Bought a Boat with No Experience? #2

[beetlejuice30]

Hello
i post before, i bought a boat with no experience
know i have a lot to learn, very exited
i have decide instead of heading out to the open ocean, just so i could become another story on the 9 o'clock news, and loose my boat or worse
to take my time and learn, i am in florida and try to take some sailing lessons and learn from as many other peoples mistakes as possible
GOAL: take my catalina 30 from new york to chesapeake bay in the spring

1) is april a good time for this trip

2) does anyone know of a good weather site like bouy weather or... so i could start watching weather patterns and currents

3) If anyone has a good story or tips to tell,
it would be appreciated


"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small
people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too,
can become great." Mark Twain

[beetlejuice30]

I think it is important to note that i have a decent understanding of the systems on my boat. I am now mostly trying to learns as much as i can about wind, weather and water hahaha

[James S]

Good for you....Congrats on your boat and plan.
I like your spirit.
I can’t answer any of your questions, but I can wish you all the best!

[Talbot]

A good place to start knowing what is available for weather is
Franks Front page

Jimmy Cornell's book on ocean routes has a lot of good data including wind patterns

[waverider]

Beetlejuice30

Welcome aboard, good luck with the new boat. Catalina 30 is nice comfortable boat for the size. I am sure with a little bit of sailing and some wisdom from others you will have a great cruise and future with her.

Cheers

Todd

[Hud3]

Hi, Beetlejuice.

April could be a bit early for that trip. The weather systems can still be frequent and pretty strong at that time of year. Late May or early June would be a better choice. PassageWeather.com is a good place to go to watch the weather patterns, since they have 10-day animated forecasts. You can watch the winds build and clock around as the fronts pass through.

Your choice of departure date really depends on whether you intend to stick to the ICW as much as possible, or go offshore and sail overnight. Offshore in April pretty much guarantees that you'll get hammered at some point. The offshore leg from Sandy Hook, NY to Cape May, NJ is about 120 nm, and can't be avoided. Cape May to the C&D Canal in the Delaware Bay can be a tough slog in bad weather, but once you get those behind you, you begin to have a lot of options--places to hole up in bad weather. I'd guess that the inside route would take a month, minimum to get to the Florida border. Traveling in the ICW is a daylight only kind of thing, so about 10 hours is pretty much the max per day.

There are some pretty good cruising guides for the ICW route. Use the Google search in the "Search" pull-down menu up near the top of the page to see a lot of prior discussions on all aspects of the ICW.

[Christian Van H]

Feel free to hit Atlantic City on the way down!

[beetlejuice30]

Originally Posted by Hud3

Hi, Beetlejuice.

April could be a bit early for that trip. The weather systems can still be frequent and pretty strong at that time of year. Late May or early June would be a better choice. PassageWeather.com is a good place to go to watch the weather patterns, since they have 10-day animated forecasts. You can watch the winds build and clock around as the fronts pass through.

Your choice of departure date really depends on whether you intend to stick to the ICW as much as possible, or go offshore and sail overnight. Offshore in April pretty much guarantees that you'll get hammered at some point. The offshore leg from Sandy Hook, NY to Cape May, NJ is about 120 nm, and can't be avoided. Cape May to the C&D Canal in the Delaware Bay can be a tough slog in bad weather, but once you get those behind you, you begin to have a lot of options--places to hole up in bad weather. I'd guess that the inside route would take a month, minimum to get to the Florida border. Traveling in the ICW is a daylight only kind of thing, so about 10 hours is pretty much the max per day.

There are some pretty good cruising guides for the ICW route. Use the Google search in the "Search" pull-down menu up near the top of the page to see a lot of prior discussions on all aspects of the ICW.

lots of good info thank you
i was planning on taking the C&D canal and staying out of the ocean as much as possible until i have a few miles under my keel, i plan on taking her to gloucester point or sum where and let her stay there on the hard for the summer when i go to alaska for work, i get back in august and then finish the trip and take my time. how large of a weather window would i need to get to Delaware bay do you think???

[BadFish]

Hi. I like your name. It's good.

Stick to the ICW.

Cheers

Bill

[Tempest245]

Hi Beetlejuice,

May or June would be better.....but ....If april is what you have.....picking your weather windows you can easily get from NY to Manasquan inlet NJ , in a day. ( Brielle ).

You can then decide if you have a weather window to go back outside again and the next inlets could be Barneget or Atlantic City. Or, you can stay inside and do the intracoastal ( Barnegat Bay. ) There's a good overnight stop at the head of the forked river ( the Captains Inn ) cheap slip and a key to the shower.

Then you can head out of Barneget inlet to AC or stay inside....depth gets critical on the inside below barnegat. You can also head out at little egg, however, this is a local knowledge, natural inlet that can be tricky. Barnaget can be tricky too but it's better marked.

Barnegat to AC is easily made in a day. AC to Cape May inlet....then the Delaware Bay. Or if the weather allows you can make Barnegat to Cape May.

As Hud has said....The Delaware Bay is not to be taken lightly, pick a good weather window to get up to the C and D canal. There are few places you can duck weather on the bay if you had to. Check your crusiing guide.

Once in the canal and then the Chesapeake you have lots of options.

I've done this trip many times, It's about 24 hours to Cape May on the outside, roughly 12 hours up the Delaware Bay to the C & D and then pick your destionation on the Chesapeake?

Outside is to Cape May is straight forward and easy in good weather and fair winds.

If you do duck in and out of the NJ inlets, pay attention to your tide tables, hitting the currents just right make the difference between enjoyable and nail biting.
Inside you will transit at least 5 bridges, a handheld radio or cockpit microphone is essential. You need to hit the point pleasant canal at slack or even with a half a knot against you...you don't want a 5 knot current pushing you toward the bridges!

NY to Annapolis is 4 to 5 days...if you're stopping along the way.

Hope this helps.

Tempest.

[beetlejuice30]

Thank you Tempest, thats some good info
hope to see you on the water sum time.

[beetlejuice30]

I hear a lot about these storms called north-easterners
Do they form is the Arctic?
do they have any relation to the jet stream? i don't know if this is a good question
i just think the jet stream has a lot to do with the weather
and how long do they normally last?

[Tempest245]

Beetlejuice, my pleasure.

If you have google earth on your computer at home you can
virtualy take the trip from your living room. It will give you an idea of the route.

Tempest.

[Tempest245]

HowStuffWorks "What is a Nor'easter?"

Here's a link to Nor'easter weather explaination.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by beetlejuice30

I hear a lot about these storms called north-easterners
Do they form is the Arctic?
do they have any relation to the jet stream? i don't know if this is a good question
i just think the jet stream has a lot to do with the weather
and how long do they normally last?

Beetle,

Here's a link to an article by Michael Carr, a pretty well-respected marine weather guru: Reading Weatherfax Charts . One of the tools for predicting the timing and strength of shortwave troughs (which can become "nor'easters" off the east coast of the U.S.) is by tracking their progress on NOAA's 500 millibar upper air charts and forecasts.

Here's an excerpt from the article on the topic...

500 MB Upper Air Charts The 500-mb charts are produced from a computer model of the atmosphere. These products are automated, unmodified computer outputs that depict height contours above the earth's surface (geopotential heights) at 60-meter intervals. Wind speeds of 30 knots and greater are shown with wind barb increments of five or 10 knots. Embedded within the 500-mb height field are short wave troughs, generally 50 degrees or less in longitude. These are drawn on the charts as bold dashed lines. These short-wave troughs assist the mariner in locating surface low-pressure systems or developing lows on frontal waves. The 500-mb winds approximate the speed of surface extra-tropical lows (often about 1/3 to 1/2 of the 500-mb wind speed) and surface wind force (approximately 50 percent), particularly in colder SW quadrants. The 5640-meter height contour is highlighted since this height contour is widely used by mariners for general surface storm track direction and the southern extent of Beaufort Force 7 (28 to 33 knot) or greater surface winds in the winter, and Force 6 (22 to 27 knot) winds in summer. Analyses are generated twice a day at 0000Z and 1200Z, and depict synoptic scale flow patterns, location, and amplitude of long and short waves. Synoptic scale features can be compared with previous analyses to determine the movement and trends of the upper air pattern. They can be used in conjunction with the surface analyses, sea state analyses, and meteorological satellite imagery, which are valid at the same synoptic time.
12-Hour 500-mb Forecasts These products can be used to compare changes in flow patterns from the latest 500-mb analyses to follow the progression of short waves. A 500-mb 48-hour forecast should be used in conjunction with surface and sea state 48-hour forecast products, and comparison of previous 48-hour 500-mb forecasts with the most current 500-mb analysis can establish confidence in subsequent forecasts.

The statement that I highlighted in red is the key to predicting the possibility of bad weather. If you have been watching the progress of the 5640 m contour as it moves from west to east, and it appears that it will pass over or near your position or track, trouble is coming! The 5460 m contour digs further and further south as the Fall and Winter progress. That's why it's a good idea to make an offshore passage in November (after hurricane season and before the strongest winter storms) or May/June (after the worst storms, but before the tropical storms begin to develop).

Look at the 500 mb weatherfax chart below. The 5460 meter contour is the dark, thick line running SW to NE off the coast. Then look at the surface chart next to it. You can see that the 5460 m contour corresponds with a cold front and low pressure area. That would be your nor'easter.

Michael Carr's book, Weather Predicting Simplified: How to Read Weather Charts and Satellite Images, is a very good place to start if you want to get better at understanding marine weather.