Chesapeake to Man-o-War Key May 2013

[Anduril]

You dont see much information on the web about folks making passages from the Chesapeake to the Abacos in the spring. We are planning a 10 week cruise starting May 1st to the Abacos and possibly returing via Bermuda to be back in the Chesapeake around the 4th of July.

the boat: completely refit Beneteau First 35, with Hydrovane self steering, raymarine wheel pilot, radar, storm sails, life raft, sat phone, loaded with provisions and emergency equipment and supplies, new diesel engine, new main sail, storm trysail, and storm jib on a removable inner forestay.

the crew: Myself and my wife, experience- two round trip passages chesapeake to Bermuda in may\june. I am a life long sailor and have done 95% of the refit work on all my boats over the years. also skippered a Morgan 30 from Stuart Fl to the Chesapeake in May.

the planned route: down the chesapeake to little creek for final fuel and internet fix, weather etc. depart bay, work south to Outer Banks\Hatteras, go SE to cross the stream and then head straight for Man-o-war Cay. Spend 2-3 weeks in the sea of abacos and then head back out , rhumb line to Bermuda, spend 2-3 weeks there and then back to the Chesapeake- rhumb line toward hatteras then WNW to chesapeake.

Are we crazy or is this an ideal little cruise to paradise and back at the best time of year to do it ? should we skip bermuda and spend more time in the Abacos and then return home directly ?

[Anduril]

no one has a comment or response ? not even my spelling of Key in the title and Cay in the post ? It seems they might be interchangeable, according to many dictionarys and web discussion boards, let alone the pronunciation.

my reading of the guides indicates North Man-o-War Cay inlet is the most reliable safe passage in and out.

looking at the pilot charts, it looks like we might feel the easterly tradewinds below 30 deg N Lat. So leaving hatteras and gulf stream on a stb tack in the prevailing SW winds, and continueing SE untill the we get some easterly wind and then take a port tack into the Abacos .... of course you cant bet on the prevailing winds all the time.

Is this going to be a close hauled healed to the gunnel sail all the way ?

[Auspicious]

Good day.

I've "commuted" from the Chesapeake to Abaco a handful of times. I don't take much issue at all with your plan as described.

I tend to stay a bit east of the rhumb line to get easting early. North Man-O-War cut is fine but please only run it in daylight. I've sat hove to waiting for good light a couple of times and that is time well spent.

Alternatively you can land at Green Turtle Cay. Regardless C&I will be easy at GTC or Marsh Harbour.

Originally Posted by Anduril

the boat: completely refit Beneteau First 35, with Hydrovane self steering, raymarine wheel pilot, radar, storm sails, life raft, sat phone, loaded with provisions and emergency equipment and supplies, new diesel engine, new main sail, storm trysail, and storm jib on a removable inner forestay.

Nothing for weather updates underway? I strongly suggest a small shortwave radio and free software like JVCOMM32. You can get synoptic charts over weather fax and listen to the Waterway Net and USCG voice weather forecasts. Once in the Bahamas you can listen to the BASRA HF net in the mornings even when out of range of the cruiser's net.

I periodically present a webinar at Seven Seas U called Offshore to the Bahamas.

[Anduril]

Thanks for the response. I do have a Sony ICF-SW7600GR SW radio. I'll look into the JVCOMM32 software, and how to connect to my laptop.

I will have a sat phone on board, so I can call up the offshore buoy weather forecasts.

I've also joined SSCA so will look for your webinars.

[Auspicious]

You can get JVCOMM32 here: JVComm32 - Download page . It's free.

The biggest issue people have is the $5 audio cable between the radio and the laptop. The laptop end should be a mono plug. Your SW radio probably has a stereo headphone jack (because of the broadcast FM capability). Get a 1/8" male mono to 1/8" male mono and a 1/8" female mono to 1/8" male stereo. All available at Radio Shack.

I missed that your autopilot is a wheel pilot. If the seas are up or even if you haven't done a good job balancing the sail forces the wheel pilot may be overpowered and you'll end up hand steering for a while. Put some effort into balancing the sails and watch the weather before you leave Little Creek to be sure the seas haven't piled up too badly.

In Little Creek I use Vinings Landing Marina for fuel, water, a shower and Internet for weather before heading offshore. Vinings Landing is the last marina on the left in Little Creek, just before the bridge you can't fit under anyway. *grin* Aside from really nice staff I use Vinings Landing because it is the shortest walk to a grocery and West Marine.

[Anduril]

Thanks for the tip about the laptop cable and marina in Little Creek. I may not have mentioned but I have installed (last summer) a Hydrovane Self steering system. Trial runs so far show that it works pretty well, and looks pretty robust. On our trip to Bermuda in 2011, we did a lot of hand steering, the wheel pilot couldn't keep up and the noise was annoying.

Any tips on a watch schedule for two people ? 6 on 6 off during the day, 4 on\off at night ?

[Auspicious]

Watch schedules are very personal. In my opinion rest time is more important than "up" time. 4 x 4 around the clock works for me but may not for you. Can you sleep in daylight to catch up? How long does it take you to fall asleep? Are you an your mate both "night" people or "morning" people or are you on different body clocks?

[Anduril]

I guess we'll just have to figure out what works.

Our trip plans have been shortened somewhat. I cant get away from my job for more than 6 weeks without taking a Leave of Absense with no guarantee of a job when I return. So it looks like an out and back either to Bermuda similar to our May 2011 or go for the Abacos. Depart Chesapeake May 15, depart paradise June 10. allowing 10 days water sailing">blue water sailing to get back and 3 days to work our way leisurely up and down the bay.

Any significant weather delay could upset this plan. Bermuda is a little shorter and would likely have more favorable wind directions.

what do you think?

[Kettlewell]

For me it is too much sailing too far away with too little time to enjoy cruising at the other end, but obviously that is a personal preference. In May you will still have some cold fronts sweeping down off the coast and one of those against the Gulf Stream can be unpleasant, so your plans could get upset at the last moment. When I have been coming the other way in May I found I could just get a weather window from Bermuda back to the U.S. in-between systems, but the timing was tight. With your new 6-week window I would vote for doing Bermuda, but have you ever done Maine in the summer? It is a great run from the Chessy up to Block Island and then do some of the islands before heading offshore from Provincetown up to Penobscot Bay, cruising Maine for a few weeks before beginning to work your way south again.

[Anduril]

well, six weeks plus a day or three is all I have. I can shift my start time by a week or so if the ocean is closed, though. I'm lucky to have an understanding employer from that respect. If I work over to the west and start back near the gulf stream, the trip home will be quicker. Just need to be realistic about the weather and making departure decisions. I'm starting to think I'll connect with a weather router for advice ... any recommendations?

[Anduril]

Decided to bag the trip for 2013. My companies policies changed so I can only get 5 weeks this year. Waiting for 2014 and I can save up 4 weeks of leave. Still getting ready though. I'm completing the installation of an inner forestay for a storm jib, a whisker pole system at the mast, a new mainsail\boom and mast pulpit.

I'm now considering a Si Tex Nav-fax 200 HF receiver. Does anyone have experience with this gear ?