Going off the grid for a while - I'm Back!!!!!!

JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
Well, kids, I'm "Off to see the Wizard". Leaving in the morning for Brunswick GA. Then a few days of last minute boat prep on a Jeanneau 53. Plan is to depart Brunswick Sunday morning (least worst conditions as far as we can tell for a GS crossing) for a delivery to Tortola. Expecting an 8 day trip. Was glad to see that the low in the islands dissipated instead of turning into a TS - was sweating that. So, you won't see me posting any smart ass comments for a little while. Wish us luck, I think we've thought of everything, but 200 miles offshore, I'm sure the forgotten item will come to me. :biggrin:Flying back 12/5.
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Sounds like a fun one!
Remember the three cardinal rules: 1 People stay in the boat
2. Water should stay out of the boat, 3. Boat off the rocks.
Good Luck Safe passage..
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Safe travels Schoen.
Looks like you got the boat hauled out just in time! Crazy weather.
 
Feb 20, 2011
7,990
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Yah, have fun and drive carefully! (Not necessarily in that order)
There'll be plenty of smart ass comments to tide us over in the meantime, trust me. :thumbup:
 

Pat

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Jun 7, 2004
1,250
Oday 272LE Ninnescah Yacht Club, Wichita, Ks.
Shane, good luck to you guys on your delivery to the islands...I wish I was going.....but we've been there 10 times in the past; although that really doesn't matter....it is always the current trip that is the best.....you guys take care and keep in touch if you have a chance....We had Gregg and Cindy over for her birthday two nights ago and talked about the trip.. I am envious....get me some music....I'll never forget when we were there with Jeff Lane and he went around and raised about $ 1400.00 to keep the band playing at Foxy's...It made my rowing back to the boat a bit problematic.....but what memories........be safe and be glad you warm....It's cold here today, !! Patrick in Paradise....
 

JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
Well, we made it! Going to post the narrative and related pics in several posts rather than one big one as suggested by one of our SBO members. Here we go:

Well, made the trip. No worse for the wear. A couple minor breakages and some significant weather along the way but got the Jeanneau 53, Moby II, delivered to the BVI safely.


Our trip really began with the devastation created by hurricane Irma in the fall of 2017. My great friend from the lake, Jim’s family had a Bavaria 50 which they had kept in the BVI for 17 years. She was totally destroyed by Irma. She was anchored in Fat Hog’s Bay and Irma’s eye went directly overhead. Witnesses tell us that she survived the initial round of hurricane force winds but after the eye passed overhead and the back side of the storm took hold, she broke free of her moorings, was tossed upon a reef and broke in two. In November of 2017, they purchased a lightly used 2011 Jeanneau 53 in Florida, christened her Moby II and got to work from long distance making her ready for a delivery to the islands. In May 2018, they sailed her up to Brunswick, GA from Florida.


We arrived in Brunswick GA (31:09N;81:29W) where Moby II was docked on 11/15, - temps in the 40's and 50's, 3 days of wrapping up the last of the items to deal with on the punch list, provisioning - food $600; beer, wine and whiskey $700; fuel in the tanks and on deck, water in the tanks and much stored in bottles below, fill the ditch bag, go over watch assignments and daily "beer bitch" assignments, equipment checks, crew familiarization with the boat and equipment. We have fuel for about half the length of the trip. Telecon with our weather router delays us a day for weather - have a north wind to deal with crossing the Gulf Stream and would prefer otherwise. Determine nothing is going to change in the near future, we'll deal with it and so it's time to go. Our general plan is to sail east to longitude 65W and then turn south and run downwind to the islands.


Day 1: 9AM 11/18. Weather router expected little to no wind day one but we found a nice 10-15 knot NE breeze once offshore. As we leave Brunswick, we are all dressed in long pants, LS shirts and fleece or foul weather jackets –it’s cold. Sailed in and out of small squalls all day. We did not spot any North Atlantic Right Whales off the GA coast – apparently they winter there and can be a hazard at 55-75 feet long and 70 tons. 5 PM we get to the Gulf Stream. All crew have been feeling a bit puny through the first day. One, our cook, gets sick and goes on injured reserve for the evening while his brother steps in to do the cooking that night. All are good after that.


Day 2, 11/19 – (09:30 – 30:58N;78:36W): Through the GS and were set north as a result, alter course to the south a bit to get back on track. About noon the wind switches to the south at 15 and we tack. Router gave us a waypoint to head toward - 2.5 days down the track and further SE than we planned, distances are huge. Four PM, fish on! Mahi for dinner! Came within a half mile of a 1,099 foot container ship, AIS system alerted us and gave us specifics as to closest point of approach. A good day sailing and no issues. Throughout the trip we see a half dozen big cargo ships and one sailboat coming from the NE US coast when we get close to BVI.
 

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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Awesome, great pics. Thank goodness the smart ass comments can recommence. I feel like I've been carrying all the load.
Can't wait for hear and see more.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 

Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
Congratulations on a safe trip. Is that busted Bavaria on a reef photo the original Moby? Never seen a production boat actually break in two like that. Amazing destruction.
 

JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
Congratulations on a safe trip. Is that busted Bavaria on a reef photo the original Moby? Never seen a production boat actually break in two like that. Amazing destruction.
Yes, that was Moby (I), she broke in half and the stern wound up in front of the bow. Presume tornadic wind did that part of it. The wreckage was on a reef and we suspect that she was surged up onto the reef and came down on her keel and broke. Owner says he believes that the point at which it broke was the line where the bow section constructed with some amount of Kevlar stopped.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Great write up JRacer. Sad to see the boat on the reef. Can see where the wreck could break an owners heart.
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
 

JRacer

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Aug 9, 2011
1,331
Beneteau 310 Cheney KS (Wichita)
BTW, just to clarify, the photo of the boat in the slip is Moby II in Brunswick, GA before we departed.