Transit Time? NY-FL

[atoll]

Originally Posted by The Garbone

I personally would not. I would go a route that would allow dropping the hook and getting some rest and not having to depend on a tired green crew. 72 hours is a long time.

The good thing about this thread is the wife and I have had a few good discussions about her standing watch. We concluded that until she gets to the point were she feels comfortable single handing the boat we will avoid overnight passages.

good advice,but at this time of year i would be inclined to "go like hell" and get south,as 48+hour windows will become fewer as the winter progresses.

once past hatteras i belive things get easier,with the option of using the ICW.

[scoobert]

Training is key, they both hate me for it but during the day i make them both hand steer. Under sail or engine. At night we do autopilot. I take the watches after midnight, but they both get wheeltime in the dark too.

[Hud3]

I've done passages with green crew, and found that it worked fine. I laid down in the cockpit to get some sleep and told them to wake me if anything came up--anything at all. With the autopilot, really all they had to do was scan the horizon every few minutes.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by scoobert

i was looking at the weather... and i am not great at this yet.... but it looks like i have a window for running outside cape hatteras? what do you think? can i make it from ocean city, to beaufort in 3 days? it looks like 300 miles, and i can do 100 in 24 with engines alone, not to mention sails....

this would put me in 4-6' seas on the last day. i would stay within 5NM of shore the entire trip.

If I was in OC, MD right now heading south I would leave tomorrow morning at sunrise and head straight to Beaufort, NC to beat out the nasty weather Sat evening and the potential for W winds in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday on your final legs to Beaufort...keeping the option open for a bailout point for Hampton if the forecast changes. That way you have a little more breathing room to get to Beaufort in case any unexpected delays happen (engine troubles, etc). If I couldn't leave that soon, I'd leave Thursday at sunrise to head into Hampton, VA sometime mid-morning Friday, and then wait for another weather window to Beaufort or Cape Fear.

Also, you mentioned staying 5 nm off the coast, but you may want to watch out for the possibility of easterly winds so that you don't end up having to go to windward while going on a SE'erly course along the outer banks. Besides, 5 nm might as well be the same as 1000 nm if there are no viable inlets to duck into!

Fair winds/following seas!

Frank

P.S. You know about Sailing Weather - Marine Weather Forecasts for Sailors and Adventurers - PassageWeather and WindAlert / SailFlow, right?

[scoobert]

i did a bit of research on Oregon inlet.
everything i found says i can get inside there.
they move the bouys depending on how the sand shifts is what it says.
so why do people think you cannot make this cut?

[scoobert]

scrub that, i just called the coast guard, the dredge is working, but right now its at 5', they will release a new survey tomorrow so i can call back then to find out.

[hellosailor]

scoobert-
Have you seen the closeup chart from the Oregon inlet fishing association?



Add their comment that it is CONSTANTLY changing, and that's an awful thin snake of a channel to follow in anything except flat water. If you can enter in flat water, minimal wind, and your engine stays faithful, it still looks like a place to make sure that everyone is hooked onto the boat before you enter.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by scoobert

i did a bit of research on Oregon inlet. everything i found says i can get inside there. they move the bouys depending on how the sand shifts is what it says. so why do people think you cannot make this cut?

Don't do it!! The cuts can change daily! Look at the pics of marinas at Oregon inlet...there are no sailboats for good reason!

[Mary Flower]

Originally Posted by scoobert

i did a bit of research on Oregon inlet.
everything i found says i can get inside there.
they move the bouys depending on how the sand shifts is what it says.
so why do people think you cannot make this cut?

Scoob,

A quick look at the chart for Oregon Inlet would seem to indicate that, while you might get in there, once inside, the water is very shallow and the bottom shifts constantly.
Chart 12204 Be sure to read Note B on the lower left part of the chart.

The same problem appears to also be with both Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlets to the south.
Chart 11555

The first good inlet going south seems to be Beaufort.
Chart 11545

Jim

[scoobert]

this is what i am looking at right now.

i have the inside depths too. not great, but in an emergency i could anchor on the unprotected side of the bridge.

[Sand crab]

Satellite view of Oregon. Labyrinth comes to mind.

[Sailmonkey]

That looks like one of those places that can make a good day bad or a bad day worse!!

[The Garbone]

One of those places you only go once because after that you know better...

[Yetii]

I am not an accomplished sailor, but I have windsurfed, sailed small boats and sport fished out of Oregon inlet. 1 inch outside the channel and youre done. I have seen local shrimpers, who do that area every day, get stuck. If its not slack tide the water moves under the bridge at amazing speeds.

[cheoah]

If you are going to try to sail into Oregon Inlet with mounting weather, go ahead and start another thread. It is worthy of several dozen posts at least. On page three will be the coast guard video on YouTube, along with a couple news articles.... Elizabeth City Air Station is very close, so there won't be a long wait for the camera to show up.

Very smart move calling USCG to assess that inlet before trying it. There are lots of mistakes you can make on your trip south without significant consequences, but that may not be one of them. Getting grounded on the seaward side of an inlet could turn into a salvage.

A friend of mine in Elementary school took off sailing when her mom married a guy from UK. He tried to go in Ocracoke with a long legged boat in building seas. That was the end of that little adventure.

Are you at sea yet? Point that thing towards Cape Charles at least, then keep on heading down ICW when it pipes up a little.