Bay too rough to bring new boat home?

[Photo Chief]

I value this site's opinion about the chesapeake bay conditions tomorrow (10/13). I have made arrangements to bring my new (to me) 27' bristol from deltaville south to little creek amphib base. My surveyor tells me to not do it if winds over 15 or small craft advisory in effect. I hate to cancel until next week but I am the cautious type so am leaning toward waiting for better weather. What do you think? I'm bringing a sailor with me but I am new to sailing. It is about a 10 hour sail with north winds at 14-18 NOAA says.

Rich Collins
USN ret

[slaume]

If you are asking then maybe wait. That said 14 to 18 is not too extreme. The boat will be fine. It is just a matter of how you and your friend handle her. One thing to check on before you get started is that the PO has all the reefing lines in place. When I bought my new boat home last fall I brought a bunch of extra line along with me just in case. It turned out there was nothing rigged to reef the main so it was a good thing I had some line to set things up as ours was an overnight and windy trip. The out haul on the staysail was a piece of cloths line and it broke, so I used another piece. The anchor was only held in place by a chain tentioner and started to come lose so I used another piece through the eye in the CQR. You get the idea. If you could sail the boat on a day trip you would have a better idea of how she is set up. It sounds like a lot depends on the experience and confidence of your friend. If you guys decide to go you will have a great sail if all goes well. If you decide not to go you will be sure your new boat and her owner will be safe. Hows that for a fence sitting kind of answer? Congrats on your new boat, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

If you have to ask, don't do it.

Sailing is like skiing. The more experience you have, the more extreme the conditions you're comfortable in. My skis will easily go down slopes I only look at from the bottom of the lift.

There's plenty to learn about your new boat. Do it in easier conditions and work your way up.

[Steve]

Of course, wind direction also plays a major factor. If the winds are anywhere out of the north and you are heading south, it will be a fairly nice day. Northeast winds will bring more chop, but the boat will sail more upright. Sailing that far on a tight reach and 15 knot winds will be a bit tougher, but reefed sails will still be a great day to be out on the water.

My humble opinion.

[tartansailor]

The Chesapeake Bay lies North and South, and is relatively shallow.
The forecast calls for NE wind.
You want to start out way down in Deltaville.
If you go, you can expect some mighty rollers on your transom.
The possibility of an accidental gibe is real.
Just south of Cherry point the shallows 2-3 ft. extend quite a ways out, so you cannot hug the shore when you embark.
If things get real bad, you still have to sail about 12 miles south before you can find shelter in Mobjack Bay.
Then there is the ship channels, and the freighters.
Dick

[John D.]

This link gives the NWS/NOAA marine forecast specific to your part of the Bay, including wave heights:

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn ... anz630.txt

Nothing at all extreme.

If your mate is experienced, make him captain for the day, wear your life jacket, and enjoy.

John D.
CD27 "Lilypad"
Whitehall Creek, Md.

[John D.]

They updated that website a few minutes ago, after I wrote my first post. You're planning to sail in what is now a short weather window between small craft advisories. I'd wait for another day.

The Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race left Baltimore today, and will arrive in your area over the next few days. Wait and you can sail with them.

John D.

[Bill Goldsmith]

New boats (new to present owner) present many questions, even if the survey was very good.

Bilge pump(s) in good working order?

Engine reliable?

Do you know where all the through-hulls are? Are they all in good shape/good hose connections? Do you have wood plugs?

Is the rig in optimum tune?

Your voyage sounds like a great shakedown cruise, but doing a shakedown/delivery before you know the boat means taking credits out of Vigor's "black box." If you do run into mechanical problems you'll be dealing with them in less than ideal conditions. I'd await calmer waters and be able to concentrate on getting to know the boat.

[Dick Barthel]

All great comments from the board. I would add that whenever you decide to make the run, have planned stops along the way decided upon beforehand should problems arise. Good luck and keep us posted.

Dick

[Paul Grecay]

New boat and skipper/owner new to sailing. You should wait. Prudent thing to do.

[Photo Chief]

Good Morning to All,
I am comfortably sitting here in my lounge chair with a cup of joe and thinking what a great website. I heeded your collective seamanship and postponed the movement of my boat. Last night I called my mate to ask what he thought about postponing. He echoed your concerns about being unfamiliar with the boat, etc., and recommended we wait for another day.

I reflected this morning upon an earlier time in Key West waters where I was caught in a 20 ft open fishing boat at zero-dark thirty by a tremendously vicious thunderstorm. Sixty mph winds and 8 ft+ seas over the reef seven miles from the harbor. I snagged an invisible lobster pot line which broke a propeller blade from the evanrude (sp) thus requiring me to idle back to the harbor in this 2 hour storm. We broached a few times and thought we were goners. The first and only time I donned a life jacket with real purpose in mind. My fishing buddy , Larry Christian, and I were very happy to have a Christian in the boat with us that night. The Coast Guard thirty footer stopped us at the harbor entrance to ask if we had seen any other boats around us. We explained that we could not even see the sea surface it was raining so hard. It was like an episode from the Twilight Zone. From that night I have always been very respectful of the power of Neptune.

Thanks,
Rich Collins
USN ret.

[Neil Gordon]

Thanks for the feedback.

Let us know how the trip goes. I'd be interested in what sorts of little, less than critical problems creep in (if any), of the sort that might have been more difficult to handle in steeper conditions.

[SeaBelle]

Although Aretha Franklin wasn't sailing when she said it, we should all be humming her anthem as we sail off:

R - E - S - P - E - C - T

[Andy Denmark]

A couple of comments. I was based at Little Creek many years ago and was also a member of Fishing Bay Yacht Club in Deltaville later when I was building boats in Gloucester. At most it's a 2-1/2 hour +/- automobile drive from Little Creek to Deltaville. Being so close by car, why not wait for better weather and make a fun sail of it. It's an easy day. If you'd like to break up the trip then you can go around New Point Comfort into Mobjack Bay (go well back into the Severn, Ware, or North Rivers for decent anchorages, though).

The biggest boat problem I see you might have in the steep following seas is the oft-mentioned "fuel stirring" that brings the trash and goop up from the bottom of the tank and into the fuel pickup tube. Then you have no engine and a fast approaching lee shore with no "bailout options." Downwind landings with no escape routes can be problematic should you have a serious rig or control issue situation, especially if there's lots of commercial shipping around (and there is in Nofolk for sure). Willoughby Bay is about the only emergency option you'd have assuming you could get to it.

All that said, it's an easy trip. I spent a good part of my youth sailing these waters and love the area.

FWIW
________
CBR1000RR

[Dave Low]

Rich - I have been on several deliveries south from Deltaville. Most have been great - some have been challenging. With the funky weather we have had, I would old off. The low pressure system that is soaking the northeast will at best make things unpredictable.