First Sea Voyage - Any Advice is Appreciated

[RichH]

If youre going out through the Savannah River entrance ... I'd recommend opting for a cheapy AIS receiver linked to a chartplotter, even a borrowed and jury-rigged AIS/chartplotter, as sometimes the BIG container ships + pilot boats sometimes come in/out through there like someone took a stick and 'whacked' a beehive. Ditto the foreign 'bulk carriers' in/outbound to/from Brunswick that speak only eastern european languages. AIS will give better 'time' for avoidance, especially when the lighting/visibility is low/bad, etc.

 

[Benny17441]

Well said Ross, the sails add balance and stability but in a small trailerable boat with limited trimming options it may be better to take them down.

 

[Cayennita]

Motor sail is a very good idea. I have thousands of offshore miles and many times we do that just to eat at a level plane.
If you are member of US Sailing or maybe not, you can go into their web site and look up at offshore recommendations for different levels. From category 0 (the most stringent) to category 5. It is all there. We live by it and it's part of the inspections performed by race committees when required. One item missing and you get disqualified. We always use it prior to any offshore races.

 

[CrawJac]

Wow, it looks like you guys go to great extremes to keep your better-half’s happy!

It looks like it's just going to be me and my best friend (see below) making the voyage so hopefully we can lean the whole trip! I am worried about making the cross over the shipping traffic so we just might motor through that to be safe.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

 

[Gunni]

Don't be shy about calling up the commercial pilots (VHF Ch 13), let them know you see them and make sure they see you. ID yourself as a sailing vessel and your location relative to them.