Offshore Anchoring

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by jyoung

thanks for all the info, no i guess i probably don't know the correct meaning of offshore

Usually considered past the COLREGS line. Non-Coastal, the deep blue, open sea, etc...

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by jyoung

thanks for all the info, no i guess i probably don't know the correct meaning of offshore, but i will be following the east coast south and trying to stay out of the northern current. that keeps me somewhat close to shore. some of the charts i was looking at along the coast appear to be fairly shallow for quite a ways out there, i.e cape hatteras. also was just concerned about getting into the shipping lanes while on the rumb line from key west to galveston and not being able to get any shut eye. i do think the idea of sleeping in day sounds like a good plan. but another question is, what is the recomended radar reflector?

Ummm.
Even if your boat is twice as large as a Catalina 27, Hatteras is considered the "graveyard of the Atlantic" for a reason. Going offshore around that would be foolish without a crew and experience.
You can't just follow the coast due to shallows, shifting shoals, the Gulfstream just outside of Hatteras, and ships
- You have to go ICW with your boat and experience (just inferring from the question asked). Maybe can hop out once you get to South carolina/Georgia for day stretches. Anchoring "offshore" is pretty much impossible and very dangerous for all the reasons stated above.

[jyoung]

from the responses i gather i have caused some confusion, what i mean by offshore and following the coast is simply trying to stay a couple miles out between the shore and the gulf stream. it is my understanding that the narrowest point is twelve miles wide between Hattares and the stream. i have been studying the "hove-to" technique and am going to practice it, the only reason i was considering anchoring is because i have never overnighted on a boat and was concerned about the drift

[Kettlewell]

You should strongly consider taking the Intracoastal Waterway at least between Norfolk and Beaufort, to avoid Cape Hatteras, particularly in April. Many boats have sunk out there, and the inlets are few and all dangerous in bad conditions. You will have a much more enjoyable and safer trip taking the ICW.

[jyoung]

just curious, what makes rounding cape hattaras so dangerous?

[knotnow]

Originally Posted by jyoung

just curious, what makes rounding cape hattaras so dangerous?

If you look at a chart of the area and Gulf Stream combined with the normal paths of the lows leaving the east cost and the effects of the Bermuda high you’ll see. Can be a melting pot for stuff going in opposite directions. As previously stated take the water way west and inland of Hatteras.

[dacust]

Originally Posted by jyoung

from the responses i gather i have caused some confusion, what i mean by offshore and following the coast is simply trying to stay a couple miles out between the shore and the gulf stream. it is my understanding that the narrowest point is twelve miles wide between Hattares and the stream. i have been studying the "hove-to" technique and am going to practice it, the only reason i was considering anchoring is because i have never overnighted on a boat and was concerned about the drift

I have spent some rough nights on small sounds when the wind and tide conspired to make it rough. I can't imagine anchoring outside.

And then I wouldn't be able to sleep. With the shore lights confusing things, it'd be easy for someone to not see me and run me down. And that close to shore, there'll be a lot more traffic, some of it will be recreational fishermen coming back in drunk after a day of partying.

Nope. I don't want to be anchored out close to shore. Or far from it, either. I'd rather duck in an inlet and find a nice hole to hide in.

-dan

[jyoung]

ok, i see.. i looked at the charts well this time and it looks as thogh around hattaras is too shallow for any kind of swells any way.. guess i'll look better at the icw through there.. thanx for the heads up!!

[blgklr]

I think the point people are trying to make about Hatteras is because of the shallows any swells caused by disturbances offshore will pile up on each other (think surf) causing very dangerous conditions. So it is safer to go inside till you are out of the danger zone.

[Feral Cement]

Originally Posted by jyoung

i looked at the charts well this time and it looks as thogh around hattaras is too shallow for any kind of swells any way.

Hmmmm....when open ocean swells reach a shallow area, whether 100 yards or 10 miles from dry land, they tend to build up and break. At low tide, there are places out to the Hatteras platform that are only 8 feet deep. If you encounter an 8' wave, a boat with over 4 feet of draft will bottom out HARD in the trough. The keel will only rest in your bunk for a moment - the next wave will lift you up and the keel will fall out. At this point, you have about 30 seconds to hit the Mayday button and blow up the raft.

If your weather window is good and you have plenty of fuel plus a dependable boat, outside isn't a big deal. But stay away from those shoals. Cape Lookout isn't much better.

John

[Seahunter]

Yeah, not so good an idea, Better to heave to, if you can or find a quiet inlet (many to choose from) to drop your tackle. Those long Atlantic swells will just drag you to the beach.

[boatman61]

Go inside till past Cape Lookout.... its seriously not nice....
come out at Beaufort then duck back in before Frying Pan Shoals.... then pop back out the other side...
weathers bad out you can keep on truckin the ICW during the day...

[jyoung]

i understand what you all are telling me, but i've been looking at the charts for an hour for the ICW and it looks like pure hell. channels only maintained 100' wide? 6-8 ' depths all around? maybe i'm reading this wrong but the icw at norfolk looks just as bad.

[boatman61]

Naw... its a doddle once you get into it...
Freaked me out a bit as well when I first looked at the charts... also I'm a Brit... your systems a tad different
but the reality is its not that bad... just don't get tempted to cut corners....

[Therapy]

You have never spent overnight in a sailboat right?

These folks have.

My suggestion is to heed the lessons they have already learned............and lived to tell.