Nothing like a cold beer after a Gulf Stream crossing. As crossings go, this one was just fine, if a bit bumpy at first. A different sort of crossing in that we were coming NE from Key West so crossing the stream at about a 30 degree angle. We left Key West at about 8am, figuring on covering the 225 NM at a fast average speed over the ground of 8.6 knots, 1.1 knots above our actual speed through the water, thanks to the boost from the current in the stream.
We originally planned to enter the banks at South Rock with an option to choose a more northerly course to enter the banks above Bimini if we didn’t like the conditions. This would add about 12 miles to the trip but would also give us a bigger boost from the stream.
In my planning I estimated the GS current at 3.5 knots and with our angle of attack figured about a 15 degree offset angle to hold course and a 2 knot resultant boost in speed. As it turned out it was taking closer to a 25 degree offset to hold course and we were not getting quite 2 knots of boost. At a boat speed of 7.5 knots and a steam speed of 3.5 knots it doesn’t require much of a miscalculation to throw off prior estimates. In this case, I figure the angle of attack was closer to 45 degrees so the required crab was much greater. Had I seen that coming I might have entered the stream a bit further south. Maybe next time. Hard to calculate the best approach between taking the shortest route and getting the best speed boost.
With lots of unknowns regarding what was going to happen later that night with winds and sea state we decided to turn north to improve the ride, reduce the crab angle and maybe pick up enough extra speed to absorb the extra 12 miles of total distance. Also, the wind was forecast to clock further to the west in the early morning hours which would put it more astern after our turn east at North Bimini. As it turned out, the wind never clocked and stayed at about 225 degrees throughout the night and morning, but still behind the beem, so just fine.
We can see out 64 miles with our radar so I began tracking and timing the advance of the front i knew was coming some time Saturday morning. At 3am it was moving at about 12 knots so would arrive right on time at noon. With that estimate we planned on standing off until the front passed, possibly testing our new lightning protection system. By 10 am, when we were 2 hours out, the front had slowed to 8 knots and would not arrive until 1pm. Plenty of time for us to get in and tied up before it it. As it turned out, the first slip designated for us didn’t agree with our boarding doors so, with the lightning and thunder near, we moved to a more agreeable slip. We had the last line secured when the front passed over. Lucky timing on our part.
We will stay here a week, with plans for kayaking, bicycle touring, and maybe some fishing and conch hunting. And maybe a few more Kaliks on the beach. Then we will begin moving towards the Exumas. The Exuma Land and Sea Park is expecting us on 1 February for our one month stint as mooring field hosts at Cambridge Cay. After that, no real plans.
We made it to Key West, a milestone of sorts. We are here for a month or so and will celebrate Christmas with our two sons. Then it is off to the Bahamas.
The leg from Canaveral to Key West was relaxed as we had time to kill before our slip reservation at Boca Chica Marina near Key West. Our first night out promised to be lumpy with strong winds out of the North so we chose Suntex Marina (formerly Loggerhead) in Vero Beach. We had never been there and were somewhat concerned about the channel as there were numerous Active Captain comments about hard obstructions in or near the channel. All I can say is that we had no issues and I would estimate at least 6′ at low tide. Once inside, the marina was very nice and totally protected.
We followed up with some locals regarding the channel and one fellow provided us a set of soundings that he had taken with his dinghy. Those soundings did show some shoal area encroaching on a portion of the channel, not quite reaching the centerline. I am sure those write-ups in AC were true, in that the boats hit something, but maybe not so accurate in that whetever they hit, it was not on centerline. We left the next morning following our breadrumbs from the day before without any problems.
The charts show just a few pilings but there are actually 8-10 on each side of the channel so it isnt that hard to stay centered. If anyone wants a copy of the soundings for the channel, send me an email.
A note on Active Captain. I read the reviews and check the hazzard comments on my route, but often the hazzards just arent there. All I can figure is that the authors just werent where they thought they were when they encountered the problem. As best I can tell, nobody reviews the data and once a hazard is logged, it stays on the charts forever, despite numerous comments that the hazard just isnt there. More on this later.
Our next stop was Peck Lake. This is another interesting spot becasue the charts show the area to be 3-5′ deep when there is a large area 10′ or greater. But the only way to figure out just how large the area is requires probing with your hull. Not my favorite. In this case, the AC comments are helpful as they describe where the “gate” is as you leave the ICW and enter the anchorage.
For us it was fairly easy because there were just a few boats there. We picked a spot with plenty of swing room and felt a good set on the anchor. By the way, you know how a dog circles his spot before lying down? I understand that is to insure he doesnt cover a gopher hole or whatever. Well the same sort of move works with a boat. If we arent sure we will have minimum depth throughout our predicted swing we will circle our spot to confirm, doggy style.
It looked like a fine evening, until the bugs arrived. And did they ever. By morning we were covered in bugs that looked sort of like mosquitoes but didn’t bite. They just left stains everywhere. And they stayed with us for days. What a mess.
Lake Worth inlet and anchoring options
Our next stop was Lake Worth to an anchorage just south of the inlet. There are three options for anchoring here. Just south of the inlet, at the northern most AC symbol, you can anchor just south of the channel. It is close if you want to enter or leave in the dark. But the current is strong and it is quite deep at 20′ or so. The next spot, just south of the large spoil area, is close to the inlet but somewhat crowded with a mix of moored and anchored boats. Further south, roughly east of Rybovich Marina, is 1.7 miles from the inlet but wide open. We chose this spot and had a pleasant night.
We left the next morning just before sunrise. There is added light from land so not so hard to leave in the dark and run along the docks to the inlet. Lucky for us, the weather was perfect for an outside run to Miami, skipping the most concentrated series of bridges along the Florida coast.
Venetian Islands Anchorage
We have anchored here a few times. Well protected but can be busy with tour boats, jet skis and the like. Better on weekdays. There are a couple of No Anchor spots as well. Under current Florida anchoring laws there are very few places you cannot anchor. These are some of them. The houses here are all million dollar plus and the rumor is, a few have enough political pull to prevent boats from disturbing their views. Whatever, still plenty of places to anchor that are out of the way of traffic and protected. Last year we anchored between San Marino and Di Lido, this year just SE of Palm. A good place to wait on a hop east to the Bahamas or, in our case, south to the Keys.
Our plan was to stay inside Biscayne Bay to Anglefish Creek, then go out to Hawk Channel for the rest of the trip to Key West.
Anglefish Creek
Anglefish Creek is one of the last places a boat drawing 5′ or more can exit to Hawk Channel. The ICW continues but there are large portions where the depth is less than 5′, especially at anything but high tide. But reading the AC comments about the creek suggests there are areas of less than 5′ in the channel as well as hidden obstructions. Here is another example where blind allegiance to AC comments will keep you from going places that are safe.
Since we had a few days to kill, waiting on weather, I took the dinghy out and sounded the entire creek. I also talked with numerous boats passing through the creek in both directions. From my readings the lowest points are at the entrance and exit from the creek. On the Biscayne Bay side, the lowest point is 7′ MLLW and on the Hawk channel side, 6’3′. And I could not find any obstruction between marks 1 and 3 as AC described. I did chat with the author of the AC obstruction comment and I am sure he really did hit something at that point, but my guess is, it was some sort of partially sunk log that had since drifted off.
Our first time in Hawk Channel. My two comments; the barrier reef does cut the swell from the east, but doesn’t really help with the wind driven wave. And the number of crab floats will keep you paying close attention to your path through the mine field.
There are not a lot of anchorages with much protection from anything above 15 knots from the east so a run down Hawk channel requires a bit of weather planning. There are only a few bridges that will allow a cross over to the other side of the Keys in order to get out of wind or wave. We anchored one night on the far side of Channel Five Bridge and then went to a marina in Marathon to avoid a cold front.
WE spent a few days at Marathon Marina and Resort, just inside the channel into Boot Key Harbor. A very nice marina that is cruiser friendly and has decent rates for extended stays. Marathon served our purposes well but we had a hard time appreciating the attraction to the mooring field in Boot Key Harbor. Hundreds of boats here, many for the season. Nice weather, good protection and cheap rates, but not particularly attractive. And it is hard to fall in love with the town of Marathon itself.
We did enjoy a tour of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, which is a real working turtle rehabilitation facility. Tours are a little pricey at $25 or so, but since the proceeds are important to funding their work, then maybe not so bad. We also checked out the bars in the area and give two thumbs up to the french fries at Burdine’s.
We next headed to Boca Chica and our marina for a month. Boca Chica is home to Key West Naval station airfield and an MWR marina. The marina was a mess after the last hurricane, with many boats sunk in their slips, but now it is up and running and nearly full. Not all repairs are complete but it is in pretty good shape. Tiki bar, small restaurant, beach, etc. And $1/ft. But only for military.
We are about seven miles from old town Key West, so having a car is helpful. We have been doing the tourist things in town, and it is a touristy town, but it is also a town with plenty of legitimate history if you look past the Tee shirt shops on Duval street. Maybe a dedicated blog post on Key West in the future.
The boys are both here for Christmas so their christmas present was a day of deep sea fishing. Fishing is a big deal here, with hundreds of charter boats available so choosing one boat was a challenge. We did a lot of internet searching but finally settled on a boat we had seen arriving at the dock by our happy hour bar. Among the six boats at the dock, this boat had the most fish. We chatted up the captain and liked him and hired he and his deck hand for the day before christmas. The boat name was Triple Time and I would recommend it. An older boat but a great crew. And of the returning boats, we had the biggest catch.
The catch
We caught all five tuna in about an hour. None before or after. Other boats that missed the window got nothing. Our captain said he had been doing this for 40 years so I am guessing our success was not just luck. The biggest tune weighed in at 25 lbs. We are still eating it.
We would have had one more tuna but a shark beat us to it.
We have had enough weather surprises, mostly disappointments on this trip south, when actual conditions were worse than forecast. Nice to get a pleasant surprise now and then as we did for the trip from Savannah to Cape Canaveral. Overnight we had 10 knots from behind, a 2′ swell and 90% illumination all night. It just does not get any better than that.
Lets back up a bit. Our near term destination for this leg was to get to Key West in time to host our two sons for Christmas. We had five weeks, more than enough time to take it easy and maybe add a few side trips. our plan was to travel offshore whenever weather permitted, limiting it to one overnight at a time. Once we arrived in Florida we no longer had to worry too much about weather as we could always run inside, but we really wanted to avoid the leg between Lake Worth and Miami as the number of bridges can really get to be a pain in the neck.
From Mobjack we we next stopped at Atlantic Yacht Basin. Decent fuel prices, no current, friendly folk. Our favorite activity here is to tour the covered docks. Some beautiful older boats, including a spectacular Trumpy, in pristine condition.
Coinjock may become a tradition. A short run from AYB so we arrived early, which is good here, and enjoyed our prime rib. Coinjock dock hands are famous for stacking boats tightly here, often with overhang fore and aft, so getting here early makes arrival and tie up easier. Best you not be watching as they bring boats in behind you. And also best if you let some of the boats depart first.
From Coinjock we took the “road (somewhat) less traveled” down Pamlico Sound, stopping in Manteo and Ocracoke. Overall, this route is shorter than the ICW, less crowded and with fewer hazzards. The only drawback is that Pamlico Sound can get rather nasty in any significant winds. A 20 knot wind can set up a rather nasty 3 foot, 3 second wave pattern than is uncomfortable even for us. Our route is in blue, the ICW in green.
The Pamlico Sound route
Manteo has a nice small marina, some anchoring opportunities and plenty of land adventure opportunities. The entrance channel is a little tricky, but holds aout 7′ at low tide at the worst spot. Note that sustained east or west winds can lower or raise depths by a foot or two. We rented bikes and went to Ft Raleigh, checked out the Lost Colony and the Alligator River National Wildlife Sanctuary Visitor Center. Oddly, while the actual sanctuary is on the peninsula astride the Alligator River, the Visitor Center is on Roanoke Island. Not sure why except maybe Roanoke is the closest civilization. The town of Manteo is pretty touristy, but still interesting. Enough locals live here to keep most shops and restaurants open even so late in the season.
The local museum is a short walkBrings back memories of me as a kid. Outboards used to be hard to start
Ocracoke is sort of the gateway to the Outer Banks, with large ferries arriving every half hour in season. When we got there, in early November, the ferries were hourly but disgorged fewer travellers, mostly fishermen towing their center console boats from the mainland.
The channel to the basin is well marked and deep but there was some confusion due to recent dredging and changes in bouy locations. As we approached I watched a few ferries come and go on AIS and then adjusted my plotted route to overlay their tracks. That worked out pretty well as some of the route cuts across what the chart shows as shoal, and on the wrong side of a charted red buoy. As it turned out, you can ignore the charts and follow your eyeballs and do just fine. In most of the channel there is plenty of room to pass a ferry going the other way, but there are a few choke points so most cruisers either follow a ferry in or wait till the outgoing ferry exits. You can look up the ferry schedules on line and use that unfo to plan your trip in.
Once inside the basin there is a large area for anchoring and a few marinas. We docked at the NPS docks, which are very nice, and cheap for us. With a NPS pass, the dockage was $37 per night, including power. Unfortunately, quite a bit of dock space is not taken up by a new fast ferry dock located between the two floating docks, preventing access to any of this dock space.
This time of year, many stores and restaurants are closed but there are enough things open to satisfy your urge for fried whatever. We again rented bikes and went out to the shore. Pretty spectacular beaches with hardly any people. We walked a mile or so on one beach and never saw another person. Nice time to visit.
From Pamlico sound we rejoined the ICW and went to Morehead City Yacht Basin, which has become our staging point for running offshore. But this year the weather didn’t play nice so we stayed inside from Morehead City to Bald head. Not many good anchoring spots on this leg if you want to do it with one stop enroute so we booked a slip at Topsail Island Marina in Surf City. So, we are about 10 miles out from the marina, it is 3:30pm and we get a call from the marina on VHF. They tell us they are quite sorry but they had double booked our slip and it was now occupied. too bad, so sorry, good luck finding somewhere else to go. As the Seinfeld skit goes, they new how to take a reservation, they just didn’t know how to keep a reservation.
This put us in a bit of a bind. We called a few other marinas in the general area, but no luck. Searching the charts I found an anchorage that might work if we could get there before dark as we would have to clear the Surf City Bridge and it was on an hourly schedule. We went to mak speed, which for us is not much over 9 knots, and made the 5pm bridge with a few minutes to spare. Another 15 minutes to the anchorage and we had the anchor set by sundown. Not sure what we would have done if that had not worked out. Another boat in a similar situation as ours, who didnt make the bridge, anchored out in the ICW overnight. I cant imagine that working out well. Cruisers own the days on the ICW, tugs and barges own the night.
As it turned out, this was a very nice anchorage and we will use it again, I am sure.
Topsail Sound at Sloop Point Anchorage
Next day we went to Bald Head marina. Well protected and well situated for an offshore run. We rented bicycles and toured the island. From there we made an offshore hop to Savannah, stopping at Thunderbolt marina. The Krispy Cream donuts remain a big hit. We spent a day doing the tourist things, parks, old homes, restaurants, etc. before heading offshore again to Port Canaveral.
One of the many parks in downtown Savannah
As I mentioned ealier, the trp from Savannah to Port Canaveral was about as good as it gets. Calm seas, clear skies and full moon all night. We spent a few nights at Ocean Club marina and took a side trip to tour NASA’s Cape Kennedy site. Expensive at $50/pp ut worth it. takes a full day to see everything. We went on Thanksgiving day and that was a good choice as the place was nearly empty. Maybe 200 people for a place that is set up to handle thousands. Perfect.
Saturn V is a monsterThe shuttle up closethis is a working shuttle landing simulator. I crashed repeatedly. Must be losing my touch
Our next leg is from Port Canaveral to Key West and will be the subject of my next blog entry.
We left Mobjack and headed up the Potomac River, destination Washington DC. There are not that many protected anchorages on the river so settled weather makes the trip easier. We could do it in two long days but decided on two medium days and then a shorter hop in to DC on the third.
Our first night was spent at this anchorage in Breton Bay. Protection from most any direction can be found on one shore or the other. we had 15G20kn from the south and were quite comfortable.
Fairfiew Beach anchorage
This turned out to be a nice spot for our second night but it took a while to get a good anchor set. We first tried a few hundred yards east, just above the eastern AC marker. We were apparently on top of an oyster bed as the anchor dragged noisily across the bottom with the chain jumping on the roller. We kept moving west and tried three more times before finding classic Chesapeake mud. Feeling a little cautious, I put out much more chin than needed for conditions and paid the price in the morning washing all the mud off. Less than a knot of current.
The trip up the Potomac was mostly pleasant. Deep water, well marked and very little traffic. But the floating debris was a challenge. Large areas completely full of tree branches, large limbs and an occasional dead head. We hit a few that we never saw. No damge but it forced us to be on guard for the entire trip.
In DC we stayed at Capital Yacht Club. In the picture it is the large marina in the center. To the east is the former Gangplank Marina, now called the Wharf or Wharf Gangplank. To the west, empty in this photo, is the other half of the Wharf marina and is a new addition to the waterfront. The former Gangplank marina is now mostly local boats and the transients are put in the new Wharf Marina.
Between the two options, Capital Yacht Club is a much better deal. Cheaper, friendlier, quieter and good security. That said, a little harder to find a slip on short notice. We were on a Tee head and had very little trouble with being waked. The ferry traffic was constant but they stayed well clear and were slow. The noise came from the helicopters flying the low level route up the river. In my flying days I used to run these very routes. Max altitude is 200 feet. I must have made the trip a dozen times. We called it “training”. If we could have sold tickets I would be rich.
We were treated to quite a sight one morning. This is the Draken, a Viking replica ship on world tour. A friend of ours was crew on the Draken for her maiden crossing of the Atlantic so it was a treat to see her. The Draken was in Mystic when we were there this summer but all closed up. In DC we were able to tour her. A fascinating juxtapositioning of the traditional Viking sailing vessel and modern technology; a wood planked hull with radar and a sat phone. But the safety devices take nothing from the challenges and hardships involved in sailing such a vessel across the atlantic.
I used to live and work in Southeast DC. Lisa is quick to remind me just how long ago that was. Regardless, the waterfront has changed. Now the waterfront is all high rise condos, expensive restaurants and hotels. Incongruously, the small fish market has changed little from when I lived there.
Getting around has improved significantly since my days. A free shuttle gets you from the wharf to the Smithsonian, Uber and Lyft are everywhere and the subway is great. All in all, a great city to visit. Surprise of the trip? A tour of the Library of Congress. Much more than a library, so check it out if you are in town
Have been a bit slow to update of late. We are currently at Zimmerman Marine on the East River in Mobjack Bay. Getting a little warranty work completed before we head off to wherever.
By the way, the current location button isnt working just now. It is tied to our Iridium sat phone and we have not energized the SIM card as of yet. Soon.
Nothing particularly impressive to report. East river was not too busy. We transited on a weekend (bad) but early in the morning (less bad). Jersey coast overnight was benign and we hit the current pretty well so were able to make it from Port Washington to Fairview Marina just south of Baltimore in one overnight.
Krogen Rendezvous in Solomons was fun, as usual. We then took a trip up the Potomac to DC. The trip up the river was fine, but the amount of debris in the river was bothersome. We only hit the logs we couldn’t see. And there were plenty of them.
We spent a week at Capital Yacht Club in the Washington Channel. A very nice facility with very friendly staff, members and fellow cruisers. Wore ourselves out museum hopping. The highlight was the Library of Congress. Who knew?
Our son, Evan and his girl friend spent a day with us and we enjoyed playing tourist. Attended a gala at the Kennedy center, the Mark Twain award for comedy being awarded to Julia Louise Dreyfus. Toasts from the likes of Steven Colbert, Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, etc.
The trip south on the Potomac was much better as most of the debris was blown out of the river by the cold fronts that passed through while we were snug in our slip in DC.
Had occasion to anchor out a number of times in the Chesapeake, always a treat. Now at Zimmerman, we hope to leave tomorrow morning and go as least as far as Norfolk and Mile 1 of the ICW. Plan is to get to Cape Fear, then wait for a window for an overnight run to Charleston. We will keep you posted.
We anchor out a lot and I hate running the genset so anything I can do to reduce our power requirements is of interest to me. The first step in reducing power is determining where the power is going. One can get an approximate measure of power draw by watching the panel and turning devices on and off. That works OK for lights and pumps, etc, but it gets a little more difficult for refrigeration systems that cycle on and off.
A more accurate approach to measuring current draw is to install a plug-in meter between the outlet and the appliance. Some of the meters available to consumers are pretty sophisticated, allowing for the download of data to a computer for analysis. But if you cannot easily reach an AC outlet, or the system you want to monitor is hard-wired, be it AC or DC, then the options for monitoring consumption over extended time periods are fewer.
. Our fridge and freezer are stand-alone AC powered Sub-Zero drawer systems. They are installed such that the wiring is inaccessible. So I went off in search of a device that could record current draw by accessing the wiring within the electrical panel. I found a device at EKM Metering, which supplies commercial grade systems to industry. Overkill for my little project but all I could find.
I wired this device into my electrical panel. The first time I did it for the fridge and it took my two hours. The instructions are fine but written for an electrician, which I am not. When I did it again for the freezer it only took 15 minutes. The device, peripherals and software costs about $300. It connects to a laptop via USB and provides real time monitoring to whatever level of detail you select. Below is a screen shot of the real-time data showing the power draw as the freezer cycles on and off.
The data can be downloaded to excel for analysis. I ran the system for 24 hours for the fridge and again for the freezer.
Here is a portion of the data available from the device. I captured a reading every 60 seconds. To analyze the data I used the number of minutes the system was running and the amp draw while running.
Both compressors cycle on every 15-20 minutes and run for 12-15 minutes. The freezer runs more often and draws a little more when it does run. I was pleasantly surprised that they drew as little power as they did, at least when it is cool outside. I will run the test again in the Bahamas where the temperatures are in the low 80’s.
At anchor in the Bahamas we consume approximately 250 amps per day. Of that, the combined draw of the fridge and freezer accounts for 38 amps (measured here in cool RI). My guess is, in the Bahamas the fridge/freezer draw will be double that or 76A. If that is close, then I will have to figure out where all the other current is flowing.
We are currently hauled at Bristol Marine in Somerset MA having a lightning protection, or more accurately, a lightning survival system installed.
A little background here. In our sailing days we encountered lightning more often than I would like, usually when crossing the gulf stream. We were never hit although on one particularly unpleasant night we had multiple lightning strikes to the water within yards of our sailboat.
Getting hit by lighting on any boat while at sea could be disastrous. people can die and boats can sink from all the holes blown out at and below the waterline as the current passes through the boat and into the water. But the more likely result of a strike at sea would be the loss of all electronics. If that happened to me while on a sailboat I would be pretty confident I coud sail to the nearest port with no more than a hand-held compass and a paper chart. But the key word here is “sail”, meaning I could keep moving in the general direction of land.
For me, the biggest impact of moving from sail to power is the dependence on the continuous operation of multiple boat systems; electronically controlled propulsion, electric throttle controls, electrically managed hydraulic stabilizers, etc. If we were to receive a lightning strike at sea it could be rather devastating. No “sailing” to the nearest port, just bobbing around at the mercy of the sea until rescued. By who?
When we brought the boat up from Florida last spring we stayed in the gulf stream for four days. And that is just asking to be hit by lightning! As it turned out, we only encountered one active convective storm and we were able to avoid it. But I know from my sailing days that is not always possible. Once clear of the storm I got to asking myself just what we would do if we did get a strike that knocked out most of our systems. I realized that we were not prepared for this. So we had a few choices; stay inland, continue our offshore runs and take our chances, or find some way to better prepare and protect the boat in case of a lightning strike at sea.
We chose option three and have made two significant changes to the boat. First, we added a sea anchor to our suite of safety gear. If we were to loose engine power we can now at least keep the boat to weather until help arrives. And we are adding a lightning protection system.
My research into the subject of lightning protection for boats identified a few things. One, protection systems are as much art as science, and two, the currently recommended systems consisting of a lightning rod on the mast and grounding cables to a below waterline plate, don’t provide the sort of protection for on-board electronics that I was looking for. Most lightning strikes, understandably, happen in marinas. And it is beneficial to try and reduce the amount of damage caused by such strikes. Basic lightning protection systems probably accomplish this. But my goal is not to reduce the cost of repairs after a strike in a marina, I have insurance for that. I am looking for a system that will accept a strike at sea and give my a chance of continuing to run.
Protecting a sailboat versus a power boat provides some different challenges. Sailboats are natural lightning rods. They are also natural Faraday cages if all the standing rigging is tied into a grounding system. This can at least provide a level of protection for the occupants, if not for the electrical systems. Our trawler has a short mast, but from a lightning’s-eye view, our entire boat is one big path to ground. We have at least 12 antennas outside the hull, any of which is fair game. A lightning survival system for us keeps the voltage spike near the outer hull and provides multiple low-impedance routes to sea.
We are working with Dr. Ewen Thomson of Marine Lightning Protection, Inc. He is providing the overall design approach and advising on the details as I incorporate the design goals within the confines of an already built boat. I don’t think there is anyone who knows as much about marine lightning protection as Ewen so it has been fun to work with him. More on all this in the future
This is one of the early sketches we worked from. The design we are installing has evolved from this.
As the project progresses I will go into more detail on the design and installation process. Meanwhile, I need to get back to stringing wire in very small spaces.
Many years ago we took the kids to Mystic Seaport Museum and had a great time. We went by land but agreed that it would be much more fun by boat. At the time I considered the route in, with a long channel and multiple bridges, to be a bit intimidating and the nightly slip fees were more than we could handle.
After traveling the ICW the Mystic river no longer looked so intimidating and compared to other dockage fees near-by (try Sag Harbor at $7/ft) Mystic Seaport rates didn’t look so bad. ($3.25/ft if you become a member). We saw a nice weather window in late May and knowing we would be there well before the crowds so we headed off from our berth in Newport,RI for a few days at the seaport. What follows in this post is a discussion of the navigation into the seaport and highlights of what we saw when we were there, along with a few recommendations for others who might be considering taking their boats in.
Navigation: Mystic Seaport is at the northern most point of the navigable portion of the Mystic River. The entrance to the dredged channel is on the north side of Fishers Island Sound. The channel is well-marked and recently dredged. We never saw less than 12′ at low tide. The channel is lined with marinas and mooring fields and I would expect it to be quite busy during the summer. If you check Active Captain you will see a reference to an obstruction just outside the channel about mid-way up the river. It is really there, but well off the east edge of the channel.
Approach to Mystic River
At the north end of the river you will encounter two bridges, Mystic River Rail, and just past it, Mystic River Highway. The rail bridge is on request, and the highway bridge on a schedule, at 20 minutes before the hour. The rail bridge may or may not be open when you arrive, but call regardless. The track is busy during the week, not so much on weekends.
River detail with rail and highway bridges
Both bridges monitor Ch 13 so they hear you calling either bridge, but you will need to talk to both tenders.
Mystic railroad Bridge
Mystic River Highway Bridge
Krogen 52 Privateer at the dock
Once past the highway bridge you can talk with the dockmaster at the seaport and he will guide you to your dockage. There are multiple areas for docking, mostly all fixed. Some are actual docks, where we were, and some are sea walls. All have power and water and are in good condition. They provide fender boards if you need them.
Dockage is $4.50/ft for non-members and $3.25 for members. Mariner membership is $175. You can do the math, but for us, on a 55′ boat staying 3 nights, it was about a wash to join and get the lower rate, along with other benefits. If you stay 4 nights, the 5th is free, but the weather was about to turn so we stayed 3 nights.
The boats: If you like boats and are interested in our maritime history, then you will enjoy Mystic Seaport. Here are a few pictures of boats that I hope you will enjoy.
Restored rowing and sailing dinghys
Henry Morgan
The Charles W. Morgan was a whaler in her time and is now one of the oldest tall ships still sailing. Fully restored by the shipyard, she last sailed in 2014. If they can collect enough money, she will sail again soon. (May I suggest reading, “In the Heart of the Sea, The Tragedy of the Whaling Ship Essex” by Nathaniel Philbrick. A facinating true story)
The Draken Harald
This reproduction of a Viking ship sailed across from Europe with a young friend of ours as crew. There is also a Viking exhibit that covers the Viking exploration of North America long before Columbus.
Hinkley Picnic boat
Ok, not part of the museum, but with her beautiful lines, might be there some day.
Another classic
A quiz for wooden boat lovers. Name her designer?
The Museum: The museum is a mix of exhibits demonstrations and working restorations. I will just describe a few here:
Watching the sails unfurled on the Henry Morgan was fun. After reading all of the Master and Commander series, it was enlightening to see how it is actually done. Of course this demonstration was while the ship was in port. I couldn’t imagine being aloft in a blow doing this sort of work. I like my electric winches and roller furling.
Sailors in those days received their first month’s salary in advance and had to spend it before leaving port on essential goods for the trip. They then spent the first month aboard broke. At the end of the month, on payday, they celebrated by “flogging the dead horse”. The scene was reenacted for us by the staff. The school kids got a kick out of seeing the “dead horse” dropped from the yard-arm into te sea.
the “dead horse” splashes into the bay
So maybe cleaning fish is not so interesting. But how people used to prep and salt cod is a significant part of our heritage. For many folks, it was the only source of protein in the winter. Salted cod lasted for years, looked like shoe leather, and tasted about the same. Still some dishes made from it today.
cod cleaning and prep
Tricky getting the last stave in place before the whole barrel comes apart. The cooper was one of the higher paid crew on a whaling boat. The blubber was boiled and the oil transferred to barrels for storage below deck. On the first voyage of the Morgan she returned after three years with a full hold of oil. The gross was $57,000. The owners got 2/3rds of that amount, the captain 1/12th, the cabin boy, 1/400th.
Barrel construction
The Mayflower II was built as a replica in the 1950’s and is in the restoration yard at Mystic.
Mayflower II
Mayflower II receiving new planks
This next image gives you an idea of the work ahead of them. This section of the transom is rotted out and will be replaced with new white oak members.
Mayflower II transom section
Where are we?:
It is easy to forget how easy navigation is these days. After a visit to the ship’s instruments shop in Mystic I can begin to appreciate the skills and the daring of these sailors.
a log, or speed measuring tool
Dragging this behind the ship to determine its speed was a significant improvement over the chip log, just a drag device and a long line with “knots” tied into it. Not sure the paddle wheel log on our boat is much of an improvement. It rarely works.
Determining latitude with a sextant is not so difficult. A good sun shot will do. But to get longitude, sailors needed speed and time data, along with a noon shot of the sun. Not always easy. I will stick with my GPS.
By the afternoon of our second day we were both a bit tired so decided to take a tour of the river on the restored Sabino. One of the few coal-fired passenger vessels still operating. Captain Dave welcomed us aboard. For you Krogen folks reading this, Captain Dave is also captain of the Krogen, Calypso, which docks in Mystic in the summer and often in Stuart in the winter.
The Sabino
The engine room of Sabino is a piece of art. The engineer feeds the coal and oils the pistons. In the picture below he is looking at his watch, timing how often he oils the crankshaft bearins, I would guess.
If you want the full experience, here is a video of the engine in operation:
When we came up the river we had to wait a bit for the bridge. Even with twin engines and bow and stern thrusters, I was busy dealing with the tight quarters, the wind and the current. Captain Dave had only one steam-powered engine capable of maybe three knots. With no thrusters and no real throttle, he had to call down to the engine room for reverse, he calmly negotiated bridges and traffic and made it look easy. I was impressed!
Notes to future visitors: Coming by boat is a special treat. You get to walk around the grounds when the park is closed to all other visitors. Makes for special memories. If you can,
Morning before opening
come in the off season, before Memorial day or after Labor Day. If not, try for weekdays. Both the museum and the river can get pretty busy on summer weekends.
We got quite lucky with the weather and were able to make it non-stop from Florida to Newport. We went out at Cape Canaveral inlet on Thursday, 10 May at noon and arrived in Newport at midnight on Monday the 14th. In summary, 978 offshore miles in 108 hours for an average Speed over Ground (SOG) of 9.1 knots with an average through the water speed of 7.5. Highest sustained speed was11.5 knots, thanks to stream plus tail wind. Details and highlights follow:
(note: Privateer is a Krogen 52 trawler)
Planning phase: I plotted a route that stayed in the gulf stream (GS)as long as possible, entering just off the Florida coast and exiting just north of Hatteras. I had a few options planned for our offshore launch point once leaving Stuart, depending on weather. The sooner we could exit, the better use of the GS boost. I planned speeds based on estimated GS current in various legs and came up with 108 hours or 4.5 days. I used 1900 RPM and 7.5 knots speed through the water to get an estimated 9.1 knots SOG. This is our route superimposed over the GS. The GS file comes from the Navy. Also, just before we left, Chris Parker sent out cGS oordinates for west, east and centerline. I used these coordinates to update our route. We were able to stay in the stream until just north of Hatteras. While in the stream we adjusted for max speed and centerline by watching our crab angle. I estimate the GS speed between 2 and 3.5 knots. I plotted us to catch the west side of the large warm eddy off Cape May. We never saw a boost from it.
Image of the GS with our route superimposed
Weather forecast at departure: Using a mix of NOAA, Predict Wind, Chris Parker and Windy TV, it looked to be high probability to make it as far as Morehead City and 75% that we could round Hatteras but only 50/50 that we could pass Norfolk or Cape May due to a front offering 20-25 knots from the NE with worst case seas at 4-6′ on the nose. Over the previous 3-4 days the forecast between Florida and Morehead City remained fairly consistent, but the forecasts for the area north of Norfolk changed considerably every time i looked at it.
For departure, the weather did not favor entering the stream at Stuart, 10-15G20 from the NE would stack up waves on the nose. By Thursday the winds were predicted to clock to east, leaving a 2-3′ swell from the NE. Still not optimal for the GS, but manageable for a day as winds were predicted to clock to the SE, then SW with seas following around as well.
Day 1: We left Stuart at 0730 on Wednesday and stayed in the ICW to Melbourne where we anchored and enjoyed a quiet evening.
Day 2: Departed the anchorage at 0700 and followed the ICW to the NASA causeway, the NASA lock and the Cape Canaveral inlet. No issues here although the locking process is rather slow. We left the inlet at noon. We reached the stream a few hours later. Best description would be lumpy and confused. Mildly uncomfortable in the pilot house, fine below.
About 50 miles out I went below to do an engine check. When I got to the lazarette I happened to lift the floorboard to check the sump. About 2 cups of hydraulic oil. Not good. Loosing hydraulics would mean loosing the stabilizers which would mean an uncomfortable return to the nearest port, in this case, from where we left at Cape Canaveral. I cleaned up the mess and then watched for the leak to find its way to the sump. No more hydraulic oil. My first thought was, Yay! it fixed itself. But then I thought better and realized that never happens so continued the search. I finally found a leaky hydraulic hose leading to the servo for the stern thruster, which we had used in the lock but was now turned off. With the thrusters disabled from the pilot house there was no flow to the servo and therefore no leak. We were good to go.
Just as I was preparing to exit, I looked up at the flow meter for the hydraulic cooling water pump. Stopped! It was running fine just minutes before. I checked the hydraulic oil temp. and it was only slightly elevated. I had no idea how fast the temp would rise without water flowing through the heat exchanger but my first thought was that we would never make it back to Canaveral before it overheated. I just couldn’t believe that in the course of ten minutes I would face two failures that would force a return to port.
But wait! just two days before we left Stuart I had bought a back up cooling water pump for just such an occasion. The installed pump that failed was hydraulically driven, but I had purchased an electrically driven pump to make it easier to swap. I had also mounted the pump on a board and pre-attached a set of hoses. It took all of about five minutes to pull the hoses from the failed pump, attach the hoses from the new pump and plug it in. (Thankyou Kadey Krogen for putting 110v electrical sockets throughout the below decks areas.) I stayed below to watch the temp gauge and within a few minutes it began to drop back down. Here is a picture of the set-up:
Back-up water pump in action
So a couple of incredibly lucky happenstances, First, I was in the lazarette at exactly the time the pump failed, and second, after running the boat for nearly two years without a back-up pump I had just bought and configured the back-up. How about that for coincidence? When I got to Newport I removed the hyd. pump. Shaft had sheared at the impeller. No idea why. New pump in the mail.
Sheared shaft on impeller
Days 2 and 3: From the Florida-Georgia border, where the winds and seas settled down, to Hatteras, the weather and the ride were great. I was looking at buoy reports ahead of us and could see the wave heights coming down as we approached. We were averaging over 10 knots in the GS, with occasional bumps to 11.
Your Navy is out there: On Saturday night we were off Norfolk about 50 miles. Robin was on watch and called me up because a target ahead just didn’t look right. When I came up and looked, I had to agree. The target was reporting on AIS as “US Government Vessel”. Surrounding it were radar returns that looked like bees buzzing a hive. Anywhere from two to 6 returns at a time. Not sure what we were looking at, we adjusted course to create a two-mile point of closest approach. Just then we got a call from the vessel, this time identified as a “Warship”. Apparently two miles was not enough and the caller said three was the minimum.
By now we figured out that this was an aircraft carrier doing night carrier operations training and the “bees” were jets in the traffic pattern. Even from three miles out it was quite a sight. When we passed under the approach pattern the noise was impressive. Maybe a common occurence for folks who cruise these waters regularly, but for us it was exceptional.
Saturday Night: After the aircraft carrier show it was time to re-look the weather forecast for the final leg of the trip. We still had 10-15 knots out of the SW, down from the 15-20 knots earlier that day. Seas were down from 4-6′ to less than 3′. The forecast was for the winds to go Light and Variable as we passed through the trough, then come back from the NE on the back side of the front. The various forecast tools predicted a worst case of 15-20 knots from the NE and 5′ seas, but the average of all the forecasts came to 10-15G20 and seas 3-5′. all this for no more than 8-10 hours before reverting to S again. This was our last opportunity to bail out, and Cape May would be the landing point. Although Krogens don’t like short period head seas, we figured we could tough it out for a day or so since we could see the end of it. Did I mention the prediction for fog and a “chance of thunderstorms”?
Early Sunday Morning: I took over from Al at 0300 as we watched a show of lightning in the distance off the starboard bow. An hour in to my shift the band of lightning had expanded and intensified. The night skies were constantly lit up across the entire sky in front of me. The only thing I hate more than fog is lightning. Getting hit by lightning in a sailboat is not good. Could make for sailing with no electrical capability at all. But for a trawler, getting hit by lightning most likely will knock out the electronic engine controls. Dead in the water. (note to self: come up with some sort of plan to deal with this)
We have Serius Weather on the boat, which is not all that great, but it does provide a couple of valuable features. One is, we can get any NOAA text forecast. And two, we can get a convective activity overlay derived from NOAA’s lightening tracker. Since this data updates every 5 minutes or so I was able to track the storm even 50 miles out. I could see the west end of the storm lifting to the northeast so adjusted our course 30 degrees east to cut around the corner. (if you look at our track you can see the jog) After running this way for half an hour or so I was able to derive a more accurate track for the storm system and realized that I could return to course and the storm would pass to the east before I got to it. Within a couple of hours the storm had pretty much worn itself out and by sunrise the skies were clearing.
Day 4: By Sunday we had passed through the front and were facing 10-15G20 from the NE. This was kicking up a 3-4′ wind driven, short period wave on the nose. About the worst possible combination for this boat. Good news was, the prediction was that this would last only 8-12 hours. The ride wasn’t that bad but about every 5 minutes or so the wave pattern would lift the stern and drop the bow at the same time and she would bury herself in the next wave. A little wet and rather an unpleasant ride. We slowed to about six knots and the ride improved. That was our speed for the ext 12 hours which sort of messed up our average speed, taking us from an estimated 9.5 knots down to the actual 9 knots. It also put us back about four hours on our arrival time, eliminating any chance of arriving in Newport before dark.
I had been watching this weather for a week or so. Every day the forecast changed. On the day we left the forecast for Sunday when I estimated our position to be 150 miles south of Block Island , the forecast looked like this:
25-30 knots from the NE
This forecast predicted seas at 6-8′ from the SE, which might have motivated me to divert. As we left all I could hope for is yet another significant change in the forecast. I was checking this front daily as we headed north. And every day it changed from Go to No-Go. Luckily, by Sunday morning the forecast looked like this. Note that the winds are still strong like the week old forecast, but in the opposite direction. The arrow represents our projected location at the valid time of the forecast:
Frontal Passage wind Forecast for Sunday Morning
By noon on Sunday things were looking even better:
Sunday mid-day forecast with our projected location for the valid time of the forecast
By Sunday evening the forecast continued to improve for the area south of Long Island. It appeared we would be out of the adverse winds and seas by some time late Sunday or early Monday. Note that the southerlies we had passed through on Saturday had strengthened as part of a stationary front to our south. This front slid north but at a speed less than ours. Just good we got passed Hatteras when we did:
Things that go bump in the night: There are nets and traps of all sorts along this route. In the GS we saw many fishing buoys riding the current. Some of them transmitted an AIS signal with a name and their battery voltage. Apparently a mother ship tended the buoys and replaced the batteries. And also apparent, she was behind in her duties. We saw many buoys that were no longer transmitting. No idea how many we passed after nightfall. I wonder if there is any controlling government body that regulates this? Or can just anyone throw out traps? Who knows what the safe distance might be.
A 100 miles south of Long Island I once again (been here often) crossed over strings of buoys apparently holding up nets since they run in a long line. I have always assumed I could pass between them, but thats just a guess. So far I have never fouled on anything. These buoys have radar reflectors so are actually easier to see at night. Here is a shot of our radar showing the returns. Sorry about all the reflections.
a two mile long string of buoys supporting fishing nets
Day 5: By Monday morning the wind and seas had subsided and we were back up to 1900 rpm and 7.5 knots. That put our arrival time at about midnight. Weather predictions for fog were dropped from the NOAA text and things were looking good. I don’t like arriving in port at night, and really don’t like doing it in fog, so the improved forecast was reassuring. Not!
We passed Block island around 8 pm, too late to divert and anchor in daylight so pressed on for Newport. There are a few anchoring options short of our marina so I had some options if I decided not to go all the way into the marina. Our marina, Coasters Harbor Island Marina at the Navy base, is just past the Pell Bridge. The basin itself has some ambient light but the path in is rather convoluted, with some rock ledges, unlit boundary markers, crab pots and the like.
Arrival: By 10pm we could see the lighting on the Pell bridge. And then the bridge disappeared completely in the fog. One by one all of the shore lights went out, followed by the lighted navigation buoys. Even the one just a 1/4 mile away. This was just the double whammy of night and fog I was trying to avoid.
Short of Newport harbor itself, there is nowhere to anchor, except Point Judith harbor of refuge. Not a bad option but requires passing through a narrow breakwall and then sorting out anchoring room with other anchored boats. At night and in the fog. Short of going all the way to the marina, the anchoring options were; off Goat Island which is pretty deep and not protected from the 20 knot southerlies we were seeing,and a spot just past the Pell bridge and to the left. Our marina is to the right. The approach to the marina is from the left, under the bridge and between “GR” red/green buoy and “Green C7”. Our slip for the night was the deepest “T” head.
Coasters Harbor Island Marina. US Navy Support Base in Newport
I decided that we would go anchor just past the bridge and come over to the marina in the morning. Using radar and nav software, coming up into Newport harbor was not too bad. When we got within a 100 yards or so of the channel markers their light would penetrate the fog in a reassuring sort of way. Passing under the bridge was eerie in that the reflected down lighting from the street above created a dark wall in the fog beyond the bridge. It looked pretty solid to me. With crew out on the bridge we crept forward.
Once under the bridge I was prepared to turn left to the anchorage but I could see the lights of the buildings at the marina, as well as the single green channel marker at the entrance to the turning basin. Might as well go in. We had one crew backing me up on nav and radar and another with a search light picking up the bouys marking the reefs and the crab pots. I have been in and out here dozens of times, but it had been nine months since we had left so I was a little concerned about remembering all the turns. But at 2 knots we were able to work our way in with enough visibility, knowing we would be the only ones out here.
At the dock we received a less than warm welcome from a couple of security guards. This is a secure facility and they had no way of knowing who we were. Few boats come in here after dark, let alone at midnight in the fog. But once they saw some ID they were fine.
Tied up at just past midnight, we broke out the Privateer label special rum and toasted a great ride north.
Many thanks to my crew, Alan Williams and Robin Ricca.
A note on sources of weather data before and during the trip: Prior to departure I had all the bandwidth I needed for forecasts. About seven days out is as far as most forecasts go. GRIBS are available out seven days, but not really worth much. NOAA text forecasts are usually just five days. Big picture NOAA weather charts help somewhat as major fronts can be observed as the cross the US from west to east.
Since the trip was planned for five days, the forecasts revealed themselves as the departure date approached. But it wasn’t until the day of departure that I could see much on weather near our arrival area five days out.
Offshore I had a number of ways of getting weather. Sirius satellite weather provided access to all NOAA text and thunderstorm tracking. But the GRIB files only go out 48 hours. Weathernet by Ocens uses our Iridium Go to provide most any NOAA product to include all text files, GRIBS, graphical charts and buoy reports. A little clumsy but the only app I know of that can do all this. Getting buoy reports of winds and sea states 100 miles ahead was invaluable.
The Predict Wind app also interfaces with the Iridium Go and provides GRIP reports from US and Euro models as well as their proprietary models. For this trip I found the US model, GFS, to be the most accurate, but that has not always been the case in the past. Predict Wind is usefull because it moves a boat symbol along the projected track in conjusction with time so if I am looking at GRIBS three days out I can see about where the boat will be.
Last but not least is the Chris Parker daily email, also received via the Iridium GO. These reports are detailed and the most accurate I have ever used. He adds an experienced human to interpret multiple models as well as all the NOAA forecasts. If I had only one source of weather it would be the Chris Parker reports. For the US east coast, he organizes the wind and seas forecasts to align with a run up the coast; Saturday off Hatteras then Sunday off Cape May, for example. He also includes sea state, wave direction and wave period. All valuable for determining g0o, no-go decisions.
Finishing up maintenance tasks at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart. Now on a road trip to Tallahassee to attend Grayson’s graduation from FSU. Back to Stuart on Monday and hoping to launch on 9 May.
I would like to make the entire trip on the outside. 5 days and done. To that end, Lisa will drop out and a couple of friends will come aboard. Lisa is good for one or two nights out in settled weather but is not fond of bouncing around in the Gulf Stream at night. Better she let us do this and relieve me of having to duck in to port before I might otherwise.
I will update this post every day or two and see how the weather evolves over time.
4 May Look:
As the departure date approaches, I can begin to see how the weather is going to play. The Florida coastal weather will likely force us into the ICW if we leave on Wednesday, or we can delay till Thursday and go out. Wednesday Winds N15G20kns with seas 5′ from NE. Not the conditions I would choose for a Gulf Stream ride. Would even make exiting St. Lucie inlet a bit dicey. But the 9th is still a ways off and the forecast models are not particularly accurate with a series of troughs in the area.
By Saturday, 12 May the winds up around Hatteras turn North, which would force us in to Morehead City if we do go out. But if we wait till Thursday we will not be able to get into Morehead City before the winds shift North.
If we leave Wednesday and go up the ICW, we will stay in the ICW till St. Augustine or Jax. That would be three days; Stuart, Melbourne, Jax. Then out.
Lets give this a day or two and see what develops.
5 May look
What a difference a day makes. On our departure date, 9 May, the winds are still a bit contrary to the stream, but at 11 knots, tolerable.
Meanwhile, we are just now getting the NOAA coastal forecast for Wednesday, 9 May. This is a snippet for 20 miles out:
Tuesday
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Chance of showers.
Tuesday Night
Northeast winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Chance of showers.
Wednesday
Northeast winds 10 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Slight chance of showers.
Along the coast the seas are a little better:
Wednesday
Northeast winds 10 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Slight chance of showers.
This is about my max for wind opposing current in the stream. And I don’t like the seas. But the seas referenced in the NOAA forecast are for the swell from the east, across our beam,not the wind driven wave from the NE, but NOAA doesn’t bother with those details. Regardless of these hair splitting issues, it will still be rather uncomfortable on Wednesday if the seas really are 5′. I will watch this closely.
But by the next day, everything clocks to south of east.
After this, the weather stays mostly favorable. Some stronger winds and higher seas, but from behind us, plus one mild trough to pass under off Hatteras, of course. All in all, doable. But I am sure this will all change before we leave.
6 May Look
Some improvement here and there. WindyTV shows a little less wind on the afternoon of Day 1 off Canaveral. This is probably the roughest sea state as it is wind opposing current in the stream. 10-15kts from ENE, not too bad.
The NOAA coastal is a bit better as well. A few 3’s and no 5’s:
Wednesday
Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet.
Wednesday Night
East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet.
Thursday
East winds 10 knots. Seas 4 feet.
Thursday Night
East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet.
Friday
East winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet.
Once these seas settle down we are OK till N of Hatteras, then some stronger winds override us from the south. A sleigh ride to the finish.
So at this point I am leaning towards going out immediately at St. Lucie (Stuart). Should be somewhat uncomfortable till Thursday morning, but then OK from there. Still a few days to let all this settle out, but so far, I like the trend.
8 May look
Looks good. initially lumpy in the stream off Florida, then goes L&V near Georgia. Short busts of N wind but nothing significant till we get near Long Island Saturday night and Sunday. This weather event is from the south, so no big deal, but it is arriving sooner and trend shows it getting stronger so will have to watch closely.
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