Yacht Captain’s Tool Box
Boat and ship navigation resources
Any yachtsman, weekend pleasure boater or the professional master mariner should not be without this application both on and off the water.
This app replaces several books, manuals, study guides and other resources in one easy to use application.
OFFLINE USE all the data is stored on your apple device. Once installed, you do not need a cellular, WiFi or internet connection to access our resources.
Developers web page:
http://www.captainsapp.com
Download page:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-captains-toolbox/id407399812?mt=8
The St. Augustine inlet can be quite dangerous at times, this morning the coastal sea state was only 3-4′ but with the full moon tide ebbing, the inlet consumed a Tow Boat US vessel. while towing a disabled sailing vessel.
Here is the Pon Pon call from the Coast Guard
The St. Augustine inlet in calm weather is very easy to navigate for any size yacht, but with an ebbing tide and any kind of sea, it can simply be hazardous.
Just a random photo and clip of this strange patch of what looks like over a million jellyfish, the mass went on for miles and miles.
AVAILABLE IN HD
This heavily gunned Coast Guard vessel passed me in the Pamlico Sound on the East Coast this week. I was able to snap this photo.
I’m quite happy to see a show of force on arguably one of Americas weakest points of entry, her coastline. More to the point, in all my years of bouncing in and out of the US waters and following all the rules to a “T”, I’ve never been boarded or inspected. I can only assume it’s because of lack of funding, but I would prefer to see a string of aircraft carriers up and down both coasts of North America, but that’s just one man’s rantings.
The natural progression of most boat owners is bigger and often a longer range. Our discussions of late have materialized into seriously looking at a new build or a purchase of a ~80′ long range displacement motor yacht, and then sail her around the globe. Months of research and trips to various builders have resulted in my recommendation of two options. Either an off the shelf Nordhavn, or a fully custom build at Northern Marine.
Northern Marine has my vote for a new build at this point because they are open to my changes to the superstructure. The people there are easy to work with and the build is a solid US quality.
Here is a short video of an older Northern Marine 80 Tri-Deck north of Seattle that I took on a short sea trial.
AVAILABLE IN HD
One of the great things about being a professional yacht captain is the accidental discoveries along any voyage. While waiting for parts to be delivered in Norfolk, Virgina, I shot this video of a Norwegian naval training ship departing our pier. While filming, the crew in the rigging started to sing. I don’t think any of the onlookers ever imagined such a chorus of powerful sailing gospel. One could not help but be envious of the comradery these young men exhibited. I couldn’t help but be reminded of a misspent youth.
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After a blustery night in Amsterdam, NY on an Erie canal terminal wall, I discovered a log jam of sorts in the tunnels of our 61 Marlow. The logs were lodged in the running gear and it was quite the task to remove in the fall weather. It’s a good thing we didn’t try to pull away with trees tangled in our props. That would have ended badly!
After spending the night on the Troy Dock, we set out on a frosty September morning for lock 1 (Troy Lock). Troy Lock uses the pipe system for locking vessels exclusively, where as the Erie Canal locks always have ropes and cables to use in the same fashion as pipes.
My only real concern was our vertical clearance, even though I’d measured three times and removed mostly everything from our hardtop. The last bridge before the Waterford Lock (2) was very intense.
We have been locking port side for two days now and only because I have an aft deck wing station on that side. We pick up one line upfront just for show and with a little help from the engines and thruster once and a while, the boat just sits there. The locks are very small and not not violent at all. The boat barely moves and it’s not like the locks in the Panama Canal or St. Lawrence Seaway in any way. Keep in mind we are 97 GRT and 61 feet, so on a smaller boat I would absolutely have two line on at all times.
Below is a time lapse video of Lock 2 (Waterford) and Lock 17 on the Erie Canal System.
AVAILABLE IN HD
“It’s about time we do something different with a plastic fantastic yacht”. That was my first reaction when we decided to head to Canada via the Hudson and Erie Canal this fall.
Doing the same old Atlantic string of ports like every other yacht from Florida can get a little old. I’ve asked the boss to allow me to tailor a route that we normally would not be able to do on a larger boat, as we just squeeze under the minimum vertical clearance of the canal of about 20′ feet (this is after I remove our radar and sat domes).
I’ve done the trip to The Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway and even though it’s a feather in the old captains hat, it’s nothing that I long to do again. Besides, there’s no better place to be while we watch the hurricanes stack up on our computer screens.
Now that we’ve decided to do the transit North, there is lots to plan and prepare for, right? Well, the more I research the transit in the Erie Canal the less I find there is to do. I’ve bought the huge inflatable fenders, studied the guides and charts and come to realize that this route is really set up for the smaller boat with the owner operator on a budget. From what I can make out, the permit or fee can be paid at the first lock and there is plenty of free dockage all along the way. My main concern was how to make reservations, not knowing true transit times. After much reading, I figure we will simply tie up alongside the several lock terminals and parks that are along the way. Besides, I could use a break from marina life and a terminal wall in a small town park sounds inviting at this point.
I departed Sept 16th for the Hudson from NYC and after a two day cruise in the Hudson I should be at my first lock in the canal.
As we departed Sag Harbor, we never would have thought a 14 knot Southerly breeze would produce anything more then a chop in the relativity protected waters of the Long Island Sound. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The solid 6′ hard chop, with some 7-8 footers, hitting directly on the bow of our 61′ Marlow made for quite a nasty ride. This Marlow does not like a big sea on the bow. It just pops out of the trough like a rocket, totally safe, but is just unpleasant depending on what you had for dinner the night before.
We cruise at 10 knots and around 1350 rpm generally speaking. As it got uncomfortable, we had a speed over ground of 12 knots. After checking the tide table, I figured we had only another hour of the rough stuff. Once it hit slack tide, it was like a flip of a switch and everything was back to a very manageable 2′ sea.
At the end of the day, I still would have left at that same time from Sag since I was heading back to NYC and I wanted to arrive in the Hell Gate area at slack current. No one wants to fight that 5.5 knot current in a 10 knot boat, unless you want to look at the UN building for about an hour.
In the short clip below, my friend takes the helm in the Sound.
