Sailboat delivery done right!

Oct 26, 2008
6,041
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Well, I've hinted about our sailboat purchase and now it's official. Andante II is a Catalina 320 that we purchased in June and now is back at her new home in Barnegat. We were attracted to this boat because we decided early on that we preferred this model over similar boats. We looked at several and found this one in tip-top condition with multiple attractive features already on board at a very reasonable price. Our contact was through a broker whom we found to be very reliable, helpful and he made the entire transaction a pleasure during a very busy and stressful time period (for other reasons) for Sue and I. The broker encouraged us to contact the previous owner, as well, because he knew that the PO would be helpful and gracious, which he certainly was. It was obvious that he loved this boat for 20 years. But they moved up to a larger Catalina for more ambitious cruising options and they had to let Andante go.

Fortunately for us, the PO had already paid for a mooring at Red Brook Harbor in Pocasset, MA, where he also is on a mooring with his new boat. He graciously did this so that we could have time to make the boat ours on the water before bringing her home. Sue and I came up for a weekend to get familiarized and make the boat homey for us. During a sail on windy Buzzard's Bay, which went very well, Sue felt a little nervous about accompanying me on the first leg of the trip home. My plans were to spend a little time in the Massachusetts waters before making a transfer between Sue and @Ward H somewhere in Connecticut for the final delivery. I think the open waters, the wind, and the uncertainty of a new-to-us boat made her uncomfortable. She felt better if I just did the delivery with Ward, thinking that our experience together would be less stressful.

So Ward and I set out for MA in a rental car on Thursday last week. We weren't able to drop off the car at the 5:00 deadline so we kept it overnight and the PO graciously picked us up, and took us to a grocery store on Friday morning, delivering us to Red Brook Harbor. He was also going out to his boat, so just before we set off, he came by in his dinghy to touch the topsides one last time and shed some tears. It was very touching. We kept in touch with texts just to let him know all was well and Andante was amazing through the entire trip.

We set off on Friday, June 26 and arrived Wednesday, July 1st, covering almost 300 nautical miles in 50 hours total time traveling. We sailed upwind in Buzzards Bay heading due SW from Pocasset to Cuttyhunk in moderately strong breezes with reefed main for the entire day until it lightened up just at the end. We made 6 tacks across the bay and found out how well the boat handles upwind sailing. After the first day, though, we encountered conditions that were mostly too light to sail fast enough to make planned destinations. Of the 50 hours on water traveling, we sailed for about 10 hours and motored or motor-sailed for the other 40 hours. It was nice when the wind provided enough assist to make 6 knots SOG with lighter engine assist.

Our overnight stops were moorings at Cuttyhunk & Block Island, marina visit in Branford Harbor, mooring again at Manhasset Bay (Port Washington) and anchoring just inside the end of Sandy Hook. We used the grill for burgers, hot dogs & ribs. We used the stove for soup, egg breakfasts and french toast, and we had plenty of snacks and cold beverages for the entire trip. We found out just how valuable the connector and side curtains are between the bimini and the dodger as we encountered downpours at the end of our legs to Block Island, Branford Harbor, Port Washington, and even some light rain at Sandy Hook. We stayed dry and comfortable relaxing in the cockpit as the rain came down.

While I was doing all the navigational planning, Ward was keeping track of the weather, which turned out to be extremely important. We thread the needle between thunderstorm outbreaks on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Ward had an exceptional grasp on where we needed to be to avoid the trouble areas and we found that with planning and some luck, we weren't delayed even though we could see extreme weather miles away during several incidents.

I'd say that we only had one minor mishap. We didn't close the hatches and ports on Tuesday as we traveled through NYC, passing through the currents at Hell's Gate. Our timing was perfect for carrying through all the way past The Narrows with favorable current. However, we went through standing waves at about 12 knots in Hell's Gate in a current that was like river rapids. We didn't even notice as the breaking waves splashed through the open windows and soaked the interior until Ward went below and found puddles on the floor boards and wet furnishings. We dried out effectively, but it would have been nicer if we knew or remembered to be prepared!

In the end, we evaluated the trip as nothing short of amazing! Sue met us in Barnegat to document our arrival. It's good to have Andante home and being made ready for future trips!
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Congratulations on the boat purchase! Happy to hear that the delivery was uneventful.
 
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Jul 27, 2011
4,988
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Yes! Congratulations on the new yacht!:thumbup: When we bought the Bavaria in 2004 after 11 yr with our Pearson 30, me mate feared: “the boat is too big for us”, with similar concerns as Sue for taking it afar, just the two of us. All good now.:biggrin:
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Congratulations, Sue & Scott. Now that you (finally) have a Catalina, may I remind you of the superb Catalina Associations that each of their boats have and the quarterly Mainsheet magazine that you get by joining your C320 Association. You can also get old copies online, once you learn the code. I always suggest that folks read the entire magazine, other sizes have very good technical information that applies to your boat, too.

www.c320.org

Has their own discussion forum, too.

I don't know if they "do" electrical, I haven't looked, but you're very welcome to use our C34 electrical section, anytime: Electrical Systems 101 Electrical Systems 101

You'll love your new boat, you'll have an incredible level of support from people who own that same boat and an expanded level of support from folks who own other Catalinas in similar size range.

Welcome aboard.
 
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Dec 27, 2012
587
Precision Precision 28 St Augustine
Looks like a win win situation. You bought a beautiful boat that you wanted and a delivery that you will never forget. Congrats
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Way to go Scott. You and Sue are in for some fun times. Pictures will be forthcoming I hope.

Now that you know the way those folks up north will have to plan to share a mooring with the boat from Barnegat Bay.
 

Bob S

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Sep 27, 2007
1,771
Beneteau 393 New Bedford, MA
Congrats, hope you were able to sample the Portuguese lobster sandwich at the Chart Room. I'm sure you found it interesting exiting Redbrook harbor too. Sounds like a great adventure which helps building confidence in your new boat.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
As @Scott T-Bird said in his thread title, it was a delivery done right.
Scott and Sue bought a very sweet C320 and we really got to put it to work that first day of great sailing. We visited some great harbors, dodged some bad weather and had a great trip through NYC.
I think key was Scott's planning with plenty of alternates, which provided plenty of flexibility to adjust our route and speed for weather conditions.
Here's some photos:

Scott's smile says it all

IMG_0431.jpg

Scott's sweet C320 sitting in Branford CT
IMG_0432.jpeg

Sunset at Block Island
IMG_0440.jpeg

Our Storm Radar app showed the storms that entered the bay just after we passed the area
IMG_0442.jpg

A view of those storms off our stern
IMG_0445.jpeg


NYC comes into view as we approach Port Washington, our last stop before the East River
IMG_0447.jpeg

The famous Hell Gate Bridge
IMG_0475.jpeg

The Freedom Tower viewed from the Hudson River
IMG_0531.jpeg

Lady Liberty stands tall
IMG_0545.jpeg

Another colorful sunset from our anchorage at Sandy Hook, the last of the trip.
IMG_0552.jpeg

With the only mishap being some wet cushions, I agree with Scott. It was an amazing trip.

We're already talking about going back to Block Island next year.
 

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I'm curious about the part of the route from the LI Sound, into the East River, Hell Gate, etc. Is it possible to go along the North side of Randall Island? And, it seems you went up the Harlem River into the Hudson instead of straight down the East River. Curious as to route decisions.

Thanks,

jv
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,041
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I'm curious about the part of the route from the LI Sound, into the East River, Hell Gate, etc. Is it possible to go along the North side of Randall Island? And, it seems you went up the Harlem River into the Hudson instead of straight down the East River. Curious as to route decisions.

Thanks,

jv
I guess you'd be talking about Bronx Kill, and from the looks of Google Maps, not possible. Also, I don't think anybody would ever do the Harlem River in a sailboat. I think there are way too many bridges that would need to be lifted or rotated to get thru with a mast. There may even be some fixed bridges that you can't get by … I don't know.

We turned upstream into the Hudson after rounding the Battery, that's when we took photos of the Freedom Tower from that angle. We were fighting a strong current upstream, so we turned around after about a half-hour of sight seeing along the west side. We didn't get very far.

After rounding Rikers Island, we passed thru the channel between North Brother & South Brother Islands. We passed under the Hells Gate bridge & Tri-boro bridge (the rapids that soaked our interior), then between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, past the UN Building (honestly, it looked kind of slummy - all that money they collect and not very much upkeep), then under Williamsburg, Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges before rounding the Battery.
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,041
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Sounds yummy! Where is that?
It's water front on Red Brook Harbor, next to Kingman's Marina. We were going from the marina next door … Parker's Boatyard. It was open for outdoor dining when Sue and I were there, but we didn't go there for dinner that weekend. Perhaps another time …
 
Jun 8, 2004
2,841
Catalina 320 Dana Point
Isn't that the boat the previous owner paneled the cabin interior with teak ? I think I remember photos on the owners association.
 

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
I guess you'd be talking about Bronx Kill, and from the looks of Google Maps, not possible. Also, I don't think anybody would ever do the Harlem River in a sailboat. I think there are way too many bridges that would need to be lifted or rotated to get thru with a mast. There may even be some fixed bridges that you can't get by … I don't know.

We turned upstream into the Hudson after rounding the Battery, that's when we took photos of the Freedom Tower from that angle. We were fighting a strong current upstream, so we turned around after about a half-hour of sight seeing along the west side. We didn't get very far.

After rounding Rikers Island, we passed thru the channel between North Brother & South Brother Islands. We passed under the Hells Gate bridge & Tri-boro bridge (the rapids that soaked our interior), then between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, past the UN Building (honestly, it looked kind of slummy - all that money they collect and not very much upkeep), then under Williamsburg, Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges before rounding the Battery.
Thanks, Scott. Very cool voyage. Just curious, did you guys have a current Eldridge on hand, and if not, what did you use for current predictions? Also, what did you use for pilot info, like bridge heights, etc.?
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
I am 'Catalina White' with envy. Congrats on the new-to-you boat and to both Scott and Ward for a safe travel.