Georges Bank sailing from just South Nantucket to NS

[jssailem]

What are the water conditions sailing across the north side of the Georges Banks (Southern Gulf of Maine).
Currents,
Shoal issues,
Concentration of Other Boats
Rip tides to avoid (i.e. Mid Rip or Fishing Rip south of Davis South Shoal).

Thanks for sharing your local knowledge.

 

[Rick486]

I've done it in a race once to Halifax, in summer of course. My memory goes like this:
1. Very little wind
2. Very much fog
3. Whales
4. Traffic not much except fishermen and the other sailboats in the race. Wouldn't want to do it without radar.
5. I wasn't the nav on the boat so I didn't pay attention to currents
All in all it was a pleasant trip. Slow though
Rick

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Done it a few times - rarely saw visibility beyond 200 yards. Warm up your radar.

 

[PaulK]

Fog is normal until perhaps September, then you start to get autumn storms. Friend in foggy Marblehead-Halifax race collided with a fishing boat, ripping open about 15' of his port quarter hull/deck joint. Fisherman who took off was later apprehended by police. We had clear weather once, and a two-day downwind romp on 10' rollers.

 

[jssailem]

Thank you Rick
Musetta is currently south of Davis South Shoal. The wind field has him heading into the Southern region of the Gulf of Maine along the north western edge of Georges Banks in route to Nova Scotia in the direction of Halifax. Trying to keep ahead of the weather and out of the High Pressure cell that is between him and his Port of Call Lunenburg NS.

 

[dLj]

Thanks for the posts. I can concur about the fog! Past two nights have had plenty! Last night particularly was thick, and wet.

dj

 

[dLj]

Done it a few times - rarely saw visibility beyond 200 yards. Warm up your radar.

Radar is running.

Got a suggestion as to how far out you'd set it? Mine can go 26 miles, but I currently have it set at 12 miles. It takes a bit of time to swing the 360 degrees, more the further you extend.

dj

p.s. in interesting what a small dot a freighter is 4 miles off...

 

[Rick486]

Actually, the range of your radar depends on the elevation of your antenna. Radar is a LOS (line of sight). On my H44 the antenna was about 12 ft above the waterline. I typically ran it about 6 nm range, then occasionally I would take some sweeps at 12 mi to look for any big guys high above the surface.
BTW, you might want to look at your adjustments on your radar. You definitely should get a strong return from a ship 4 mi in range. Different from a lobster boat at 4 mi

 

[JamesG161]

Got a suggestion as to how far out you'd set it?

My Raymarine has a "Guard Zone" for Alerts.

Depending your boat speed, you can set the Alert say 1.5 Miles head.
Also a good Fog Horn handy.

The avoidance distance can be set too.

Safety First...
Jim...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Radar is running.

Got a suggestion as to how far out you'd set it? Mine can go 26 miles, but I currently have it set at 12 miles. It takes a bit of time to swing the 360 degrees, more the further you extend.

dj

p.s. in interesting what a small dot a freighter is 4 miles off...

Old saying from my Coast Guard days - you can’t hit something 4 miles off.
As for how far out to set range selector - I never keep it at just one setting. Always vary it to have the whole picture

 

[Maine Sail]

When you’re over the bank it can get a bit lumpy if there’s a swell. if seas are big try to avoid the cultivator and George’s shoal. during the summer fishing season it can see a lot of fishing traffic and fog. give the fishing boats plenty of room..

 

[CarlN]

I would never take this trip without transmitting AIS. Deck officers don’t look at the radar as much as they used to before AIS. It’s very easy to not notice the faint radar return from a fiberglass sailboat.

 

[dLj]

When you’re over the bank it can get a bit lumpy if there’s a swell. if seas are big try to avoid the cultivator and George’s shoal. during the summer fishing season it can see a lot of fishing traffic and fog. give the fishing boats plenty of room..

That was my original concern looking at this area and wanted to avoid it. As it turns out, during my transit time, the sea is almost smooth (at least so far, knock on wood). So I've got a nice run over an area I'd otherwise avoid.

Last night we had a real active time avoiding fishing boats. But only for about an hour or two. Then it just opened up to clear sailing with nothing closer that what we'd passed or 36 NM in any other direction.

Thank you for the input!

dj

 

[dLj]

I would never take this trip without transmitting AIS. Deck officers don’t look at the radar as much as they used to before AIS. It’s very easy to not notice the faint radar return from a fiberglass sailboat.

Running AIS 24/7

Also running radar.

dj

 

[dLj]

Old saying from my Coast Guard days - you can’t hit something 4 miles off.
As for how far out to set range selector - I never keep it at just one setting. Always vary it to have the whole picture

Ah - I'd settled on 6NM range to give myself plenty of planning room. I move slow. Merchant ships don't. Plus the AIS info is quite delayed. I'm finding AIS locations can be several NM off from where they are in real time. Not sure how that works. I look at my own transmission and often find myself listed twice, one from a few NM behind where I am and the other closer to my actual location. I may move to the 4 NM setting.... Thank you for the insight. I play with both ranges and see what I think works best.

dj

 

[dLj]

Actually, the range of your radar depends on the elevation of your antenna. Radar is a LOS (line of sight). On my H44 the antenna was about 12 ft above the waterline. I typically ran it about 6 nm range, then occasionally I would take some sweeps at 12 mi to look for any big guys high above the surface.
BTW, you might want to look at your adjustments on your radar. You definitely should get a strong return from a ship 4 mi in range. Different from a lobster boat at 4 mi

I don't know exactly how high up my mast my radar sits. It's about halfway up my mast. I'm 65 feet high so 30 feet up maybe? More or less.

I'm learning the adjustments. I've got most of them set at automatic as I know less than I should and figure that's a good starting point. This radar unit sure has a lot of bells and whistles... I'm running a SI-TEX T-760 Radar unit. I've been told by those that seem to know a lot more than I do on Radar units that it's supposed to be quite a good one. But it's the first radar unit I've ever personally owned/used. Been on other peoples boat with them, but they ran them... It's one of those learning curves that I hope doesn't bite me in the a$$.....

dj

 

[WayneH]

The AIS on Impetuous runs 24/7 when we are sailing. At the marina and once I turn off the AIS and VHF, I unscrew the antenna lead and stick it in the microphone coils to remind me to reinstall it. Hopefully, that will prevent a close lightning strike from frying my electronics.

My radar is a Furuno 1622. I usually run it in "Watchman" mode and it comes up every 20 minutes for a minute of scans. I have it set on 6 mile range thinking that is an hour away for me but I just realized that the big boys are 30 minutes or less at that range. Heck, a container ship at full speed can be past me between scans.

From The Speed Of A Cargo Ship At Sea? Compare Top 10 Types! : "The average speed of most cargo ships is from 12 to 20 knots"

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The AIS on Impetuous runs 24/7 when we are sailing.

our son‘s Farr in Milwaukee is named Impetuous. Never thought I’d see that name twice.

 

[JamesG161]

This radar unit sure has a lot of bells and whistles... I'm running a SI-TEX T-760 Radar unit

I downloaded your Operating Manual.

I am assuming your radar is at the Helm.

It has many features that amazed me.

But two parts as related to FOG conditions.

1) AIS and boats that also have AIS. [Avoidance speed and course is Automatic.]

2) TT or Target Tracking for non AIS vessels. [in the Gulf of Mexico, fixed objects matter, aka oil platforms]

Using TT, you can tap on the Radar Return of many vessels.

It will take about 4-5 minutes for the Radar to get a stable course and speed vector on the screen.

On your Radar , it should plot the Musetta's avoidance vector on the screen.

Jim...

 

[dLj]

I downloaded your Operating Manual.

I am assuming your radar is at the Helm.

It has many features that amazed me.

But two parts as related to FOG conditions.

1) AIS and boats that also have AIS. [Avoidance speed and course is Automatic.]

2) TT or Target Tracking for non AIS vessels. [in the Gulf of Mexico, fixed objects matter, aka oil platforms]

Using TT, you can tap on the Radar Return of many vessels.

It will take about 4-5 minutes for the Radar to get a stable course and speed vector on the screen.

On your Radar , it should plot the Musetta's avoidance vector on the screen.

Jim...

I've been told this is an excellent unit (not just from the previous owner). BUt man is it complicated! I'm working on it!

dj