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Regards,
Ian
The Third “B”
Secretary, Ravena Coeymans Yacht Club
https://www.rcyachtclub.com/
We got underway at 0520 from Port Canaveral to St. Simons Island. The Atlantic is calm, but tomorrow's weather is turning snotty. We might double-time it today and try to make Charleston. That will be a hella long day. But after yesterday's successful 200-mile shakedown cruise, we're feeling good about the boat.
Boat Name: King Kong
"Boat + Water = Fun"
Today we made an amazing 350 miles from Port Canaveral all the way to Charleston. We stopped for fuel in Brunswick GA, which was going to be our final destination. Because of weather conditions, we decided to just pit for fuel and push on to Charleston.
Arrival at Charleston was a weather sh*t-show. I'll post pix and videos tomorrow. Captain Jim is an absolute rock star.
We'll have a couple weather days here, then head to Hampton with a different crew.
First, I have to say my delivery captain was just amazing. His name is Captain Jim Gallagher, and he's a living legend. He does 100+ deliveries a year, mostly 60-100 feet. He gets treated like a rock star wherever he goes, and he has enough sea stories for a lifetime. When he got to Miami Sunday, we spent the first three hours going through every part of the boat, almost like a second survey. Total pro.
We left Cape Canaveral at 5:20AM Tuesday for the 8-hour offshore run to Brunswick GA. During the day, the weather changed, with Wednesday starting to look really bad offshore. Instead of staying at Brunswick (actually St. Simons Island) overnight, we decided to splash fuel and press on another 150 miles to Charleston.
We were watching a front move in towards Charleston. Around 9:15PM, just as we made the turn from the ocean into the inlet, all heck broke loose: dark clouds, drenching rain, lightning all over, high wind, and salt spray over the top of the 18-foot bridge. Later, we learned there were gusts up to 79 mph.
A few minutes in, I looked down at the foredeck and said "Well crap, my brand-new $500 sunpad is gone." The wind had torn it right out of the track that holds it in place.
Somehow, by good fortune, the sunpad had become wedged in the starboard railing! I strapped on a vest and made a white-knuckles mission to the bow to retrieve the sunpad. Then Captain Jim took us into Toler's Cove Marina. He doesn't drink during deliveries, but after that performance, I convinced him to have a ration of sailor's rum.
On Wednesday, we stayed here in Charleston. I teleworked a full day while Captain Jim and my brother-in-law worked on the boat. Today we did docking practice for 90 minutes, then they both headed for the airport. This has been an amazing adventure so far!
From Charleston SC to Beaufort NC, it was 9 hours of punishment. From there to Hampton VA, it was 9 hours of awesome. Nothing but sunshine, flat calm, light swells and a following breeze. Ironically, the roughest water of the day was after turned into the Chesapeake Bay, where we took 3-foot chop on the bow for a few miles. The boat will stay at Hampton for about a month for maintenance and upgrades.
So far, I've docked the boat twice without mangling anything. It's easier than docking a sterndrive boat, except for the limited visibility from the bridge. I will need wireless headsets, good cameras, and lots of practice.
Tonight I'm home, exhausted and happy. The memories will last forever -- but not the photos and videos, which were lost when I dropped and broke my phone.
At this point, I have a list of over 100 items that don't work or need to be upgraded. For example, I need to fix all three tank sensors (fuel, fresh water, holding tank). But the major cruising necessities all worked great -- engines, nav electronics, air conditioners, and toilets!
As for the photos and iCloud, I learned that hard lesson when I dropped my iPhone overboard a couple years ago. You need to set your phone to constantly upload photos over cellular - “Unlimited Updates”. Otherwise, your phone waits for a wifi connection to upload.
Bummer you lost all those!
Some are easy to fix -- such as, I need a label showing the location of the fuel shutoff valve. And some are preventive maintenance that the yard will tackle. When I bought the 370, my list was similar but shorter. Just gotta work through them one at a time.
1. Dust and wax galley fire extinguisher
2. Dust and wax flare gun
3. Wash and wax boat hook
4. Wash and wax then fuel filter canisters
I'm pretty sure @LaRea and @aero3113 have an ongoing contest to see just who can get the cleanest boat. What's polished or waxed that the other guy hasn't thought of???
@Willhound had a swimming platform you could drop food on and was clean enough to have a 30 min rule.
I think the surgical prep cleanliness is a rinker ownership requirement....he's just carrying it onto another brand!!
I want to hear more info on those engines, you've gotta have some 2000 to 4000 ft lbs of torque on those things.
What kind of range are you getting?