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Congratulations on a terrific December 2002 PMM. It may be your best effort yet.
The passagemaking prep article by Steve Antonio was excellent. However, I have some issues
with the accompanying "Little Boat on a Big Ocean" story, albeit one that
I thought was well written and very entertaining.
I am one skipper who wouldn't think of going out on the ocean, especially one with a Gulf Stream, unless it was in a vessel that was large, gray, steel, had big numbers up near the pointy end, and a few very big guns, just for good measure. Most importantly of all, the vessel would also have lots of Chief Petty Officers aboard who, as a rule, know exactly what they are doing, as in "Hey, Chief, how about fixing that main engine (or, read transmission, generator, steering, propeller, shaft, radio, GPS, alternator, compass, battery, pump, filter, rudder, water in the bilge, broken leg, etc?)" Or, "Yo, Chief, what's with the sextant? Is the GPS broken?" Anyway....
1. Did you have an escort vessel? Tell me the truth.
2. What was your long haul communications package?
3. What was your plan if you broke down in the middle of the Gulf Stream?
4. If the water is over 2 miles deep, how do you anchor out there anyway?
What's the recommended scope? (Hah!)
5. Did you have other spares, like a prop and puller? How about a spare rudder (joke)?
6. Was the vessel brand new and, if so, what kind of shake-down did she undergo?
7. Why didn't you insist on a RACOR 75/500MAX2 twin filter assembly, instead of the single 500? We think this
item is so important, we even have this set up on our Albin 27.
8. Would the main engine have kept on running if the electricity had failed? Lots of boaters are under
the impression that all diesel main engines will just keep running even if DC electric is lost.
9. Did you consider modifying the raw water intake so the main engine could have been used as a back-up
bilge pump? This takes up virtually no room, as you know.
10. Could a spare carry-on battery (small with sufficient cranking amps) with short jumper cables have been useful?
No, you don't have to answer all of the questions, but let's get to the point. It was over thirty years ago. Yet, I can still vividly remember seeing green water coming over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The flight deck was some 90 feet above the waterline. That typhoon really got my attention. Just recently, there was a mariner who got underway from the Left Coast for Catalina, as in "Twenty-six Miles Across the Sea." Three and a half months and 2500 nautical miles later, in 8700 feet of water, off Costa Rica, he had to be rescued by the Navy. Two of his many problems were a single engine that wouldn't turn over, and a radio that didn't work. Then, of course, there is always "The Perfect Storm". In other words, I really don't think that the average boater should go out on the big pond without a second engine, or a sail, or maybe even a thruster (joke). It goes without saying that lots of nautical experience is a prerequisite. Traveling with another vessel should also be a strong consideration. Think of Christopher Columbus - the Nina, the Pinta and the good, old What's Her Name.
To my way of thinking, when a cruising scenario is such that emerging situations, whatever they might be, cannot be handled with duct tape, WD-40, K-Y jelly, a cold beer, or a towing service, then one is no longer engaged in recreational boating. I, for one, would never choose to travel some 650 nautical miles offshore, in a thirty foot, plastic, power boat, regardless of make or model, especially one with only a single engine. But that's just me. I have enough problems with the Chesapeake. Yes, Bill, I know. You don't have to tell me.
(1) I'll have to be content with my inland license.
(2) Only real men go out on the ocean in a 30 foot, single-screw trawler.
Bill Shermer
Baltimore
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