Trip to Charlotte Harbor
We left the dock at Port St. Joe Marina at 10:15 Tuesday, January 22, and set a course for Key West. We started out sailing close hauled (pointed as close as possible to the direction the wind is from) in 5 to 10 knots of wind. Our main sail is so old and stretched that close hauled isn't our best point of sail. We plan to buy a new main sail in March and man, are they expensive. We will get one with full battens and also get a battcar system, which is a track with ball-bearing cars. The cars attach to the sail and the track to the mast and it makes it easier to raise and lower the sail. Hopefully between now and March will be enough time for me to adjust to the idea of parting with that much money all at once.
As we were sailing that first day, the wind remained fairly light, but we encountered the sloppy seas remaining after the previous day's gale-force winds had blown through, so it was a little rough. I think we waited too close to departure to put Nancy's seasickness patch on because she started to feel bad after a few hours of bouncing around, so we decided to head for Tampa Bay and anchor off Egmont Key, as we had originally planned before we got held up in Port St. Joe. At 17:44, Tuesday evening we altered course for Tampa with a new heading of 133 degrees.
The seas continued to decrease through the night, though, and Nancy got a good night's sleep and felt much better Wednesday morning. We decided to revise our plan yet again and head for Charlotte Harbor. If we had continued for Tampa, we would have had to reduce speed in order to arrive in daylight, but if we could maintain 6 knots or better, we would arrive at Charlotte Harbor sometime in the morning of the 24th. It would also put us an easy overnight sail from Key West. That's just one of the perks of retirement and cruising, you can revise your plans and change your mind as much as you want. I'm definitely enjoying the flexibility. At 07:35, Wednesday morning, we altered course for Charlotte Harbor with a new heading of 142 degrees.
By 19:00 Wednesday evening we started encountering intermittent fog. The wind has backed (changed direction in a counter-clockwise direction) and we are now on a nice beam reach (the wind perpendicular to the boat, or coming from the side). The fog is so dense at times that we begin turning on the radar every 10 to 15 minutes. At about 21:30 I spot what appears to be a large ship on radar at a range of about 6 miles. After watching it for a few more periodic scans, it becomes clear that we are going to pass uncomfortably close (for me at least) if we each continue on our present courses. When it is about 3 miles away, I call for "the ship at approximate position 27 degrees 36 minutes North, 83 degrees 11 minutes West, heading west from the Tampa Bay area" over the VHF radio on channel 16. A container ship answers and I ask them if they see me on radar off their starboard bow and they confirm they have been watching me. I tell them I'd like to ensure I pass astern of them and we agree to each alter course to port, so that we pass safely, then resume our original headings. I was very surprised that they offered to change course as well. I just wanted to make sure they could see me on radar and let them know I was going to alter my course to pass astern of them. I thought it was incredibly nice for them to offer to alter course as well since they are quite large and not as maneuverable as a sailboat. We passed with a closest approach of just over one nautical mile and then resumed our previous courses. I never was able to see their lights visually through the fog.
By 01:30 Thursday morning, the wind has completely died and I've furled the jib, lowered the main, and the fog has increased to where we can just barely see past the bow of the boat. We're making around 5.5 knots with the engine. My fervent hope was for the fog to lift before we enter the channel into Charlotte Harbor, but that was not to be. As we approach closer to Charlotte Harbor, our chances of encountering other vessels will increase and we continue to scan with the radar every 10 minutes or so. Some of the smaller fishing boats are all but impossible to see on radar, though. They present a very small target for the radar to reflect back from and fiberglass isn't a very good reflector. We had one small sport-fisher appear out of the fog about 1/4 mile away, which is way too close for a first glimpse. We just stayed vigilant, with both of us on deck. I was at the wheel, looking ahead and prepared to maneuver while Nancy looked all around and ran the radar every so often.
At 10:45 we entered the channel with the fog still pretty thick. The channel markers are only
visible when we are within about 150 yards of them, but they are all present and accounted for, just as depicted on the chart. We enter Charlotte Harbor and anchor off Gasparilla Island. The wind is very light and the humidity is 98 percent at 12:00 when we finish anchoring. You can feel the droplets of water condensing out of the air. We take showers and fix a nice large lunch (pasta, corn, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls) and by then the fog has lifted, the sun is out, and the humidity is down to 60 percent. It is very pleasant sitting outside without a jacket on.
As I write this, it is now 22:34 and the wind has picked up from the north. It must be blowing 10 to 15 knots, but we are fairly well protedted from the north and there is only a gentle pitching motion on the boat. Our current plan is to leave for Key West in the morning, but we are going to check the latest weather forecasts before we leave.
(Note: As I re-read this and other log entries I've made, I realize that I switch tenses throughout an entry. I know that this really grates on some people's nerves, so I offer this advice: If the switching of tenses cause you more angst than you can bear, have a few beers before reading this blog and it probably won't seem as bad.)
As we were sailing that first day, the wind remained fairly light, but we encountered the sloppy seas remaining after the previous day's gale-force winds had blown through, so it was a little rough. I think we waited too close to departure to put Nancy's seasickness patch on because she started to feel bad after a few hours of bouncing around, so we decided to head for Tampa Bay and anchor off Egmont Key, as we had originally planned before we got held up in Port St. Joe. At 17:44, Tuesday evening we altered course for Tampa with a new heading of 133 degrees.
The seas continued to decrease through the night, though, and Nancy got a good night's sleep and felt much better Wednesday morning. We decided to revise our plan yet again and head for Charlotte Harbor. If we had continued for Tampa, we would have had to reduce speed in order to arrive in daylight, but if we could maintain 6 knots or better, we would arrive at Charlotte Harbor sometime in the morning of the 24th. It would also put us an easy overnight sail from Key West. That's just one of the perks of retirement and cruising, you can revise your plans and change your mind as much as you want. I'm definitely enjoying the flexibility. At 07:35, Wednesday morning, we altered course for Charlotte Harbor with a new heading of 142 degrees.
By 19:00 Wednesday evening we started encountering intermittent fog. The wind has backed (changed direction in a counter-clockwise direction) and we are now on a nice beam reach (the wind perpendicular to the boat, or coming from the side). The fog is so dense at times that we begin turning on the radar every 10 to 15 minutes. At about 21:30 I spot what appears to be a large ship on radar at a range of about 6 miles. After watching it for a few more periodic scans, it becomes clear that we are going to pass uncomfortably close (for me at least) if we each continue on our present courses. When it is about 3 miles away, I call for "the ship at approximate position 27 degrees 36 minutes North, 83 degrees 11 minutes West, heading west from the Tampa Bay area" over the VHF radio on channel 16. A container ship answers and I ask them if they see me on radar off their starboard bow and they confirm they have been watching me. I tell them I'd like to ensure I pass astern of them and we agree to each alter course to port, so that we pass safely, then resume our original headings. I was very surprised that they offered to change course as well. I just wanted to make sure they could see me on radar and let them know I was going to alter my course to pass astern of them. I thought it was incredibly nice for them to offer to alter course as well since they are quite large and not as maneuverable as a sailboat. We passed with a closest approach of just over one nautical mile and then resumed our previous courses. I never was able to see their lights visually through the fog.
By 01:30 Thursday morning, the wind has completely died and I've furled the jib, lowered the main, and the fog has increased to where we can just barely see past the bow of the boat. We're making around 5.5 knots with the engine. My fervent hope was for the fog to lift before we enter the channel into Charlotte Harbor, but that was not to be. As we approach closer to Charlotte Harbor, our chances of encountering other vessels will increase and we continue to scan with the radar every 10 minutes or so. Some of the smaller fishing boats are all but impossible to see on radar, though. They present a very small target for the radar to reflect back from and fiberglass isn't a very good reflector. We had one small sport-fisher appear out of the fog about 1/4 mile away, which is way too close for a first glimpse. We just stayed vigilant, with both of us on deck. I was at the wheel, looking ahead and prepared to maneuver while Nancy looked all around and ran the radar every so often.
At 10:45 we entered the channel with the fog still pretty thick. The channel markers are only
visible when we are within about 150 yards of them, but they are all present and accounted for, just as depicted on the chart. We enter Charlotte Harbor and anchor off Gasparilla Island. The wind is very light and the humidity is 98 percent at 12:00 when we finish anchoring. You can feel the droplets of water condensing out of the air. We take showers and fix a nice large lunch (pasta, corn, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls) and by then the fog has lifted, the sun is out, and the humidity is down to 60 percent. It is very pleasant sitting outside without a jacket on.As I write this, it is now 22:34 and the wind has picked up from the north. It must be blowing 10 to 15 knots, but we are fairly well protedted from the north and there is only a gentle pitching motion on the boat. Our current plan is to leave for Key West in the morning, but we are going to check the latest weather forecasts before we leave.
(Note: As I re-read this and other log entries I've made, I realize that I switch tenses throughout an entry. I know that this really grates on some people's nerves, so I offer this advice: If the switching of tenses cause you more angst than you can bear, have a few beers before reading this blog and it probably won't seem as bad.)
posted by Patrick | 12:07 PM
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