Dauntless Crosses the Atlantic Again

He checked this morning and over the past 5 days he has used less than 100 gallons. His tubes do not show any change till each of his two tanks are down by 50 gallons. When he checked they were still full in the tubes. Each tank is 350 gallons total. Looks very good so far.

He might be getting a bit of a boost from "surfing".

100 gal over 5 days means 20 gal per day so around 0.8 gal per hour, this looks very low isn't it?

Hopefully he remembered to open the isolation valves on the sight level tubes!!

Rogerh said:

He checked this morning and over the past 5 days he has used less than 100 gallons. His tubes do not show any change till each of his two tanks are down by 50 gallons. When he checked they were still full in the tubes. Each tank is 350 gallons total. Looks very good so far.

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How many nm has he covered so far? I would think around 700 and I wouldn't think he's covered 700 nm on less than 100 gallons. So he has no way to really know the amount of fuel he has or has used, or does his information get better as he works down?

I think he has a flowscan that gives real time measured fuel flow, and integrates to get total burn. And sight level tubes on tanks which are very reliable level indicators. If you open the valves!!

The above fuel management tools together allow very precise fuel management.

Ski in NC said:

I think he has a flowscan that gives real time measured fuel flow, and integrates to get total burn. And sight level tubes on tanks which are very reliable level indicators. If you open the valves!!

The above fuel management tools together allow very precise fuel management.

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Guess I'm confused about the information received then as he didn't cite actual fuel used and either he's covered a lot fewer miles than I thought or used more fuel than indicated or getting fuel mileage beyond anything imagined.

Fuel burn can vary from one load of fuel to another. The industry standard in the states 35. What you buy can range from low 30's to high 30's. If got a good load with a low 30 api. He would see a noticable decrease in fuel burn.

Ps. I looked earlier this morning and he was only running 4.75 kts so that may account for some of the fuel burn number.

BIG CAT said:

Fuel burn can vary from one load of fuel to another. The industry standard in the states 35. What you buy can range from low 30's to high 30's. If got a good load with a low 30 api. He would see a noticable decrease in fuel burn.

Ps. I looked earlier this morning and he was only running 4.75 kts so that may account for some of the fuel burn number.

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You're right and that's why I'm suggesting perhaps he's covered fewer miles than I thought. I could see him pushing up over 4 nmpg, but can't imagine him, nor has he ever reported, getting 7 nmpg.

Guess I'm just always very fuel conscious on long crossings. Funny, I get very concerned about low fuel on a boat, yet I'm horrible about squeezing every mile out of a gallon of gas and filling often when I'm down to less than a gallon. Twice I've coasted into gas stations completely out as I got there. However, a lot of difference between running out on land and water.

BandB said:

Guess I'm just always very fuel conscious on long crossings. Funny, I get very concerned about low fuel on a boat,

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Me too!

Here are some clarifications Richard sent few minutes ago about his fuel burn rate:

It was a guess, but not realistic as I've never had it below 1.1 Now, I've also never had 5 days of following seas.
But sight tubes don't lie. But we are also rocking and rolling, so the levels are moving up and down a few inches. I alt the tank source every 24 hrs.
So should see good numbers tomorrow for at least the port tank. And both tanks are in the range of the sight tubes once they are 50 to 60 gal down.

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Another update on the subject from Richard who explicitely wanted to make it known to all:

I do think it will be low, but maybe not that low.
I factored that in, following seas and winds, into my range calculations.

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This is crazy!
I made that crossing a few times but now, everyday, I check his progress as if I was there.
I would love knowing what his daily fuel situation is, that is what I worry about.

BandB said:

You're right and that's why I'm suggesting perhaps he's covered fewer miles than I thought. I could see him pushing up over 4 nmpg, but can't imagine him, nor has he ever reported, getting 7 nmpg.

Guess I'm just always very fuel conscious on long crossings. Funny, I get very concerned about low fuel on a boat, yet I'm horrible about squeezing every mile out of a gallon of gas and filling often when I'm down to less than a gallon. Twice I've coasted into gas stations completely out as I got there. However, a lot of difference between running out on land and water.

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agreed. you would be a fool not to be very concerned about fuel usage on a crossing like this. im not sure what he has for fuel monitoring but im sure he has a good handle what his usage is.

ps i do find his journey humbling yet inspiring. i can't imagine what its like doing a crossing like that.

After exchanging with him Richard is well aware about his fuel capacity and his range. Everything is in control and he looks very happy that people care about him.

jacquesm said:

This is crazy!
I made that crossing a few times but now, everyday, I check his progress as if I was there.
I would love knowing what his daily fuel situation is, that is what I worry about.

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All right, I have the same feeling. Very concerned by this experience!
I did also some passage from Cap Vert to Barbados but this was on my motorsailer. Now I expect to be back in Caribbean and further discover US waters with my trawler.

I sent also a message to Richard in my broken english. I replied very kindly!

I have aboard 8300 L, a fuel polishing system ( Gulf coast Filters), an hydraulic pump as back -up driven by a large generator ( keypower) a and now I have an headache trying to find a centrifugal separator to add in my engine room.Normally, I should be able to do what Richard is doing with is KK 42!
May be a lack of confidence with all this stuff! But fishing boats are every day doing a lot of miles offshore...

ps: about Gulf coast filters, do you know where I can buy online filters F1, impossible to find a ling with google?

One update from Richard.
At 00:06 ET, Lat 23.058103 Lon -31.030433.
Richard spotted his second boat of the trip.
It was a sailboat located at 0.75 nm off port beam. The sailboat has no AIS to be identified in the middle of nowhere. In Richard own words:

No ais. Which I think is just stupid.

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Of all the things to worry about in the world, I trust Richard enough, he doesn't make my cut for worries.

Now if he starts to get nervous or has a dangerous situation develope.......he will move up a few notches....

I would think that if he got very concerned on the way over to Europe due to a few issues with fuel....he might be cautious headed back.

(1/2) 2016 Atlantic Passage Day 06 Summary
14 dec 2016
131nm 24:00, 5.45 kts
22.55.320n, 31.53.153w
H2O 127g + empty
Fuel >20" + ~19" both are at the limit of (1/2) Fuel >20" + ~19" both are at the limit of my quantity fuel curve,a so no fuel consumption figues yet. Tomorrow http://dlor.me/5VWKJRJ (22.9051, -32.0294)

psneeld said:

I would think that if he got very concerned on the way over to Europe due to a few issues with fuel....he might be cautious headed back.

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Perhaps as in leaving with full tanks of fuel this time?

I would think that 2 basic rules of crossing an ocean would be -

Rule #1. Top off fuel tanks before leaving!
Rule #2. See Rule #1

Some news received from Richard at 1:57 PM EST:

Largest waves in a long time. Mid teens, with an occasional 20+ thrown in to make sure we're paying attention But while the rolling and pitching has increased a bit, it's consistent so we're getting used to it.
I am fascinated with how the Krogen is lifted by her stern and then pitches up as the wave passes underneath. Then seeing the breaking wave in front of the bow pulpit, many times higher In the meantime, the Ford Lehman just drones on, never missing a beat.

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And about mechanical maintenance:

I add a liter of oil every other day, as she uses a qt every 50 to 60 hrs.

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Looks like our Richard has some fun surfing the waves!

Lou_tribal said:

One update from Richard.
At 00:06 ET, Lat 23.058103 Lon -31.030433.
Richard spotted his second boat of the trip.
It was a sailboat located at 0.75 nm off port beam. The sailboat has no AIS to be identified in the middle of nowhere. In Richard own words:

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I am sure there are lots of cruising sailboats out there with no AIS transponder. There would be few that don't have an AID receiver I would guess.

Surfing indeed. That's where that hull shape, keel and rudder shine. Sounds like AP is hanging too.

My boat would be like a squirrel on a crowded interstate highway.

Ski in NC said:

My boat would be like a squirrel on a crowded interstate highway.

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Good image

I am a bit worrying about. His position has not been updated for the last 4h. Hopefully it is just a connectivity issue with the inReach appliance.
Will keep you posted if I get any news.

Satellite coverage is periodically missing. We have seen that often over the last several days.

Ski in NC said:

Satellite coverage is periodically missing. We have seen that often over the last several days.

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Thank you Ski

How many more days is his passage? I'm trying to not chew all of my nails off watching this thread.....

If I remember correctly he was planning something like 18 days so remain around 12 days. I think you will have enough time to chew your whole arm til the shoulder

MurrayM said:

Good image

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They have a lot of colorful descriptive phrases in Eastern North Carolina. I love to hear them.