SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Maiden Voyage Newbie Trainwreck

12K views 77 replies 38 participants last post by  Ulladh 
#1 ·
Good Evening Sailnetters,

I'm sure this sorta post is common, but I feel compelled to document the experience for any others total newcomers. :D

I had never sailed or been aboard anything bigger than a 16' powerboat aside from riding along on the delivery of my 74 C&C 30. I had read EVERYTHING, watched every youtube video. Fiance and I set out this afternoon for our maiden voyage and found out just how unprepared we were.

We had mapped a route, bought the chart, downloaded the nav app, prepped the sails, changed the oil, practiced tying knots at home and mentally rehearsed tacking, jibing, reefing.. you name it. I had memorized the proper mayday call and even new how to communicate with oncoming ships.. "got you on my one (or two)"

If this sounds like you, when you get out on the boat and you face two modest issues at one time, be prepared to instantly forget everything you ever learned... lol.

In retrospect, our decision to spend a couple hours tooling around the delaware river, as opposed to crossing the C&D canal into the Chesapeake, was ill advised. It wasn't just the commercial traffic. There were these strange crane boats, huge barges and tugs towing yellow bouys 500 yards in trail. They all seemed to converge on our position when the wind jumped up from 17 to 25+ knots. The freshened wind only lasted a half hour, but it timed itself to hit during a needed course change and a supertanker!

The real pucker moment came when we had to head dead into a 20 knot wind to stay in the channel to get back. The engine decides 1/4 throttle was its new max and any attempt to adjust up or down would stall it.

The first time ever on a sailboat, doesn't know the bow from the stern, thinks the engine has a pilot light (not kidding) fiance comes up hugely clutch and correctly diagnoses the problem as the "light" pushbotten at the controls for the atomic four having been pushed in accidentally. Pulls it out, problem solved. She also "found" the main halyard, which had been clipped to the toe rail so close to the starboard shroud that it was indistinguishable.

Docking was going so well... pulled off a standing turn and was inching in nice and parallel. We're getting just a little close to another boat and people are watching from shore. Two concurrent issues, my brain shorts out. I literally can't remember reverse from forward. It's all going wrong... or is it. Happily, we nestled in nice n neat.

We got it tied up, sail flaked. With time to think, we even coiled the lines nicely for the first ever attempts.

We're alive, boat is safe, and we're much wiser.
Hallelujah! I'll be realizing lessons learned for days, but for starters, two rookies does not a crew make. One more person, even another noob, would have made all the difference. Handheld vhf is a must. The one in the cabin does no good with one person at the helm and another chained to the sheets. Smartphone apps are too small. At least get a tablet and mount it somewhere so you have both hands free.

I'd also err towards early morning than flirt with dusk. We had an hour before sunset when we got back, but the tankers didn't have their lights on yet and discerning their bearing in waning light was very difficult.

Look forward to posting about our next voyage once we find someone more experienced to come along. Not tempting fate like that again!

Beej
 
See less See more
#35 ·
Sailing on San Francisco Bay, one thing I learned really quickly was to reef early and ALWAYS be ready to let the main sheet go on an instants notice. Big gust of wind hits, another boat coming at you on the windward side, big weather helm, can’t reach the main sheet, thought I was going to break the tiller off, massive pucker. Only happened once.

As mentioned, if you can take experienced help along for a while, that would help.

Paul T
 
#41 ·
great job Beej ,

Was not to long ago I got my first run at the sailing big boats. I had some post from the pucker time I had in the marina trying to birth my CYC 30 MK1 after a day.

i's now in my 4th season and having a time of my life.
Goos luck and hang in there. BTW I keep a handheld at the helm but I just installed the The Matrix AIS/GPS (GX2200) by standard horizon. Gives me confort in kn owing what other comercial boats are out there in the dark. It sends a alarm when one ig heading my way. It does a lot more. I have been teaching my wife how to call for help just incase of stroke / heart attack or overboard condition.

have fun. Sounds like you care about your safety and the safety of others you will do fine. Here is a link to some of my first post.

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/learning-sail/90125-close-quarter-maneuvering-swift-current.html
 
#42 ·
My world is so very different I have a hard time imagining what it must be like for newbies. While I have very limited experience on 20+ boats, I've been sailing dingies for more than 40 years. My take is utterly different.

I salute those of you willing to jump into this hobby and try something so utterly new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BeejDeC
#43 ·
That's an awesome post ltgoshen. Does my heart good to hear it can happen to the best of us. I was actually pretty proud of the little lady and I. We got out there, sailed for a couple hours, hit nearly 7 knots (probably some current involved) and got back.

I felt like a bit of a cheater motoring the last 45%, but those gusts had really frayed our nerves and I thought I had fouled the jub-furler. Turns out I tried to unfurl from the wrong side after using it and then furling in higher winds. There was no reefing line in the main, so I decided to push back from the table with my modest winnings for the day and motor home instead of beating.

I can't wait to get back out but I won't go until I have a reefing line rigged, a handheld vhf, and a reliable power supply for my tablet/gps. The weather has been horrible. With some luck, I can make headway this weekend.

Sounds like you've put some thought into your comm setup. Are there combo AIS/VHF antennas, or is it always two separate components. That will likely be one of my wintertime/mast down projects as well.
 
#49 ·
I was actually pretty proud of the little lady and I. We got out there, sailed for a couple hours, hit nearly 7 knots (probably some current involved) and got back.
Thats fantastic. One word of caution: Dont spook her. You want a sailing partner for a long time. Its very easy to run off a lady from sailing and very hard to find one that will sail with you. Try to make yall's hobby not your hobby that she helps you with. Let her have the helm a lot. Sounds like you got toyr self a great lady there.

I thought I had fouled the jub-furler. .
My Head sails are all hank on but I have 5 headsails and 2 mains. Putting up the right sail for the condition and doing it early is very important.

Sounds like you've put some thought into your comm setup. Are there combo AIS/VHF antennas, or is it always two separate components. That will likely be one of my wintertime/mast down projects as well.
Here is my setup.
ST4000 auto pilot
ST50 Speed trim "thru the water"
ST50 Wind Tru/App speed and direction
ST50 VMG

My auto pilot is hooked up to the ST50 wind so that I can sail hands free with utilizing the best points of sail. This is very important for dropping sails if I'm sailing by my self and need to lff the sails for a head-sail chang or reefing.
I can also use the GPS and sail from way point to way point hands free.
This took a lot of learning how to make it all work. But its all starting to work this spring as I had hoped.

I have a hand held VHF for the marina and river areas.

I have the Garmin echo50 GPS with sonar using a in-hull transducer.
I have the new The Matrix AIS/GPS (GX2200) Here is the cool thing:
The GX2200 MATRIX AIS/GPS, features a 66 channel WAAS GPS antenna integrated into the front panel of the radio, now there is no need to hassle with wiring the radio to a GPS for DSC (Digital Selective Calling) or AIS (Automated Identification System). Out of the box and ready to go

Oh! and I have the Garmin and the radio hooked together so that I can see an overlay on the GPS the AIS function of my radio. Realy cool stuff. I wanted this because I will be doing over night trips I hope this spring to ports like Savannah and Charleston. I want to see all commercial traffic at the helm not just below at the radio.

The biggest thing is getting the boat user frindly. It needs to work for you. I had a lot of help from the guys on this site. I dont know how long it would took without them. I think I had like 500 post the first year. They are a great bunch and will help you a lot. 1 hint with help questions. Be very to the point and dont run on. Think out your question first. To see how it sounds. Then send it out. Take all their advice with a grain of salt. You will find that with ever 3 questions you ask 5 will argue the answer and leave you struggling to find resolve. But look for consences and common sence. Get out on the water ever chance you can. the first year I went 40 times with an average of 25 miles thats 1,000 the first year then I went 32 times with an average of 40 miles thats 1,280 miles. I cant do much more than that unless I leave for a cruise. In that time I have learned a wealth of lessions.I have replaced an engine. I have run aground. I have been over charged Pleanty that a ASA101 102, 303, would never have taught me even clos to the lessions I learnt.If you dont kill your self or heut anybody else you are doing good. If you can afford lessions ? Sure by all means. But for me life has always been a good teacher for me. Good sailing and remember dont run her off.



Cheers, LT
 
#44 ·
Beej,
Glad you had a successful first sail and have a good-humored perspective. During one of my early voyages on San Francisco Bay I came very close to beaching my beautiful blue water 37 footer on Crissy Field.

One way to proceed is to take lessons from a recognized sailing instruction organization like ASA. That way, you get to learn from your mistakes on other peoples' boat. Sailing with experienced friends is also good.

Review and discuss what goes wrong, and what goes right on every sail. Often you will be surprised to find that something you did a mile away, followed by a cascading series of little misjudgements and failures, finally leads to a crisis.

In my case, we came downwind towards a lee shore, intending to gybe and run parallel. The wind came up, so we decided to "chicken gybe" (come about) instead. The fellow on the main sheet couldn't haul in as fast as I anticipated and we ended up in irons (stalled out) and then lost the lazy sheet to the jib because one of the other crew didn't know how to tie a stopper knot correctly. Fortunately, the engine fired right up.

Really, it all came down to my inexperience with the forces and inertia being responsible for a bigger boat and wind than I was used to and getting task overloaded.

So, keep sailing and keep analyzing. You did great and thanks for sharing.
 
#45 ·
Great first sail congratulations. Keep doing what your doing and all the secrets will be revealed. As for some advice given take it with a grain of salt. Alfready there have been some inaccuracies and wrong information given by those i thought would know better. Eg. 5 short blasts on the horn means your in trouble. ..Wrong. 5 short blasts is you asking someone else what is their intention. The other thing to remember is even seasoned sailors muck up when first sailing an unfamiliar boat (sometimes). Or even their own boat after a long lay off.
 
#53 ·
.... Eg. 5 short blasts on the horn means your in trouble. ..Wrong. 5 short blasts is you asking someone else what is their intention. ...
That may be the case in Australia, but in the US inland waters where the OP sails, it's the danger signal.
 
#46 · (Edited)
Last year was my first season on the water in a sailboat. We put the boat in the water the Thursday before Memorial day and come the weekend we were going sailing!!.
I'd gone through ASA 101 a month earlier and had sailed a few times with a friend. All in all since we made it out of and back to the slip in one piece it was a successful adventure. I had a few hiccups and might even have left a few pucker prints in thecockpit cushions. Mostly I was able to more or less convince the boat to do what I wanted it to do, mostly. My wife had never before been on a sailboat and I tried to tell her what to expect with regards to heeling and what she should do if I were to become incapacitated or adrift from the boat. We only had one Oh S**t moment(for her anyway, ive got a great poker face) when the wind had picked up and I let thing get a little out of hand. The boat rounded up and on the way around we washed the starboard rail pretty good. The wife let out a SONOFAB****! as we came around. Since by then we were pretty well head to wind I luffed up, dropped sail and motored back in. Must not have scared her too bad we went back out later in the day after the wind had died back some.
 
#48 ·
She sounds like a keeper Larry.

We rounded up/dipped the rail on the delivery run and that was with three experienced sailors. The inexperienced sailor (me) was standing on the companionway stairs facing the cockpit before falling butt-first onto the corner of the galley stove. I didn't know you could bruise through the entire meat of your arse!
 
#52 ·
Beej-
"Smartphone apps are too small."
Speaking of small things, cell phones ALWAYS used to have a little hole where a lanyard or wrist strap could be attached. But the companies quickly caught on to the fact that they could sell a lot more replacement phones a lot sooner if they deleted the attachment point and made it impossible (literally, impossible) to put a wrist strap or lanyard on the phone.
Note that anything small and valuable stands a pretty good chance at going overboard unless you are clutching it tightly, or there's a way to attach it. Cell phone, handheld VHF, bottle of sunblock...especially if a wake hits you, unexpected, and the boat starts rocking.

Five-
"DSC or not, I thought it was illegal to use a marine VHF over land. "
It is illegal, unless you've got a special license, i.e. for a yacht club's dockmaster on the docks. There are plenty of other radios designated for shoreside use.

Simon-
Five horn blasts is not interrogation, it is the danger signal in US Inland Waters.
Boat US - Online Boating Safety Study Guide
BoatUS thinks so too:
"•Five Short Blasts - This is the DANGER signal. Remember, that when you approach another vessel and hear either one or two short blasts, and you both understand their signal and can safely let them do it, then you are required to respond with the same signal in response. However, if you don't understand their intentions, or feel that their proposed maneuver is dangerous to either vessel, then you are required to sound the DANGER signal."

And I'll tell you that I've heard it used by unschooled amateurs like the NY Staten Island ferries.

"Five" signals are actually common in the US. Five bells means "turn out all available equipment" to a fire company, a "five-alarm fire". Five bells on the old news teletypes meant "Drop everything the world just ended". Used when NORAD accidentally declared a nuclear attack had started, and when JFK was shot. Five bells is never good news.
 
#54 ·
Itgoshen,

Thanks for that thoughtful response. I had wondered why radios displayed AIS. Seemed like the wrong component for it. Cool that it can talk to the plotter. I saw a chartplotter system with built in bluetooth or wifi.. either way, it could essentially project itself onto a tablet as well. Apparently that way you can keep your $ plotter mounted in the dry/safe and be more adventurous with the cheapo tablet. The more I learn, the more I realize I'm a bay cruiser guy for at least two years. Will take at least that long before the boat or I are ready for much more. You'll probably be upgrading by then and I'll buy your used lectronics!

Speaking of the little lady.. she's a real trooper. Brave as they come. She grew up near L.I. sound, so I assumed she'd been on boats a lot. I gave her the helm and she took the wheel without complaint. Turns out she'd never been at the helm on anything... EVER. I do let her steer most of the time though.

Anyhow, I ramble.
Thanks again.
 
#56 ·
I saw a chartplotter system with built in bluetooth or wifi.. either way, it could essentially project itself onto a tablet as well. Apparently that way you can keep your $ plotter mounted in the dry/safe and be more adventurous with the cheapo tablet...
If you're going to get a turnkey chartplotter, I would recommend putting it in the cockpit. It's made to stand up to the elements.

I'm as big an advocate for tablets as anyone. I've never gotten a full chartplotter. Instead, I have a RAM mount with netbook in the cockpit (soon to be replaced by a tablet), displaying GPS and AIS using OpenCPN. But I sail on a protected river, and my cockpit is dry 95% of the time. However, I always have my Garmin handheld mounted next to it, and if it gets wet in the cockpit the computer goes down below. However, the Garmin is always there because it is waterproof. You need something in the cockpit that will not crap out if it gets wet. Either a chartplotter or handheld.
 
#57 ·
Take 5,
ty. That OpenCPN looks very interesting. Crazy to think you can see AIS, charts, tides, and weather with an open source program. If they incorporate the ability to drive an auto pilot and overlay analog radar, they'll put a lot of people out of business!

I'll be a tablet guy short term.. perhaps mounted on a swing-out in the companionway for shelter. Your program makes me think I should possibly opt for a windows os as opposed to android though.

Beej
 
#60 · (Edited)
Take 5,
ty. That OpenCPN looks very interesting. Crazy to think you can see AIS, charts, tides, and weather with an open source program.
Beej
When you graduate up to more distance cruising you will discover that the cost of the chart plotter is nothing compared to the cost of the charts. One major advantage of OpenCPN is that the US government publishes free charts of the entire US (including the USVI and Puerto Rico) that are updated on a weekly basis. We (the US) also publish free charts of all the big rivers - e.g. Mississippi. Each government publishes its own charts. Unfortunately only the US publishes them for free. In the old days when you purchased a US paper chart you were not purchasing the content but rather the cost of production. I have been told that this is a quirk that the original charts were not copyrighted.

Fair winds and following seas. :)
 
#58 ·
OpenCPN will accept any NMEA 0183 inputs, including wind, depth, fluxgate compass from autopilot, etc. Plus, AIS and GPS, of course.

There is a plugin available for radar overlay, but I have not personally tried it.

I will also control your autopilot. I do this routinely.

However, the interfacing for all this is pretty heavyweight stuff. It's not plug-and-play. But once you have it set up, it's very reliable.

I think OpenCPN makes the Win8 tablets more attractive than Android. But there are good programs for all platforms.
 
#59 ·
Here is my advice: MOTB and KISS

Master Of The Basics
Keep It Simple Sailor

All you need are your boat, sails, a compass and a paper chart. A depth finder helps, too. A wife who is a good sport is icing on the cake.

Forget the frickin fancy electronics, and all the complications, and learn how to sail your boat without relying on the toys.

Too many people on Sailnet have skipped the elementary steps to becoming a good sailor by starting out with too many gizmos, on too big boats, with too many people onboard, including the "expert" skipper/instructor.

You have a tremendous opportunity to learn sailing in a somewhat challenging environment on a fundamentally sound good old boat. Buy the Maptech Chart Kit for Region 4 Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Buy the Maryland Cruising Guide. Buy Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book 2014 and learn how to use it. Buy Schelenger's "Cruising the Chesapeake".

Go out and enjoy! Take that trip to Cape May or Lewes. Time the tidal current right and it's a great trip. Go to the Sassafras River or Still Pond.

What you lack are practice, time on the water, experience and confidence. Sounds like you are doing well so far on your journey.
 
#61 ·
Great story! You are one intrepid guy and your finance is amazing.

I learned to sail on a 16 foot sloop. There's no motor, just the wind. It blows you around and you learn how to work it to advantage. Once you gain proficiency sailing, applying those basics to a bigger boat is easy. I'm always impressed with folks who buy a big boat and take it out sailing without a priori experience or formal lessons. I don't mind swimming in the pool, but I guess I've always like to start in the shallow end.

I recommend you go out again soon and often (and with your amazing finance, if she will). I think it would be good if someone with experience accompanied you the next few times. Very quickly, you need to know how to deal with sails in high winds, how to heave to, and learn man overboard responses. Also, you should think about joining some regattas to climb that learning curve for sailing techniques.

If you can take her out and bring her back in, you're a sailor. Congratulations on your successful maiden voyage.
 
#62 · (Edited)
I agree with James to a certain extent. You do need to focus on sailing the boat, and starting out with too many electronics can be a dangerous distraction as you tap at the screen and make other adjustments.

However, going down below to plot your DR position on a chart is not all that simple in river sailing. It's fine in open water, but on the Delaware River you could hit shore or stray into a tanker's path before you come back into the cockpit. On a river you are always close to obstacles and can really benefit from instant feedback the right electronics provide.

Having a simple GPS device in the cockpit is the simplest way to do it. You always have your position relative to shore, navaids, and shallow bottoms instantly available at a glance. You'll tack a lot in the river, and every time you tack you'll be glad you have your GPS. A depth finder tells you that you have enough water where you are, but a GPS with a depth finder tells you that you'll run out of water in 2 minutes.

If you want something that's waterproof and almost failproof, a Garmin handheld attached to your binnacle with a $8 bicycle mount would work great (if you have a wheel - I can't remember what your said your boat has). Many like the pushbutton GPSMap 78, I like the touchscreen Oregon (marketed for hikers now, but works great with a Bluechart chip). The Oregon 450 is about $200, plus about $100 for the North America chip.

If you don't want waterproof, or are willing to use a pouch in rainy weather, I really like the 8" Win8 tablets that have been coming out the last several months. For a little over $200 for the tablet, you add OpenCPN and free charts and you have a much bigger display than the handhelds, plus all the added functionality of Windows software. Look carefully to find one with GPS built-in and use the GeolocationTCP freeware with it. The current 8" models with internal GPS are Miix2 8", Toshiba Encore, and Asus ViviTab Note 8. I chose the Miix2 because it has the brightest screen, but it may be too bright for nighttime sailing.

AIS is extraordinarily helpful for dodging the big boats in the Delaware, but it does add complexity and can lead to information overload while you're learning to sail. I did not add it until my second year. Stick with a handheld VHF for the first year, and consider upgrading to a GX2200 (or other VHF with full AIS transponder) next winter when you check out/fix your antenna issues.
 
#63 ·
Larry, I hope you can get her back out a little more often than once every ten years! It must be really windy where you're at if the weather windows are so few and far between.. lol

James, I'm trying! The marine supply store is on winter hours and this weekend when it's open, it's rain and more rain. I'm in no danger of spending big money on gizmos, I assure you.

Zephyr, distance cruising!!! That's the dream. I'm still learning to walk though and bumped my head on the coffee table last time.

Ded, I'm impressed with people (like yourself) who have the patience and discipline to take things step by step. I'm normally like that, but I own a townhome with no yard, so trailer sailor wasn't an option.

Take 5, some sort of gps (better than my phone) is on the short list. I have all the paper charts for my vicinity, so I may well go with a 2 y.o. $50 tablet with my navionics app for the season.

This rain is so frustrating. I love chatting with you all, but I know I need time on the water. The prospect of spending another full week "forum" sailing is very discouraging.

Big members sale at west marine today.. getting my vhf handheld for $100. If can't sail, might as well spend money on sailing.

Thanks,
Beej
 
#65 ·
Simon-
"the vessel in doubt shall immediately indicate such doubt by giving at least five short and rapid blasts on the whistle. "
They're being diplomatic and saying "doubt". When you are in US waters and you hear five blasts on a whistle or horn, you will also hear a string of exceptionally mundane profanities from the bridge of the other vessel. Five blasts does not mean "Huh?" it means "WTF DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, YOU !^$#@&"
See, that's how they "express doubt" along the waterfront in Brooklyn and Hoboken and other old ports.
 
#66 ·
LOL. I agree with your faultless description. In my original post I was lax in my approach to the original advice given, not wishing to offend the poster of this onerous advice.....2. Carry a couple of cheap air horns and don't be afraid to use them. 5 short blasts means "I am in trouble." You don't have to be sinking, burning etc. to warn that BFS that you don't have things under control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: christian.hess
#67 ·
Beej
Practice, practice, practice, with paper chart, compass and depth sounder. The water between the overhead power lines and Newcastle has no large tankers and freighters, but does have shallow areas to practice navigation by depth sounder.

Add the electronics as you get more comfortable.

Stay on the Pea Patch Island side of the refinery channel so that you don't even need to think about the tankers.

By the time Garys Sailnet gathering at Perryville (across from Havre de Grace) comes around in June you will be an expert.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BeejDeC
#68 ·
Thanks Ulladh.

I appreciate the advise. Weather is looking favorable for this weekend!
I'm most concerned just about my basic boat handling skills.. steering a steady course, roughly appropriate sail trim and power, and (of course) docking and departure.

I want one or two "walks in the park" before I take on any real navigating. I'm open to counter arguments. This area you're talking about.. is it north or south of the I295 bridge? We made it very nearly to New Castle on our maiden trip going around pea patch "the long way." Looking forward to the Havre de Grace weekend

Beej
 
#71 · (Edited)
COLREGS - Rule 34. Since I said (euphemistically) "I am in trouble" I take responsibility for any confusion. Technically it means "I disagree with your intentions." It is also used by many bridges when they are closing as a warning. The appropriate signals for "I am in trouble" are contained in Rule 37.

Perhaps I should have quoted Rule 36 instead...

Rule 36 - Signals to Attract Attention

If necessary to attract the attention of another vessel, any vessel may make light or sound signals that cannot be mistaken for any signal authorized elsewhere in these Rules, or may direct the beam of her searchlight in the direction of the danger, in such a way as not to embarrass any vessel. Any light to attract the attention of another vessel shall be such that it cannot be mistaken for any aid to navigation. For the purpose of this Rule the use of high intensity intermittent or revolving lights, such as strobe lights, shall be avoided

Since 5 blasts is a warning signal it usually "can not be mistaken for any signal authorized."

{An aside}
Drawbridge Opening Signals: The operator of a vessel requesting a drawbridge to open
shall signal the bridge tender, and the bridge tender shall acknowledge that signal. The
following are the most common types of signals a vessel operator should use to request an
opening:
1) Radiotelephone Communications - Most bridges monitor VHF-FM channels 13 and 16 with
the exception of bridges in Florida. In June 1996, the FCC published a notice stating that all
boaters throughout the State of Florida should hail bridge tenders on VHF-FM channel 9 to
reduce the high amount of traffic on channel 13. Boaters operating in Georgia and South
Carolina are encouraged to follow the same procedures.
Note: Boaters should always use "low power (1 watt) output" on their VHF-FM marine radio
when hailing a bridge tender.
2) Sound Signals - These signals shall be made by whistle, horn, megaphone, or hailer. To
request an opening, the vessel operator shall give the "opening signal" consisting of one
prolonged blast (4 to 6 seconds duration) followed by one short blast (about 1 second
duration). The draw tender shall reply with the same sound signal (one prolonged followed by
one short) acknowledging that the draw can be opened immediately. When a vessel
approaches a drawbridge with the draw in the open position, the vessel shall give the opening
signal. If no acknowledgment is received within 30 seconds, the vessel may proceed, with
caution, through the open draw. When a draw cannot be opened immediately, or is open and
must be closed promptly, the draw tender shall give five short blasts sounded in rapid
succession after the vessel's opening signal request.

Fair winds and following seas ;)
 
#72 · (Edited)
Beej

The practice area I would suggest is up river from the overhead power lines that cross Pea Patch Island, to Newcastle and the main channel Green buoy just off Newcastle.

If you have less than 50ft mast height pass under the power lines between tower 3 & 4 (counting from DE side 1 is on land, 2 is in water 3 next 4 is close to the submerged bulkhead, 5 is on green side of main shipping channel, 6 is on red side of channel, 7 is on NJ).

Water depth under power line is 15ft + then water all the way to Newcastle is 20ft+ to 9ft+ with shallow water on the DE side.

A good place to practice with chart, depth sounder and compass, many reference structures; radio towers, water tanks, bulkhead lights and features in Newcastle for charting using a compass. Space for tacking and features to practice holding a course on a bearing.

http://www.waterwayguide.com/waterway-planner?ll=39.6122335150675,-75.58020791931156&z=14
 
#73 ·
Ulladh has suggested a very nice practice area. Lots of tacking space, as rivers go, and you can stay out of the channel and do careful crossings of the channel if you want to use the whole width of the river.

One critically important thing that may be so obvious that nobody has mentioned it: STAY WELL CLEAR OF THE UNDERWATER DIKE! It's well marked on the chart, and there are warning markers on the river, but do not try to cross it between the markers. Many lives have been lost to drunken powerboaters thanks to that dike. The ending marker for the dike is off Deemers Beach, where the huge boatel building is located. 1/2 mile north of there you'll see the moorings for the New Castle Sailing Club's fleet.

Also note that there is a shallow shoal between tower #2 and 3 (using Ulladh's numbering). You can squeeze through hugging the west side (near tower 2), but the best tacking space under the power lines is between #3 and 4. You need to decide early which way you will go, because the shoal will prevent you from changing your mind once you're committed. Make sure your route is lined up properly - I've found that optical illusions can be deceiving around that area.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top