What kind of area do you boat in?

[backinblue]

For work now entire gulf coast icw, lower Mississippi, Ohio river, Arkansas river, Illinois river. For work in the past Chesapeake bay and icw down to camp lejeune, Panama, curaçao, The entire Tigris River in Iraq and shatt al Arab river. For pleasure the Caribbean, gulf icw and now Florida keys. I’ve driven boats professionally ranging from 1020 foot while working on tow boats to 40 foot speedboats in 6” of water (sometimes -6” lol) with the rivers being 40-80 feet wide under night vision at night at 45kts+ With no lights sometimes raining with 3 other boats right behind me close enough I could spit off the back of the boat and hit them. Radar has always been very useful to me. But for me weather conditions have very rarely been a deciding factor on go no go criteria , but that was never my choice in the past or present while getting paid to drive a boat. . I don’t know if it’s good or not or just habit but at this point in my life wind and waves are about the only deciding factor for me on if I’m going to go boating or not. I’ve got a pilothouse so rain and fog is actually quite nice to boat in depending on where your at. Something peaceful about a nice rainy day with patchy fog and beautiful scenery just watching the world go by. So with my capabilities I like having as many tools in my toolbox as possible and that gives me the most days on the water possible. To me it would be a shame if I wanted to go somewhere and wouldn’t leave dock because there was a little rain or fog because I either didn’t have radar or wasn’t comfortable using it.

It might not be wise to admit to drug-running on a public forum, they might find you! lol

 

[BandB]

Do you have some connection with Viareggio? Not sure it would be one of my top choices on the west coast of Italy, some of which is just spectacular.

Wifey B: Boat builder facility.

We will see much more of Italy, but leaving it toward the end of our trip. We will cover all other Schengen countries we're visiting and then Italy will get our remaining days. We did have some land time in Italy right before the pandemic so while we want time there it's nor our first time like many areas. Each area though has it's own beauty. I never expected to fall so in love with Croatia as we did.

We try not to prejudge too much. Late October, our final stop will be Genoa as that's where the boat will be loaded on the ship.

 

[Vashon_Trawler]

My boating territory is from Sarasota to Tarpon Springs--no need for a radar as I typically stay inland and use my phone. My wife and I work so no long distance cruises are planned for the near future.

 

[Jmarsh203]

It might not be wise to admit to drug-running on a public forum, they might find you! lol

Lol exact opposite anti drug ops while in the navy.

 

[backinblue]

Lol exact opposite anti drug ops while in the navy.

Cool! Just couldn't think of anything else when you mentioned running at high speed at night with no lights!

 

[Jmarsh203]

It’s all good, same job just different team. Sometimes I wish I were drafted, my boat would be much bigger and nicer lol

 

[MacDuff]

Over 50 years on the New England Coast, Cape Cod to Downeast. Never had it in my sailboats. Youth- taking more chances. 4-6 knots in the fog is pretty easy to handle, with more time to react to other boats. Switched to power 5 years ago. Added radar. Saved my butt in Maine numerous times.Now I can't imagine cruising without it up here.

 

[Moonfish]

Pacific NW cruising grounds for us. We deal with foggy days and run occasionally at night, so radar is definitely necessary. However, we only turn it on when needed.

 

[darkside]

Wifey B: Boat builder facility.

We will see much more of Italy, but leaving it toward the end of our trip. We will cover all other Schengen countries we're visiting and then Italy will get our remaining days.

How long do you have to get out of Schengen countries now to reset the clock?
Tunisia is well worth a visit if it would help, we even hauled out there. Some boats go through the Suez and cruise the top of the Red Sea if you want an adventure. Excellent diving.

 

[BandB]

How long do you have to get out of Schengen countries now to reset the clock?
Tunisia is well worth a visit if it would help, we even hauled out there. Some boats go through the Suez and cruise the top of the Red Sea if you want an adventure. Excellent diving.

Wifey B: Good morning. 5:00 AM here, speaking of clocks. Still not totally switched to Euro time.

Our clock would start resetting on November 18 but only barely, only 3 days worth. Real reset would start on December 7. We didn't include Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia in our plans for this trip.

Countries we intend to visit are Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Greece. Monaco, France, Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, Malta, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden. I may have left something out. The Faroe Islands. Countries that have been up in the air and we hope to visit are all of the UK and Ireland plus Jersey and Guernsey. Possible are Lithuania, Poland, Finland. UK didn't look so optimistic a few weeks ago but looking better now. Germany was requiring quarantine on anyone from UK.

No Suez for us. Not this time.

We know we'll only get tastes of places this time and long for the next time, but best we can do in one season and with Schengen limitations.

 

[darkside]

That really is quite a tour. Enjoy.

 

[BandB]

That really is quite a tour. Enjoy.

Wifey B: Our first time in most of the areas and I'm like a kid about to enter a candy store. Hubby more subdued but still he's looking forward to it. Our vacations until 8 years ago were always on the lake we lived on. Then cruising the US. Europe was just never in our vacation horizon.

 

[markpierce]

I prefer a ship for trans-oceanic and lengthy voyages. :lol:

 

[Seevee]

Wifey B: Our first time in most of the areas and I'm like a kid about to enter a candy store. Hubby more subdued but still he's looking forward to it. Our vacations until 8 years ago were always on the lake we lived on. Then cruising the US. Europe was just never in our vacation horizon.

Wow! That really sounds like a great trip. Would really appreciate a write up when you get home. Did you ship your boat over to do this? Would appreciate the logistics on that one. That could easily be added to the bucket list.


And, is the first time you've done something like this?


I'll bet you have many of us sitting on the edge of our chairs waiting for more.

 

[BandB]

Wow! That really sounds like a great trip. Would really appreciate a write up when you get home. Did you ship your boat over to do this? Would appreciate the logistics on that one. That could easily be added to the bucket list.


And, is the first time you've done something like this?


I'll bet you have many of us sitting on the edge of our chairs waiting for more.

Wifey B: No, the boat was built in Italy. Will ship in home in November. Will drive it on the ship in Genoa and unload in Port Everglades. Will use DYT.

Really first time exploring Europe. We came for a shakedown cruise in May and mainly went to Croatia, which we loved. What an incredible job of rebuilding a country while retaining the incredible beauty of the past.

Odd to be cruising even at this stage of the pandemic. We're still quite aware and quite careful. For instance, normally would have hit the poker room in Monte Carlo at least for a while. No thanks. Instead it meant more time for the Oceanographic Museum, Prince Rainier's Antique Car Collection, the Japanese Gardens and a walk on the beach. Today was a beautiful museum day in Nice. Museum Massena, Museum Matisse, and my fave, the Marc Chagall Museum. A couple of cathedrals, the old town, and now a long walk on the Promenade made of polished pebbles.

We're only going to get glimpses of each area and definitely will long to return. Still makes for an exciting summer.

Oh and we did something yesterday morning that shocked so many. Aurora, our almost 7 year old niece slept in our room and still time zone challenged she and we woke very early, like 5:30 or so. She said she was hungry so hubby and I fixed breakfast for the three of us. When she told her grandparents, our "adopted" parents, Betty asked, "who really fixed it?" But, we did and Aurora testified on our behalf. Bacon, eggs, and toast.

 

[rsn48]

People in the east think we are biased when we claim an east coast bias in things. I can't find the West coast in the above survey. I think it must be true, as you get older your eyes deteriorate.

 

[Hippocampus]

Totally agree but I think the poll evolved from another thread so he was trying to address a particular point of view. Personally have trouble with “open water”. Along the west and east coast there’s a lot of water in bays (some quite large- SF, chessie, Naragansett, buzzards, etc.) which some would call open and others protected. So accept it’s a casual poll and don’t stress. Kind of like “what’s off shore blue water”. For me it means you’re outside SAR helicopter range and off any continental shelf. Once inside governmental claimed waters you’re near shore. However, took a lot of static on another thread for using that definition.

 

[BandB]

People in the east think we are biased when we claim an east coast bias in things. I can't find the West coast in the above survey. I think it must be true, as you get older your eyes deteriorate.

Except west has both inside and outside. Mostly out except the PNW and most boaters there stay inside.

 

[Seevee]

Overall, as the OP, I'm really surprised how many of us do open water almost exclusively.. it's about even, just favoring the rivers and ICW stuff by a small margin.


So, where are you open water guys going?
===
On another part of this thread...

BandB,

Your voyager REALLY sounds interesting. So, you bought a boat over there, took delivery over there and played with if for awhile and then shipping it home. Sounds great!

 

[HTurner]

Overall, as the OP, I'm really surprised how many of us do open water almost exclusively.. it's about even, just favoring the rivers and ICW stuff by a small margin.


So, where are you open water guys going?
===

Open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, in my case.

 

[BandB]

Overall, as the OP, I'm really surprised how many of us do open water almost exclusively.. it's about even, just favoring the rivers and ICW stuff by a small margin.


So, where are you open water guys going?
===
On another part of this thread...

Wifey B: Sometimes the same places, different route. Think of taking the Interstate vs. back roads. I have a friend who won't use the Interstate or Turnpike in South Florida but only city streets. You get the same place eventually, just a lot quicker on the interstate and off shore and a lot less stop and go and worrying about traffic and congestion. We cruise the East Coast just like the ICW group but we'll run outside from Charleston to Beaufort, not the ICW. Same in Gulf of Mexico. We'll cross from Clearwater to Apalachicola, rather than the long way around. Now we also do the Caribbean. On the West Coast we have those who never leave Puget Sound or the Columbia River, but others run from Port Angeles to Ensenada.

 

[localboy]

Salish Sea aka Puget Sound and north. Been as far north as the Octopus Islands. So much more to see and experience. Soon retirement will allow free time for just that.

 

[thataway]

I have had radar on almost every boat since about 1982. From 1982 to 1998, all of our boating was offshore (including passages across the Atlantic, Pacific, Mexico, C. America, Caribbean or in the PNW). From 1962 to 1982, we did most Ca, Channel Islands, Mexico coastal, West Coast North to San Francisco, and trips to Hawaii. 2 years were spent in the Chesapeake Bay. We wished we had radar many times!

Currently we have a 25' trailerable pilot house boat. Although we have done more rivers, lakes and ICW in the last few years, there have been trips to PNW and Channel Islands off Calif.

Even in our home waters of Pensacola, Perdido Bay, we run radar at night. We have also seen thick fog on the inland rivers of heartland America.

 

[RichHurst]

Puget Sound and Canadian Gulf islands (someday maybe again) Always turn radar on. Good practice. GPS tells you where you are. Radar tells you who else is there. AIS only helps when someone is transmitting, won't see craft without AIS or military ships who may not transmit either in my experience

 

[Owen Christensen]

Sky blue water, granite cliffs, good fishing, no cell service.
Isle Royale National Park. , and the North Shore of L ake Superior from Duluth to Canada.

 

[Leo Reise]

Our grounds currently are the Great Lakes, mainly Lake Ontario

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Just curious, with the discussion on radar, there's an argument that the use of radar depends a lot of where you boat.


So I thought it interesting to see where the forum spends most of its time.

Night still happens everywhere most of us use our boats. (not speaking for Alaskans!).. Seriously though, radar needs aren't regional...

 

[EngNate]

Central BC coast. Believe it or not, in 8 years' time my basic radar has one hour transmit time for each approximately 100 engine hours. That's partly because I don't run at night, but I've been surprised how seldom I've needed it. Nonetheless, I wouldn't want to not have it.

 

[LiquidTherapy]

We boat mainly in the Chesapeake Bay with 3 6 month trips to the Florida keys and Bahamas.

 

[greatpapabear]

We live in Guernsey which is part of the Channel Islands at the western end of the English Channel. Apart from visiting the other islands, we mainly cruise Play d'eau around the north and west coasts of Brittany (France).

Fog? Infrequent, but when it comes in, it's quick and thick. Even in windy conditions, it can roll in so fast.

So yes, we travel with radar on at all times, practising and practising. We call it 'going on weapons'. Not only in its general use, but learning to tune and retune it for each range which has been a great help and confidence booster.

As we all know, the anti-col regs all change when in fog (less than 1,000m), so knowing what action to take, is key.

Wouldn't be without it.