[jameswilson29]

I am often very ambitious then reality begins to set in

I appreciate all the comments, I anticipate needing to run the engine about 2-4 hours a day if my usage is similar to what I have been recording over the past few weeks with the new refer installed, what I haven't considered (and cant) is how much power the auto pilot and plotter will use 24 hrs a day.

The radar works fine, and I'm pretty good at using it but by no means an expert.

Great comments on this thread - I have been planning the same trip and just need a 2 week window to open up in my schedule. My trip is now scaled back to Block Island, Mystic and Greenport.

Don't worry about needing to run your engine 2 hrs. a day, if it is anything like the conditions off the Delmarva coast in July, August and September, you will be motoring 50 -75% of the time in conditions when you can't make sufficient speed. If there is not enough wind to sail 4 kts. consistently, I motor. The last thing I want is to be stuck out there waiting for more wind to complete the passage.

Cape May is a great place to stay, lots of things to do.

My advice is to bring plenty of fuel so you can motor nearly the whole way, if necessary (I am carrying 31 gallons this time). I carry a PLB and tow an inflatable.

To Rich A. - I have lost VHF reception and regular radio reception at times on my Delmarva trips, just sailing 10-12 miles off the shoreline. I can pick up Baltimore and Norfolk anywhere on the Bay, but I lose reception much closer than 30 miles out. Must have something to do with the weather...

 

[jameswilson29]

Here is a question for Jon, or anyone who has made the direct passage:

Does the Labrador current make the straight shot from Norfolk (or Cape May) to Block Island slower than a run up the coast, staying closer in, and out?

From Norfolk, is it better to go up to Cape May and then to Block Island, or direct course to Block Island?

 

[jameswilson29]

Here are two book recommendations for you, that have helped me with my preparations:

"The Coast of Summer" by Anthony Bailey; and,

"A Visual Cruising Guide to the Southern New England Coast" by James Bildner. Bildner is a sailor and a helicopter pilot who took beautiful photographs of the approaches to the various favored harbors, with overlaid markers to show the best routes, along with his descriptions. Is is a nice book, even if you never go, which unfortunately is beginning to seem to be the case with me each year, despite my preparations.

 

[jameswilson29]

...
I have done everything to the boat I can think of to prepare short of new sails. My biggest worry is the age of the sails. I have three head sails, (furling genoa, converted jib, and storm sail) the main has three reefs, never used the third. The spinnaker is going to stay home, pole is broken anyway

I carry a spare mainsail (2 mainsails, 3 jibs, 3 spinnakers). It surprises me how many sailors have multiple jibs, but only one main. I would also bring some sail tape for repairs underway.

Ask Chris and Melody from the Cal 35 "Vacilando" - they got caught in a microburst on an Atlantic coastal hop and completely blew out the mainsail. As I understand it, it rendered sailing in normal mid-Atlantic conditions virtually impossible. With typical light to moderate, mid-Atlantic summer, Bermuda high conditions, you won't be sailing anywhere fast without a mainsail.

Even if it means picking up a $200-300 used mainsail on eBay, I recommend you carry a spare mainsail for any kind of distance trip. It is difficult to find a replacement once you start.

 

[jameswilson29]

... I simply prefer to keep decks as clear as possible, and free from the potential of having them turned into a skating rink...

That is why I installed padeyes on the cabin floor liner. I plan to store 2 extra water jugs and 3 fuel jugs strapped to the fiberglass floor liner just aft of the mast nestled against a fiberglass liner bench/berth where the fold down table goes - low and centered in the boat and secured with ratcheting straps to prevent any movement. With an old '70s boat with a liner, it still seems the best place to store jugs to me. The padeyes are out of the way so I won't stub my toe on them. As I don't sleep in the cabin underway, the cushions are stored in the forepeak away from a potential spill. So far the jugs have not leaked fuel. I plan to secure the diesel jugs inside double large green yard heavy duty plastic bags. If they do leak, I will probably move the fuel to the cockpit and keep only spare water jugs in the cabin. My bilge has seen diesel and oil before, so it is no biggie - wipe and hose out at the next stop.

I plan to post some photos or video of my set up before the next trip. With cargo nets, ratcheting straps, and extra supplies, my cabin takes on a certain gritty industrial/work boat look during these trips - nothing like the pretty boat show cabins.

 

[jameswilson29]

That is why I installed padeyes on the cabin floor liner. I plan to store 2 extra water jugs and 3 fuel jugs strapped to the fiberglass floor liner just aft of the mast nestled against a fiberglass liner bench/berth where the fold down table goes - low and centered in the boat and secured with ratcheting straps to prevent any movement...

I plan to post some photos or video of my set up before the next trip...

Here they are: https://plus.google.com/photos/101935788163929897438/albums/6028066116620234337?authkey=CL-Fu_Xgg93NzgE

I tested it yesterday closed hauled, heeling 15 -25 degrees - worked well, no leaks, minimal movement.

 

[jameswilson29]

Carrying a spare mainsail in New England is carrying coals to Newcastle...

Spare mainsail in New England? Just ain't done...

Wow, no one carries a spare mainsail in New England! That is an amazing fact!

Why do you think so many sailors carry several jibs or at least a backup jib, but not a backup main?

Seems like a smart idea to me...

Here is the blog post on the couple who lost their mainsail on a coastal hop, and the difficulties it caused them: http://www.mondovacilando.com/what-i-know/

The fact is, on a short coastal hop, no one wants to send a sail out to a loft, or rely exclusively on the engine. Why not bend on a spare main. We do own SAILboats, after all (at least some of us do).

(By the way, I realize a number of you don't really ever sail, but are content to motor to various destinations, with the mainsail trimmed to centerline. You might be more comfortable in a trawler, so why pretend?)

 

[jameswilson29]

Just curious, where are you planning on heading, that you need the extra fuel?...

Thanks for your comments on my set up.

Eventually, when I have the time window, I plan to sail to R.I., CT, from Urbanna. From my location on the Bay, the short route is out the North Channel at Cape Charles (60 n.m. + 300 n.m. = 360 n.m.) going outside, not up the Bay, C&D, to inside to Cape May ( 195 n.m. + 200 n.m. = 395 n.m.) to R.I.

The straight shot from Cape Charles is 300 n.m. or 70-78 hours motoring on my boat. My main tank is only 16 gallons. It lasts approximately 32 hours, so unless I get guaranteed sailing at least half the time, I must carry extra fuel. My experience cruising in the ocean in the Mid-Atlantic in Summer is motoring 50-75% of the time. It is entirely possible I might have to motor the whole way. I don't like to enter a strange harbor running on fumes; I prefer avoiding a diversion off course to buy fuel.

Stopping at Cape May from Cape Charles essentially means an extra day for me - its 140 n.m. to Cape May, then 200 n.m. to B.I., R.I. or 40 n.m. extra (10 hrs) + sleeping for 6 - 8 hrs in Cape May means adding another 16 - 18 hrs to the trip.

Time is the limiting factor and an expense for me. I don't have the luxury of 3 weeks paid vacation time. Every day out of the office costs me money. I can't afford to sit there waiting for the wind to pipe up or sail only in the afternoons in the ocean.

 

[jameswilson29]

Uhhh, wait a minute... Aren't you the same guy who just posted pics of the auxiliary fuel jugs you'll be carrying ???

Yes, to me that is called being prepared for all likely possible conditions. If I have to motor the whole way, I want sufficient fuel. If I have to sail the whole way and my mainsail blows out, I want a back up so I can sail effectively. Cover all your bases.

The best conditions for sailing are not necessarily the best conditions for motoring.

Being prepared is the essence of my criticism of these sailors who call the Coast Guard unnecessarily for help. You should go out in self-sufficiency, not depending on someone else's help if things go awry.

I guess I am the only one on the East Coast who carries a spare main. I am surprised that the people who can afford a delivery captain, can't afford a spare main.

 

[jameswilson29]

I bring bananas aboard and I leave on Fridays, too, so I must be triple hexed.

 

[jameswilson29]

My situation is definitely different from many of yours.

I consider sails to be relatively light, somewhat bulky items, but I have plenty of room in the v-berth and cockpit lockers to carry them. Lightweight, bulky items are ideally suited for extra storage space at the ends of the boat, where I don't want to carry heavy items. The P28 does not have the aft head and cabin or even a quarterberth, so it does have a tremendous amount of storage space under the cockpit seats, which is mostly unused. I always carry a spare mainsail in my portside cockpit locker.

I do use older sails and I do like to sail fast and push the boat within certain limits. I don't go on these trips to gunkhole, linger over breakfast, sip wine and eat cheese at anchor watching the sunset, or to motor leasurely from one port to another enjoying the scenery. These trips are my only chances to really sail the boat the way I want to sail: fly the spinnaker, dip the rail, beat into the chop with a reef in the main, etc. My family meets me in port, so I want to put miles under the keel quickly and efficiently. The fact is, you never know when you could be hit by conditions that might blow out a mainsail, just as you never know when you could be hit by lightening. The same conditions that might blow out your mainsail might also blow out your jib, particularly if you rely on roller furling, which has proven to be less than 100% reliable.

A good mainsail for the Chesapeake Bay region would not a strong bullet-proof sail. You need lightweight sails that will fill and shape easily. We have predominantly light winds most of the year, particularly in the summer cruising season. If your regular mainsail is a strong, heavy-weight, full-batten sail an ocean cruiser might employ for longevity, you will be glued to the water most of the time, moving at a snail's pace. That is simply reality in the mid-Atlantic summer season.

I don't want to wait a day or two for a sail to be fixed or mailed to me, be at the mercy of someone I don't know, or to spend time at a sewing machine underway, which would render me seasick. Having your mainsail blow out in the middle of Buzzards Bay may be no big deal, but having your mainsail blow out halfway between Norfolk and B.I. would be a big deal, particularly if your engine becomes inoperable. Having no mainsail or using a small trysail when you are 100 miles from the nearest port and your engine is disabled means an extra day or two, or more, in the ocean during Hurricane season.

A spare cheap mainsail still makes perfect sense to me is relatively cheap insurance to make port quickly in any conditions.

It surprises me that those of you who are willing to jump on these idiots who set sail without flashlights or storm sails, think nothing of doing an extended coastal hop without a spare MAINsail. You are essentially relying exclusively on your engine working.