This is our new pilothouse instrument panel.From right to left: New 7215 MFS butted up to the starboard 7215, GMI 10s next to one another on the port side of the panel New panel with 3 Garmin 7215 screens showing satellite weatherPort: Precipitation, …
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Snowbird Migration: Guy’s Thoughts
Every year the Hingham Shipyards Marina holds 2 customer appreciation events. It is a chance to have some free wine and cheese outside with the other boat owners. The marina has a good number of boats and their owners are from varying backgrounds.
I have been at HSM for 2 seasons now and met some nice people. However, on July 2nd 2015 I found myself in a conversation with one Lester Shapiro. Rather quiet but a nice man. In our conversation he mentioned that he was taking his yacht to Sarasota. That got my attention. Then he simply said, “Would you like to join me”. Well my jaw just about dropped. What an opportunity! It was just what I was looking for. I had recently received my captain’s license and now I needed experience. You know the deal, you need experience to get on a yacht but if you don’t have experience you can’t get on a yacht. I just took a breath and said “Absolutely”. I didn’t know how I was going to make it work but I knew I was going to be on board.
The morning we left, the transmission went on my jeep. Months prior I was told that the transmission needed to be replaced. I could only call the repair shop while close enough to the coast and find out what it will cost. I guess that it was good that the repair shop will have plenty of time to complete the repair.
That said, we left the dock early on Saturday the 31st of October. Almost right away I was at the wheel of the Guided Discovery heading out through Hull Gut. We got off of Hull and set the throttles (1400 rpm) and the Autopilot. There was no need to touch the throttles for days. Day and night we traveled at 8.4 knots. Using all of the available electronic equipment such as radar, GPS chart plotter, Autopilot, night vision camera, sonar and a large spot light we set off for Sarasota Fl.
I napped for a while on Saturday evening and was ready for the overnight run. I got on the wheel at around 1:30 am and we had gotten into some 5’ waves. As it happened, our course had changed slightly. Due to a dredge project in the Hamptons and a favorable forecast off shore it was decided to alter our course that would take us out off of NY harbor entrance. Around 3 am I felt some motion sickness coming on. When I left the helm around 5:30 am, it wasn’t getting better. I was sick from about 6 to 8 am. I really felt bad for my shipmates. The sounds that I produced cancelled breakfast for them too. The seas calmed down around noon and I was able to get 2 hours sleep. By 3:30 pm I was back on the wheel and feeling 100%.
On day 2 I received a text message from my friend who was caring for my 2 yorkies, Asher and Kalvin. On Thursday and into Friday before we left, Kalvin developed a case of diarrhea. I had the vet come to my house on Friday to check him out. She gave him a saline treatment and a prescription. She gave me the bill. Now, I get a photo of the lesion on his back that looks infected. My friend was kind enough to bring Kalvin back to the vet where he was kept overnight for surgery to remove the cyst on his back.
On day 3 I received a text message from my family that our old Aunt Loraine has passed peacefully the previous night. I knew that she was failing and was okay to remember the person that I saw at the last family cook out. The only prudent thing to do was just say a quite good bye to Aunt Loraine and keep vigilant.
Half way thru day 4, we pulled in for fuel. By this time I am evaluating my decision to be a captain. In the first half of my trip I have experienced a number of things that only other “yachties” really understand. The very first thing was my dog, then the jeep, then more dog issues, then the loss of a family member. At this time I am thinking that maybe I shouldn’t be on this trip. Then I am thinking that this is exactly what I should be doing. Things happen that we have no control over. The only difference is that I am miles away and at sea. That’s just where I want to be.
For the balance of the trip we had a great time, memories that will last forever. The things that I did and saw just leave me speechless. There is nothing like nature in the raw. Passing Cape Fear and Frying Pan Shoals at 3 am was amazing. Cruising across Lake Okeechobee had a feel of being alone on the lake. Weather lessons from Les, the Okeechobee Waterway, many locks and bridges, Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina, Dolphins off of Captiva Island, South Seas Island Resort and turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are just a few things that make me feel like I should be living on the water again.
They say that things happen for a reason. Well I don’t know what the next chapter in my life will be but I’m open to it and hope that it will draw on my new skills. And for the trip to Boston in the spring, it can’t come soon enough. I have to thank Les Shapiro for making this all possible.
Snowbird Migration: Changing Culture – Clewiston to South Seas Resort
Our early Saturday morning departure from the Roland Martin’s Marina at Clewiston came with a bit of a surprise. We were departing right at the start of a fishing tournament. Close to a hundred high speed outboard fishing boats were either departing th…
Snowbird Fall Migration: Morehead City to Clewiston Express
The Morehead City pit stop had gone very well. By Tuesday at 2:15 PM, we were back on the water after a rather efficient fueling process that had taken only an hour and 45 minutes. Now we were headed southwest along the North Carolina, Sout…
Snowbird Fall Migration: Skip’s Impressions
A month or two ago, I signed on as an able seaman to assist in the delivery of Guided Discovery from Hingham to Sarasota, not really knowing what to expect other than a leisurely trip to warmer clime. I figured it would be mostly sightseeing, get…
Snowbird Fall Migration: Transiting Cape Hatteras at Night
Cape Hatteras is a challenge for small pleasure boats, which is why most opt for the ICW between Norfolk and Morehead City. That said, based on the number of wrecks, it also a challenge for ships.
Hatteras presents several unique challenges. The Gulf Stream’s 2 to 3 knot warm water current turns northeast here and converges with the weaker cold water Labradore Current. Because of these currents, the Cape often sets up its own weather patterns and conditions can change rapidly (which we experienced last November). It can also set up standing waves when winds and currents are in opposition. Add the need to head 12 miles out to sea to round Hatteras’ uncrossable Diamond Shoal, and the fact the east bound weather fronts often converge here and you have a formula for rough unpredictable water.
I watch the weather at Hatteras almost every day trying to understand the factors that contribute to the consistently rough seas. My watch intensifies as the cruise south approaches. Hence, my decision, days earlier, that we had a weather window for the trip reflected my analysis of the predicted weather at the Cape.
This was still true on Saturday as shown in the photos below. A weak high pressure system dominates the east coast and Siruis’ sea condition screen reflects calm seas on the east coast.
Late Monday, as we approached Hatteras, the forecast for Monday evening called for west winds of 10 to 15 knots with 3 to 5 foots seas and a period of 6 seconds. NOAA’s Tuesday prediction called for the winds to swing north and increase to 15 to 20 with 4 to 6 foot seas with a chance of showers in the morning.
Actually, as early as Monday morning the winds had already swung northeast and continued to build as we proceeded south toward the cape. Northeast winds are favorable as they produce a push and a following sea (more push). 46 miles north of the Cape Hatteras Light at 10:00 PM we had 20 knot east northeast winds gusting to 25. Seas, which we estimated at 3 to 4 feet, were off the port beam. The boat was riding smoothly. That said, this is Hatteras and conditions can get bad real fast. As a precaution, we followed our Standard Operating Procedure for preparing the boat for rough seas. They never came.
At 2:00 AM on Tuesday we rounded the end of Diamond Shoal with northeast winds and a 3 to 4 foot following sea and continued on to Cape Lookout with essentially unchanged conditions. In the 24 period starting at around 11:00 AM on Monday, we had rounded the dreaded Cape Hatteras and her somewhat nasty step sister, Cape Lookout, without difficulty.
We also picked up speed and therefore time on the Cape Charles (Virginia Beach) to Morehead segment due to the following sea. At Block Island on Saturday night, we were averaging 8.6 knots. Then came the offshore crossing between the Hamptons and Cape May (NJ) where we dropped to 8.1 kts due to head winds and heavy seas. Then Cape Hatteras segment got us up to 8.3 kts and within .1 knts of the boat’s optimum cruising speed of 8.4.
At 12:30 PM on Tuesday we pulled into Morehead Yacht Basin. Refueling was completed in 1 hour and 45 minutes by one very efficient crew. We took on 849.1 gallons of diesel and by 2:15 PM we were on the water for the Morehead to Stuart Florida leg. Did I mention that we paid $2.26 for fuel? That is the lowest price I’ve paid for diesel in years. Below are statistics:
Hingham to Morehead City Data
> Engine Hours: 79 hours
> Time Enroute: 4 days and 3 nights
> Average Speed: 8.3 kts
> Diesel Fuel: 849.1 gallons
> Cost per gallon: $2.26
Written by Les.
Snowbird Fall Migration: Weather Surprise
This article is trip south second installment
Saturday, we awoke to clear skies and calm winds. Then Skip and Guy arrived and we, the crew, made final departure preparations (stow the boarding ladder, the deck chairs and pull the power cord). We were off the dock at 7:15 AM. Not bad.
But not perfect. When it came time to cast off, well actually after we had untied all but the stern line, I discovered that I had not fired up the engines. Guy’s fast action of not releasing the line when I declared a “problem” turned my error into an inside joke rather than a potential accident. When I arrive in Sarasota I’m going to get checked for dementia.
Side Story: Several days earlier I had moved the departure time back to 6:00 AM, but Diana thought that was too uncivilized. Reluctantly I moved it ahead to 7:00 AM. Diana’s desire to change the time worked in our favor hours later when we arrived at the Cape Cod Canal.
Anyhow, we were off with perfect weather as we effortlessly cruised south along Cape Cod Bay to the Cape Cod Canal. Our passage through the Canal took just short of an hour. Luckily, Diana’s time change reduced both the time and velocity of the unfavorable current at the west end of the canal resulting in a loss of only 1 knot. Then, at mid canal, the current swung and we gained back 2 knots. Most importantly, we also had a favorable current in Buzzards Bay so that by the time we reached Block Island at 7:52 PM we were flying (OK slight exaggeration) at an average speed of 8.7 knots, .3 knots above our 1400 RPM optimal cruise speed (and that average is starting from the dock).
A (close to) gourmet dinner was served at 5:30 PM as the sun was setting. Salad of romaine lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, onions, walnuts, raisins and pine nut with a balsamic vinaigrette; oven heated meatballs in marinara sauce and oven baked potatoes with herbs de proveance and garlic. The wine was 2012 Mount Veeder Cabernet Savingnon, my favorite. Desert was fresh raspberries with whipped cream. Truly I was “Cruising Like a Gentleman” (which was the title of Passagemaker’s October 2014 lead story on our 63 Outer Reef).
After dinner we “settled in” for a pleasant overnight cruise along the south coast of Long Island.
Explanatory Note: “Settled in” involves taping off light sources to preserve night vision and setting up the multifunction screens with chartplotter, AIS, radar and night vision.
I have a Long Island cruising strategy. If the sea condition are rough, my programmed route takes us close (within 2.5 miles) of the coast to take advantage of the shallower water that tends to diminish wave height. If seas are favorable, I avoid the New York Harbor shipping lanes by cutting southwest toward Atlantic City just east of Shinnecock Inlet (South Hampton, NY).
Just after 1:00 AM we received a Coast Guard broadcast alerting us to a dredging operation off Moriches Inlet extending 2.5 miles out into the ocean on the surface. We marked the location and determined that it was within a half mile of our intended route. Offshore sea conditions on satellite weather showed 3 foot head seas for the 95 nautical mile run direct to the New Jersey shore. Since we had been riding comfortably in 3 foot heads seas for hours we turned to a heading of 241 degrees. This move also saves us 14 NM which saves one and a half hours of running time (or about 15 gallons of fuel).
At 4:00 AM on Sunday, we recorded winds from the west southwest at 25-30 knots and head seas of 3 to 4 feet. Still comfortable. A check of satellite weather continued to show 3 foot seas for the next 24 hours.
Totally disregarding Sirius Satellite Weather’s existing and predicted wave heights (just kidding) the wind and seas continued to build. At 7:00 AM we recorded 25 to 30 knot winds with seas of 4 to 6 with and occasional 7. Not so comfortable.
Three hours later (10:39 AM) with head winds continuing at 25 to 30 knots we recorded 6 to 8 foot head seas with an occasional 10. Not good. All books on the shelves in the VIP stateroom were dislodged when the wood rails fell out of their slots. No damage but what a mess. Also the forward hatch leaked but a twist of the screwdriver solved that problem. The bigger problem was 600 feet of anchor chain that was airborne in the chain lockers. Readers will recall that the platforms in the lockers wound up on top of the chain when we encountered 10 to 12s off Cape Hatteras last May when we were running ahead of Tropical Storm Anna. I expected this would be the case this time and my worst fears were confirmed when I reluctantly checked the lockers during refueling in Morehead City. The port platform was sitting on top of the chain (see photo). Oh well, another three hours project straightening out the chain and re-seating the platform in it rightful place. Did I mention that our position at 7:18 AM was 30 NM southeast of New York Harbor ?
Decision time. At 7:18 AM, we were 60% of the way to the Jersey Shore and 30 NM from New York Harbor. Turing northwest to there would put the seas on our beam. Turning back or due north toward Long Island was a possible option as it would improve the ride but would delay the trip. Holding the course was reasonable as the seas would diminish as we got close to shore. We chose that option and within 3 hours the sea conditions had improved to a tolerable 5 to 7. Four hours later (6:00 PM), seas were 3 to 4 and we were able to cook dinner. At that point Sirius Satellite Weather got “serious” and started reporting the true conditions.
Dinner Sunday evening included a salad, shells stuffed with ricotta and spinach, white wine and raspberries with whipped cream for desert. Very civilized.
Explanatory Note: My daughter, Lesley, graciously volunteered to cook gourmet meals that could be frozen and reheated (either with the microwave if seas were rough or oven heated if seas were calm). This replaced the Trader Joes frozen dinners that I had used in the past. What a difference!
At 9:00 PM on Sunday evening we were off Cape May New Jersey riding comfortably on 2 to 3 foot head seas.
The head winds, head seas and big waves encountered on Sunday Night and Monday morning reduced our average speed to 8.1 knots.
Next challenge Cape Hatteras.
Written by Les.
Snowbird Fall Migration: Weather, Weather, Weather
The life of a snowbird.
We arrived in Hingham in early May and within a few weeks had already chosen November 1st as the target date for returning to Sarasota. Why set a date so quickly you ask and what about the weather, which as readers know is the cruising variable beyond our control?
The early selection of the target date is easy to understand. We need to line up crew for the voyage and our volunteers need to have to have time to plan their schedules (which includes possible down time for weather).
The weather is always a challenge. We need a good enough weather window to enable us to optimally cruise from Hingham to Stuart in seven days and six nights on the North Atlantic Coast.
Explanatory Note: Even with less than perfect weather, we can still safely make the trip using inland waters, which comprise well over of the 1200 of the 1450 miles to Stuart. However, each time we “duck in” we increase the length of the trip by increasing the distance and eliminating night running. Inland waters north to south: Long Island Sound, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Why the hurry you ask? Three simple answers. November is not exactly prime time for port to port cruising, we have a car to move and our insurance company does not want us south of Cape Hatteras before November 15. Oh, did I mention the Furry Kid? Kodi refuses to eliminate on the boat and that would restrict us to day cruising, which combined with the ups and downs of weather would make for a 30 day trip to cover the distance (about 1,700 statute miles). It would also add needless expense. Add to that the fact that we would be sleeping in port while the good weather “goes away” and it’s easy to understand our “move the boat” strategy.
Explanatory Note: Our insurance company gives us special dispensation with regard to crossing Cape Hatterasth before November 15 if there are no tropical storms in our path and we accept a higher (six figure) wind deductible.
Two Hingham Shipyard friends signed on early for the cruise south, which quickly eliminated challenge #1. Both are experienced boaters. Skip Roper, a boater from I-dock, and his wife Jan have a 31 foot single engine Eastern Trawler. Guy Aries has both a boat at the marina and his captain’s license.
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| Diana, Skip and Jan at the Hingham Yacht Club |
Now to the weather. I watch the weather every day and consider myself a student of weather. I am always calculating whether the conditions could be used as the seven day weather window we need. Surprisingly, these windows occur frequently all year. As the time draws near for departure (approximately10 days out) I start predicting whether the weather will be “good enough” (waves 3 to 5 foot or better) for the targeted cruising period.
Hello Hurricane Patricia. This remarkable Category 5 hurricane (i.e., sustained winds over the 155 MPH minimum), the strongest on record (with gusts to 247 MPH), hit the southwest coast of Mexico on October 23rd, 60 miles north of Manzanillo and south Porta Vallatra. It then diminished quickly into a tropical storm (thank you mountains) and headed northeast through Texas, along the Gulf and then up the Ohio Valley. It cleared out a lot of weather, especially in New England where we had seven days of high northeast winds due to a Bermuda High that stalled a cold front along the coast.
The passage of Patricia’s remnants caused me to move up the departure date to Saturday, October 31. Three days earlier, it was clear that starting on Saturday, I had a six day weather window as high pressure formed on the eastern US with low winds and calm seas all the way to Stuart. Those conditions were still in place on Saturday morning.
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| High Pressure dominates the east coast |
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| Siruus wind and waves prediction Dark blue represents calm seas under 2 feet Intensiity changes as colors move from blue to light blue light green, green, etc to red |
Written by Les
Hingham Adventures: Peddlocks Island
Lesley, Amelia and I continued our island adventures with a visit to Peddocks Island in late August, again in search of monarch eggs.
Peddocks lies across Hull Gut and the Pemberton neighborhood of Hull to the north and across West Gut to Nut Island and Hough’s Neck to the west. The island is one of the larger islands in Boston Harbor at 210.4 acres and has the longest island shoreline. Peddocks Island comprises four headlands connected by gravel or sand bars known as tombolos.
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| Peddocks Island looking northeast into Hull Bay Hull Gut is to the left. The West Gut and Hough’s Neck is to the right |
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| Looking east across Hull Gut to Pemberton Point |
Peddocks is One of many Boston Harbor Islands that was inhabited by Native Americans prior to European settlement in America and was was primarily used for farming since 1634. Its closeness to mainland Boston enabled its use for military purposes as well. During the Revolutionary War more than 600 militiamen were stationed on the island to guard against the return of British troops following their evacuation of Boston by the hand of Gen. George Washington on March 17, 1776. A patriot infantrymen’s raid on a Loyalist (Tory) farm is also believed to have taken place on the island.[4]
In 1904, Fort Andrews was built on the island, and it served as an active harbor defense fort until the end of WWII. As of 2008, 26 of the original buildings of Fort Andrews were still standing — guardhouses, prisoner-of-war barracks, stables, a gymnasium, a firehouse, etc. — although most of them were in decrepit shape and were closed to the public for safety reasons.
It is still inhabited today although by only 17 people. The island has no electricity or running water. We met one of the residents and he told us that theState of Massachusetts had deliberately destroyed a water main that ran to the island from Hough’s Neck in an attempt to force residents off the island. According to his account, the State nearly succeeded but was prevented from evicting the residents due to the manner in which titled had been conveyed to the properties.
Lesley, Amelia and I walked from one end of the island to the other by the central path that connects the headlands. Then we walked back along the northeast shoreline. In total we walked over 3 miles. I’ll let the photos tell the story.
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| A building from Fort Andrews with parade field to the left |
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| A photo showing a now demolished building and the one in the above photo |
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| Our dingy anchored off the ferry dock |
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| Stairs leading to a camp ground on the drumlin |
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| Cicada |
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| One of the houses on the island |
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| View of the west headland with cottages visibile |
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| Houses on the west side of the islands. Some in very good shape |
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| Yes, they really have out houses. No running water |
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| Long abandoned cottage |
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| Rain barrel to collect water |
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| Remnants of a dock |
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| One of the island’s 17 residents |
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| View of the Ranger station |
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| National Park Service Rangers |
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| Historic photos |
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| Lesley captures me pulling up the anchor |
We had a great visit but alas, we did not find a single monarch egg. We will definitely return next summer.
Written by Les.
Hingham Adventures: Spectacle Island
We made three visits to Spectacle Island this summer, one by dingy and two with the 63. Spectacle Island is located about 6 miles west of Hingham in Boston Harbor. Our first visit in late July was by dingy and was made possible by a relativ…
