Crew Wanted: Extra hand for 30-foot boat headed south from Annapolis in a couple of weeks

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by brazenarticle

Last year I did the same trip singlehanded leaving in early November. There were many cold and miserable days all the way south to the Georgia - Florida border. Staying warm and moderately comfortable is the top priority, once cold or worse, cold and wet, fatigue comes quickly, then even simple decisions and mistakes can add up fast.
There are not many boats on the bay or in many stretches of the ICW this time of year, for much of the trip you really are on your own.
I thought it was overkill to install a small diesel heater before heading south but I was very glad I did. Ditto for reinforcing the dodger. The alternative for staying out of the cold wind and spray is to dress up like an artic explorer. You may need an extra large PFD to fit on top of weather gear">foul weather gear too.
Bring more gloves and socks than you think you'll need. Warm hat(s) too. Two thermos bottles got constant use - one for coffee everyday, the other filled in the morning with boiling water to be used for soup, ramen, tea, cocoa throughout the day.
You may get some sailing on the bay to Norfolk but after that it is motoring and anchoring.
It took me two weeks to get to Oriental, NC losing a few days due to bad weather. Similar to your plan I left the boat there to return home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A couple related things to keep in mind - most places where you can leave the boat charge by the day or the month. 30 day rates are often less than paying full rate for a week. Transport from where you leave the boat can get expensive too, for example getting to New Bern from Oriental to fly or rent a car means a cab or uber ride, about $45.00. The big (cheap flights) airports are generally far from the ICW, it can be costly to get to the airport
I learned to leave the boat near Enterprise locations and rented cars to get home.
Here is the bummer part----I think you missed your tide by a month or two. With the cold, short days and other boats out there few and far between there is much to be said for waiting until April.

I appreciate all this input. I've heard great things about diesel heaters, unfortunately I don't really have anywhere to put one. But in addition to the alcohol heater and oil lamp I'll bring thermal sleeping bags, and I am long on cold weather gear and don't mind dressing up as an arctic explorer. I used to start my dinghy racing season in February, when the water was still 35 or 40 degrees, so I've got all the drysuits and spray tops and elbow-length gloves I could need. And, frankly, I'm much more at home in the cold than I am in the heat, I voluntarily chose a college that's basically in Canada. Luckily my boat is also quite dry in the cockpit- the boat was designed for the Arctic, so my bow flares most of the water away and big bulkheads separate the cockpit from the rest of the deck into its own little section relatively free of water. The cabin also holds heat very well- the entire thing is insulated.

And I 100% agree that I far would have rather left a month or two ago. Unfortunately, the boat was not done. And while I would totally wait till April if I had all the time in the world, I have to be back at school next fall. I know it'll be cold until I get to the bottom of the ditch, but I think I'm fairly mentally and physically prepared. I do appreciate the insight, though

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by svchances

FYI, I have singlehanded a 34' up and down the ICW numerous times, I can tell you it is something you can do on your own. Especially if you have an auto pilot. On a straight run slow down to half speed and do what is necessary IE; a trip to the head. Forget the sailing except on the Chesapeake. Most of all, have a plan for anchoring, mooring, marina etc.
I can't help you (way out of your age group ) but I can cheer you on.
Keep posting and the best of luck.

Thanks for the reassurance, I am definitely confident in my abilities to singlehand, it would just be nice to have some extra assurance. There are some quirks I'm still getting used to- like, she's got a long keel so she doesn't turn on a dime like the boats I've raced, plenty of prop walk, and a massive rudder that makes it slightly harder to get precision when backing into slips and the like. I'm sure I'll have it all down after a week, and I'm sure I could figure it out faster if I had to, but why not bring along a hand if I can

[Scaramanga F25]

Get a one-piece Mustang suit or a snowmobile suit you will freeze.

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by Scaramanga F25

Get a one-piece Mustang suit or a snowmobile suit you will freeze.

I've got a one-piece that has kept me warm and functional while overboard in 40 degree water for over an hour, and warm indefinitely when not in the water

[SandyF]

Hi Kelsey

Next time you are in Annapolis, walk over to St.John's College and post a note on their bulletin board. I am not sure how they are dealing with the virus, but I think there will be people around. The college has an active sailing club, and it is winter break, so there are bound to be people interested in this trip.
Your post brought back a host of memories because I am a St. John's alum, and I answered a post on that bulletin board for an almost identical trip down the ICW, Annapolis to Melborne, on a 35' Cheoy Lee sloop at the end of my Junior year. We sailed only one day, motored the rest. 16 days total. I recall going aground about a million times.

Good luck !

Sandy F.

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by SandyF

Hi Kelsey

Next time you are in Annapolis, walk over to St.John's College and post a note on their bulletin board. I am not sure how they are dealing with the virus, but I think there will be people around. The college has an active sailing club, and it is winter break, so there are bound to be people interested in this trip.
Your post brought back a host of memories because I am a St. John's alum, and I answered a post on that bulletin board for an almost identical trip down the ICW, Annapolis to Melborne, on a 35' Cheoy Lee sloop at the end of my Junior year. We sailed only one day, motored the rest. 16 days total. I recall going aground about a million times.

Good luck !

Sandy F.

Thanks for the idea! Not sure I can just walk over right now given covid, but do you know if there's a particular contact I could look up? Maybe a head coach or if they have a social media or a forum, or if they'd be weirded out by a random person soliciting them that way haha

[Bill Seal]

If you haven't already, check out Emily and Grace go Sailing. A couple of young girls who did what you are proposing. (plus the Bahamas)

[Mlp48]

Some of the best and most memorable adventure I've ever had was sailing in Winter and on small boats.

On one trip and with my brother and on a boat he'd just bought, from Pamlico River to Annapolis, and in the week before Christmas, we met some amazing kindness. We were running low on fuel and called a bridge tender ahead for advice or info on where our next gas dock stop might be. He said, "Pull up to the ladder on the bridge.. I'll let you take my truck to get whatever you need". We hadn't expected that and I have no idea now how we had not thought to get fuel before leaving the Pamlico or taking a little extra. Youthful bliss ! I'd say a part of this was perhaps the season but also that there were NO other boats out there ! We laughed about it later because we had never driven a truck with a shotgun and roll of toilet paper hanging on the rear window's rack.

Then, on a just past Christmas 7 day cruise of the Chesapeake, I had brought along my trusty old kerosene heater yet my friend and crew aboard had been told and I'm sure by his family, "Do not use a kerosene heater in an enclosed space !" After our 1st night at anchor and in a NW'er though, he said, "Hey.. what about that heater ?" We used it the rest of the cruise. I'm sure you could get Co poisoned in a very tight boat but a little boat in a steady or howling wind is a might "airy" !

OH.. wish I could go ! I don't fit the parameters at all but do HAVE FUN

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by Mlp48

Some of the best and most memorable adventure I've ever had was sailing in Winter and on small boats.

On one trip and with my brother and on a boat he'd just bought, from Pamlico River to Annapolis, and in the week before Christmas, we met some amazing kindness. We were running low on fuel and called a bridge tender ahead for advice or info on where our next gas dock stop might be. He said, "Pull up to the ladder on the bridge.. I'll let you take my truck to get whatever you need". We hadn't expected that and I have no idea now how we had not thought to get fuel before leaving the Pamlico or taking a little extra. Youthful bliss ! I'd say a part of this was perhaps the season but also that there were NO other boats out there ! We laughed about it later because we had never driven a truck with a shotgun and roll of toilet paper hanging on the rear window's rack.

Then, on a just past Christmas 7 day cruise of the Chesapeake, I had brought along my trusty old kerosene heater yet my friend and crew aboard had been told and I'm sure by his family, "Do not use a kerosene heater in an enclosed space !" After our 1st night at anchor and in a NW'er though, he said, "Hey.. what about that heater ?" We used it the rest of the cruise. I'm sure you could get Co poisoned in a very tight boat but a little boat in a steady or howling wind is a might "airy" !

OH.. wish I could go ! I don't fit the parameters at all but do HAVE FUN

Thank you so much for this!! I do appreciate all the people emphasizing my need for proper gear and planning and I totally agree with them, I have been planning this since I got the boat in April and I am far from "new" to sailing (I've had to break ice off of dinghies before practice and I've sailed in snowstorms), so it's simply not helpful when people say that it's objectively too late for me to go or that I'm going to "freeze to death" without a survival suit. I understand the concern, it's valid, but I totally agree that winter can be an amazing time to sail if you know what you're doing and you have a healthy does of sanity about it, which I think I do. so thanks for the encouragement

[Mlp48]

The people I mention in my comment were all of us collegiate sailors so you should fare well -- knowing that combo of great fun with temporary pains. I hope you'll let us know how it goes !

[greermackey]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

I've been restoring a 30-foot steel boat for the past many months and am headed down the ICW shortly (exact departure date still uncertain, but aiming around Dec 15). My intended crew has informed me that something has come up and she may not be able to make it anymore. I'm looking for an extra hand to come with me for the first week-10 days for however far I make it before the Christmas break (i'm trying to return to Maryland for the holidays and then resume passage afterwards), likely somewhere in southern Virginia or North Carolina. I'm confident in my ability to singlehand generally speaking and relatively confident in my ability to singlehand this boat more specifically (and it is rigged to singlehand), so you don't need to be an expert with years and years of sea time and I am willing to do some teaching, but I am still getting to know this specific boat so I'm looking for someone who can steer when I need to run and do something, give a second opinion on my chosen anchorage, and throw some docklines. You'd have to get yourself to Annapolis and likely also get yourself back home from wherever we end up around Dec 22/23, but I may be able to coordinate some transportation back for the right person. This will be cold sailing, so you'd have to bring your own appropriate cold weather gear. This isn't paid, and I'd expect coverage of your own food and other personal costs, but I'm not expecting any chipping in for boat-related fees. I am also a 20 year old woman taking a semester off college, so I'm not looking for anyone wildly out of my age range. Ideally someone who's between 18 and 25, with some time to kill who has done some sailing and is eager for a bit of an adventure.

Hello! My name is Greer Mackey, I am a female 20yr old college student attending Austin Community College and am about to end the semester looking for something to do. Back in October I helped my grandfather moved his 42 ft Sabre motor boat from Orange beach, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana. 7 yrs ago I also did a portion of the great loop with him starting from St Petersburg, Florida to St Augustine, Florida. Those have been my only voyages on a boat but of course have done many day trips traveling out on the water on the boat. I am able to assist with the dock lines and steering as well as any other crew member assistance you need. I have not have much experience sailing on a boat but have had experience with motor boats am would love to see what it’s like to travel on different type of boat! I am a pretty adventurous, boat loving person who is wanting to start exploring new things like sailing! If you need any help completing this sail, let me know and I’ll be able to help!

[capn ken]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

I've been restoring a 30-foot steel boat for the past many months and am headed down the ICW shortly (exact departure date still uncertain, but aiming around Dec 15). My intended crew has informed me that something has come up and she may not be able to make it anymore. I'm looking for an extra hand to come with me for the first week-10 days for however far I make it before the Christmas break (i'm trying to return to Maryland for the holidays and then resume passage afterwards), likely somewhere in southern Virginia or North Carolina. I'm confident in my ability to singlehand generally speaking and relatively confident in my ability to singlehand this boat more specifically (and it is rigged to singlehand), so you don't need to be an expert with years and years of sea time and I am willing to do some teaching, but I am still getting to know this specific boat so I'm looking for someone who can steer when I need to run and do something, give a second opinion on my chosen anchorage, and throw some docklines. You'd have to get yourself to Annapolis and likely also get yourself back home from wherever we end up around Dec 22/23, but I may be able to coordinate some transportation back for the right person. This will be cold sailing, so you'd have to bring your own appropriate cold weather gear. This isn't paid, and I'd expect coverage of your own food and other personal costs, but I'm not expecting any chipping in for boat-related fees. I am also a 20 year old woman taking a semester off college, so I'm not looking for anyone wildly out of my age range. Ideally someone who's between 18 and 25, with some time to kill who has done some sailing and is eager for a bit of an adventure.

COVID !

[capn ken]

COVID!

[KenFunhog]

If you aren't already, I suggest you sign up got Boat US unlimited towing package. It's cheap and there won't be a ton of other boats around if you need help. Aground in the ditch, etc.

[Linesledaft]

Hey there,

I recently brought our boat(Alberg 35) up from Florida to Baltimore, and will be in Annapolis in a week or so. I still have all of my tracks/waypoints I can send to you if you'd like. Pretty close to your age.

Definitely get good foulies and some good waterproof gloves! Mr Heater makes an indoor "safe" propane/butane whatever heater that I have used a few times that works well.

If you have instagram send me a request and I can answer any other questions. @linesledaft