Welp, I’ve made it once again without incident to Southern New England, specifically the city of cold, sharky Atlantic waters, oyster shooters, sailing, and clam chowder: Newport, Rhode Island!
This being the 3rd Florida-Rhode Island passage with M/Y “Carpe Diem” and although we didn’t exactly make record time we did make a *record low fuel bill* (magically depicted later).
Here’s a Breakdown of Carpe Diem’s “NOBO” Delivery (NOBO =northbound for you landlubbers):
Total Fuel burned (engines + generators): 2850 gallons
Hours Underway: 125
Miles Traveled: 1000nm
# of Crew: 2-3
Lowest Fuel Price: $2.44/g with quantity discount of 1000gals Bluewater Yacht Hampton Roads VA
Highest Fuel Price: $3.79/g Farley State Marina Atlantic City NJ
Leading up to the Delivery, we are presented with 3 impossible deadlines:
May 14th : M/Y Carpe Diem sends out for a set of reconditioned propellers though “Frank and Jimmies Prop Shop”. Project lead time is 2 weeks plus time for freight shipping.
June 1st: Hurricane Season, Insurance co says get at a dodge from Florida waters
June 16th: Newport Charter Show, Carpe Diem to be presented sparkling and show-ready
Fast forward to May 30th, Carpe Diem is patiently awaiting the return of her props! How, you ask, will these deadlines ever possibly be met?! Let me present two all-star companies that pulled through for me to make ‘miracles’ happen and deserve full recognition for above-and-beyond outstanding service:
Miguel Cabezas, Frank and Jimmies Propeller Shop
Billy O’Connell, Harbor Beach Diving
I phone Miguel Frank and Jimmies about the approaching dates and he immediately prompts double crew on overtime to expedite the project. Mid-day May 31st Miguel calls and says they’ve pulled it off, “COME AND GET ‘EM!”
Immediately Billy Harbor Beach Diving drops his schedule and is headed our way with the new wheels ready to install. After hours and into the night, even missing obligations, Billy gets the job done. Well done indeed!
June 1st: First light, topping off with fuel at Lauderdale Marina, we’re underway Northbound for Beaufort NC.
3 days off-shore, 500nm. Calm, glassy seas what a treat!
Jeremy with a False Albacore caught off Jupiter Inlet.
June 3rd: Arrive to Beaufort Docks for refuel and night of rest.
June 4th: long, winding, inside passage along ICW, Pamlico Sound, and North River to Coinjock
June 5th: another long, winding passage onto Bluewater Marina at Hampton Roads VA
This was my first time staying with Bluewater. I was pleasantly surprised by their fuel rates at $2.44/g! They provide a deep-water, well-marked channel into their Sunset Creek, with a 400ft long fuel dock, and wide space to turn around for Captain’s choice-of-side tie. A must-stop in the future.
June 6: AC NJ! Time to get lucky on RED. Just kidding- I don’t gamble with MY hard earned money!
We had a bit of pit stop for a few days to attend to some business in New Jersey. Lucky for me I know the area 😉 WE gave the crew a bit of time to stretch their legs and try their luck at the casinos, before heading onto our last passage… onward to Warwick RI
Early morning departure allowed us to get out to the shipping lanes by mid-day, and treated us with the surprise of a pod of pilot whales! We slowed down to troll for a bit, but to no avail.
We rounded the tip of Montauk Point just after midnight and pointed the bow towards Narraganset Bay, tying in at the crack of dawn.
Stay tuned for my account of the consecutive delivery of Motor Yacht “Mrs Lane” ….
Was so happy that you had that extra visit in New Jersey, sweat sailing captain Devon
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AWESOME Post Captain. Love it!!
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