch of times and had to get towed off, then beached their boat in FL and had to get towed off, in addition to being towed in in bad weather. And then they finally bought a generator.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by Suijin

With a lot more effort. Sean’s boat is about 3.5 tons. The OP’s is 7, with much higher freeboard and so windage.

Yes this exactly. And the Bristol is a much more weatherly boat than the OI.

So my 2 cents. Without an engine, with that weight and freeboard, and relatively modest upwind performance- the ICW and inlets can’t be counted on for your trip.
So you are left doing a major offshore North Atlantic trip in winter. You don’t need an engine for that. But I hope you and your boat are equipped for that kind of trip.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Sean, you have a tremendous amount of experience. It does not sound like the OP does.

a.

I started in San Francisco with no experience and never had an engine. My first day in the ocean gusting 45 and my pump could not keep up, I had to use a bucket. At some point to gain experience you have to go.


I left nz in July and there were not harbors to escape weather. If the boat is strong and you avoid the stream in North wind, I can think of a lot more difficult passages.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Suijin

They basically wore out their TowBoatUS card on their way south. They went aground a bunch of times and had to get towed off, then beached their boat in FL and had to get towed off, in addition to being towed in in bad weather. And then they finally bought a generator.

Did you read the part about sleeping on windvane steering less than 1mile off?

[Lowcountry]

This is nonsensical.

[gaucho]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

Did you read the part about sleeping on windvane steering less than 1mile off?

They made mistakes. Many. And they learnt a bit.

Now they went across the Atlantic, the two of them. That's a lot more than most of us have done.

So kudos to them.

It's a learning process, some people (like myself) learn through being very careful, mindful, read a lot, and are very conservative. Others less so, and take harder lessons. Dunno. Different people, different styles.

It's all about risk management vs doing. Everyone knows, or should know, where they lay on that one.

[fahtcha]

I would volunteer to join you as crew if I hadn't burned too much leave sailing this year. Be careful, but prepare well and go for it.

Remember that the definition of experience can just mean that someone has gotten away with more mistakes than most people.

[Fiveslide]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

I started in San Francisco with no experience and never had an engine. My first day in the ocean gusting 45 and my pump could not keep up, I had to use a bucket. At some point to gain experience you have to go.


I left nz in July and there were not harbors to escape weather. If the boat is strong and you avoid the stream in North wind, I can think of a lot more difficult passages.

My second day out we got over taken by a cold front gusting about 40ish. Shredded our genny in minutes as the wind picked up and had to limp back on the main and outboard.

Sean, didn't you get iced in on the ICW somewhere last winter? How much if the ICW did you travel without an engine?

I'd like to reiterate that I'm not saying the OP shouldn't cruise. I love to hear when people succeed at this lifestyle.

I just don't want another boat on the beach or to read about another helicopter rescue.

Anybody can sail the East coast engineless, I'll agree with you on that, but not everyone can board a sailboat with no experience and sail from Annapolis to the Bahamas without backup propulsion.

[WanderingStar39]

I agree with those who urge caution. I've sailed FL-NY round trip a couple of times. I've also cruised two small boats (20' & 26') without power on both shores of LI. That included the East River and a couple of ocean inlets. They can be negotiated with caution, a handy boat, and experience. The ICW should not be traveled without power in my opinion, too many drawbridges and too much current, too many very narrow spots. Forecasts become very unreliable late in the year, trying to enter a tough inlet under sail in a breeze and sea is not easy. If you do this trip, please bring a liferaft, EPIRB, and really good ground tackle. But I urge you to spend time practicing locally for a year or so first.