venture out on a west wight potter 19 ?

[rakedfront1]

hello fellow mariners.....does anybody know of any accounts of WWP 19 cruizing up and down the east coat of US?....any remarquable acomplishments for these boats?.......I know that they are not a true blue water boat but I also know people crossed oceans in canoes...
......here what I have in mind......this summer, weather permitting, I plan on crossing Pamlico Sound from Oriental to Ocracoke Island off the coast of North Carolina, a trip of around 30 to 40 miles, if I remember correctly .....and if that goes well maybe cruise on down to Charlston Sc close to the shore maybe 5-10 miles off of it....
........obviously I am new to sailing....as a matter of fact I self taught myself to sail and on a 14 ft banchee with the help of a few books and the infinite wisdom of google und utube......apart from taking my WWP to a big lake in NC and once around Oriental on Neuse river that is the extent of my sailing experience on anything bigger than a dingie....as far as navigation with charts and with the GPS I think I picked it up fairly good ....
.........the boat is a 2002 model and the best I can tell is in tip top condition and marine radio equiped
......so what do you guys and gals think...am I daydreaming? am I naive? I know how choppy and scary it can get on the water....I experienced it on my first semi salt water sailing experience at Oriental .......there for a while I was one of the only two sailboats that were actually sailing and it was not fun.......I figured if he or she raised sail then so can I......needles to say my wife was screaming bloody murder .....Cheers

[Pete7]

Can't help with advice on your choice of sailing area as I am on another continent, but this might be of interest:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tter-2662.html

If you do go, make sure you have some way of leaving the tiller alone for a few minutes to do the nav, put the kettle on and go to the loo. A good portable radio for the weather forecasts would be good too.

Pete

[David_Old_Jersey]

Can do and would be enjoyable are 2 different things.

The answer really depends on "You" (experiance and desire).....and picking your weather carefully. A 19 foot boat will be harder work than something 10 foot bigger.

I would be careful about considering "only" 5-10 miles from land as being some sort of "safe" - it can be, but can also be the exact opposite. Nothing wrong with coastal hopping (on boats of all sizes), but for that what you are really after is to be able to seek shelter somewhere, whether for plan A (as intended) or Plan B (unexpected weather or problems) - and to know (beforehand) when you are committed to a certain length of passage, so you can consider the weather carefully and know when simply heading to land is adding to your problems. Some places of shelter can be ideal in certain weather / wind direction but lethal in others - whether upon arrival or when entering. Best to know whether your port / marina (or anchorage) of refuge is suitable or not before arriving.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Can do and would be enjoyable are 2 different things.

The answer really depends on "You" (experiance and desire).....and picking your weather carefully. A 19 foot boat will be harder work than something 10 foot bigger.

I would be careful about considering "only" 5-10 miles from land as being some sort of "safe" - it can be, but can also be the exact opposite. Nothing wrong with coastal hopping (on boats of all sizes), but for that what you are really after is to be able to seek shelter somewhere, whether for plan A (as intended) or Plan B (unexpected weather or problems) - and to know (beforehand) when you are committed to a certain length of passage, so you can consider the weather carefully and know when simply heading to land is adding to your problems. Some places of shelter can be ideal in certain weather / wind direction but lethal in others - whether upon arrival or when entering. Best to know whether your port / marina (or anchorage) of refuge is suitable or not before arriving.

He's right. Often when bad weather kicks up, the worst thing you can do is head for shore.

I know this is going to sound stupid, but read SAILING FOR DUMMIES. They explain safety strategies extremely well. Having read that book helped me out tremendously in a bad weather situation shortly after I started sailing.

[DaleM]

There used to be a bunch of trailer sailors that did coastal trips in small boats in North Carolina. The website is www.ncsail.org. Many of us have moved up to bigger boats over the years and the site traffic is low.

I've sailed to Cape Lookout in a Hobie 16 from Beaufort. Sailed to Ocracoke in a Starwind 19. Potters have crossed the sound. Its all about weather windows. With good conditions, its easy. In bad conditions there is nowhere to hide. Bad is wind at 20 knots and higher.

A group is sailing from the Oriental area the up coming holdiay weekend to Ocracoke. This trip will put you out of site of land for about 30 minutes to an hour.

In October we do a trip called Pirates where we sail from Beaufort to Cape Lookout, have a cookout and sail back. Several noobs go and some even come back next year! (Some get scared and give up sailing forever!)

PM me for more information. I had to ask someone how to sail the sounds the first time. Things you MUST have: radio, even handheld, charts, compass, good anchor, wear a life jacket. You'd be surprised the number of people that think they can call the Coast Guard on their cell phone if they get in trouble. I have never seen a cell tower in the middle of the Pamlico Sound. Also the biggest danger is falling off the boat alone. Every year a ghost boat is found in the sound with no one on it!

Do not plan on sailing in or out of the ocean channel at Ocracoke! It is for expereinced people only with local knowledge! You can launch at Cedar Island and follow the ferry route to Ocracoke for the shortest distance.

A much better trip is Beaufort to Lookout. Launch at Taylor Creek ramp, stay at the Town Docks and sail out to Lookout.
Dale

[Lake-Effect]

Our boat (Sandpiper 565) is also a tough little 19' mini-cruiser, and we've crossed Lake Ontario, and island-hopped on Lake Erie (Leamington - Pelee Is - Put-in Bay). With favourable weather, it's doable. The L. Erie trip did have one day of rain, 20 to 25 kt winds and 5 ft waves, but with the right clothing and reefed sails, it was enjoyable.

In a smaller boat, you have a smaller wind range. I personally wouldn't go out on a long crossing if the wind was going to be over 20 kt and/or waves over 5 ft; the boat can take it, but it can be hard on the crew.

Don't do these long trips alone, at least til you've got more experience in those conditions.

[edit] for the long crossings we used harnesses and jacklines, and have a solid stern ladder; on a bad day you do not want to be separated from the boat.

[SkiprJohn]

WWP 19s are great little boats. Unsinkable and our club has tried several times. Got up on a reef twice and ground holes in the bottom. It still was able to get to the launch ramp under its own power and we got her hauled out and patched up.
There was a story not too long ago about the fellow who single handed one from San Francisco to Hawaii. They'll do it. Learn how to reef your boat when needed and although you are self taught and probably know a lot there are always good tips to be had from courses tha might be available in your area. Bone up on rules of the road and sail handling.
kind regards,

[SkiprJohn]

I don't know east coast so much but here's a west coast account.

Potter 19 Pages

[rakedfront1]

...Thank you kindly for your responses, gentlemen......very usefull advice and links which brought me a little piece of mind as far as seaworthyness of my new boat....I plan on building on my limited experience and hopefully later on this year I can atempt that Pamlico Sound crossing .....once again thank you to all that responded