JoLin
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 5,146
If you live in the vicinity of Long Island you may know what I'm talking about 
Two weeks ago Linda and I took the Carver out from Babylon (south shore of LI) to attend the USPS District 3 rendezvous in Greenport on the north fork. Our friend Tom and his wife accompanied us in his 30' Chris Craft Sportfish. Up through the Shinnecock Canal to the lock (northbound) then east through the Peconic to Greenport. When we got to Shinnecock the lock was open and the current was running against us at about 8 knots. Lots of whirlpools and cross-currents as we approached the lock. Tom was in the lead and I saw his boat start to slew around a bit, then water boiling at the transom as he nailed it. I knew I had to do the same. Popped the engines to 3000 rpm and muscled the boat through the lock at a whopping 4 knots SOG (speed over ground). Was a bit exciting but the boat tracked fine. Now, I've been through there 3 times before when it was closed and I had to tie up and wait. Funny how narrow that lock seems when you're trying to power through with no margin for error! The Peconic was a little 'lumpy' but no big deal.
We spent 4 great nights on the boats in Greenport at the Townsend Manor Inn, then left there for a prearranged trip to Martha's Vineyard. This was my first time across the LI Sound and at a couple of points we were all by our lonesome with no land in sight. Also a new experience, but exhilarating. The swells were running 3-4 feet with some chop. I had been a little concerned about how the Carver would handle 'open water'. She's 8' tall with the flybridge, only has a 9' 5" beam, and a shallow deadrise hull... but she did great. No pounding at 17-18 knots and not at all tippy. Very surefooted. The more I use this boat (I've owned her for a year now) the more impressed I am with it. It just seems to do everything well, and the build quality is high.
After 2 hours (38 nm), I made a refueling stop at Champlin's on Block Island. When we planned the voyage, we thought I might make the entire trip (about 75 miles) on one tankful (100 gallons), but it was too close for comfort. Tom's boat holds 250 gallons, so he had no concern. I calculated that I might have 20-25 gallons left when we got there. Not good enough for me. I took 35 gallons at Block and we continued on to Oak Bluffs Harbor in MV (another 4 hours), where I took on another 78 gallons. On a straight run I might have just made it, or I might have run out a few miles from our destination. The refueling stop was the right decision.
We spent 5 nights in Oak Bluffs Marina, and it was just incredible. Perfect weather. We were put on a bulkhead right in front of a row of restaurants and bars. I was concerned at first about the lack of privacy and possibility of noisy drunks keeping us awake, but we found out that night that the 'strip' starts to empty out about 9:00, and by 10:00 all the bars and restaurants along it are closed. So, it turned out to be a great spot after all. You can roll out of the boat to get a drink or some food, then roll right back on again! :joyous:
If you've never been to Martha's Vineyard, I highly recommend it. Some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. If you like amazing water views, harbors full of fishing boats, pleasure boats and big yachts, 200 year old houses and lots of history (it was settled in 1602), it's the place to go.
The weather was fantastic for the entire time we were there, but the wind forecast began to look bad for the weekend. 20 mph winds with gusts to 30 were predicted, and we had a lot of water to cross. Tom and I regretfully decided to leave a day early and be back to Long Island before it hit. Oak Bluffs even refunded our money for the last night, and that's almost unheard of where I boat.
We made an uneventful trip back to Greenport (with another fuel stop at Block), and spent that Friday night at Mitchell Park Marina. On Saturday we headed back to Babylon. The Shinnecock lock was open again (southbound this time) with about a 4 knot current running. I've been through that before. It's like riding a waterslide, and I warned Tom to keep the speed up again, because there are some whirlpools along the way. With the following current it's easy to get spun around unless you outrun it and maintain steerage. We ran through without incident again and made it back home from Greenport in 5 1/2 hours, which is really good time.
It was just a great, great trip of the sort I'd never attempted before. 10 days of nearly uninterrupted sunny weather, nice people, amazing scenery and long runs across open water. I gained a bunch more experience along the way, and Escapade ran flawlessly for 340 nautical miles (380 statute miles)- not a single problem of any kind.
Two weeks ago Linda and I took the Carver out from Babylon (south shore of LI) to attend the USPS District 3 rendezvous in Greenport on the north fork. Our friend Tom and his wife accompanied us in his 30' Chris Craft Sportfish. Up through the Shinnecock Canal to the lock (northbound) then east through the Peconic to Greenport. When we got to Shinnecock the lock was open and the current was running against us at about 8 knots. Lots of whirlpools and cross-currents as we approached the lock. Tom was in the lead and I saw his boat start to slew around a bit, then water boiling at the transom as he nailed it. I knew I had to do the same. Popped the engines to 3000 rpm and muscled the boat through the lock at a whopping 4 knots SOG (speed over ground). Was a bit exciting but the boat tracked fine. Now, I've been through there 3 times before when it was closed and I had to tie up and wait. Funny how narrow that lock seems when you're trying to power through with no margin for error! The Peconic was a little 'lumpy' but no big deal.
We spent 4 great nights on the boats in Greenport at the Townsend Manor Inn, then left there for a prearranged trip to Martha's Vineyard. This was my first time across the LI Sound and at a couple of points we were all by our lonesome with no land in sight. Also a new experience, but exhilarating. The swells were running 3-4 feet with some chop. I had been a little concerned about how the Carver would handle 'open water'. She's 8' tall with the flybridge, only has a 9' 5" beam, and a shallow deadrise hull... but she did great. No pounding at 17-18 knots and not at all tippy. Very surefooted. The more I use this boat (I've owned her for a year now) the more impressed I am with it. It just seems to do everything well, and the build quality is high.
After 2 hours (38 nm), I made a refueling stop at Champlin's on Block Island. When we planned the voyage, we thought I might make the entire trip (about 75 miles) on one tankful (100 gallons), but it was too close for comfort. Tom's boat holds 250 gallons, so he had no concern. I calculated that I might have 20-25 gallons left when we got there. Not good enough for me. I took 35 gallons at Block and we continued on to Oak Bluffs Harbor in MV (another 4 hours), where I took on another 78 gallons. On a straight run I might have just made it, or I might have run out a few miles from our destination. The refueling stop was the right decision.
We spent 5 nights in Oak Bluffs Marina, and it was just incredible. Perfect weather. We were put on a bulkhead right in front of a row of restaurants and bars. I was concerned at first about the lack of privacy and possibility of noisy drunks keeping us awake, but we found out that night that the 'strip' starts to empty out about 9:00, and by 10:00 all the bars and restaurants along it are closed. So, it turned out to be a great spot after all. You can roll out of the boat to get a drink or some food, then roll right back on again! :joyous:
If you've never been to Martha's Vineyard, I highly recommend it. Some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. If you like amazing water views, harbors full of fishing boats, pleasure boats and big yachts, 200 year old houses and lots of history (it was settled in 1602), it's the place to go.
The weather was fantastic for the entire time we were there, but the wind forecast began to look bad for the weekend. 20 mph winds with gusts to 30 were predicted, and we had a lot of water to cross. Tom and I regretfully decided to leave a day early and be back to Long Island before it hit. Oak Bluffs even refunded our money for the last night, and that's almost unheard of where I boat.
We made an uneventful trip back to Greenport (with another fuel stop at Block), and spent that Friday night at Mitchell Park Marina. On Saturday we headed back to Babylon. The Shinnecock lock was open again (southbound this time) with about a 4 knot current running. I've been through that before. It's like riding a waterslide, and I warned Tom to keep the speed up again, because there are some whirlpools along the way. With the following current it's easy to get spun around unless you outrun it and maintain steerage. We ran through without incident again and made it back home from Greenport in 5 1/2 hours, which is really good time.
It was just a great, great trip of the sort I'd never attempted before. 10 days of nearly uninterrupted sunny weather, nice people, amazing scenery and long runs across open water. I gained a bunch more experience along the way, and Escapade ran flawlessly for 340 nautical miles (380 statute miles)- not a single problem of any kind.
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