Streaming North: Discovering the Gulf Stream

By on May 6, 2017 in Guided Discovery
Departure: May 1, 2017 @ 6:32 AM.


Following tradition, Darrel and Sue Peters joined us in the morning and helped us cast off. We met them in Florence Alabama in November of 2010 while on a Great Loop side trip. Sue left her pocketbook in the courtesy car and, having found no money in here purse (just kidding), we guessed that it was the folks on the 50 foot Ocean Alexander, returned the pocket book and have been friends ever since.


Back to business.


The Crew: Guy Aries, Les and Bob Benson
Departure from Sarasota is always a challenge as there is no easy way out to the Gulf. There are three options; Big Pass, New Pass and the Venice Inlet via the ICW, and each has its issues. Big Pass is a local knowledge pass that is tricky in calm water and dangerous with rough seas due to the shallow depths. New Pass, recently dredged, has a bridge with restricted openings before 7:00 AM and a very shallow channel (where we almost touched last March) leading to the pass. Taking the ICW to Venice involves 4 bridges, two of which open every 20 minutes and numerous no wake zones.

Casey Key Swing Bridge

We chose Venice via the ICW on Monday morning as a brisk 20 knot wind out of the south was making, according to the forecast, 3 foot waves. That wave direction increased the risk of bouncing of the bottom at Big Pass. To shorten our time on this route we left at 6:30 AM to take advantage of the fact that the Siesta Key bridge opens on demand before 7:00 AM. The run to the inlet took two hours and 13 minutes.

When we entered the Gulf at Venice we saw that we had made the right decision as we immediately started pitching in a 3 to 4 foot head sea. Seas calmed to 2 to 3 feet as we passes Marco Island around 7:00 PM then increased to 4 to 6 as we progress toward the Keys. The 63 handled the seas will but pitching is not fun unless you’re playing baseball.


Around 4:00 AM on Tuesday morning we were 17 NM north of Marathon and the Seven Mile Bridge. Winds that had been 25 to 30 knots out of southeast winds reduced to 15 to 20 knots and the seas calmed.  At 6:27 AM, 24 hours after departing Sarasota we crossed under the Seven Mile Bridge. We had covered 182 nautical miles at an average speed of 7.7 knots.


Seven Mile Bridge
Explanatory Note: The 63 cruises at 8.4 knots at 1400 RPM. The head winds and seas had reduced our speed by .7 knots. That may sound trivial but it’s not when you running 24 hours a day for multiple days. Essentially, you lose 16 NM and 2 hours every 24 hours.

Decision time. Run the Hawk Channel in protected water or run outside the reef in deep water to catch the Gulf Stream. This proved to be an easy decision as the forecast of south southeast winds at 10 to 15 knots with 3 to 5 foot seas was the same on both sides of the reef.


Would we get the promised push from the Gulf Stream? That question was clearly answered 4 hours later when we recorded an average speed of 7.9 knots. We were now seeing current speed readings of approximately 8.8 knots and, best of all, we were running in 3 to 4 foot seas off the starboard forward quarter. Those seas continued to calm (to 2 feet) and our speed continued to increase to 9.0 knots. The Gulf Stream was giving us a 1.5 knot push.


The depth increases as we cross the reef. Our position is shown on the right hand screen
Sorry for the poor photo 
The Gulf Stream turned Guided Discovery into a speedboat.  OK, I know. You think that’s a big exaggeration but you need to read on.

Written by Les

Streaming North: Results of a Lovely Winter

By on May 6, 2017 in Guided Discovery
Hello readers!  It’s been a lovely and quiet Sarasota winter and I’ve been lazy about writing. However, now that I’m moving Guided Discovery north I am motivated to document our trip.


Explanatory Note: I write about the north south passages for two reasons. The first is to preserve my memory of what has proved to be some very exciting adventures. The second is to share the adventure with those of you who follow my blog. So here we go again.


Departure from Sarasota by tradition is May first at 7:00 AM. That tradition has practical roots dating back to the purchase of the 63. The goal was manage dockage costs, which no longer applies as we have an annual contract for our great slip at Marina Jack.  The original plan was to time our arrival at Hingham Shipyard for early May to enjoy a late New England spring and to get the maximum benefit of the marina’s 6 month seasonal contract which ends October 31. Hence the November 1 at 7:00 AM departure from Hingham and the May 1 Departure from Sarasota.


The three other factors that affect the “tradition” are insurance considerations related to the hurricane season and the fact that Diana and Kodi move the car while I move the boat with friends, some of whom fly from wherever to crew on the journey. A date certain is a practical consideration for making airplane reservations. The third factor is weather. It starts to get hot in Sarasota and by late April we start seeing temperatures in the 90s (not great for us or Kodi’s paws).


The 7:00 AM departure is also motivated by my goal to minimize the time spent on the Okeechobee Waterway. It facilitates the crossing with two overnights stays by positioning the 63 for a 7:00 am opening at the first of Okeechobee’s five locks. With a little luck and a few speed adjustments it is possible to be on the Atlantic Ocean the morning of the third day. Then its 7 days and 6 nights to Hingham.


Did I mention the lovely winter? Well it was.  Sunny and warm every day with almost no rain (perhaps 5 days and then only showers). This threw a wrench in the works. At the end of the first week in April, I checked Lake Okeechobee water levels, which were 12.4 feet. Two weeks later the lake’s depth was 11.78 feet. The Army Corp of Engineers posted a controlling depth (i.e., depth at the lowest point on the waterway) as 5.72 feet. Do the math (.72 times 12 = 8 inches). Guided Discovery draws 5 feet of water at the keel. That results in a margin of just 8 inches between floating and “the hard,” which is rock in the low spots.


Time for local knowledge. A conversation with Bill at Lake Tow and Recovery, the local marine towing service out of Clewiston FL, was helpful.  Bill said it’s doable BUT you have to stay in the middle of the channel coming out of Clewiston and have calm winds. According to Bill, a moderate wind from the any southerly direction blows the water north and can lower the depth by 6 inches (oops, now we have a two inch margin). Having to pass another boat can result in a grounding as the depth deceases at the edge of the channel. Too close for me.


Note: As of May 4, the lake was at 11.65 feet with a controlling depth of 5.59 feet.

Plan B is a trip south along Florida’s west coast, a passage through the 7 Mile Bridge at Marathon, then east along the keys via the Hawk Channel to Miami and then to the Atlantic at Stuart. This route adds 170 nautical miles to the trip along with a fuel burn of approximately 190 gallons (at current fuel price of $2.70 per gallon).


The question here is which of three routes to take. There is the very shallow Intracoastal that runs inside the keys, which is not an option for the 63. Then there is the well-marked and Hawk Channel with an average depth of 20 feet that runs between the Keys and the reef to Miami, which we used in 2011 on our Great Loop adventure. The third option, weather permitting, is to run outside the reef in deep water (400+ feet) and pick-up the Gulf Stream. According to my friend, Captain Billy Thomas on the yacht Determination, you can pick up at least one knot of speed.


In anticipation, I programmed two routes, one for the Hawk Channel and one for the outside route.

Outer Reef’s slogan is “Go beyond the reef.” Well, weather permitting I planned to do just that and more. The title of this series, “Streaming North” represents my intent to way beyond the reef (like 60 to 70 miles offshore) and ride the Gulf Stream north. Read on to share a spectacular experience.

Written by Les.

Streaming North: Getting Ready

By on May 6, 2017 in Guided Discovery

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Happy 3rd Anniversary

By on May 6, 2017 in Guided Discovery

Reader Note: Article in progress. I will finish it soon (notwithstanding the fact that I started it 3 months ago)February 10, 2017On February 10, 2014 at around 5:00 PM, Diana and I officially became the proud owners of OR63063, the 63 foot Outer Reef …

North Atlantic 500mb Forecast

By on May 6, 2017 in M/V Dirona

We plan on getting underway this weekend for Kinsale, Ireland. It’s a tiny bit early in the season but we have what looks to be a blocking high developing in the North Atlantic which will stall the steady stream of low-pressure systems that we’ve been watching for the past several months. Unfortunately the high is…

ENVOY’S FIRE DAMAGE PROGRESS REPORT

By on May 5, 2017 in Envoy
Following smoke and heat damage to Envoy caused by fire on a nearby boat one of our priorities was to find somewhere to stay since we can’t live aboard while the clean up, sanding and then GRP repairs and painting are being done.
As the arrival of May signals the start of the local summer season and accommodation becomes more difficult we mention this to our contractor, Sailand, whose staff member Vassilis advises the house next to his is available for rent. Last Sunday we check this out to find a large four-bed-roomed, two-bath-roomed stone villa fully furnished and equipped, built in 1888 but completely refurbished while retaining its historical charm based on a mostly wooden interior decorated with antiques and artifacts. It’s located high in the hills about 10 km from the marina where it’s nice and cool with a stunning view over the Lefkas area and sea beyond. All of this for a most reasonable 600 Euros (about NZ$923) for a MONTH – that is about $30 per day. Ironically Di and I have often said we’d love to spend some time in a traditional Greek mountain village and the three nearby fit this bill perfectly.
Vasillis did say that as this is a country area to keep a watch out for snakes and scorpions but we’ve so far only seen one snake crossing a road.

Our agents, A1 organise a near new Nissan Micro 4-door rental car for us at the extremely favourable rate of 20 Euros (about NZ$31) per day including insurance.

To top it off our London-based daughter Amy is going to fly over on Sunday and stay with us for a week.

Now to Envoy. It seemed to take ages for anything to start as we awaited feedback from our insurers, but on Thursday a huge crane lowered our RHIB down from Envoy’s upper deck so that it could be cleaned and Envoy’s upper deck accessed for cleaning. Then a team from Yachtpaint started the complete cleaning of Envoy’s exterior and the sanding of heat blisters from the hull and gelcoat.
Two days of work made a huge difference and all of the soot and debris aboard Envoy has been removed. What remains are some fairly extensive ingrained soot marks on the starboard side white topsides gelcoat as well as a small area of peeled burnt gelcoat.

The blisters on the hull and stabiliser fin have been removed with the hull being taken back to bare GRP in those areas.

The surveyor is visiting again on Tuesday when decisions will be made regarding what areas can be polished back to the near-perfect condition that existed before and what areas will need repair and painting. The more areas that require painting, the longer the job will take since extensive masking will be required.
Thankfully Yachtpaint are available to start the job as soon as the insurers accept the surveyor’s recommendations, but Envoy will need to be moved undercover (site is available) and we don’t expect anything to start much before the end of next week.

Best indication of time required at this stage is about a month so that takes us through to about mid-June and even that is quite speculative depending on what the surveyor suggests and how things go.

Meanwhile we’re making progress on sourcing replacement flat windows but having some difficulty with the curved pilothouse window. The crack in this is fairly minor (about 60cm) so we could cruise with it cracked and get it replaced during winter, although people tell us the insurers might not agree to this as they will want to wrap up the claim.

A local rigger will also inspect damage to Envoy’s rigging next week and quote for her repair.

The time issue is going to be GRP repair and painting since most other issues can be dealt with simultaneously and by late next week we should have a pretty accurate idea of what is to be done and the time required.

May 5 – Waiting

By on May 5, 2017 in The Pearl

Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina

“Every day is the beginning of a new journey…enjoy the ride.” –Author Unknown

While we were at anchor last week we tried to use our generator and noticed it wasn’t spitting water out the side of the boat…like it’s suppose to. Stan investigated and found the exhaust elbow had a crack in it. It’s old, very old, and Stan knew it needed to be replaced one day…well one day is here. We decided the best place to wait for the part to be delivered was at Olverson’s since our car is there. The part has been ordered and will be delivered on Monday. 
CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Stack Socket Replacement

By on May 3, 2017 in M/V Dirona

A couple of days after we arrived into Newport, we found the breaker for the pilothouse 120V outlets had tripped. We investigated all the electronics plugged into the PH outlets but the breaker would still trip. We eventually unplugged everything and it still tripped so it had to be a bad breaker or a circuit…

May 2 – Mount Vernon, VA

By on May 3, 2017 in The Pearl
Mattawoman Creek – Anchorage
We left Alexandria this morning…a little windier on the Potomac today than last Friday. We didn’t spend the time to visit Mount Vernon on our first visit to the area in 2011, so today we decided we’d dock at their wharf and enjoy the beautiful day wandering around the plantation. It’s an impressive place that has an amazing view of the Potomac River. 

CONTINUE READING HERE…»

Spring Is Here And Flying Fast – Update On All Things FPB

By on May 2, 2017 in Wind Horse

Spring is here and with it the promise of things to be discovered, adventures to be enjoyed, and new lands …Read More