Our Passage South - E. Don Smith

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:52:09 GMT

Posted for E.Don by Will Morrison

INTRODUCTION

E.Don Smith and wife Eileen have been fulltime cruisers for 8 years. After a lifetime of sailboats, they bought “Shangri-La” their Heritage East 36 Sundeck Trawler in 2003. Every fall, while others are decommissioning, they turn her South and head for Florida. While this passage can be done in a few weeks, or even less, they allocate two months in order to savor a beautiful cross-section of America. Having already accrued 25,000 miles of cruising between CT and FL, they have agreed to share this year’s adventure in the Spy Glass. Therefore…

SAUGATUCK TO NEW YORK CITY

We left Friday evening 9/24/10 and made it to Old Greenwich arriving by the light of a harvest moon…a good omen for this 1500 mile voyage.

On Saturday 9/26/10, we suffered the anxiety of going through NYC on the East River: Exciting to experience but requiring skill and attention due to the 5 knot current and the traffic. Because the United Nations was in session, there were 7 coast guard ships guarding the area, all with pointed machine guns. One chased us down with flashing lights (and gun), and asked us to travel 175 ft. farther away from the west bank, as we passed the UN building… Unnerving! but glad there is homeland security.

There are always many huge SHIPS in NY Harbor, and we try hard to stay out of their way.

As we pass the South Street Sea port, with the gallant old sailing vessels, and approach the ferry landings the traffic intensifies: Ferries, water taxis, launches, police boats, coast guard patrols, cargo barges/tugs, and overhead, helicopters landing and taking off. As we clear the Battery and go into semi-open water, we then have to weave through moored tankers, and departing/ arriving commercial vessels.

When we passed under the Verazano Bridge and were almost to Sandy Hook, we let our guard down, breathed a sigh of relief and focused straight ahead. Later, we heard this deep, loud, terrifying HORN behind us. We both jumped out of our chairs! We turned around to look behind us and saw a GIANT BOW about to run over us. Yikes! We turned a sharp left and hit the throttle. Lived to see another day!

NEW JERSEY COAST/INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY (ICW) TO CAPE MAY

Since it was just mid afternoon, we decided to try our luck heading down the Jersey shore. The Atlantic Ocean didn’t look bad, but we soon discovered that it “ felt” awful: The 2-3 ft. westerly waves were interspersed with a 2-3 ft swell from the southeast, secondary to a recent hurricaine. These opposing waves created the most uncomfortable and annoying ride – one we never experienced before. At one point, Eileen was nearly thrown out the bridge side window then was immediately sent crashing into the windshield! We managed to survive this unpleasantness, and made it to Manasquan inlet just at dusk. “Borrowed” a mooring in scenic Glimmer Glass pond – a true Harbor of refuge. We were safe and now had one of the hardest days of the whole trip behind us.

Sunday, 9/27/10, the weather forecast was nasty, but we were psyched to keep going South. We stuck our bow out into the Atlantic, and found gigantic waves which really rocked us as we turned around and headed back in. Below decks, gear went flying in all directions…and we thought we had stowed everything for going to sea. HA!

Fortunately, with our 4 1/2 ft draft, we can use the shallow, never dredged, NJ ICW. The trip required constant vigilance on the depth, and our alarm sounded repeatedly all day. Still, we made it to Atlantic City without going aground.

On Monday, 9/28/10, we had to wait out a storm, so it was a good day to catch up on projects. We anchored in a large pond just North of the marinas, on the other side of the entrance to Atlantic City. It is land locked with plenty of room for extra anchor chain: Very safe and secure. One can dinghy over to the State Marina, then take a free Jitney bus further down the Boardwalk to the Casinos. Good thing we don’t gamble!

Tuesday 9/29/10, the winds were still gusting to 30 knots so the Atlantic Ocean was not an option. Back to the NJ ICW trying to travel 3 hrs before and after high tide. There are a lot of low bridges that have to be opened, many with restricted hours.

Much to our dismay, the 9^th St. Bridge was closed for the next 3 days! The only way to get past it was to go inland and cross many sandbars at high tide. A glance at the charts made that

seem impossible due to lack of water, so we put a call in to Tow Boat US: They are a great source of local knowledge when you need it. They offered to “guide” us across the marshlands (for a fee of $150) but we were glad to pay it so as not to lose 3 days of travel time. We teamed up with the boat behind us and shared the expense. It’s easy to make new friends on the water way!

We anchored in Cape May for the night with a dozen other boats for company. We didn’t take the time to go to shore this trip, but Cape May is a “Victorian” flavored town, with many shops, restaurants, and marinas.

CAPE MAY TO CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CHANNEL (C & D CANAL)

The next big challenge was going up the Delaware Bay which can be as rough as the Atlantic. Luck was totally with us for this 55 mile passage: Gentle winds, calm seas and powerful current going our way! We were also able to use the tide to traverse the 19 mile “C & D” Canal which delivered us into the Chesapeake Bay. At this point, we always breathe a sigh of relief that another landmark challenge is behind us.

Next, Tropical Storm Nicole complicated our life. For two days, we hid out in a hurricane hole called Still Pond Creek, MD. It’s about 20 miles North of Baltimore, and on the Eastern shore. It is a new destination for us. Exploring new places is something we love and keeps us cruising.

We had this small, shallow, land locked, tree lined harbor all to ourselves. Had 10 inches of rain, winds to 30 knots, and didn’t get the predicted tornado because it stayed on the Western shore of the Chesapeake. We were glad to be safe, but our “third storm day” in port in one week at the beginning of a long trip can be frustrating! We always say that next year, we will leave on Labor

Day so that we’ll miss most of the bad weather that comes in the fall. Has not happened yet!

CHESAPEAKE TO WASHINGTON DC

On 10/2/10, we could see just a small window of good weather before the next Gale was forecasted to arrive. We refueled (diesel $2.51/gal.) and spent a night in the Solomons Islands. We departed at 4 AM in order to go down the Chesapeake and turn up into the Potomac before the waves built. We made it!

It is 107 miles up the Potomac River, but well worth the time and effort. Arrived 10/4/10.

DC has an easy, safe, deep water anchorage. There is also a hospitable YC (Capitol) and Marina (Gang Plank). Both rent slips or allow dinghy tie-ups. A quick launch of our fold-up bikes gave us land legs to jet around DC. It is only a few blocks to the National Mall, all the free Museums, the monuments and the Kennedy Center. Fabulous…spent two weeks enjoying the sights. Highlight of this stop: New grandbaby Zoe who lives in Georgetown D.C.!

Left DC 10/20/10 just as the weather was getting chilly. Hurriedly traveled back down the Potomac River and finished the Chesapeake so we wouldn’t freeze! This completes the first 700 miles of our Passage South.

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) starts in Norfolk, VA with a buoy marking mile marker (MM) “ZERO”, and the ICW ends in Key West at MM 1243. Even though we have 1,000 miles left to go on our trip to Stuart, FL., just getting to Norfolk is exciting, and we feel like we have “arrived”!

NORFOLK TO FLORIDA

After 200 miles of the wide open Chesapeake, coming into Norfolk is a shocker. Right in the entrance, we were accompanied by: a Navy warship, a container ship ( 100 trailer trucks), a dredger, tug and barge, commercial fishing boat with nets out, pleasure boats like us, a zillion buoys, plus the afternoon sun gleaming right into our eyes blinding us. What helped us is the “track” that we created for ourselves on our Maptech navigation screen from a previous trip. (We do the same for all our secret anchorages in the marshlands.)

Once inside the harbor entrance, one watches with awe at dock after dock of our Navy’s war ships, aircraft carriers, etc. They are immense and impressive. Five miles later down the Elizabeth River, we come to the cities of Norfolk on the east bank and Portsmouth on the west. We always choose the Portsmouth side where there are two basins of free dockage for transient boaters like us. We used to be the only ones there, but now the well-kept secret is out, and all the spaces are taken each night creating instant camaraderie. “Old Towne” Portsmouth has charming old homes and is the “quiet side”. When we want more excitement, we take our bikes on the paddle boat ferry for a 5 minute ride to downtown Norfolk where there is a waterfront park, large marina, restaurants, museums and the big MacArthur Center mall complete with movie theaters.

The first 12 miles south of Norfolk are a learning curve for the rest of the ICW trip. There are five bridges that must be opened. These bridges are closed during rush hour, and only open every 30 minutes after that. The boats leave

Norfolk as an “armada” every morning at 9 AM for the first opening. Each bridge tender tells the next bridge tender how many boats are coming through, eg, “5 motors and 3 sails” and will often tell boats to “bring it up {faster}Capt’n” or get left behind.. To a novice, it can be very intimidating and stressful to “hold” one’s vessel in place while dealing with the wind, the current, dead heads (stumps of underwater fallen trees), other waiting boats circling, and shallow shores. One solution is to get at the back of the pack and just watch the juggling.(We don’t know why some people think that they always have to be first!)

The Great Bridge Lock is at MM 12, and its purpose is to lower the sea about 1 ½ feet to be equal to the level of water in the North Carolina Sounds. (Think Panama Canal locks in miniature.) Instead of securing lines, one places a line around a shore-side cleat and just ‘holds’ the line, letting it out (or taking it in) slowly, while the water level changes, so the boat can’t get “hung up” on the wall.

As though the locking process wasn’t enough of a challenge, 300 ft.later, one is immediately faced with the ‘Great Bridge’ Bridge that has to open. At this point. we usually decide that this 12 mile stretch is enough for one day. (Normally we do about 50-60 miles a day.) There is a free dock here too, so we take advantage of it. Thirty knot winds are forecasted for the next two days. Unlike the early part of our trip when we want to do long passages and make good progress, now a bad weather day is welcome permission for a play day. This time, we choose to rent a car from Enterprise (they pick you up) and drive the Outer Banks. In other words, we take a vacation from our vacation! We enjoyed seeing Nags Head, Cape Hatteras, and the house featured in the movie ‘Rodanthe’.

Each morning when Shangri-La heads out for another day’s adventure, we sing Willie Nelson’s famous song “On the Road Again!” and chuckle about how lucky we are. Passing into North Carolina brings us to Albemarle Sound (part of the “inner” banks.) It is only 15 miles across and very shallow. It sounds harmless, but experience has taught us that it can be treacherous if there is any wind at all, with deep, tightly spaced, ‘washboard’ type waves. Boaters will often delay crossing for days, awaiting a better weather window. With only 15 knots of wind on this passage, we thought it would be a piece of cake. However, it was so rough that we had to postpone making the morning oatmeal!

Because the ICW can be very narrow, there is a courtesy protocol called a “SLOW PASS” to prevent the wake of a fast boat from disrupting a slow one. When the overtaking boat gets close, he gets on the VHF radio and requests permission to give a slow pass. The slower boat acknowledges and then puts his boat in neutral for the pass. As the bow of the fast boat gets alongside the stern of the slow one, he lowers his RPMs. He will resume speed when his wake is beyond the slow boat’s bow. The system works very well most of the time, but only if each boater knows his role and agrees to play it.. Traversing the 25 mile Albemarle-Pungo Canal, boats kept leap-frogging each other for hours. Listening to their calls, you get to know the boats, and their owners’ personalities. Often people connect with one another, asking questions about boat makes, evening destinations, etc. Later, at an anchorage or dock, boaters meet like old friends. It’s amazing. All carry ‘boat cards’ to exchange, and these relationships continue next season when the migration resumes.

ICW markers are not the floating buoys we are used to. Instead, they are a piling driven into the bottom, with a red triangle or green square on top. In addition, each has a tiny yellow triangle or square on it, to differentiate ICW marks from other channels.

Normally, boaters will pass close to a buoy to assure safety. Not so here: Sometimes the piling is sitting on the sandbar which it marks! Therefore, mid channel travel is most reliable. The ICW tends to bend constantly, so when the depth sounder signals the shallows, we have learned (the hard way!) to play the outside curve for the deeper water.

The old rule of “red right return” becomes confused by the frequent, simultaneous intersections of creeks, bays, canals, channels, and/or rivers. Most of the time, the ICW is far inland, one can’t “see” the ocean, and often one is heading West instead of South. You just can’t “tell” whether the creek you are in is going to or from the sea.

Within a five mile passage one day, the reds and greens changed sides three times!!!!! We have big signs on the charts warning us of this reversal, and we have “toy” red and green buoys that stand on our console by the wheel to help guide us at any given moment. (Do you think maybe we’ve gotten in trouble before????)When we know that a buoy change is coming, we lay the toys down so we won’t forget to reverse them. . For further insurance, we put “tracks” on the Maptech to help us make all the proper turns. By comparison, open ocean cruising is a relaxing snap! Still, we choose the effort of this constant vigilance in exchange for safety and scenic beauty.

Another reason we love this trip is ‘being one with Nature’. The sky is a continually changing mural of fascinating colors, shapes, and stories. The wild life is varied and entertaining. Our first sighting of a dolphin this trip was in Beaufort, NC and we cheered with delight at his appearance. Even after all these years, the dolphins never fail to impress us with their dancing, cavorting, and leaping.

Then there are the birds. Spotting a homely pelican in SC brings us pleasure, because in flight it is exquisite, and because it reminds us that Florida will be a reality soon. One day while listening to classical music and steering, we were treated to an aerial ballet by two birds swooping in a dance choreographed perfectly in time to the music. Incredible! We keep traveling the ICW because each trip is so different, and JOY is in the SIMPLE things. We just love being on the water!

As we conclude this narrative, we are now in St. Augustine, FL. with 1,278 miles behind us. We only have 222 miles to go and we will pass through Daytona, New Smyrna, Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, Vero Beach and Ft. Pierce on our way to Stuart, FL. Shangri-La will stay at the luxurious Loggerhead Club and Marina, where we take a slip for December, January, February and March. www.loggerheadclubandmarina.com.

Have a great winter and we will see you next Spring!

We welcome your comments and questions so contact us!

ADDENDUM to PASSAGE SOUTH–

ANSWERS to Questions asked:

NAVIGATION:

We use MAPTECH on a lap top computer as we find the large

computer screen so much easier to follow than a small Chart Plotter. We chose a SONY VAIO lap top because it has an exceptionally bright screen which is unreadable in direct sunlight. We have a back-up computer fully loaded with Maptech as well.

Into our lap top, we plug a cartridge type GPS (without a screen)which feeds Maptech directly: “Compact Flash GPS, Global Sat SiRF III”

We ALWAYS have our paper charts open as well, with stick-on markers showing our present location. We are constantly updating these charts to reflect changes that we observe.

We subscribe to two websites that email us about current updates to and problems with the ICW: www.activecaptain.com and www.cruisersnet.net.

ANCHORS:

Once again, we managed to travel from CT. to FL without incurring any dock charges. Other than two free docks in VA, and one free mooring in NJ, we anchored every night: which equals 45 nights on anchor this passage!

Normally, we use only one anchor: 45 # BRUCE that has 200 ft. chain. We generously put out about 100’ chain in 10’-15’ depths. Then we back down on it with the engine gradually increasing to 600 – 800 RPMs while taking a fix on two stationary objects on shore to insure that the anchor is set.

We put out a second anchor whenever there is a threat of high winds or if the current is excessive. On this trip, Charleston Harbor (SC) with its 3-5 knot current and poor wind protection is the only place we used two anchors. A 45 # CQR with 200’ of rode, is our back up. While the Bruce and the CQR anchors are our favorites, we’re not trying to sell them to you. (We’d be glad to chat about pros and cons off line.)

We had only one anchor locker, so E.Don fiberglassed a partition. Then he installed a second houser pipe on deck. Our windlass is a LEWMAR combination chain and rode. The washdown system is a brand new SUREFLOW which pumps 7 gal/min. and sends out a saltwater stream at 80 psi. (Don’t challenge us to a watergun fight at anchor!)

Here’s a little trivia on anchors. The original anchors were developed by the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese through the combination of dead tree roots and stones. After man forged metal, anchors evolved to claws and scoops.

In modern times, the Bruce was designed in Brazil to hold ocean drilling rigs in place; the Danforth was developed by the US Navy for the invasion of Normandy in WW II; and the CQR was patented in Scotland. Clearly, the perfection of anchors is still a work in progress.

FUEL COSTS:

We have a single Cummins 220 Turbo charged diesel engine with a bow thruster. Cruising at 8 mph, we consume about 2 ½ to 3 gal./hr. The average fuel price for diesel has been $2.64/gal. and the total fuel cost for our trip to FL is $2,225.

For 1,498 miles to St. Augustine (including 220 miles up and down the Potomac River for our side trip to DC), this translates to $1.49/mile. Not bad for a two BR, two BAs,

A/C, townhouse with speedboat, motorcycle, bicycles and kayaks!

Old Greenwich Yacht Club The Cruiser's Log

Our Passage South - E. Don Smith