Capt. Chris
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2009
- Messages
- 42
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-288 C
- Vessel Name
- Folie A Deux
We departed Mystic CT for Block Island on Labor Day, 9/06. Our original plan was to leave 5 days earlier for Nantucket.
But Hurricane Earl squashed those plans.
The weather was great! Bright, Sunny and warm, with gentle 1 ft swells on BI Sound. I think it was the first time in
15 or so trips that we were not fog bound.
Being on BI after Labor Day was fantastic! ( our first post LD trip). It was uncrowded, peaceful, and all the shops and restaurants were open. I'll post some pics soon.
Our departure date was Weds 9/8. I had been monitoring the weather. Apparently the frontal system that had kept Earl out to sea was now firmly in place. Wind 25 kts gusting to 35 kts. Seas on the ocean 10-12 ft., on BI Sound 4-6 ft, On LI Sound 3-5 ft. Not something to look forward to, but I've seen worse ( in 1989 my wife and I made a run from Tortola BVI to Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas in a 35 ft charted sailboat. Tropical Storm Chris was passing thru, wind 70 kts, 20 ft seas. Funny ( I can laugh about it now), when we arrived home in NY a week later, Chris had come up the coast and hit us again)
I am very happy to say the our Ranger 29 performed perfectly. I kept it at a steady 7-8 knots. The wind was coming from the SW and our course should have been just about NW. To avoid being hit directly abeam, I tacked a zig zag pattern.
I did occasionally get caught full abeam but experienced no sliding down the face of a wave. When running with the waves on aft port quarter, we never surfed. Not at any time did the bow submarine. On several occasions we had water over the cabin top. The cockpit drains worked fine. We shipped no water, and as far as I am aware the bilge pumps never engaged. The windshield wipers were a blessing. My only complaint, because we had all hatches, doors, and windows battened down the inside of the windshields fogged up a great deal. All in all I was very pleased with "Folie a Deux's performance.
Chris
PS: I don't want anyone to think we are crazy. The reason we made the Tortola to St Thomas run was because we had been diving. My wife got the Bends. All aircraft was grounded, all the ferries had stopped running. I had to get my wife the the recompression Chamber on St Thomas pronto.
But Hurricane Earl squashed those plans.
The weather was great! Bright, Sunny and warm, with gentle 1 ft swells on BI Sound. I think it was the first time in
15 or so trips that we were not fog bound.
Being on BI after Labor Day was fantastic! ( our first post LD trip). It was uncrowded, peaceful, and all the shops and restaurants were open. I'll post some pics soon.
Our departure date was Weds 9/8. I had been monitoring the weather. Apparently the frontal system that had kept Earl out to sea was now firmly in place. Wind 25 kts gusting to 35 kts. Seas on the ocean 10-12 ft., on BI Sound 4-6 ft, On LI Sound 3-5 ft. Not something to look forward to, but I've seen worse ( in 1989 my wife and I made a run from Tortola BVI to Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas in a 35 ft charted sailboat. Tropical Storm Chris was passing thru, wind 70 kts, 20 ft seas. Funny ( I can laugh about it now), when we arrived home in NY a week later, Chris had come up the coast and hit us again)
I am very happy to say the our Ranger 29 performed perfectly. I kept it at a steady 7-8 knots. The wind was coming from the SW and our course should have been just about NW. To avoid being hit directly abeam, I tacked a zig zag pattern.
I did occasionally get caught full abeam but experienced no sliding down the face of a wave. When running with the waves on aft port quarter, we never surfed. Not at any time did the bow submarine. On several occasions we had water over the cabin top. The cockpit drains worked fine. We shipped no water, and as far as I am aware the bilge pumps never engaged. The windshield wipers were a blessing. My only complaint, because we had all hatches, doors, and windows battened down the inside of the windshields fogged up a great deal. All in all I was very pleased with "Folie a Deux's performance.
Chris
PS: I don't want anyone to think we are crazy. The reason we made the Tortola to St Thomas run was because we had been diving. My wife got the Bends. All aircraft was grounded, all the ferries had stopped running. I had to get my wife the the recompression Chamber on St Thomas pronto.