Public Discussion Forum

Our Selenes let us go and go and go. Speed - 13 plus knots approaching the rapids at Hell Gate on the East River on way to Manhattan. And the views - nothing beats the NYC skyline.

On our way south to Rendezvous.

Jack and Terry

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Selenes can really move.

Our hull is a good 15’ shorter so we only hit 11.1 SOG on the East River.

Personal best was last summer on the St. Lawrence going north out of Montreal to the Chambly canal to get to Lake Champlain. 12.7 SOG

Pics or it didn’t happen.

John

And if 13.3 failed to impress, check out the attached photo.

Jack

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Was that with full afterburners or just super-cruise??

John

1550 rpm and 5.6 gph fuel burn. Best fuel economy ever!!!

Almost put Terry out back on water skis.

Jack

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Indeed with SPEED - During 2021, Canada didn't much care for US boats transiting their waters. Customs demanded that we leave our AIS on, stick to a voyage plan (provided to them), and not get off our vessel for any reason other than an emergency. We elected to make haste on our transit to SE Alaska and had very favorable currents at ideal times of the day to make for a swift voyage. On April 26, 2021, we passed Campbell River heading north, aligning with a near Max current at Seymour Narrows just ahead. There were no other vessels around (of course), and so we decided to take the solo "raft ride" through Seymour which would then set us up for an ideal run north on Johnstone the next morning. Seymour Narrows gave us an exhilarating experience that I immediately vowed to never repeat. Much of the “ride” was above 18 knots and then it pushed us just above 20. We had no idea how fast we had traveled until we received emails from concerned angels. At anchor, we took a few screenshots to see just how fast the ride peaked = 20.4 Knots!

Again, not to be repeated by this captain - I learned my lesson!

As an aside, we made a PR on our time to SE (63.5 hrs of travel) crossing the border 5 days and 23 hours after exiting Customs at Van Isle at 3 p.m. on 4/25/21. Good Riddance COVID.

Carl & Melody Gulledge

MV Ellipsis

Selene 5906

Wow 13+ is impressive. We hit 12.1 going through on the way up this summer which was starting to make me a bit nervous haha. I didn't think the boat could go that fast!

Not sure how busy New York Harbor was when you went through but for some reason on the way up it was pretty congested. I had been through a number of times and maybe it was because it was a Monday morning but boy was it hopping! I snapped a pic of all the AIS targets on the chartplotter (attached). On the way back down it was nowhere near as busy.

Like a dang hornets’ nest in the NYC Harbor! Attached is a photo of my chart plotter as we approached the Verrazano Bridge a week or so ago, or was it a year? Not sure. Anyway, it felt like we were entering the bumper car concession at the carnival. But no contact thank the gods.

My 13.8 kts moment yesterday was at 1550 rpm’s, usually good for 7-8 kts in flat water. Water was definitely not flat.

Jack

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

New York harbor is crazy with all the fast ferries. Sundays mornings are the best time to get through when the tide is right. I thought that was the worst I've seen until a couple weeks ago crossing Long Island Sound. I attached two screenshots off opencpn. It was a site to see, all sailboats from shore to shore, about 12 miles, all sailing with spinnakers. I was actually able to hold course and they altered around me or it all just worked out but I never had to touch the autopilot.

Joe and Linda

401 Play

2009 Selene 55078

Sadly, I didn't get a pic and now I'm not sure why not given I was able to get the screen shots. I guess I was too busy trying to find the guys that were not on AIS that I had to work out visually if they would be a problem. The screen shots really speaks about the safety of AIS. The predictor lines showed I was close but OK. I trust my instruments but I'm glad this was during daylight. That whole group sailed all night like that. It turns out it was a race from a yacht club in Stamford, CT to Martha's vineyard. Maybe next time, I'll remember to grab a pic.

Joe and Linda

401 Play

2009 Selene 55078

Lady Liberty looks pretty good from behind.

It can get very very busy in there. We took sailboat classes on a 26’ sailboat from Liberty Landing way way back in the prehistoric times. Fun times dodging ferries and freighters while trying to learn and going around the Lady.

You were probably seeing a lot of the morning commuter ferries which run all over the place. The orange Staten Island ferries are iconic. Then you have the fuel barges moving everywhere. Massive container and bulk freighters coming and going. Add in on a weekend the cruise ships and pleasure boats and it gets kicked up another few notches. Toss into the mix all the LEO’s watercraft watching everything and providing security. But wait, there’s more. The current of the Hudson River and East River are very strong and require extra attention. If this is not enough distraction there is the added bonus of trying to soak in the views of Lower Manhattan, Jersey City and the NJ side, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, (where our ancestors passed through), The Brooklyn Bridge and the Verrazano Narrows. Not to mention the helicopters buzzing all over.

The NY metropolitan region has some truisms.

For pilots they say if you can learn to fly here, you can fly anywhere in terms of managing navigation, other traffic and communications.

For drivers we say if you can drive in the NY area you can drive anywhere and get easily annoyed by people who can’t.

For Boaters all of this is true. If you can Navigate, manage the flow of the water, avoid others, and communicate with others , while enjoying the scenery, you’re in great company.