Introduction – John DeWitt

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Introduction John DeWitt

• John is an avid sailor with over 15,000
  miles under his keel in the last five years in
  power and sail boats ranging from 35 to 151 feet.
  He is a member of Lakewood Yacht Club. John was
  Waterford Yacht Clubs Yachtsman of the Year in
  2004. John owns and operates Global Delivery
  Service a yacht delivery company with over 30
  captains located near major boating centers
  throughout the US.832 541 7569Web
  www.globaldeliveryservice.com/
• E-Mail gds_at_marinanet.net

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Introduction Della DeWitt

• Della is a novice sailor but learning fast.
  She is an Elsevier-MC Strategies sales
  associate. She sells on-line education to health
  care professionals. When she is not selling or
  sailing she is playing her cello in local
  establishments or weddings. Her tag line is
  LaBella Cello Everything from Billy Joel to
  Bach. Della DeWittWeb Site
  http//labella-cello.com/E-Mail
  info_at_labella-cello.com

LaBella Cello
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Peaceful Easy Cruising Texas to New England
Back 2006 2007IP Cruising Texas to MD 2009
Cruising Lessons Learned, Great Not so Great
Places to Berth/Anchor, Being a Tourist in our
Great Country, Block Island after the Tourist
Season, The Magic of Chesapeake Bay, Why is it
that Auto Pilots Fail at the Worst Time? NOAA
Weather, Great Communication Gadgets , Manatees
Green Flashes and Other Mythical Stuff. GCIP
Association 2 Oct. 2010
Sunset off the Coast of Maryland
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Seminar Outline

• Cruise Overview - John
• Preparation - Getting the Dream Underway - John
  Della
• Ports Along the Way John
• His Lessons Learned - John
• Her Lessons Learned Della
• Question and Answer - All

Photo Deep blue water of the Gulf Stream
offthe coast of Florida
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Peaceful Easy The Boat

• 1998 Hunter 450
• LOA 44.25 ft. LWL 37.5 ft.
• Beam 14 ft. Draft 5.5 ft.
• Air Draft/Bridge Clearance 64.5 feet
• Speed Six to seven knots
• Range 700 miles under motor/1400 miles motor
  sailing
• Safety Equipment PEPIRB, SPOT Satellite
  Tracker, Offshore 4-Person Life Raft, SSB, Sat
  Phone, VHF with DSC, Radar, Chart Plotter x 2,
  Night Vision Goggles, USCG Safety Package
• How we do it Underway offshore for 3 to 4 days.
  Then anchor or stay at a marina for 3 or 4 days.
  This allowed us to change out crew, do boat
  maintenance, laundry, refuel, re-supply, rest,
  catch up with our family and friends and see the
  local area.

Peaceful Easy Under Spinnaker
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Peaceful Easy Cruise Overview

• 2006 Hunter 450 PEF
• LYC to Groton, CT 18 May to 25 June Groton, CT
  to LYC9 Oct. - 19 Nov.
• 4931 Nautical Miles
• 2007 Hunter 450 PEF
• LYC to Groton, CT 17 May to 23 June, Groton CT
  to LYC22 Sep. to 9 Nov.
• 5023 Nautical Miles
• 2009 IP 35 EToile
• LYC to Rock Hall, MD30 May to 27 June
• 1900 Nautical miles

PEF Crosses the Mississippi Della Watches for
Traffic
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IP 35 Cruise 2009 Overview Continued
A Method of Visual Layout of Your Cruise
Schedule for Crew and Shore Party
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Preparation - Getting Your Dream Underway

• Vessel Prep
• Dont wait until she is 100
• Best prep is frequent use
• Four page to-do checklist
• Take small steps
• Murphy lives on boats
• Personal Prep
• Mail
• Medications
• Medical and Eye Appts.
• Banking and Bills

Captain John and First Mate Della Ready to Depart
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Preparation - Continued

• Communications
• Keeping in touch was critical.
• Researched several options
• How we did it
• Cell phone antenna and amplifier
• Air card for the lap top
• About 40 of marinas yacht clubs we visited had
  public access wireless systems.
• Used Sat Phone when not in cell phone range.
  Used it very little.
• To keep our friends on shore updated we used a
  web page where I posted a log of our trip and
  updated it frequently with our progress and
  photos.

Peaceful Easy Cruises at over 10 Knots In the
Gulf Stream
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Preparation - Continued

• Safety
• Weather Service
• Equipment
• 4-person, offshore life raft
• EPIRB
• SPOT new Item 2008
• SSB
• Sat Phone
• VHF with DSC, Fog Horn and Hailer
• Radar
• Chart Plotter x 2 (onboard Raymarine laptop
  with USB GPS antenna)
• Offshore Medical Kit
• Night Vision Goggles
• Crew Briefs and Orientation

Waterspout at Boca Chica Key
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Preparation - Continued

• Safety Continued
• Ditch Bag
• Stowed in ditch bag
• First aid kit
• 4 days rations
• Can Opener
• Heavy duty disposable flatware/cups/plates
• 4 days water
• Flashlight
• Small spot light
• Flares
• Binoculars
• Strobe light
• Kite
• Inflatable distress flag
• Hand-held VHF in waterproof case
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Extra batteries in waterproof container
• Ziplocs

• Grab as you go
• EPIRB
• SPO T
• Sat Phone
• Hand held GPS
• Water Container
• Launch dinghy - if you have time

Squall Line
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Preparation - Continued

• Route Planning
• Used Maptech
• Did the major point to point plot and then
  reviewed the course line in detail
• Planned duck-out points
• Planned Week-Long Segments
• We would sail for 3 to 4 days and then layover
  for 3 or 4 days.
• During layovers we would drop off or pick up
  crew do boat chores maintenance visit the
  local area to include the West Marine stay in
  touch with family, friends and business.
• If we had a good weather window and did not need
  to wait for crew we departed early to keep slack
  in the schedule.
• Did Sailing on a Schedule Work?

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Preparation - Continued

• Provisioning
• Provisioning is an art
• Simplicity is key
• One Pot Meals
• Snacks are Important
• Prepare and Stow to Build in Cockpit
• Have a Backup
• Dont Depend on Microwave Foods
• Have a Rough Weather Meal(s) in Mind

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Provisioning List
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Provisioning List - Continued
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Provisioning List - Continued
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Ports/Marinas/Yacht Clubs/Anchorages
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Ports/Marinas/Yacht Clubs/Anchorages
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Ports/Marinas/Yacht Clubs/Anchorages
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Ports/Marinas/Yacht Clubs/Anchorages
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Ports/Marinas/Yacht Clubs/Anchorages
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His Lessons Learned

• NOAA Weather not much change --more often wrong
  than right
• USCG radios have improved
• Tow Boat US use them for local knowledge
• Crew Orientation -- boat book
• Bicycles great to explore buy cheap ones
  they rust out in a year
• Rental Car -- cheaper than taxis
• Gulf of Mexico in the fall -- Cold Front every 4
  to 7 days.
• Reserve marina space in advance
• Global Star Sat Phone improved
• I dont have a sailboat I have a 7 knot trawler
  with a mast.
• Summer in New England is great
• Chesapeake Bay in the fall is great

Very unlucky Mahi Mahi thatwas soon to be fish
sticks
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Her Lessons Learned

• A novices Second time offshore overnight
• Dealing with the sleep monster
• Cruising is serious business
• Your first line of defense is you, your boat and
  crew dont count on the USCG