# S/V Magic going south



## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Our esteemed moderator Donna F and her partner John are on board S/V Magic with me and additional crew T John leaving Annapolis for St Thomas. You can follow us at SPOT Shared Page


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Safe passage to all. Brisk departure. Should be pleasant soon enough. 

Perhaps I should have noted this before, but what is s/v Magic?


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Why don't you screw up your navigation and come to St Martin?





Have fun.

It won't be cold for the first few days. It will be freezzzzzing.


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## AJC506 (Nov 3, 2016)

Charge the tracker! Battery been low for over a day!

Good luck, hope you reach warmer climes soon.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Safe Passage... we need her back!


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Changing batteries now. Magic is a Valiant 42.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> .....Magic is a Valiant 42.


Nice ride for the passage, but I hope it has a fireplace. Chessy will be in the teens tonight.

Delivery?


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Delivery to St. Thomas. I rarely stop but it is just too cold and I'm worried about someone slipping on ice in the cockpit so we'll stop in Solomons for the night.

The Espar is toast so it's pretty cold.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Wishing you warm thoughts and a safe voyage from the Maldives. Too bad about the Espar did not use mine often but, did come in handy in early April passages to New York. Bet that Sun will feel good as you head out into the Atlantic today.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Spot indicates they haven't moved on yet, although, it may not be on or operating properly. Possible they are waiting for a warmer window. SVAs last post time stamp suggests he was up at 3am. Anchor watch?

I hope the crew finds this to be an adventure, not an ordeal. Moral is everything.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Interesting that their last Spot transmission shows they moved from the T-head over to the travel lift dock. At least the Spot messenger was moved.

Perhaps they are repairing the heater.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Minnewaska said:


> Interesting that their last Spot transmission shows they moved from the T-head over to the travel lift dock. At least the Spot messenger was moved.
> 
> Perhaps they are repairing the heater.


Should not have to lift the boat to repair an Espar. All components should have no contact with any through hulls. May be something else needs fixin'.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Minnewaska said:


> Spot indicates they haven't moved on yet, although, it may not be on or operating properly. Possible they are waiting for a warmer window. SVAs last post time stamp suggests he was up at 3am. Anchor watch?
> 
> I hope the crew finds this to be an adventure, not an ordeal. Moral is everything.


We are working hard to keep this from being an ordeal. My apologies for not keeping y'all up to date.

Between the weather and scheduled repairs all three fuel docks in Annapolis were closed when we left so we planned to head for Solomons for fuel and water and keep going. We arrived in the middle of the night and grabbed a T-head at Zanhisers. In the morning we moved to Calvert for fuel and water. Customer service was outstanding. The frost free water spigot turned out not to be frost free. They COULD have said "Sorry, no water." Instead they got someone in with a torch. When we discovered that their hose had split they sent someone out to buy a new one.

In the process we discovered that the water tanks on this boat stupidly (<- opinion) vent into the bilge. We also found the bilge pumps weren't working. We also found that the fuel transfer system, which I had fixed once before, wasn't working.

Tools and materials lacking we moved back to Zanhisers for some help. The team did a great job.

The crew asked to stay over night so we went out for a nice dinner and went to bed. I think everyone was asleep by 8. (*grin*) Oh - I post in the middle of the night because I always post in the middle of the night. I sleep in fits and starts so I'm up a lot.

No Mr. Hyde here.

We're taking pictures. The icing is really amazing. Warm inside the boat.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Good thing you found out about the bilge pumps before heading out into the Atlantic.


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## willyd (Feb 22, 2008)

Movement! It looks like they're heading out... I feel cold just imagining how cold they must feel.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

I know Donna mentioned something about packing ALL her cold weather gear... so I'm imagining her wearing every bit of it without heat on the boat. 

Save Travels to all of you.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Geez... they're pulling out into 30 knot southerly around Cape Hatteras

Mid-winter.



M a d 


As a note to cruisers who are not very experienced delivery captains... my thoughts are one should only sail in the best season. This is not the best season for either the northern part nor the southern part.

If you are newer to cruising or planning your escape from the east USA to the tropics watch this thread, download Grib files, passage weather etc and ask yourself 'what would I do now'. 
I know what I would be doing: sitting in the bar because I left mid-November, the correct time to do this passage.

All the best to Magic crew. Its gunna be a passage to remember.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Ok I just worked out where Solomons is...its way up near Annapolis. the 30kts on the nose will pass by them before they get to the ocean.


:smile


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

willyd said:


> Movement! It looks like they're heading out... I feel cold just imagining how cold they must feel.


Indeed! We should all put extra ice in our boat drinks in sympathy and wish them a swift and smooth voyage to the warmth.


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## willyd (Feb 22, 2008)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Ok I just worked out where Solomons is...its way up near Annapolis. the 30kts on the nose will pass by them before they get to the ocean. :smile


Mark - click on the link on page 1 for the Spot tracker page


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## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

Have a great trip!! I just looked at the spot - looks like you're on the move. Keep us posted, it sounds like an adventure.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Sure hope someone remembers to turn on a camera for pics/video of the trip.


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## AJC506 (Nov 3, 2016)

Rhapsody-NS27 said:


> Sure hope someone remembers to turn on a camera for pics/video of the trip.


When I look at the progress on the SPOT page, I start looking for links to a live cam


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

SVAs last post says its warm inside the boat. That's good. Now that temps are just above freezing and rising, spray should stop freezing when it hits the decks. That's great. Cheers to all.

I'll be interested to see their routing, with southerlies for the next few days. Perhaps ESE to cross the stream asap. Although, I haven't looked at progs below Bermuda yet to know if that's going to be a good place to be.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Rhapsody-NS27 said:


> Sure hope someone remembers to turn on a camera for pics/video of the trip.


I just wanna see the thermometer


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## willyd (Feb 22, 2008)

It looks like it's a balmy 28 or so.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

I think the SPOT is a little off right now... or they have firmly run aground. 

their track


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

Rhapsody-NS27 said:


> I think the SPOT is a little off right now... or they have firmly run aground.


I bet that was a bumpy few miles.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Geez... they're pulling out into 30 knot southerly around Cape Hatteras


Nope. We've had some shake down issues and are behind. There is no point in waiting in Annapolis for weather - get to Norfolk/Hampton/Little Creek in sheltered water and wait there. By the time we push the weather systems that are so ugly will be NE and we can go - as close to 135 T as we can going more north if we have to.

This is a delivery. As long as it is safe we'll go, even if a little bumpy. We've got three days of warmer temps which gets us across the Gulf Stream and everything is better.

We aren't "rounding Cape Hatteras" (which I've done dozens of times). We'll be well North until we cross the GS.



MarkofSeaLife said:


> Fmy thoughts are one should only sail in the best season. This is not the best season for either the northern part nor the southern part.


People hire delivery skippers to move boats. Backhaul from Bermuda. Backhaul from Cortez. Heading to the Caribbean in winter. I don't go if it isn't safe.



MarkofSeaLife said:


> download Grib files, passage weather etc and ask yourself 'what would I do now'.


What you should do is not bother with GRIBs. The GFS model does not show fronts and fronts are what we care about most. Synoptic charts are THE way to go. Best weather information available.



Rhapsody-NS27 said:


> Sure hope someone remembers to turn on a camera for pics/video of the trip.


Lots of pictures. You won't see them until we get good Internet in STT.



Minnewaska said:


> SVAs last post says its warm inside the boat. That's good. Now that temps are just above freezing and rising, spray should stop freezing when it hits the decks. That's great. Cheers to all.


The bow is still a solid block of ice but conditions in the cockpit are now benign and all the ice is gone aft of the shrouds.

Many thanks to Steve for agreeing to take our email over HF/SSB & Pactor and keep y'all up to date once we cross the two-bar line.



MarkofSeaLife said:


> I just wanna see the thermometer


I think we're up to about 34F.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> .....Synoptic charts are THE way to go. Best weather information available........


What to possibly expect ahead - plans A, B, etc can be made.
The current/now is right in front of us, with great information.
Maybe Fortune Tellers read the pressure maps, along with dim lighting, smokey incense and lots of gaudy jewelry...


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

RegisteredUser said:


> What to possibly expect ahead - plans A, B, etc can be made.
> The current/now is right in front of us, with great information.
> Maybe Fortune Tellers read the pressure maps, along with dim lighting, smokey incense and lots of gaudy jewelry...


I'm not sure what you are saying.

Synoptic charts beat GRIBs hands down.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> Norfolk/Hampton/Little Creek in sheltered water and wait there.
> 
> This is a delivery. As long as it is safe we'll go, even if a little bumpy. We've got three days of warmer temps which gets us across the Gulf Stream and everything is better.
> 
> ...


I am not having a crack at you (I thought I made that clear) I am just telling newer people to watch the way you are doing it.

People need to know the difference. :smile

Have fun. Freeze your tits off :grin

Mark


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

@MarkofSeaLife - I didn't intend to over react.

I am watching weather carefully - weather fax (HF/SSB) on the boat plus Internet while I have cell. Weather fax is plenty and really does beat GRIBs. You have to know how to interpret synoptics. GRIBs are easier but what difference does easy make when important data is missing?

My favored departure from the Chesapeake is 135 T or higher until across the Gulf Stream. I don't understand why so many people--including the Caribbean 1500 and Soggy Dawg Rally--run the beach. Why on earth cross Diamond Shoals when you want your easting early anyway?

I do suggest one of the big take-aways is that leaving a boat on the hard for an extended time is really hard on the boat. All kinds of things fail and the accumulated work is horrific.

I also suggest that just because something is common knowledge does not mean it is correct. I'm not impressed at all with the performance of this boat for example.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Arrived Hampton. Yet another 3a landfall. *sigh* G'night.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Repairs or looking for a better weather window? It would seem Friday's front would be an avoidable experience around the stream.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> My favored departure from the Chesapeake is 135 T or higher until across the Gulf Stream. I don't understand why so many people--including the Caribbean 1500 and Soggy Dawg Rally--run the beach. .


Exactly. And 850nms 135 puts you 40nm north of the spot I crossed 65W  leaving from Beaufort.

Its not a lonely spot out there. I had 2 other sailboats pop up at the 'intersection'.


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## colemj (Jul 10, 2003)

SVAuspicious said:


> [MENTION=182167]
> I do suggest one of the big take-aways is that leaving a boat on the hard for an extended time is really hard on the boat. All kinds of things fail and the accumulated work is horrific.


We learned this lesson this summer. We have been living aboard full-time for 8 years with only occasional and routine graceful failures of systems, as could be expected.

This summer, we put the boat on the hard for 6 months while I built some stuff for it and we visited family and friends. Every system, component and structure on the boat was in perfect shape when it was hauled.

We put it back in the water intending to head back out cruising - only to find system after system failing hard immediately. We spent almost two months fixing stuff and sussing out problems that seemingly were due only to not being used while the boat was sitting on the hard.

Finally left and headed straight for the Bahamas only to find myself, on the first day after a 3 day passage, ordering stuff to be sent to a relative who will be visiting us in a couple of weeks.

No kidding - more stuff broke from not being used for 6 months than had broken in the previous 8 years (not including a lightning strike). And during that 6 months on the hard, I actually did maintenance on the boat!

Mark


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

From where I sit, the southerly winds over the next several days look favorable for crossing the Gulf Stream on your preferred 135' course SE. Radiofax charts shows some surf out there associated with a low which will hopefully move on by the time you get there. 
So it would seem that now is a good time to wish you(SVAuspicious), Donna, John & Lief a swift, safe passage. If I had to be "out there" this time of year I can't think of anyone that would make me feel more confident than having SVAuspicious leading the expedition. 
We will all be checking your progress and hoping for the best, most auspicious outcome.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> I'm not sure what you are saying.
> 
> Synoptic charts beat GRIBs hands down.


That's the information you need for predictions and future plans, yes.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Watching. Good luck captain and Crew


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## oldlaxer1 (Mar 27, 2008)

And they're off...Just a wee bit warmer.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Bon Voyage!


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

A couple more hours of Internet and then just HF/SSB and Winlink.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I hope that you and your jolly crew have a wonderful voyage, or at least as good a trip as a winter delivery can be. *grin*


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Bon Voyages Dave, Donna, John. 
Nice day to set sail judging by NY city weather.
Oddly your spot page does not show your speed, eg., knots. 
Enjoy the magic on rte 135.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

CalebD said:


> Oddly your spot page does not show your speed, eg., knots.


Just as well. This boat doesn't do well in a sea.


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## DotDun (Dec 23, 2003)

CalebD said:


> Bon Voyages Dave, Donna, John.
> Nice day to set sail judging by NY city weather.
> *Oddly your spot page does not show your speed, eg., knots.*
> Enjoy the magic on rte 135.


Using the 11:01am EST report and the 12:10pm EST report:
Distance between the 2 waypoints = 6.7398nm
Time between the 2 reports = 4161 seconds
6.7398/4161*3600 = 5.83kts
:nerd


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

DotDun said:


> Using the 11:01am EST report and the 12:10pm EST report:
> Distance between the 2 waypoints = 6.7398nm
> Time between the 2 reports = 4161 seconds
> 6.7398/4161*3600 = 5.83kts
> :nerd


Now we know your job for the next 2 weeks. :kiss


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## DotDun (Dec 23, 2003)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Now we know your job for the next 2 weeks. :kiss


This is not a commitment ..... boat chores and adult/a-dolt beverages are higher priority!

1/12/2017 7:23pm EST to 1/13/2017 7:38am EST
distance covered = 70.2686nm
time = 44,087 seconds
70.2686/44087*3600 = 5.74kts/ph
:nerd:nerd


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Email from SVAuspicious, received at 8:16am..........

We are all fine if a bit bumpy. In the throes of the Gulf Stream.

Not much to say while I'm trying to stay in the nav station to type.

best, dave


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## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

Looking at windytv there are a lot of waves out there now but it looks to be getting better over the next 2 days. Hope they get a good ride.

https://www.windytv.com/?waves,32.241,-74.498,6


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

Course correction at 1:15pm Eastern


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Received from SVA at 6:23am EST.....................

It's been an interesting day. One of the traveler control lines parted and we have an expedient in place. We've been trying to avoid running since the preventers are the same vintage as the traveler lines. This is why started out nearly east and slowly migrated to southeast. The wind kept clocking (a High followed by a cold front with another High forecast to fill in behind. So we tacked the long way round back to east, putting a reef in the main in the process. Shortly afterward the other traveler control line parted and we scrambled to get that lashed down. Ah well. Adventure.

We're heading for 65-1/2(ish) W longitude, planning to get enough easting to sail due south before we get to the trade winds. NEly and no running makes that a challenge. We may try something mildly creative like dual headsails tomorrow to go deeper.

Morning update: wind came up most of the night and we made 7 kts in desired direction. Boat speed is back down to 5 kts - we will shake out the reef when it gets light.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Spares... Often when people pack their boat with spares it's weird stuff. My spares are lots of lines. Replaced lines are held as spares so I now have a whole lazarette for stuff for breakages at sea.

Preventers (depending on setup) may not have had as much stress as travelers so could be OK.

How necessary is the traveler at all when not racing? Good vang?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> .....My spares are lots of lines. Replaced lines are held as spares.....


Ditto. I replaced my running rigging a few years back and put every single old line deep under the v-berth. Some were a bit crispy, but they were all functional, so I have a spare for any failure. They all had sufficient remaining life to complete any passage.

On client's boat, I suppose you get what you get. The owner emailed them the location of some spare lines, but there isn't the correct size for the traveler. I'm sure they'll make do.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

seeing this, makes me more interested in setting up my ham equipment on the boat for HF Pactor/email.

Good that they seem to be doing well all things considered.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> On client's boat, I suppose you get what you get.


Exactly


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looking like they will want to be south of 30 before friday...and if not south of 30, be west of 70.
Possibly a Big Blob coming...

....about 300 miles N of 30 now so should miss Blob action by a few days...


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## Dfok (Apr 11, 2010)

RegisteredUser said:


> Looking like they will want to be south of 30 before friday...and if not south of 30, be west of 70.
> Possibly a Big Blob coming...
> 
> ....about 300 miles N of 30 now so should miss Blob action by a few days...


Any chance you guys can attach a grib file or a link and point out things (like the blob) to look for? I'm trying to follow along on passageweather and getting lost. As Mark pointed out early in the thread this is a great opportunity to learn a bit about weather and passage planning, a bit of a cheat sheet directed to the cheap seats will be appreciated.
In the summer on the bay our blobs come color coded like an old pac man machine - avoid the yellow, orange and red guys. Generally not much need to look a few days ahead but surely I'd like to know more about that and what and where to be looking.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Sal Paradise posted a nice link for windytv.com. It's easy to see its forecasting.
May never happen...but that's weather forecasting...
The pressure differentials, when close together, indicate 'blobs' (just my term), meaning some violence and real change.
One way to look at it might be like topo maps. When the lines are close together...something is steep, up or down.

I'm guessing SV A is gonna skate right thru that confused mess. Bermuda looks like it will be confused for a while.

Somebody else can explain it to a more technical level...


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Radiofax Charts - Boston

There is a Low pressure system forming between Bermuda & NY which should kick up the wind & waves out there.
This will also turn the winds around from the north so if they are not across the Gulf Stream it could make some extremely uncomfortable seas with winds opposite the current. 
I think (hope) that they are mostly across the Gulf Stream where there may only be eddies of the GS current.
The real measure of discomfort is in the wave period. The higher the winds, the shorter the period. Big waves far apart is not an issue. It is when they are close together that really can make for "excitement". 
Their SPOT shows that they are already headed south (~180); I'd guess hoping to put some distance between them and whatever is brewing.

My armchair diagnosis.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Yep, there's certainly some crap there. The blob coming off Hatteras looks pretty unhappy but without putting it on the big computer it's hard to tell if they are in front of it. Certainly it looks like they will get SWs at 25 knots for a bit tomorrow.

GFS is difficult to predict it exactly. Especially as the blob is so small in its center.

One to watch out for :nerd

After it they will get a good run south for a few days... If they can run.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Received from SVA at 7:59am EST....................

Good progress yesterday in the desired SEly direction. Motor sailed through the night. Back under sail on starboard tack at 6 kts this morning. That means shifting everything from the old low side of the boat to the new low side, and typing with my foot on the galley cabinet to stay in the nav seat.

The Spot track probably looks like we were headed to Bermuda - just an artifact of wind direction and trying to get East before we get into the NE trades.

All the best from the crew of Magic.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Thanks for keeping us current, Minne..


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like Wed might bring light winds and motoring...into the end of the week.
Are they going to Red Hook?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

8:22am email update.....................

Made good progress yesterday. Last night was slow in very light air, just not quite slow enough to justify motoring. A bit faster this morning. Really want to get below 30N to stay out of the weather building there but we have a day and a half for that.

T John caught a medium size tuna that got to the boat but not on the boat - he slipped off the hook. Our plan for fish is to get a tail rope on and hang from the dinghy davits and filet over the water to keep the boat clean.

Nothing else of particular note - just another day at sea in the midst of a whole lot of empty.

best from the crew of Magic


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like tomorrow might be motor city...

...landfall on the 25th


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## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

It looks like their Spot battery went dead.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

TakeFive said:


> It looks like their Spot battery went dead.


Had a buddy sail Newport to Antiqua with a Spot. I recall the same phenomenon. I would swear the coverage was originally limited offshore, but they advertise more now. Curious if it's all that reliable when out a distance. I've noted a drop off just about every day. If it's just the battery, that's not very significant life. When I set my DeLorme to 10 min updates, it will last for 48hrs min, including a few text messages along the way.

I'm trying not to respond to Dave to keep the bandwidth down, when he connects, but I'll let him know the Spot is spotty.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

TakeFive said:


> It looks like their Spot battery went dead.


Maybe they took the direct route to Australia?

They are in the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe a UFO is having sex with the Spot Tracker?

M


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> .... my DeLorme.....


I believe Spot uses Globalstar and DeLorme (now Garmin) uses Iridium.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)




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## AJC506 (Nov 3, 2016)

I thought Here Be Dragons was a little further East


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Latest at 5:23pm EST........................

Hi folks,

Quiet day today and weather may start building tomorrow so I thought I'd get this out. It's easier to type when it isn't bumpy.

The batteries in the tracker died some time today and I just noticed. New ones in. Still in light NE winds which are great on this boat. Full sail up and averaging just under 6 kts in flat seas. I'd love 12-15 but we can't have everything.

T John caught another fish but too small to be worth the effort.

I had some very light air this afternoon and now have the vang dialed in for the Leisure Furl boom which makes me feel a lot better. The crew has the knack now on this boat of getting main up and down and the two headsails in and out. We are getting faster and less tutorial with each exercise. We won't be winning any races but I'm well satisfied.

Sometime tonight we'll pass the halfway mark.

best wishes from the crew of Magic


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

aa3jy said:


> Can't see the reason for position reports every ten mins. while off shore is important other than glorifying ones Ego...extending reporting can greatly reduce battery usage...


Where does ego come into it?

Could be a skippers attitude to safety: if the boat sinks without epirb activation the CG can find last location. Seems pretty un-egoish to admit possibility of future failure.

Even *I* admit possibility of a future mistake. First time for everything.
:laugh

Mark


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

8:21am EST update...........

Pretty good sailing yesterday until the wind started to fade sometime after midnight. We've been motoring since 0400. In about an hour I'll switch from the port tanks (about 40 gal) we've been drawing from to the starboard tanks (about 40 gal). We're doing pretty well on fuel management and have another 35ish gallons in a forward tanks. When we have wind I'll transfer fuel (I hope) from the forward tank to the port tank. The fuel transfer pump has been fussy and I don't want it to have to compete with the engine or generator fuel pumps.

It's worth noting that our refrigeration is a 117 VAC holding plate system that requires running the generator to pull down. That adds to the importance of fuel management.

Another word on our Spot tracker. I have a Gen II Spot which uses three AAA batteries. In tracking mode the recommended Lithium batteries last three or four days. I didn't find Lithium batteries so we're eating a set of alkaline batteries about every day and a half. I check the Spot every morning with weather fax and email but if the batteries fail and I don't notice we're off the air for a while.

We've found that the genoa sheets chafe on the upper line lines at deep sailing angles. That seems odd. It may not be a big deal day sailing but offshore chafe is a very bad thing. I can't imagine rerouting the sheets between sailing upwind and off the wind. Perhaps. If so, not a sailor-friendly design element for a bluewater (whatever THAT really means) boat.

For the SailNet crowd, Valiant 42 Magic is a true cutter rigged to run genoa or jib and staysail together. The aphorism that you go faster putting up the staysail and then faster again taking it down is true. In my experience, running genoa and staysail together works well on a close reach and on some boats on a beat. We haven't done that yet on Magic. They also make a dandy downwind rig with one poled out to windward - almost as good as two similar sized headsails on a single foil. We haven't done that yet either. There are no running backs which does meaning using the staysail as a storm sail requires some care and attention. The vang and backstay adjuster are hydraulic. I tend to use the vang a fair bit, especially in heavy weather to flatten the main. Now that we have the boom angle dialed in for the Leisure Furl in-boom main furling system I can mark the appropriate vang position and use it more operationally. Like most cruising boats the mast is pretty stiff so the back
stay adjuster has limited ability to shape the mast. What it can do and does well is adjust headstay and to a lesser extent inner forestay sag which improves pointing with depowered headsails in heavy weather. From my perspective the boat is really comfortably rigged absent the aforementioned genoa sheet chafe point and the lack of running backstays. Few cruisers want to mess with running backs so you can chalk that up to another Davism. I think they're great. Someone could start a thread on running rigging beyond sheets and halyards. That might be an interesting discussion. Vangs, running backs, twings, barber haulers, downhauls, reefing lines, preventers, adjustable bridles, ....

We've been eating pretty well if I do say so myself. I'll go into more detail when I get home, but I'm pretty sure we're a good bit inside my estimate of $16.50/person/day. I cook a number of things ahead and freeze - lasagna, beef stew, a family meat and elbow macaroni recipe, stuffed shells (thank you Janet!) and a few other things. Nothing purchased prepared other than snack food. A vacuum sealer, a pressure cooker, and a freezer are good things. Mise en place rules at home, on a boat at dock, and underway. Some of my best friends are non-skid mat, damp tea towels, and duct tape. Oh - I've been using garbage bowls long before Rachael Ray screwed up and popularized the concept. I use self-certified MARPOL garbage bowls. The crew is doing well by the way. We're still on our first garbage bag since the last dumpster in Hampton. They've even calmly accepted the guidance to nest yogurt cups in the trash even if it means rooting around a bit. The rumors of mutiny are grossly ove
rstated. *grin*

Clearly I'm chatty this morning. I'll get this out before grayline. The venerable Icom IC-M710RT, AT-130 tuner, and SCS PTC-IIpro Pactor modem (the latter the same model as that with pride of place on Auspicious) have been working great for weather fax (two complete cycles each day - see AuspiciousWorks - Communications / Yacht Management / Deliveries Worldwide for the products I care about) and email once or twice a day. After many opportunities for side-by-side comparison between HF/SSB and satellite services there is no question in my mind that HF/SSB is the way to go for serious offshore cruisers UNLESS you have ongoing regular direct dial communication needs for dependents (like elderly parents) or business needs. If you do, and use your sat phone for that link, how do you ever go ashore? Do you really expect your parent's doctor to run through a list of satellite (an international call by the way, unless you pay for +1 dialing), and US and international cell phone numbers? When you get a new local SIM card will he se
e and do something about the old number that isn't good anymore and replace it with the new one? If you don't have all the bases covered the rationale for a sat phone collapses from justification to excuses, excuses not to put half the effort into understanding radio as you do into diesels, watermakers, refrigeration, windlasses, outboards, .... Eight year old kids get Extra class ham licenses. End of rant.

All the best from the crew of Magic

P.S. We passed the halfway point last night.

Similtaneously recieved a 10:23am EST update (which reviews a point I was familiar with and had already clipped reply content, prior to receiving this, but thought it may be an interesting perspective for others)..............

Hi folks,

I'll start today with some realities of our communication mechanism. It is slow. Really slow. Frankly faster than consumer-grade satellite but slow. The email session to send and receive just a few messages can easily take half an hour. You can help. When you reply to a message, delete what I sent you. I know what I said and if I forget I can look it up. If I send a page and you sent me a line, I still have to watch the email come in for five minutes that is almost all what I sent you. It's fine to quote a little for context but to just send me back what I sent you in its entirety uses up connect time.

The Winlink system is free--a tremendous volunteer effort by dedicated ham radio operators--but except in an emergency I only have so much connect time. I'd rather spend that time with new information than sending the same stuff back and forth. That does NOT mean you shouldn't send friendly stuff. Those messages from home mean a lot. Just don't send me back what I sent you.

On phones and tablets, press and hold over the old text, choose 'select-all', and cut. On computers just select and delete.

Shortwave radio is incredibly reliable but not broadband. Neither is satellite for that matter. Enough of that.

SailNetters: we can talk about the realities of long range communication when I get home.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

aa3jy said:


> Can't see the reason for position reports every ten mins. while off shore is important other than glorifying ones Ego...extending reporting can greatly reduce battery usage...


Sorry, but this has nothing to do with Ego. A lot can happen in 10 minutes. I remember seeing something once that it can take about 20 minutes for a large (let's say Container) ship to come over the horizon and be right on top of you. I think it's good practice that he is using it as he is. He has it so why not?

If something were to happen off shore, I'd want anyone to have the most current information available to them to find me. Like I said, a lot can happen in 10 minutes. And, if something were to happen, just think of the additional time it would take before anyone can get to where their boat was, or where they could be drifting to.

Some of us just happen to be interested in following our friends who are making the journey and are interested in following their progress.

So, no. Not about ego, but an added level of safety and security knowing someone will be able to react in a moments notice when they need it. They may be on a sturdy boat, but when it comes down to it, it's still their lives on the line until they make it to their destination safely.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Third update today is a charm! 6:12pm EST......................

Another day closer to STT.

You know you have been around the block when you don't trust level gauges - fuel, water, holding, anything. You know are a delivery skipper when you don't trust dip sticks (for measuring tank contents) either; after all, who built the dip stick and did they do it right? Do YOU know how to do it right? There are two equally acceptable ways. You know you are a geek when, at sea, you build an Excel spreadsheet that takes logged engine start and stop time and determines numeric duration, looks up the fuel consumption of the logged engine in a table (so you can update fuel consumption as you get smarter, and can even put multiple entries per engine for different rpm, and calculates an estimated total fuel consumption by tank. 

Does it work? Yes, numerically. Is it right? No. Don't kid yourself. Is it a helpful tool that makes fuel management easier on the fly? Yes. Do I have a paper log in case a leak or errant cup of tea trashes my laptop? Yes.

Every single trip I tell myself to remember to bring a two foot length of pool noodle. I never remember. My chatty emails pain me. If you can figure out why I will sail with you offshore. *grin*

For all with their priorities in order, the chocolate supply is holding up nicely.

sail fast and eat well, dave

best from the crew of Magic


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like they will need/want to do some motoring for an extended time.
That 35gal could come in handy.

The blob to the NE might give them reaching wind in another day 1/2 or 2, but it looks like motor city for them very short term. 

They should be going thru a light wind gulf for a while, with it moving south as they are.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Must be a combination of fingers getting warmer and calm seas.  Great update on Food and Fuel from 6:59am EST today...........

There is a whole lot of high pressure going on. It certainly appears that we'll have little wind for a while which means fuel is uppermost in our minds. At 2am I made the strategic decision to take what looks like a minor risk of aiming directly for the Windward Passage between St. John and St. Thomas instead of getting Easting further North. This will be a tiny bit less distance. At first light we'll stop the engine for a while to transfer fuel from the forward tank to the port aft saddle tank (which is nearly empty). As I've said, the transfer system is sufficiently fragile that I don't want to run any other engine systems while moving fuel.

We're all in a pretty good rhythm and frankly the light air does make life aboard pretty easy. We're in good shape for food and doing well on water. I don't know about the others but I'm really looking forward to a long shower when we arrive. That shower will merely be in preparation for another really long shower. Baby wipes are wonderful but there comes a time when you start thinking that a deck brush will be required to mingle in civil company.

First food went over the side - some celery didn't get eaten soon enough. Later today I'll go through all the food in the fridge and dry stores to make sure nothing liquefies. In the meantime I hit the greens pretty hard yesterday. Huge chef salad for dinner with leftovers for lunch today. We have one head of lettuce left (romaine keeps pretty well). Aside from a heavy veg make-up for carbs and protein I'm trying to stay ahead of deterioration. Cabbage and raddichio still look good so there is cole slaw in the future. Dinner tonight or tomorrow has to be spaghetti - the 1 qt Ball jar with my homemade spaghetti sauce will get repurposed to grow sprouts (I think I brought alfalfa) and that doesn't work until the sauce comes out.

For short trips I build a meal plan and provision for it, then stay pretty close to it. On longer trips I still build a plan but provisioning includes more margin and even some "that looks like a good idea" purchases. I don't let the plan overwhelm what we actually cook. A lot depends on leftovers - I try to clear those out quickly to minimize waste. Someone who feels off and doesn't eat much or someone that eats like a horse makes a big difference. Anyone who rummages through my fridge instead of going to the snack bag (two large canvas bags on this trip) gets keel-hauled.

As I write this at 2am, T John is on watch alternately staring at the stars and reading an article he brought between horizon scans and breaks to fiddle with the chartplotter. Donna, who came off watch at midnight, is sleeping in fits and starts, reading something on her tablet while she is awake. John, well behaved past Coast Guardsman that he is, is racked out. He doesn't even snore. I'm up once or twice a watch to check on our status - sometimes visiting with the watch and sometimes just looking at charts on my phone. Of course at the moment I'm writing to all of you.

Although we are still over 600 miles out we talked yesterday about arrival plans. We have a slip reservation at American Yacht Harbor. We'll spend a day cleaning ourselves, our laundry, the boat, and generally tidying up. We'll make travel arrangements. The owners are making their own plans to get into STT. No plan survives contact with the enemy but having a plan means the things that don't go wrong don't require so much thought. Having email from the boat is GREAT and a real aid to planning. I am however in full-on Internet withdrawal.

Update: at 0530 we ran out of fuel in the active tank. *sigh* There should have been almost another day of fuel in there. We switched back to the port tank and transferred fuel from the forward tank to fill it, a process that went flawlessly. By the way, I really like Yanmar's self-bleeding injectors. Just pump the heck out of the little manual feeder pump and she starts right up. We have 44 gal in the port tank and 8 gal left in the forward tank, 20 gal total less than I thought we had. I suspected the equalizing valves under the starboard tank so we emptied the cockpit locker and checked them but they are both open. We dipped the tanks (each saddle tank is actually a pair of tanks treated as one, which allows the tanks to be replaced without surgery to the boat) and they are empty. We know there was fuel coming up the fill tube when we filled so we missed something - perhaps a kink in the fill hose - but that doesn't matter as we are were we are. Since we must have fuel to
keep batteries charged and the fridge cold at change of watch we're going to try some very light air sailing to get some miles under us without burning dinosaurs.

This is an irritation and a delay. No safety issue.

all the best from the crew of Magic


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

I guess we can see where all his HF bandwidth goes for his messages. 

Good they're all doing well. Thanks, BTW, for relaying the messages.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> SPOT Shared Page


Jus bumpin da spot link.


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## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Minnewaska said:


> ...We have 44 gal in the port tank and 8 gal left in the forward tank, 20 gal total less than I thought we had...We know there was fuel coming up the fill tube when we filled so we missed something - perhaps a kink in the fill hose...


My son had a similar thing happen to him when filling up our car two days ago. He thought it was full, but discovered it was over half empty.

In our case, it's the damned flexible bladder tanks in our Prius. They get stiff in cold weather, and don't expand to accommodate fresh incoming fuel.

[This comment meant for Sailnetters only - don't use up Dave's HF bandwidth by forwarding this.]


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like winds from the south on Monday.


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## Minnesail (Feb 19, 2013)

TakeFive said:


> In our case, it's the damned flexible bladder tanks in our Prius. They get stiff in cold weather, and don't expand to accommodate fresh incoming fuel.


Ditto that, when it gets below 0ºF our Prius tank only holds 2/3 as much as during warm weather. Which has nothing to do with sailing.

But I have really been enjoying following them in real time! The longest I've ever sailed is 36 hours, I hope to someday do a much longer trip. I love the overnight stuff.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

RegisteredUser said:


> Looks like winds from the south on Monday.


So many areas of stuff-all wind that they could still be out there Monday.

I haven't plotted it on my computer so difficult to see what GFS is up to.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> So many areas of stuff-all wind that they could still be out there Monday.
> 
> I haven't plotted it on my computer so difficult to see what GFS is up to.


I'm guessing they are around 28N now, headed to 18.3.
5.5 kts average makes it about 5 days out.

Looks like the wind isn't going to be their friend these last few days.
Of course, any or all of my assumptions could be crazy wrong...


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Well, I really have been following you guys, wishing I were there instead of in a hospital for 11 days, but I'm finally back home and hopefully, on the mend. I'm confident you will have a wonderful trip, especially if you could just get a little wind and the right speed and direction.

My doctors came to my room this morning to determine if I was able to get out of there, which was gonna happen, regardless of their decisions. If need be, I would just put on my clothes, take out my IV and walk out the door. Yes, I am maverick bastard of a patient, and damned proud of it.

The best doc, and there was only one of 3 that I trusted, said "Hold off on selling the boat, I think we can make things better for you so you can continue sailing - besides, you love that damned boat more than your wife. (He's right about that, too. Pretty smart doc.)

Then, I got a phone call from an old friend who said, "Hey, if you feel up to it next fall, you have a full crew to sail to Big Pine Key, all you need to do is steer the boat and we'll be more than happy to take care of anything else." I think I'll take him and his lovely wife on his offer. Hey, I'm gonna die somewhere, and I would much rather die while wearing shorts, flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt, remembering the lyrics to my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. I don't need no damned hospital or hospsice care to check out of this world - I decided to do it on my own terms.

Pleas be safe out there, Captain Dave - your crew includes some of my favorite people on the planet, including yourself.

All the best,

Gary


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Does anybody know if they are transmitting AIS?

I've seen some websites that show vessels via AIS, stationary and movement...registry flag, next port of call, type of vessel (color-coded, I think), speed, etc.
It's pretty darn cool.

I'm guessing they arrive Red Hook on Monday.
They've made good time and avoided some very uncomfortable conditions.
Good captain.

An interesting exercise....


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

travlin-easy said:


> The best doc, and there was only one of 3 that I trusted, said "Hold off on selling the boat, I think we can make things better for you so you can continue sailing
> 
> ... I don't need no damned hospital or hospsice care to check out of this world - I decided to do it on my own terms.
> 
> Gary


Great news Gary!
And a great attitude!
Simply WONDERFUL!

MARK


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## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

RegisteredUser said:


> Does anybody know if they are transmitting AIS?
> 
> I've seen some websites that show vessels via AIS, stationary and movement...registry flag, next port of call, type of vessel (color-coded, I think), speed, etc.
> It's pretty darn cool....


They can transmit it all they want, but if there's nobody within VHF range to pick up, nobody will see them. All those websites rely on near-shore ground stations or internet-connected boats picking up the transmissions and relaying them onto the web stream.

And don't ever use the websites for navigation. Once you get "real" AIS and compare with the websites, you'll notice that as many of 50% of the vessels are missing from the web or 10+ minutes out of date.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

TakeFive said:


> All those websites rely on near-shore ground stations or internet-connected boats picking up the transmissions and relaying them onto the web stream.


You're a fair bit behind the times.

Both Class B and Class A are tracked by satellite and put onto the marinetraffic.com website. Full detail only comes with a paid subscription.

Class A is received easily. However Class B is problematic. It's 2 watts just won't get to the satellite often enough.

My last NYC to Caribbean passage I was picked up only twice in 9 days offshore.

However, Dove 2, recently abandoned in the Atlantic had 9 in 2 weeks received.

If I was buying a new boat it's the 1 reason I would have Class A AIS.

Mark



> Track any fleet around the globe using Satellite AIS data, which is seamlessly fused with our coastal data. This powerful combination gives a unique presentation of the global maritime traffic and provides position report updates for the global merchant fleet even when in deep sea and remote areas. Having partnered with Orbcomm, the leading Satellite AIS provider, we leverage the next generation OG2 satellites and provide position updates with latency as low as a few minutes for mid-ocean voyages.
> Read more at http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/p/satellite-ais#llMGycCBOjsjr4aX.99


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## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Things may be improving, but not enough to use websites for navigation. As of 2 weeks ago when I tested my AIS on the hard, the website was missing 50% of the vessels that my real AIS was seeing. And of the ones that were showing, many were 10+ minutes behind schedule. I saw no class B, only class A, which is normal for the Delaware River in the winter. No recreational boats out. Inland water, so should be picked up without satellite.

You are correct that transmitting sufficient signal strength (i.e., class A) from the middle of the ocean would be a valuable thing, especially for SAR, where rescuers may be looking for every possible piece of data to narrow the search range. I stand corrected on that.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Midnight missive. Low fuel and light air are an issue. This one received at 11:14pm EST, last evening.....................

Once again I'm up in the middle of the night. We are currently 562.4 miles North of St Thomas. I have two major topics in this missive: our recovery from the unpleasant surprise of having less fuel than we thought and a word on Winlink.

We definitely have 20 gallons less fuel than I thought. We've only done limited diagnosis because there is simply nothing to be done about it out here. When we get to St Thomas and refuel we'll spend more time determining if the problem was mechanical, like a kink in a fill hose, or operator error. No finger pointing - just an attempt to understand. As I think I already said the fuel transfer, which worried me due to previous issues with the fuel transfer pump on this boat, went off without a hitch. The port tank is full (about 40 gallons) and the forward tank should have about 8 gallons left. I am in fairly serious fuel conservation mode as we are dependent on the generator for refrigeration and battery charging. Main engine will be conserved to really really really light air until we are in striking distance.

WE had a cockpit meeting for a crash course in light air sailing. Some are better at it than others but I think there was a major skills boost all around. It wasn't long before we were making 3 kts in 5 kts of breeze. Things only got better as the day advanced and the wind filled in. By 9 pm the watch was concerned about 7.1 kts in what I estimate (it was dark) to be 12 kts or so of breeze. We rolled in the genoa (a 135) and rolled out the staysail. I'm still not very impressed with that sail - it just doesn't want to be the only headsail but it's what we have and certainly better than a partially furled #2.

If I had been on watch I would have stuck with the full genoa. The boat felt solid underfoot and 7.1 kts in moderate air is great. However, I cannot be on watch all the time. There is basic people management here. Don't unnecessarily put people whose judgment you depend upon in stressful situations. We lost a knot and a half but the watch felt more confident and that is important. I'm not usually one to reduce sail at night just because it is dark. I will not put crew in situations where I can't count on them to perform. That is just setting people up to fail which is poor management and a complete lack of leadership. So we shortened sail, made sure everyone was comfortable, and I sit here writing to you where the watch can see me and perhaps gain some feeble comfort from my proximity.

Digression: When I was awakened by the watch from some of the best sleep I've had on this trip my first semi-coherent thought was "I have pants on" immediately followed by "Janet doesn't like it when I fall asleep with my clothes on." Then I remembered where I was. Which leads to another point - a good skipper in my opinion never ever fusses at crew for being wakened. Not ever. The skipper is leader, camp counselor, mentor, and more. It is your job to be available. The only acceptable response is "I'm coming." Try to be pleasant about it. I've had crew wake me up because they were lonely and I'm fine with that.

I'd like to take a minute, for the family of my crew and my friends on SailNet, to talk about the mechanism for these daily messages. The Winlink system is a volunteer organization that uses ham radio to provide an interface between radio and the Internet. While I have no access to the web I can clearly exchange email. From sea. In a small boat. At no incremental cost. Here is how that works: Volunteers like Vic Poor, Rick Muething, Lor Kutchins, Lee Inman, Steve Waterman, Jim Corenman, and Stan Honey have written software and developed infrastructure for radios on boats to connect to radios on shore and exchange information that ends up as email over the Internet. It works in both directions. It is really quite miraculous. Hundreds of individual ham radio operators dedicate expensive personal equipment to provide the shore connections that in turn connect to central message servers that provide redundant Internet connections. This provides such an important capability that e
mergency management organizations in the US and other countries use Winlink as part of their "when all else fails" communications networks. We get to use it free.

The history of Winlink is interesting and deeply rooted with cruising sailors. I won't get it right if I try from here and without the web I can't point to the stories others have written. What I can do is suggest that for those of you who have the means as you consider your giving plans to give thought to the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, Inc.. No one gets paid but there are costs for infrastructure. A few tax deductible dollars makes a big difference and ensures this wonderful resource is there when you drop your dock lines to go cruising.

Like NPR, you can take advantage of Winlink whether you support it or not. Please consider adding Winlink to your charitable giving.

best wishes from the crew of S/V Magic


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## boz86 (May 17, 2012)

Minnewaska said:


> What I can do is suggest that for those of you who have the means as you consider your giving plans to give thought to the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation Amateur Radio Safety Foundation, Inc..


And if you're an Amazon Prime member you can designate the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation as your charity via Smile.amazon.com and Amazon will give 1/2 of 1% of your purchase total to them.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/ho...stsr?q=amateur+radio+safety+foundation&orig=/


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> .
> 
> a good skipper in my opinion never ever fusses at crew for being wakened. Not ever. The skipper is leader, camp counselor, mentor, and more. It is your job to be available. The only acceptable response is "I'm coming." Try to be pleasant about it. I've had crew wake me up because they were lonely and I'm fine with that.


Had a rule in the Army that we could never charge anyone for swearing at their superior officer as you wake them up.

Not all of us wake up beautiful... Some the mascara may have run, others dreams may have been interrupted and they wake with an unconscious but in depth line of expletives.

Maybe if one knows they are grump when woken it's good to advise crew of possibility.

As for someone waking a skipper, or anyone because they are lonely: I would tell them to go eat a cookie real fast.
Sleep devravation is a cruel torture used by the CIA. In sailing it increases the chances of a breach of safety.
Sleep is precious at sea. Yes, wake me anytime, but not for no reason, nor an insubstantial reason. If you are lonely pull out Playboy, but don't play with me.



Mark


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

To add to what Dave said about Winlink...

Amateur Radio operators volunteer in emergency services through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and/or the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). In a way, they do the same thing by providing emergency communications between different agencies. When the main communications infrastructure goes down in an area, volunteer Amateur Radio operators get into action providing the link first responders may need to provide support.

When Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, radio operators were able to use their equipment to help coordinate aid to others. They were also able to connect to Winlink nodes in other parts of the country for people to send an email message to their loved ones letting them know they were alright. Winlink is also used by the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) by volunteers to provide communications support and message handling for the military. I've seen it used by family members to send messages to their family members deployed overseas.

Another use of Winlink that many know of is when the Bounty sank during Hurricane Sandy. Without being able to contact anyone else, the radio equipment on board was used to send an email to the Coast Guard right before the sinking that enabled their rescue.

It's a really good service. While the initial cost of the equipment might be high, there really isn't any other costs involved. I know many people consider Satellite phone plans and whatever other devices to stay connected away from home, but the Winlink system is otherwise a free service to licensed radio operators. Just something to consider when going off-shore or for extensive cruising.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

No trade winds, 10ft seas with 9 sec period! Update from 2:06am EST..........

Yet another day at sea.

While we are still too far out to make any reasonable estimate of arrival time, except for the superstitious realization that I have a remarkable talent for 3am arrivals, the topic of arrival is coming up more often. There is certainly clean-up to do, some self-selected tasks on the boat, packing, and some laundry. It is entirely clear that the number one priority for everyone will be a long shower. For me at least the number two priority is a second long shower immediately after the first one. Baby wipes are a big help but after a while not a substitute.

If you have been following the weather surrounding our trip you will have noticed the gale a couple of hundred miles North of us. We got some nice wind from that late yesterday and overnight but nothing more than about 25 kts gusting to 30+. The real challenge was and is the seas from that gale. We saw significant wave height of 10 ft or more with 9 second periods from the quarter. This bounced us around a lot and was generally unpleasant. Fortunately everyone aboard has a good attitude and reasonably cheerful disposition.

The seas remained pretty high Thursday even as the wind dropped to about 15 kts. That isn't a great combination for any boat with full sections forward including this one. The seas are finally laying down after sunset and we are overnight making good progress again.

We may actually make this whole trip without seeing the trades. One synoptic chart even appears to indicate South winds as we approach the islands - another reason for squeezing as much from the current West winds as we can.

Watch for us in the Windward Passage in a couple of days.

all the best from the crew of S/V Magic


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Update from 10:03am EST

After much consideration of the boat, the weather, our position, and my own history I'm calling it: 3am Monday 23 January. Anyone who calls it closer can buy me a drink in Annapolis. *grin*

I don't have tidal current information for the Windward Passage (that's current, not tide - see my previous diatribes) so there is some Kentucky windage in my guesstimate.

Time is to first line ashore and the time on my phone is the official time. 

sail fast and eat well, dave
Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious
AuspiciousWorks.com
saling S/V Magic, at sea


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## oldlaxer1 (Mar 27, 2008)

Monday 1/23/17 at 10:19 AM (and no fair slowing down just to lose a drink!)


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## AJC506 (Nov 3, 2016)

Sunday 22nd, 11pm


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

I will be more than happy to buy the drinks for eveyone.

Gary


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Monday between 5-6 am
:svoilier:


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

They have winds behind them and should arrive before the southerly winds kick in.

...The cap will prob be balancing fuel needed to port....
I'm glad they missed all of the messes running around so close to them.
They shot thru the slot of really bad weather.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Monday between 3-4 pm. 
I look forward to hearing more about the trials & tribulations of this delivery.
After a few hot showers I would be looking for a stiff rum or three, but watch out for that Cruzan rum they have down there, nasty stuff.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Mix up a Green Coconut Margaretta using 151 Ron Rico Coconut Rum - OH YEAH! I'm buyin' 

Gary


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Arrival time: next Thursday week. Very smelly and needing a beer.

Maybe Friday



:grin


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Moving along, sometimes slowly, 5:54am EST....................

For most of yesterday we were making pretty good speed - nothing record breaking but solid dependable progress. The seas were dead flat and even in pretty light are Magic does well. Shortly after dinner (steak with onions and cubed red potatoes and steamed broccoli) the wind died completely over the course of just a couple of minutes. We rolled up the genoa, centered the main, and burned about five gallons of precious bottled dinosaur. About 1am T John noticed some light wind filling back in, again from the NW and we rolled out the genoa again and prevented the main. For a few hours we crept along between 1.4 and 2 kts. During a brief squall we touched 5 kts again - the bottom of more familiar territory on this trip - before dropping back to 1 - 2 kts. The genoa started to slat so I joined John (the other one, Donna's John) on deck and we tried to get the genoa to stay on either side. Giving up we rolled it up and watched as boat speed slowly built to 3 kts. The sail itself w
as slowing us down, drag and energy absorption doing more harm than good. There is definitely art to light air sailing and some of the solutions are counter-intuitive. We are maintaining 2 to 3 kts under main alone with the main over trimmed and prevented, giving up some power in exchange for avoiding the braking effect of backwinding.

We're about at the end of the cold front dragged behind by the building Low over the Eastern Atlantic. The gale building there should send us something. I just hope it is some wind and not just seas. I would have expected something already from the troff but alas not. Maybe the High sliding in from the West will push the front along and bring us something.

6 MHz weather fax was a complete bust last night. I switched to 9110 in time to get the second cycle of surface analysis so I will at least have those. Looks like we are far enough South that it will be 9110 both day and night. I'm going to pull some GRIBs this morning. Since I do have the surface analysis (Lows, Highs, fronts, troffs, and ridges) I can adjust the GRIBs for reality and get something more useful from them. All that time with Lee Chesneau and Chris Parker pays off. *grin*

Of minor note, I got the Caribbean chip in the E80 chart plotter in the cockpit so during quiet moments the crew are exploring Red Hook St. Thomas. We are all easily distracted by the BVI and have spent time talking about those islands from past charters (Donna, John, and I) and deliveries (T John and I). Which reminds me of a story from my first trip to the BVI in 1982 ... no wait - perhaps not. Better to let that one go.

We still have 260 miles to go and not nearly enough fuel to motor (perhaps enough for 100 miles). We'll get there when we get there. Early Monday still is in reach.

For those of you on SailNet I would be remiss if I did not thank Steve "Minnewaska" for his kind service in posting my daily ramblings. I keep my own logs on trips but it seemed to me that SN moderator Donna's adventure was worth a public chronicle. Steve tells there has been a bit of interest. I look forward to catching up AFTER landfall and AFTER showers. Of course not every story is told. After all some things are just ... Magic.

all the best from the crew of Magic.

P.S. something with chicken and peppers and onions and cabbage for dinner. Perhaps with ginger snaps - ask T37Chef about that.

sail fast and eat well, dave
Dave Skolnick S/V Auspicious
AuspiciousWorks.com
sailing Magic, at sea


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like they made a correction to the east.

...winds outta the north pushing them


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Ahhhh... ginger snaps


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Ahh - gotta love Ginger Snap gravy, especially when you incorporate sour beef and dumplings. Think that will be tomorrow's supper here. Thanks Shawn.

Gary


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Mahi-Mahi, never make a passage without one! Update from 3:29am EST......................

As I write this we are 178 miles from the Windward Passage making 4.5 kts. We are aiming slightly West of Anegada, but still so far away that autopilot error is bigger than the difference between Anegada and Jost Van Dyke.

The wind is light and variable. We gybed three or four times yesterday, without changing course, which entails someone going forward to untie the preventer, centering the boom from the cockpit as the person forward steps across the cabin top, and then easing out the boom in concert between the sheet in the cockpit and the preventer forward. Residual torsion in the main sheet has led to a bunch of twisting between one of the main sheet blocks and the traveler. The solution is trivial (derig the sheet and run the line several times) but not appropriate out here. We'll just pull.

Dinner turned out not to be "something with chicken." T John caught a nice Mahi Mahi. Since we are responsible for someone else's boat I am quite fussy about filleting. We got a tail rope on the fish and hung him over the side where T John filleted him over the water. The fillets went into a Ziploc bag to come below for cleaning and descaling in the sink. It all went quickly and not a drop of anything but the sweat from our brows on the boat. Mahi Mahi with garlic and oil over rice and a bit of diced tomato for dinner. Excellent. Something with chicken tonight. One must be adaptable at sea. *grin*

Everyone is taking nicely to light air sailing, and we are all sleeping better in the calm seas.

The stars at sea are truly magnificent. Donna has an astronomical app on her iPad that uses the camera to orient and identify the stars and constellations. Very cool. It does bring to mind the star finder navigation systems on Cold War ballistic missiles. Technology transfer perhaps? Regardless, we spent some time after a gybe in the cockpit pointing out constellations to one another. As John and T John headed below I engaged in the executive function of alternating between star gazing and dozing in the cockpit during the remainder of Donna's watch.

In principle we can start motoring within 150 miles of the Windward Passage but I prefer a more conservative approach. My plan is to keep sailing as long as we're making 4 kts or better. By my calculations we've burned about 9 gallons of fuel between two main engine runs and a bunch of generator use (refrigeration and battery charging), just a bit more than the 8 gallons I estimate remain in the forward tank. We'll transfer that fuel sometime tomorrow leaving the forward tank and starboard tanks empty, running off the port tank. The owners generally cruise (v. passagemaking) without the forward tank so we'll leave that empty. The known empty starboard tank will give us a chance to figure out what is going on with the fuel that "went missing" when we refuel in American Yacht Harbor.

I haven't talked much about Donna's John. He's an instrumentation calibration and repair technician who spent time as an electrician's mate in the USCG. Cheerful, eager, and helpful his most attractive characteristic (to me anyway, but Donna likes him *grin*) is his ability to appear in the cockpit at any hour to help without being called. He eats anything, has a small footprint, and dives into any task asked of him. He is well on his way to joining Anja and Chip in "most favored crew" status. Without taking anything from Donna and T John not everyone gets a blue ribbon and a gold star. So for Jerry and Anne, John has been a real asset and deserves a hug. For Sloan and Fluff and the SN crew, Donna has herself a keeper - but then she knows that already.

I'll have to start a thread about "crew I have known" on SailNet. Someone remind me. We had one I recall about skippers. We can talk about crew.

For those keeping track of trivia, there is plenty of chocolate left and enough room in the fridge that the Hershey Kisses and Kit-Kat bars now reside there. We are running low on Pop-Tarts and Kind bars. The oranges are gone but there are apples left. Shopping for the snack bag is always a challenge.

Oh 9110 is working great for weather fax overnight as well as during the day. Some combination of atmospheric propagation and distance. The 24 hour wind & wave forecast coming in now looks like it came off the Internet.

All the best from the crew of Magic


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> .
> 
> The stars at sea are truly magnificent. Donna has an astronomical app on her iPad that uses the camera to orient and identify the stars and constellations. Very cool.


Some of these programs let you track iridium satellites.
I use it when about to connect the SAT Phone for emails. I wait till there is a satellite just coming up that will have a long transit time. This keeps disconnecting to a minimum.

No wind today in St Martin.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like they will arrive a little after high noon local time tomorrow.
Winds will start from the south around sunrise tomorrow...will be uphill via motor after that.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Oh no... a crew thread... Im screwed lol


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Estimated landfall late today, update from 4:37am EST.........................

I have clearly missed my estimate of 3am this morning. We are still 75 miles from the Windward Passage. Yesterday was another light air day. We alternated several times between motoring (5.5 kts generally) and sailing (roughly 3 kts). When the wind faded completely we motored. When there is a breeze we sail. We're well inside my comfort zone for the estimated 33 gal of fuel still in hand so after the change in watch currently underway we'll either motor or motor sail the rest of the way.

We did transfer the all the remaining fuel from the forward tank to the port tank yesterday evening so all that remains is in that one tank.

"Something with chicken" turned out to be baked chicken with onions, tomato, and carrots over rice. The last of the bell peppers liquefied. My alfalfa sprouts should be ready as a garnish for dinner and there are still plenty of onions, carrots, cabbage, and even potatoes.

Little else to offer this morning. The stars are still beautiful, the seas are still flat, the trade winds are still on holiday. What's with that?

Sometime late this afternoon we'll have a cell signal again and all of civilization (ha!) will come rushing back in.

all the best from the crew of Magic


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Looks like they are about 6 hours out.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

RegisteredUser said:


> Looks like they are about 6 hours out.


Looking at this, looks like they're going right into the wind.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#curre...phic=-64.92,20.11,3000/loc=-64.94781,19.11153


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Dan, all sailboats have the wind on their nose when they need to get somewhere. At least that's the way it seems to me. 

Gary


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

This was the entire sum of the email update at 12:17pm EST. The high hills of STT can been seen from a long way out in good viz..........

Land ho!


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

travlin-easy said:


> Dan, all sailboats have the wind on their nose when they need to get somewhere. At least that's the way it seems to me.
> 
> Gary


Free drinks are always upwind.


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## AJC506 (Nov 3, 2016)

Are they there yet?
Are they there yet?

How bout now?


Now?




Now?


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

So much for my guestimated arrival of between 3-4 pm today. 
Remember, St. Thomas is far enough east that it is one time zone earlier than east coast time. 
Looks more like actual dock arrival time will be more like 8 pm at the rate they seem to be going. 
Headwinds & such.
The suspense is killing me.
;-)


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

My ETA guess of next Thursday is still readable 😂


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Well, they made it into Red Hook Bay just before 8pm east coast time.

I'm having a Dark & Stormy or 2 to vicariously celebrate their safe arrival.

Was fun watching the slow moving SPOT as they approached.

Congrats to Dave & crew of SV Magic.

Thanks for sharing.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

We're in - showers and dinner winding up. Details to follow.


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

SVAuspicious said:


> We're in - showers and dinner winding up. Details to follow.


Remember, you promised to shower twice before joining civilized people


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Catching up.

"Official" arrival time was 2033 US ET (2133 L).


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Congrats to the crew on a challenging, safe and successful passage. Fun to tag along.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Preventers (depending on setup) may not have had as much stress as travelers so could be OK.
> 
> How necessary is the traveler at all when not racing? Good vang?


I agree on stress. The lines that parted were not particularly loaded. Dry rot and UV. I wasn't particularly concerned about load in the preventer as about it failing and a backwind in the main slamming the boom across the boat. I really really don't like unintended gybes.

The traveler and vang go together. If you don't have a good vang the traveler does much less good. Of course we didn't do a lot of sailing to weather so that didn't matter. Our expedient was to use some core from the parted line and lash the traveler in the center. Not super strong but strong enough. No adjustment from that point.



Rhapsody-NS27 said:


> seeing this, makes me more interested in setting up my ham equipment on the boat for HF Pactor/email.


HF/SSB/Pactor is great. The gold standard for long range communication with recreational boats at sea.



Dfok said:


> Any chance you guys can attach a grib file or a link and point out things (like the blob) to look for?


You won't see major weather systems in a GRIB. You need synoptic charts for that. The ten I use in the Atlantic are always up to date at AuspiciousWorks - Communications / Yacht Management / Deliveries Worldwide . The top seven are the important ones. I recommend the weather courses by Lee Chesneau ( Lee Chesneau's Marine Weather ) and/or the book Reed's Marine Meteorology. Lee teaches at professional mariner's schools, at boat shows, at SSCA Gams, and at Seven Seas U.



Dfok said:


> I'm trying to follow along on passageweather and getting lost.


Passagemaker, Windyty, and all the other weather display websites are based on the same GRIB data. Their only value-added is in display. It is all the same data AND THAT DATA IS DEFICIENT. For understandable reasons (warning - here there be calculus dragons) the GFS computer weather model does not show fronts and doesn't show deep, concentrated Lows or very high Highs well. Meteorologist value-added synoptic charts are very much better tools for analysis and forecasting. You just have to know what you are looking at. See references to Lee Chesneau above.



MarkofSeaLife said:


> Where does ego come into it?


Thanks for the benefit of the doubt. SPOT has two options - send a position when you push the OK button, or send the position every ten minutes. That interval is not configurable on my model SPOT. I bought a SPOT because I thought my customers would like to see where the expensive asset, often with great emotional value, they entrusted to me was. It has turned out that customers liked to see the location updated a couple of times a day but LOVE every 10 minutes. Accordingly, every 10 minutes it is. What are a few batteries when customer satisfaction is so easily achieved?

It makes Janet feel better also.



Minnewaska said:


> Every single trip I tell myself to remember to bring a two foot length of pool noodle. I never remember. My chatty emails pain me. If you can figure out why I will sail with you offshore.


Nobody ran with this?



MarkofSeaLife said:


> As for someone waking a skipper, or anyone because they are lonely: I would tell them to go eat a cookie real fast.


Maybe. I don't mind so much. I'm not going to hold the hand of crew for an entire watch - if I had to do that why do I need them at all? I like to pop up a couple of times each watch anyway so why not spend a little time? I fully agree with you about sleep deprivation. That's why I never miss an opportunity to sleep. *grin* This is why I prefer to sail with four aboard. Crew stand four on and eight off and I don't stand a watch. I cook, navigate, do weather, am first called, coach and mentor, and do anything else needed. It helps that I fall asleep readily and sleep lightly most of the time.

In my experience feeding people helps with boredom. Not so much with loneliness. *grin*


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> ...Nobody ran with this?....


Anti-chafe of some sort seemed too obvious. I'm going with a wrap around for a pushpit tube to cushion the backrest.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Minnewaska said:


> Anti-chafe of some sort seemed too obvious. I'm going with a wrap around for a pushpit tube to cushion the backrest.


Cushion on the nav station fiddle so my hands don't fall asleep while I'm typing.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Donna's too quiet.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Minnewaska said:


> Donna's too quiet.


Donna discovered a lot about herself on this trip. Turned out the cold was the least of my issues. I was unfortunately seasick for many if not all of the rough days. Not entirely unexpected since I was sick for the first day of a previous delivery but what I didn't plan on was the longevity of it on this trip. Previously I got over it after about 18 hours and was fine the rest of the trip. Not so this time. First order of business when I get home is to make an appointment with my doctor to deal with it for the future. I tried to pull my weight (what weight I didn't lose) in between puking but to make up for the lapses I have put myself on head cleaning duty before we turn the boat over to the owners later today.

My John is definitely an offshore guy. Which is fortunate for everyone involved in our Next Boat plans. 

I commend Dave for his patience and willingness to pass on his experience to those willing to listen and learn. John and I learned a lot. This was sort of a Master Class in offshore sailing. From the washing machine ride over the Stream to dead air sailing to running through a gale, bitterly cold weather, the various boat system challenges, learning how to live with four people in a compressed space when you can't step off the boat for a bit of privacy, etc. we couldn't have asked for a better classroom.

And we ate well. I was sadly too sick to eat on the days the lasagna, pork tenderloin, and some other choice meals were served but I did manage to save some leftover stuffed shells for one of my less pukey days.

(Thinking I may install a lee cloth on my side of the bed at home for those times I almost end up on the floor from John's flailing around...)


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Donna_F said:


> Donna discovered a lot about herself on this trip. Turned out the cold was the least of my issues. I was unfortunately seasick for many if not all of the rough days. Not entirely unexpected since I was sick for the first day of a previous delivery but what I didn't plan on was the longevity of it on this trip. Previously I got over it after about 18 hours and was fine the rest of the trip. Not so this time. First order of business when I get home is to make an appointment with my doctor to deal with it for the future. I tried to pull my weight (what weight I didn't lose) in between puking but to make up for the lapses I have put myself on head cleaning duty before we turn the boat over to the owners later today.
> 
> My John is definitely an offshore guy. Which is fortunate for everyone involved in our Next Boat plans.
> 
> ...


Good Morning Sunshine!

Too bad about the uke

So still looking at getting your next boat then?

It's good that you learned about yourself more. Never know how you react until you actually DO it. Also helps to know what to look out for in a boat. (Like sturdy rails around the boat when you're leaning over the side :devil )

You know have some experience to go by when you head off-shore again. Adjust your plans as needed (like going to the doctor, like you mentioned) and keep moving forward. 

Good on ya, Donna!


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## oldlaxer1 (Mar 27, 2008)

So how much fuel did you end the trip with and did you figure out the reason for the miscalculation?
Thanks for keeping us posted. It was fun and very informative to follow along.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Donna_F said:


> ..... I was unfortunately seasick for many if not all of the rough days......


Damn, I wasn't expecting that. Sorry to hear of the struggle.

For what it's worth, I'm a firm believer that the subconscious stress of the unknown is a major contributor. I will bet you wouldn't find it as challenging the next time. While the cold may not have been as bothersome, I will also bet it added to the mental stress, leaving less capacity.

Sounds like a good experience in any event. Glad you're okay.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Minnewaska said:


> Damn, I wasn't expecting that. Sorry to hear of the struggle.
> 
> For what it's worth, I'm a firm believer that the subconscious stress of the unknown is a major contributor. I will bet you wouldn't find it as challenging the next time. While the cold may not have been as bothersome, I will also bet it added to the mental stress, leaving less capacity.
> 
> Sounds like a good experience in any event. Glad you're okay.


"Stress of the unknown" isn't being ruled out. Regardless, I want it dealt with so that I can move forward.

Don't get me wrong, the cold sucked. At least I was prepared for it though. Along with the puking, I was also incredibly guilty about the two Johns taking two of my watches during the worst weather not to mention Dave's concern about me becoming dehydrated leading to worse problems and that on top of his other responsibilities. All of that made some very disturbing solutions pop up in my head but at least I was still with it enough to know that I wasn't in my right mind. I concentrated on trying to keep water down and getting through it.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Donna_F said:


> "Stress of the unknown" isn't being ruled out. Regardless, I want it dealt with so that I can move forward.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, the cold sucked. At least I was prepared for it though. Along with the puking, I was also incredibly guilty about the two Johns taking two of my watches during the worst weather not to mention Dave's concern about me becoming dehydrated leading to worse problems and that on top of his other responsibilities. All of that made some very disturbing solutions pop up in my head but at least I was still with it enough to know that I wasn't in my right mind. I concentrated on trying to keep water down and getting through it.


One never knows when seasickness will hit even those of us who rarely experience it. I'd never gotten seasick until one passage on an 80 schooner in the Gulf. I could not stay below more than 30 seconds but, luckily I was fine on deck and when sleeping. We had one crew member trying out the sailing experience for the first time and he was so debilitated that he never left his bunk for most of the voyage. I doubt he will ever step foot on a boat again. Soon as we hit Key West he flew off the boat. Hats off to you for still wanting to head again after your Mal de Mar experience.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Re Seasickness.

Donna you should really try my alcohol method of eliminating seasickness.
It's not a joke. It really worked for me and I have not been seasick 37 years now.

I would hate the thought of going to sea always with drugs, and forgetting 1 pill and getting sick etc.

People laugh at the alcohol method but if it works....?

Mark


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## elvishessler (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks for keeping us land lubbers informed with this thread. Sounds like a great trip.


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Re Seasickness.
> 
> Donna you should really try my alcohol method of eliminating seasickness.
> It's not a joke. It really worked for me and I have not been seasick 37 years now.
> ...


Ok, I'll bite. What is your alcohol method?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Re Seasickness.
> 
> Donna you should really try my alcohol method of eliminating seasickness.
> It's not a joke. It really worked for me and I have not been seasick 37 years now.
> ...


I think I tried it once. A 32 oz margarita and hot wings the night before. Didn't help. Just made things...colorful.

In any case, I wouldn't have had alcohol on a delivery trip.


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## ottos (Aug 12, 2008)

Donna_F said:


> ...In any case, I wouldn't have had alcohol on a delivery trip.


I'm sure the ship's medic would have some for 'medicinal' purposes...:wink

But all kidding aside, what did you try? Ginger, patches, etc. I'm sure Dave had something along...

Glad everybody made it safely.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Donna, don't feel like the Lone Ranger with seasickness. I spent 4 years aboard a 761 foot heavy cruiser in the US Navy and never had a cruise where I didn't puke my guts out. Never been seasick a day since I got out of the Navy. Just doesn't effect me on smaller boats. Weird!

Glad you made it back safely and hopefully, you can find a solution to your seasickness problem.

All the best,

Gary


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## MastUndSchotbruch (Nov 26, 2010)

ianjoub said:


> Ok, I'll bite. What is your alcohol method?


yes, pray tell! Has a nicer ring to it than Stugeron et al


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

ottos said:


> I'm sure the ship's medic would have some for 'medicinal' purposes...:wink
> 
> But all kidding aside, what did you try? Ginger, patches, etc. I'm sure Dave had something along...
> 
> Glad everybody made it safely.


I'm not sure that anything worked. I know I drank more commercial Ginger Ale on this trip than I have in decades (I don't typically drink soda) but that may have been my body craving some kind of sugar. I make my own ginger syrup at home so I may experiment with that in my Soda Stream on our boat.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Donna, if I can get healthy enough, I hope to make the Delmarva Loop this spring. It would be a good trip for you and John as well, if for no other reason, to test your sea legs and hopefully, thwart the seasickness problems with a remedy that won't make you sleepy or groggy. Margarettas are good for a lot of ailments, but I have to stay on the wagon for a while longer until I get a better handle on my health situation.

Give my best to John,

Gary


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Donna_F said:


> .... A 32 oz margarita and hot wings the night before......


Is that really it? Sounds like it was invented in a fraternity.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> Is that really it? Sounds like it was invented in a fraternity.


It's standard cruising fare for Chesapeake Bay day cruisers. 

Gary :2 boat:


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

ianjoub said:


> Ok, I'll bite. What is your alcohol method?


Nah, I don't do 'bite' stuff. And Donna said she's not interested.

But here's a hint. In these 2 quotes identify ****



> Balance in the body is monitored principally by two systems, both of which are affected by ****sending abnormal impulses to the brain, [which tells it] that the body is rotating, causing disorientation and making the eyes spin round to compensate." Apparently causes the ampullary cupula in the semicircular canal to become lighter than the surrounding fluid





> **** Is caused by the mixed signals sent to the brain by the eyes and the inner ear (semicircular canals). The brain will get mixed signals and the person will develop some aspect or symptom of ***


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## Rezz (Oct 12, 2012)

Donna_F said:


> "Stress of the unknown" isn't being ruled out. Regardless, I want it dealt with so that I can move forward.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, the cold sucked. At least I was prepared for it though. Along with the puking, I was also incredibly guilty about the two Johns taking two of my watches during the worst weather not to mention Dave's concern about me becoming dehydrated leading to worse problems and that on top of his other responsibilities. All of that made some very disturbing solutions pop up in my head but at least I was still with it enough to know that I wasn't in my right mind. I concentrated on trying to keep water down and getting through it.


... At least there weren't any waterspouts...


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## Towguy (May 8, 2016)

Hey,Thank you all for this interesting and educational thread,a good read to follow on these cold winter days...even the experts have problems,but it's great to see how they are dealt with in almost real time ,not afterward when it's all thought out,and also learn than there is so much to all this ,,it's kinda daunting..again Thank you. Ralph


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Great to see crew captain and boat all arrived safely . What a great journey for all to follow. safe travels home


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

I'd be interested in hearing what problems you found with the boat on this trip.
Maybe biggies and small stuff...and what you would recommend to the owner.

Have you done deliveries for this owner before?
How long does he plan to keep it in the Caribbean, and does he have it regularly moved? 

What autopilot was used?
Is this boat set up for long distance offshore, or for cruising? 

You had a lady on this trip, but when it's all guys do you bucket-and-chuck- it, or use the head?

Do you check the propane level in some way, or have an extra full bottle when doing long deliveries?

Nice trip, and thanks for posting the Spot link.


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## colemj (Jul 10, 2003)

RegisteredUser said:


> Do you check the propane level in some way, or have an extra full bottle when doing long deliveries?


We live aboard full-time baking, cooking, grilling, and a 20lb tank of propane lasts 2 months. A week's passage could be done on a couple of throw way bottles.

Mark


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

colemj said:


> We live aboard full-time baking, cooking, grilling, and a 20lb tank of propane lasts 2 months. A week's passage could be done on a couple of throw way bottles.
> 
> Mark


A full 20 gal could last me almost 1 year in a camper if I only used stove top. 
I could fill the 1 lb'rs from the larger tank, but when used for grilling they went 2 or 3 rounds and were dead.
I always had a large spare because when the propane ran out...was when you were using it.

The small 1lb bottles should be bought a few times and then recycled/filled from a larger tank.

You either have it...or you don't.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

oldlaxer1 said:


> So how much fuel did you end the trip with and did you figure out the reason for the miscalculation?


The spreadsheet I referred to earlier in the thread had me within two gallons of the fuel on board. We had 14 gallons left. That may seem like a lot but I am a conservative guy, and as long as we were moving the boat under sail I didn't want to burn dinosaurs. Had I started motoring 8 or 10 hours earlier we might have arrived 2 hours earlier. Then Donna, John, and T John would have missed the learning experience of yet another arrival in the dark. *grin*

As those of you following us on Spot know, we ended up entering Pillsbury Sound in the Middle Passage vice Windward Passage. Crew were a little stressed (no marks, dark). One of my favorite questions from Donna of the whole trip was "when are you going to drive?" to which my response was "when I can see the dock." *grin* The autopilot did almost all the active steering and the watch got coached as I popped up and down between the nav station and the cockpit. We had what I hope were valuable discussions about light discipline, the use of radar for navigation, and general piloting.

I love night sailing.

Then the Leisure Furl jammed. *sigh*



Minnewaska said:


> For what it's worth, I'm a firm believer that the subconscious stress of the unknown is a major contributor. I will bet you wouldn't find it as challenging the next time. While the cold may not have been as bothersome, I will also bet it added to the mental stress, leaving less capacity.


As Donna noted I suggested psychological considerations. I have had crew before that were fine coastally but lost their cookies offshore. Just contemplating the possibility that their condition was stress induced has helped some of them.



Donna_F said:


> I concentrated on trying to keep water down and getting through it.


We had some very specific discussions about physical externals. How often do you talk to people about urine color? In my business it comes up disturbingly often.



mbianka said:


> One never knows when seasickness will hit even those of us who rarely experience it.


I've only been sea sick twice. The first time may or may not have been the flu. The second time was in front of Jimmy Cornell. That was embarrassing. When I was "done" Jimmy, without looking up from his computer at the nav station, asked "did you make it or do you need help cleaning up?" As it happens I did "make it."



RegisteredUser said:


> I'd be interested in hearing what problems you found with the boat on this trip.
> Maybe biggies and small stuff...and what you would recommend to the owner.


I keep a punch list either on paper or in Excel on every boat. In this case it was a spreadsheet shared with the owner in Dropbox (obviously updating only when I had Internet). I think I reported everything of substance except the Leisure Furl jam in the messages that Minnewaska posted on my behalf.

Everything that failed is attributable to two years on the hard.

The Leisure Furl jam is representative. The sun cover which deploys from its own little furler at the aft end of the boom using two continuous loops had deteriorated from sun and acid rain (<- assessment) and some frayed fabric caught in the end of the mandrel, winding up and ultimately jamming the furler. I wasn't even going to attempt to figure out what was going on in the dark in Pillsbury Sound so we dropped the main and flaked it over the boom (another learning experience for John who was fascinated by how easily you can flake a sail over a boom and tie it down - apparently his main often looks *ahem* herniated. In the light of day we determined the problem and addressed it. Of course we were only halfway through replacement of the failed traveler control lines so when the wind caught the part of the sail exposed ol' Dave went for a ride on the boom over the waters of Red Hook Bay. All were surprised I was able to cling to the boom while my recovery was considered and in a leisurely fashion accomplished. I did not go swimming. Not this time. That was another time.



RegisteredUser said:


> Have you done deliveries for this owner before?


No. I have done deliveries for the broker who referred me. All of my work is by referral and word of mouth. I do have a number of repeat owners.



RegisteredUser said:


> How long does he plan to keep it in the Caribbean, and does he have it regularly moved?


These owners have never had a delivery skipper before. They plan to cruise the Eastern Caribbean for four years. They may be repeat business after that.



RegisteredUser said:


> What autopilot was used?


Raymarine. I don't know which core pack or actuator. The control head is pretty new. The rudder angle indicator failed and I had to bypass that input and beat the autopilot into submission to get it to work with rudder reference. It worked fine all the way down although power consumption was higher than I usually see, probably because of the absence of rudder ref.



RegisteredUser said:


> Is this boat set up for long distance offshore, or for cruising?


I'm not sure there is a real difference.



RegisteredUser said:


> You had a lady on this trip, but when it's all guys do you bucket-and-chuck- it, or use the head?


Of course not. How uncivilized. Direct discharge offshore.

For the record, there is no man in the world whose aim is anything like as good as he thinks it is especially with a moving target. Everyone sits.



RegisteredUser said:


> Do you check the propane level in some way, or have an extra full bottle when doing long deliveries?


I check the propane level by weighing the tank. By hand. I prefer a spare mostly in case there is a system leak that I can repair.

The 1# bottles are not intended to be refilled. To do so is very unsafe and will not happen on any boat I am responsible for.


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## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

Gas always runs out when you are using it.... unless you have a leak.


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## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

No phenergan suppositories on board for the severely sea sick crew?


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

phenergan has a lot of nasty side effects, especially when treating seasickness. The most dangerous of which is dehydration and drowsiness - bad things when sailing. I used to treat patients with this post surgically to help them cope with nausea, but in the hospital setting, we had an IV running on them and constantly monitored their fluid intake and outflows. Kinda difficult to do this on a sailboat with someone ralphing their guts out. 

All the best,

Gary


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Everyone is home and the adventure has ended. On to the next one.


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## Rhapsody-NS27 (Apr 8, 2012)

Welcome Home!


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Dave, I'm buying the Margarettas!

Gary


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## oldlaxer1 (Mar 27, 2008)

travlin-easy said:


> Dave, I'm buying the Margarettas!
> 
> Gary


I'll buy the beer!


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## Dfok (Apr 11, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> Everyone is home and the adventure has ended. On to the next one.


Before you head out to another thread-----

Thanks for the link to Lee Chesneau's weather. I'l keep an eye out for an upcoming course. The weather maps you linked seem more decipherable than the gribs; I want to learn more about them.
When you take deliveries do you bring your own hf/ssb and related gear or depend on what is installed? I'm just beginning to look at portable hf radios that can be used in the ssb marine bands ( got far enough to realize there is a lot to learn). Any thoughts on ham licensing versus marine ssb ship's license?
I'm not sure where to start to even see if this is something to pursue, any suggestions will be appreciated.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Dfok said:


> Before you head out to another thread-----
> 
> Thanks for the link to Lee Chesneau's weather. I'l keep an eye out for an upcoming course. The weather maps you linked seem more decipherable than the gribs; I want to learn more about them.
> When you take deliveries do you bring your own hf/ssb and related gear or depend on what is installed? I'm just beginning to look at portable hf radios that can be used in the ssb marine bands ( got far enough to realize there is a lot to learn). Any thoughts on ham licensing versus marine ssb ship's license?
> I'm not sure where to start to even see if this is something to pursue, any suggestions will be appreciated.


This really is a thread on its own and there are several already. I put "ham license" in the SN search box and some threads came up:

SailNet Community - Search Results for ham license

Very good information in them that you might want to review. If you still have questions, it would be better to start a new thread so the topic doesn't get buried.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Dfok said:


> When you take deliveries do you bring your own hf/ssb and related gear or depend on what is installed?


Some of both. This boat had an Icom IC-M710RT and an SCS PTC-IIpro modem. That made weather fax trivial and allowed all the email messages @Minnewaska kindly posted. Sometimes I bring a portable HF/SSB radio and a cable to my laptop for weather fax. I use a Kaito KA-1103 because I got a great price on a good radio. There are many alternatives. I bring a bunch of wire for an external antenna.

The key is that offshore I want updated weather information on board.



Dfok said:


> Any thoughts on ham licensing versus marine ssb ship's license?


Yep. A ham license is for use of the ham bands. A ship station license is for use on the marine bands. As @Donna_F points out there have been many discussions in other threads.

In my opinion there is nothing aside from some minor regulatory issues that you need to understand to pass the ham exams a self-sufficient cruiser shouldn't know anyway. Pass both the Technician and General exams and you will understand more about HF and VHF on the ham _and_ marine bands than most. You'll have a foundation that will make AIS and DSC simple to understand. EPIRBs and PLBs and Bluetooth and WiFi and satellite phones will be less mysterious.


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## JSL3 (Jun 6, 2007)

Thanks so much for posting this thread and sharing your thoughts and experiences.
Very informative and captivating.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this experience. It was a great armchair Adventurer for me. Now looking for a real one.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

I was fortunate to have a customer who had no issue with the story of our trip being told, Steve @Minnewaska who agreed to post our daily missive, and our faithful moderator @Donna_F aboard to help maintain interest.

I'm pleased that our story was of interest to so many. The view count on this thread is humbling.

I have some thoughts to share in retrospect that I hope may also have some value.

As @MarkofSeaLife pointed out in post 17 this was not a beginner's trip. I won't break my arm patting myself on the back but I didn't wake up one day and decide to become a delivery skipper. I've been at this a while. I have a pretty eclectic background beyond sailing that contributes to good decision-making in this environment, especially for cold weather and otherwise out of season passages. I'm not unique but probably rare. Please don't leave Norfolk for the Caribbean in January or February until you have enough experience that you don't have questions - any questions. I'm happy to share my knowledge as so many others do here on SailNet but I don't want anyone to risk their Swan 48 or Hunter 47 in an unduly risky endeavor. The weakest link is the sailor, not the boat.

When people ask me what they should buy to make their boat more capable my answer is lessons. Lessons may be formal instruction or sailing with someone more experienced. I try to take people on my trips who want to gain that experience when there is room.

The boat had been on the hard for nearly two years. Lots of systems failed. Land storage is really hard on boats.

The owner's engaged me for yacht management before the delivery and I took the opportunity to sail the boat. A lot. That exposed issues that would not have been apparent until we were underway when delays to resolve them would have had safety and cost ramifications. Lesson: if you buy a project boat or decide to expand your cruising grounds do not do an extended layup. Get and keep the boat in the water and sail it. You will find things and learn things and gain experience and very likely your priorities will change.

You depend on your crew. Listen to them. In Hampton the crew wanted one last night at the dock. The ten hours that cost us was trivial in the grand scheme of things and made them feel valued and listened to. Which leads to ...

Weather is the most important thing you have to think about on a passage. In our case what should have been 22 hours down the Chesapeake Bay turned into three days due to boat failures all but one of which were cold induced.

By no means am I a meteorologist. I have taken every course Lee Chesneau offers. I devoured Reed's _Marine Meteorology_. Lee, Frank Bohlen, Chris Parker, and I meet a couple of times a year. I give them technical help on communications to get weather information on board and they keep me challenged. I like to think I keep them a bit grounded. While GRIBs have their (limited) place there is no substitute for synoptic charts and the ability to interpret them. Even if you choose an offboard weather advisor like Chris you should be self-sufficient enough to interpret synoptic charts to better understand the advice you are getting.

In our case we followed a cold front offshore with the next front forming nearly a thousand miles behind us, and the Low that would drag the front behind that was already forming over Arctic Canada. In the four clear days behind the first front we made really good time (the wind forecast was clear from the synoptics) and got across the Gulf Stream to much warmer conditions. Shorts and t-shirt conditions below and regular foulies on watch.

There are many people including Jimmy Cornell and Don Street who advocate "running the beach" when leaving the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Most of the Rallies do the same thing. I feel very strongly that under most conditions and absolutely out of season this is ill advised. I sail no further South than 135°T to cross the Gulf Stream at a right angle (minimum time in the stream which runs 45°T there so fair Easting and foul Northing). Although on this trip we never really saw trade winds (weird) I did not know that would happen and was going for as much Easting as early as I could get it. This is my practice.

Those who followed our SPOT track saw some jinking around. I know that at one point it looked like we were headed for Bermuda. When the wind shifts I want to preserve and increase Easting. There were a few hours we pointed as far West as 165°T but we were on top of that. Most was due I believe to eddy currents I hoped to punch through. If they endured we tacked.

It is worth noting that "bail-outs" can be pretty far away. Bermuda was a bail-out that was never closer than a day away. The Bahamas was a bail-out that was never closer than two days away. On a previous delivery we diverted for a sick crew member (sick sick, not sea sick) and took two days to reach port.

Heavy weather gets the most attention. Offshore, light air is often a bigger challenge. It has progress and boat speed implications, raises concerns about water, food, and fuel, and effects crew morale. Being able to keep a boat moving in light air is a big deal. No matter how good a sailor you are to take a boat offshore requires management skills.

Stay hydrated and fed. No matter how you feel keep getting water into your body. We had only one day without at least two full solid meals and that day had lots of fruit and yogurt and sandwiches. We had lots of DIY foods and huge snack bags.

A key element is making sure everyone gets enough rest. I've said this before and will say it again - there is too much attention to the length of a watch and not enough on rest. Get rest.

Again, I hope our trip provided some value to those who will follow in my wake.


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## oldlaxer1 (Mar 27, 2008)

The early part of the trip?:laugh
Thanks for all the information. I learned a lot even though I doubt I'll ever be making the same trip. It was fascinating to follow along.


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

:worthless:

Did I miss something but where are all the pictures that you took on your long voyage?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

T37Chef said:


> :worthless:
> 
> Did I miss something but where are all the pictures that you took on your long voyage?


Here you go. They let me yell "Land ho!" when we first saw the islands. No idea why it is sideways...


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

One picture? Amazing lol


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## twoshoes (Aug 19, 2010)

Followed thread daily from it's onset. Thank you for taking us along for the ride. 

As a weekender/local cruiser/bareboater I am ignorant in the ways of such long passages. Could someone indulge me and explain the oft mentioned (lack of) shower situation to me? 

My assumption is that without a water-maker the limited tankage necessitates such restriction, even with the most stringent of rationing for a "maritime shower", and that using such a precious, possibly life saving commodity for personal hygiene is completely out of the question. 

Baby wipes or no, three or four days is about my limit of wafting in my own stench before the fear of growing mushrooms upon my person sets in. With a 2.5gpm shower head, is even 30 seconds of use, thus using a little over 1 gallon of water say even every 5th day not something a prudent captain would ever entertain?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

I'm a baby wipe convert. I even keep a few packages of Burt's Bees wipes on our boat at home now. They've come in handy on those hot days when we sailed to an event and wanted to freshen up before going ashore. On Magic, John put on swim shorts and took advantage of the first warm-ish rain shower. 

I'd rather a few days of stench than potentially running out of fresh water. Typically I can drink copious amounts of tea. I even gave that up until we were sure we were out of the "red zone." Priorities.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

twoshoes said:


> As a weekender/local cruiser/bareboater I am ignorant in the ways of such long passages. Could someone indulge me and explain the oft mentioned (lack of) shower situation to me?
> 
> My assumption is that without a water-maker the limited tankage necessitates such restriction, even with the most stringent of rationing for a "maritime shower", and that using such a precious, possibly life saving commodity for personal hygiene is completely out of the question.


There were three limitations on showers on this trip. 1. The separate shower stall was half full of owner "stuff" displaced by crew "stuff" and new owner "stuff" that hadn't found a storage home yet. 2. The shower stall was also in use as a wet locker for crew foul weather gear. 3. While 120 USG of water is a decent amount of water I at least tend to be pretty conservative about water use. Stuff in the shower was by far the biggest factor.

We used about 1.25 USG/person/day. That's in the ballpark for trips without showers.

I don't know anyone who has consistently achieved the fabled 1 gallon shower. Even with great care and the Navy shower approach it just doesn't happen with less than 3 gallons and usually 5 gallons. There is usage to get the temperature set, that first OMG moment when the water hits you (rarely less than 15 seconds), getting everything wet, soap, and then a good rinse.

I would have been happy to have a shower day about halfway through this trip had it not been for all the gear in the shower. Moving all that "stuff" simply wasn't practical.

I find that the prospect of a shower day after a week, water permitting, also contributes to water conservation during the first half of the trip.

Baby wipes work pretty well. I have a routine that uses seven baby wipes and makes me feel like a human being again. Clean clothes contribute.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

I got an email about connecting with Pactor to the Winlink network, which is how my reports got in. My reply:

"I generally connected mornings and evenings during grayline. Connections were generally strong. Early on I used KQ4ET in Virginia Beach, N2LEE in Reston, and someone in North Carolina who escapes me. Later in the trip we used WB9AYD in Sarasota FL. I had to wait my turn a few times but always was able to connect, usually pretty fast. Weather fax came in very well - 6 MHz days and 9 Mhz nights in the beginning and 9 MHz all day later."


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

At the risk of dragging this thread out (and yes pictures are still coming), my experience with SN mod Donna and her partner John was pretty darn good.

I'm bringing a Lagoon 42 back from St Thomas to Annapolis leaving the USVI on or about 20 Feb. If you are interested in crewing send an email with current sailing resume to me at [email protected]. Please don't use a PM - I am often behind when things are busy and right now things are busy. Email.

Crew call is out to my list (about 600 people) and OPO (about 3000 people I think) so be sure to note that you are a SNer.


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## ianjoub (Aug 3, 2014)

SVAuspicious said:


> I got an email about connecting with Pactor to the Winlink network, which is how my reports got in. My reply:
> 
> "I generally connected mornings and evenings during grayline. Connections were generally strong. Early on I used KQ4ET in Virginia Beach, N2LEE in Reston, and someone in North Carolina who escapes me. Later in the trip we used WB9AYD in Sarasota FL. I had to wait my turn a few times but always was able to connect, usually pretty fast. Weather fax came in very well - 6 MHz days and 9 Mhz nights in the beginning and 9 MHz all day later."


So, I have not investigated all this mobile communication stuff. I understand you do this.

My question is, can all my communication needs be met with a satellite connection? I'll need email for business, and weather for obvious reasons, but don't want to stream movies...

I understand that satellite costs money per bandwidth.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

ianjoub said:


> So, I have not investigated all this mobile communication stuff. I understand you do this.
> 
> My question is, can all my communication needs be met with a satellite connection? I'll need email for business, and weather for obvious reasons, but don't want to stream movies...
> 
> I understand that satellite costs money per bandwidth.


You can meet all your needs with a satellite connection. It will be expensive. You can get better weather over shortwave radio.

Most cruisers use a combination of services including WiFi range extenders, cellular, and one or both of HF/SSB (shortwave) and satellite. The optimum solution depends heavily on your real cruising grounds and the volume and frequency of communications. Email isn't hard. Email with huge whopping PowerPoint files attached becomes problematic. There are all kinds of collateral elements including choosing a good email provider (or working with the IT people at an employer).

I can help you. Send me an email [email protected] . Again - PMs are low on my communications priority list so email is the way to go with me.


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