FL to NY with my power boat - pure ocean trip (no ICW)

[ron17571]

It sounds like bad trip planning. I just couldn't get over the amount of fuel needed and the cost. I guess we live in a much different income bracket.

[benurit7]

Hi All
I am super grateful for all your input, comments, and ideas.

I would like to state a few points that I believe would make my point of view clearer and easier to understand:
A. I will not die for my Boss. In fact, my Boss is the last person on earth I will jump on a grenade for or make a life risking decision to satisfy him.
B. My time constrain is a fact and is limited, but that doesn’t mean I am committing to arrive to NY during that time only.

After reading all your super valuable feedback and ideas, I have made some changes to my trip plans:
1. I purchased a "Gold" usBoat towing service.
2. Got us 2 EPIRBs.
3. I understand that Schedule and safety are not working together most of the time, I am now focused to finish my trip in 2 different legs, 500 mile each leg that will hopefully take 6-7 days/each leg, if weather permits.
4. I wrote down the main concern from all your responses, and 98% of those concerns are based on Weather. Statistics can show weather in a certain area for the future but noting is final until the day of.
5.Based on your feedback, I am now planning to arrive to either NC or VA beach, whatever I will be able to accomplish at the time I have, I totally understand it will most likely not finish in 1 trip to NY so I set my goals to the 50% of the trip, leave the boat for a month or so in NC or VA, fix whatever needs to be fixed , reset my direction during end of April - starting May , and set sail again towards NY.
6. If my goal will be reached and I will still have more time to my trip, I will move further North if weather will permit. The closer the NY the better.
7. I am expecting to learn as much as I can during this adventure, but not killing myself to meet my boss's deadline.
8. I am now 36yo and expecting to have the minimum confidence when I want to take my kids for a 2-day trip around NY area, so this adventure will hopefully give me the little skills I need to set on board, start the engine, set a direction and cruise with my family.
9. I am not planning to cruise at night as I am a bit insecure now. If I will feel more secure during the trip I might do so if weather will look go for a night cruise.

After reading all your inputs, I have put together a new master plan (I know planning that far is not healthy, but it is the master plan if all goes right with the weather and boat).
I have set destination points that are not an overkill and can be met while cruising 10-12kn, if we can go faster
we will and arrive sooner or continue to next stop.
If weather allows, we will bang 2 stops in 1 day as it is feasible if we speed up to 20kn (depending on winds)

The main plan is:
Day 1 – organizing in the morning in the marina, preparations for food, leave Marina at 2pm- Marina is located 1.5 hours deep into new river FL, so taking around 3 hours to take her out as I am going
to exit slowly so around 4 hours total, anchor for the night, get prepared for the trip North the following day.
Day 2 - Head north 6am, if weather will allow us 10 hours of cruise, stopping at Cape Canaveral for the
night and fuel.
During those 2 day I will keep logs on speed and distance, so I will be able to evaluate the fuel consumption.
Day 3 - Heading out 6am from CC north towards St. Augustin - we should arrive in 10 hours if weather will allow.
Sleep and fuel.
Day 4 - Heading out 6am leaving St. Augustin heading North towards Hilton Head SC. Fuel and sleep.
Day 5 - Heading out 6am leaving Hilton Head SC heading North towards Southport Cape Fear. Fuel and sleep.
Day 6 - Heading out 6am leaving Cape Fear heading North towards Cape Hatteras, option of stopping in Cape lookout if weather will get rough. Fuel and sleep.
Day 7 - Heading out 6am leaving Cape Hatteras heading North towards Virginia Beach. Dock the boat and head to the airport to go home.

If weather will start banging on us with N/NW/NE winds, we will go in and get cover until it is good to continue, I do understand the plan can
change any moment due to weather, engine issues etc... so wherever we will be in 7 days that’s where we will stop and come back home.

Coming back at the end of April to continue north towards NY.

[Emouchet]

Saint Augustin Inlet can be treacherous. Ahead of getting into the Inlet, call local boat US station and ask for local knowledge. Most buoys in the channel are gone. Maps are not representing the last move of the sand banks.

Saint Augustin to Hilton Head is a long trip: I would cut that in half, to Brunswik / Saint Simon Island.

Same for all the others.

Question: Your replies makes me think you are a newbie. What experience do you really have sailing a motor boat off shore ? I believe its none. Have you ever think on hiring a delivery captain, and sail with him. You will be surprise of what you will learn during the trip and realize how much you will need to learn to keep you and your family safe while boating.

[Left Coaster]

Hi Benurit7. I've followed this tread for a bit and I think you've been given some good advice, but I wanted to add something. You've purchased a 25-year-old boat and before undertaking any type of cruise I think there are some things you need to consider before leaving the dock because you're going to be putting a fair amount of stress on all of your boat's systems.

A boat of that age is going to have some problems and at this point, do you know what those problems are? I'm assuming you had a survey, but don't rely on the survey to identify your boat's problems, since not all surveys are equal and any survey will only tell you part of the story and is dependent the quality of the person performing it. Next, did you have separate mechanical inspection and did it include an evaluation under load for an extended period of time?

Personally, before starting off on a passage of this nature, I'd want to have a thorough knowledge of the boat and its systems. I'd want to know how to operate everything. I'd want to know what works and what doesn't. I'd want to know how to operate all of the systems, their location and the path they take. Do you have a pre-departure checklist? While you have electronics, do you have charts for backup and more importantly, do you know how to use them?

Finally, it seems like you're going to use the first day of your passage to learn about your boat and personally, I don't want to find out that I needed to have the fuel polished while I'm on a 10-hour passage during winter. Better to become familiar with your boat first, then do your passage.

I wish you a safe journey.

[Uricanejack]

What’s your fuel capacity, but more importantly consumption and range.
Reserve?

Out of curiosity I looked up a tiara 4000 express on google.
444 gallons or 1680 litres
Consumption cruising at 22 knots (I think it was knots not MPH) 180 litres per hr.

Which gives you just over 9 hours. Or Just over 200 nautical miles.
I wouldn’t want to be transferring diesel from jerry cans offshore.

At 15 knots your consumption should be less and range greater, do you have a good idea.
As a rule of thumb you want to keep a reserve, not jerry cans, in your tank. Bearing in mind many boat fuel tanks can’t be completely drained the suction being higher than the bottom of the tank.

25% is a good rule of thumb for a reserve.
I’m not familiar with the east coast and have no idea how far it is from place to place on your intended route.

You run into bad weather, you could burn your reserve up pretty quick.

Just asking, not having seen it mentioned.
Just my way of looking at things, Not worried about daylight, more concerned about how far I can go without eating into reserve.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by benurit7

The main plan is:
Day 1 – organizing in the morning in the marina, preparations for food, leave Marina at 2pm- Marina is located 1.5 hours deep into new river FL, so taking around 3 hours to take her out as I am going
to exit slowly so around 4 hours total, anchor for the night, get prepared for the trip North the following day.
Day 2 - Head north 6am, if weather will allow us 10 hours of cruise, stopping at Cape Canaveral for the
night and fuel.
During those 2 day I will keep logs on speed and distance, so I will be able to evaluate the fuel consumption.
Day 3 - Heading out 6am from CC north towards St. Augustin - we should arrive in 10 hours if weather will allow.
Sleep and fuel.
Day 4 - Heading out 6am leaving St. Augustin heading North towards Hilton Head SC. Fuel and sleep.
Day 5 - Heading out 6am leaving Hilton Head SC heading North towards Southport Cape Fear. Fuel and sleep.
Day 6 - Heading out 6am leaving Cape Fear heading North towards Cape Hatteras, option of stopping in Cape lookout if weather will get rough. Fuel and sleep.
Day 7 - Heading out 6am leaving Cape Hatteras heading North towards Virginia Beach. Dock the boat and head to the airport to go home.

If weather will start banging on us with N/NW/NE winds, we will go in and get cover until it is good to continue, I do understand the plan can
change any moment due to weather, engine issues etc... so wherever we will be in 7 days that’s where we will stop and come back home.

Coming back at the end of April to continue north towards NY.

Getting better (others beat me to the idea of doing part of the trip and then coming back later to finish) but I would plan a couple down days both for weather and for crew.

Heading out at 6am and bashing away for 10hours is tiring. Expecting to repeat that 6 days in a row even in fairly good conditions can really wear you out...tire crew tend to make mistakes.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Getting better (others beat me to the idea of doing part of the trip and then coming back later to finish) but I would plan a couple down days both for weather and for crew.

Heading out at 6am and bashing away for 10hours is tiring. Expecting to repeat that 6 days in a row even in fairly good conditions can really wear you out...tire crew tend to make mistakes.

On that note, weather may also turn a planned day into an ICW day of different length. Conditions that aren't suitable for running outside very well may still be fine for ICW running.


I also agree that long day after long day can get tiring. When I brought my boat home we ran a 12+ hour day followed by 2 more 10.5 hour days at one point in the trip. By the end of the third day, I was definitely tired (more than the others, as I was at the helm 90% of the time with no autopilot). A 5 hour day after that was definitely refreshing.

[Nani Kai]

Originally Posted by benurit7

Hi All
I am super grateful for all your input, comments, and ideas.

.. so wherever we will be in 7 days that’s where we will stop and come back home.

Coming back at the end of April to continue north towards NY.

Well done benurit7! It looks like your plan is becoming reasonable. Two things I would add. Please do not underestimate the effect that operating your boat 10 hours/day in the open ocean for a week will have on your own ability to make sound decisions and to react appropriately to rapidly changing, possible life threatening conditions. Allow lots of margin for error, mechanical breakdown, weather, mistakes in navigation, course changes due to other boat traffic, etc, etc.

Secondly, traveling up the ICW, on days when going outside sucks may not move you as fast toward your final destination, but it will move you forward. It will give you a chance to relax and recover as well.

Keep thinking, keep planning, take it slow, enjoy the ride.

Aloha

[tweitz]

I do think your plan is becoming more realistic, and it is good you are listening to a lot of sage advice. One item that has not been mentioned, though it is referenced obliquely, is seasickness. Have you or your friend spent time at sea in even moderately rough weather? While I don't know about the seakindliness of your particular boat, plenty of people who can enjoy a quick cruise in the bay can be laid low and exhausted by a rolling boat at sea. With such a small crew, one person being disabled is a big deal. Especially if you need to do some repair down below, laying down or bending, with diesel smell all around, can be pretty trying. And most seasickness remedies can make you exceedingly drowsy, also a concern on a long trip.

[Jamme]

Following. OP please do post updates from time to time during the trip, so we know everything is OK.
Fair winds!

[benurit7]

Hi All
Thanks again for the constant feedback
I am leaving NY today towards FL, 2 days of preparations on the boat and heading out Thursday noon.
I will post some updates when I can

[SuW]

Good luck, benurit7, and Bon Voyage!

[Uricanejack]

Enjoy the trip, hope it goes well.
Two of my most enjoyable and memorable trips were delivering my own boat home.
Getting prepped was a bit awkward trying to find things in an unfamiliar town.

Good luck

[rsn48]

I just looked at Windy for the East Coast with a 10 guestimation of the weather, starting date 7 March. There are some nasty days and some calm days shown in the forecast. Definitely check out your weather predictions, and include Windy.

[donradcliffe]

Sounds like a plan. I use Windy and the NWS coastal marine forecasts by zone, and don't trust any forecast more than 2 days out.