Scott wrote...

There is a
certain buffer in traveling with others as I know they are there to assist
if needed. That doesn't mean I need to borrow their crew, but it means I
know 3 radars are looking for targets. Several times last night the three
of us changed course to miss fishing boats and other cruising boats.

Dennis replies...

Hello Scott, and first, congratulations on your beginning to "realize the
dream"!

The recently completed Milt Baker-led Med Bound 07 was the first time I
have made ocean passages accompanied by another vessel or several others.
The change in intensity level needed to stand watch was amazingly different
from previous passages as a single unaccompanied vessel. On previous
passage I had always thought I needed nearly 100% concentration at night to
keep things in order, with often large numbers of things happening at the
same time, and feeling quite alone to sort it out.

On the Med Bound trip we had 8 vessels for the first leg to Bermuda, then
three for the balance of the trip to the Azores and on to Gibraltar. We
traveled in a loose V pattern with perhaps less than a mile separation
during the day, and generally more than a mile between each vessel during
the dark hours. Generally, the lead boat, Milt's Bluewater, made contact
with potential crossing or overtaking conflicts. All or nearly all our
vessels had AIS, and some worked exceptionally well and they generally
alerted the vessels with less well tweaked systems to upcoming situations.

We never did have to stop or slow for another vessel's mechanical problems,
but the advantage of multiple sets of eyes and radar on watch made for
remarkably stress free nighttime watches. It made me a believer in
passagemaking in groups where possible, as long as everyone understands the
responsibilities and expectations, and all the vessels and crews are well
prepared.

If  I've not thanked Milt and Judy Baker enough for organizing the event,
and David and Lowie Bock for asking Esther and I along for the cruise on
Salty Dawg, again, a mighty thanks.

A personal thrill was being noted by Milt as the "Fishing Czar" as Salty
Dawg consistently landed many more fish that the rest of the fleet
combined. I had not thought of myself as a particularly successful salt
water fisherman, and need to thank David Bock for having a VERY well
equipped locker(s) of fishing tackle. Esther and Lowie even produced a
hilarious CD titled "Fishing Techniques on Nordhavns" which we showed to
the group in Bermuda. Last week my wife gave me a T shirt with photographic
images of several (actually 9) of the biggest fish we caught. I drag it out
to brag at the slightest opportunity.

Do keep us posted on your experiences!

Dennis

Dennis Bruckel, Cruising Editor
Waterway Guide
Albin 27  Sadie B
website www.debruckel.com
cell phone 407 414 0531

Dennis,

Thank you for your kind note.  You are so right about the impact of lowering
stress realized by having cruising companions.  Knowing people were there
just outside our window at the end of channel 68 was an amazing feeling.  To
be able to discuss weather, destinations, ask questions an so forth also
helps keep you engaged during the wee hours of the morning.  I wanted to
share a perspective on your comment about everyone understanding their
responsibilities and roles, because I think it's so important.

As we cruised we observed various "styles" or disciplines amongst the
skippers.  Each of us made contributions or advanced the group by applying
our specific talents or skills.  For example, Bill and Linda Edwards aboard
Wayward Wind (Nordhavn 43) took a lead role in using previously defined
waypoints as our agreed track.  Patrick and Susan Coonan aboard Paloma
(Nordhavn 43) provided feedback and detail regarding specifics of tide,
current and navigation specifics for ports we had never entered before.  As
a matter of fact Patrick pointed out a set of range markers that were
clearly present in the Charlie's Charts but I had missed.  Using those range
markers to enter the narrow channel at Brookings proved very valuable.  An
example that Patrick's ability to derive detail from the hand done drawings
was far superior to mine!

We also noted that the skippers had different thoughts about how close they
should be during the day or at night.  I tended to like to be closer than
Bill felt was prudent.  Several times he asked me to yield to the port to
increase the margin of safety he wanted to insure.  I respectfully and
immediately complied.  I later realized that both Bill and Patrick were
using AIS to compute any course convergence and I was simply steering a
heading which may or may not have resulted in converging paths.  Later in
the voyage I took Bill's waypoint and created one of my own about a half
mile apart so we were steering parallel courses.  This ended the convergence
scenario.

Another discipline that was different between the three of us was our use of
waypoints versus adapting our path to the variables as we encountered them.
Please don't mis-interpret this, I'm not saying either discipline was better
or worse, rather that different skippers have different levels of comfort or
experience with how they navigate.  Bill really preferred to use previously
qualified and entered routes and courses that he had a great deal of
confidence in.  One can certainly understand that when executing a long
voyage (as he was taking the boat non-stop to LA) the use of qualified
routes and waypoints would be critical for maintaining fuel burn and staying
with the cruise plan.  Patrick and I were purposefully trying to avoid
multiple overnight trips.  We are making a leisurely trip down the coast,
not a transit.  So, one difference I noticed after Patrick and I separated
from Bill and Linda was that we changed course more frequently.  A technique
that Patrick brought to the voyage was to change courses in 5, 10, 15 or 20
degree increments when possible.  The result is often it's much easier to
keep track of your heading, should you have to disable the autopilot to
dodge a crap pot of something.  By  using 5 degree increments we reduced the
stress of managing the legs of the segments.  Again, this only worked
because we weren't staying on a rhumb line between points hundreds of miles
distant.  Clearly if your crossing an ocean you need to steer specific
headings.

My point in all this discussion is that as Skippers sharing in a cruising
adventure, you need to bring a certain amount of flexibility to the
endeavor.  If you don't like the cruising style of a companion you may find
it uncomfortable to cruise next to them for several days.  I was glad Bill
could give me the feedback to increase our distance because it helped me
understand what others would consider safe may differ from mine.  It really
came home to roost when he said to me over the radio:  "I spent my entire
life and career managing emergencies.  When given the choice I like to avoid
situations that could complicate or contribute to one".  What he was telling
me was that if he or I needed to make a drastic change or deal with a
problem, he didn't want to have to complicate that scenario with worrying
about hitting another boat.  That point really helped me understand his
perspective and I'm a better skipper for it.

Having discussed all this, I'm really wondering how the FUBAR is going to
play out?  We were three boats sharing an ocean for 3 days.  That's going to
be 60 boats for two weeks.  I can only imagine the fun that's going to
result!!!!

Anyway, sorry for the long posting, but I'm here for a week or so and
finally going to catch up on so much I've learned.

Take care,

Scott and Marian Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle
Currently in Brookings OR

Scott:

I'm hoping our schedules coincide when
you port at Dana Point. Lynette and I heading
to Lost wages tomorrow for PhotoshopWorld.
We return Saturday morning.
Hope you are available.
You're only 900 away miles at this point.
Land miles, that is

Regards,
Rick Redfern