{"id":9488,"date":"2022-05-09T02:22:52","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T02:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?p=9488"},"modified":"2022-05-09T21:08:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:08:55","slug":"so-you-wanted-a-bigger-boat-part-2-the-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?p=9488","title":{"rendered":"So, You Wanted a Bigger Boat. Part 2. The Lesson."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" data-attachment-id=\"9818\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9818\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;COOLPIX L20&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1467583719&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.72&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;104&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.016666666666667&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSCN8627\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?fit=584%2C438&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9818\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?resize=584%2C438&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8627.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>&#8220;The greatest teacher failure is.&#8221;&#8211;Master Yoda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\">The new bigger boat can&#8217;t be trucked over the road. Too wide. Somebody has to sail her from North Carolina to Massachusetts. Naturally, I assumed it would be the XO and I, but it occurred to both of us that we don&#8217;t know anything about our new possession. Geez, we&#8217;ve only spent a couple of hours on her. Since the previous owner is retired, it made sense to ask him to go along. He readily accepted but said he&#8217;d need two weeks to settle into his new house in Wisconsin. A month went by. Suddenly it was late September and the Cape Cod nights were getting damn chilly. Something had to happen soon, so I called the guy.<br>    &#8220;We&#8217;re heading down to the boat to hang out until you get there,&#8221; I said. &#8220;I hope you left the keys at the marina office.&#8221;<br>&#8220;You can&#8217;t,&#8221; he said sounding a little freaked. For the life of me, I couldn&#8217;t figure out why.<br>&#8220;We can. We are. We leave tomorrow morning. See ya there.&#8221;<br>&#8220;No. I need another week. I have the keys,&#8221; he said. Oh great. This guy has the only keys to our new boat and he&#8217;s in Wisconsin.<br>&#8220;Why didn&#8217;t you leave us the keys at the office?&#8221; <br>&#8220;The boat&#8217;s a mess. I have to put stuff away,&#8221; was his answer. <br>&#8220;We don&#8217;t care about the mess. We&#8217;ll clean it up.&#8221;<br>&#8220;I have the keys,&#8221; he said again. <br>&#8220;I&#8217;ll find a way in,&#8221; I countered. There was a long pause. I was getting a little pissed off. It&#8217;s like buying a house and hearing someone say, <em>what? You want to move in?<\/em> Was this some kind of elaborate scam?<br>&#8220;There&#8217;s a way in,&#8221; he said. I waited for him tell me how, I mean, besides a brick. I could hear him muttering to himself, something about&#8211; <em>gotta tell Sue (wife), need a flight out<\/em>&#8212; then the phone went dead. It was so weird. All I could think of is maybe this guy has someone living on our boat, or he&#8217;s dealing drugs or something. It&#8217;s more likely that he just plain forgot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" data-attachment-id=\"9853\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9853\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;COOLPIX L20&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1506677751&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.72&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.014084507042254&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSCN0155\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C438&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-1024x768.jpg?resize=584%2C438&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?w=1168 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN0155-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>We packed up the car and made the 850 mile trip in a day and a half. He was there when we arrived and the boat looked nice and tidy. I guess he dumped the bodies overboard. <br>After going to the supermarket for provisions, the XO and I had our first overnight stay on our new boat. It seemed so luxurious. You can walk around the queen size bed! That&#8217;s a big deal on a boat. <br>The next morning the XO left for home in our car <em>Pony<\/em> <em>Boy<\/em>, and the Old Captain and I left in our boat <em>Jane Marie<\/em> for the trip north.      <br>&#8220;You&#8217;re like Yoda, I will watch and learn,&#8221; I said to the Old Captain as I motioned with two fingers to my eyes, then pointing them towards his. It was more than just a common gesture, it was like sign language; he was hearing impaired.<br>        I took the helm shortly after we left the dock and drove for 34 hours straight! I learned quite a lot about myself and my companion, but unfortunately, nothing about this boat. I&#8217;ll tell you the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" data-attachment-id=\"9826\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9826\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?fit=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;COOLPIX L20&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1499202754&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.72&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0015455950540958&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSCN9462\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?fit=584%2C438&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?resize=584%2C438&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN9462.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>      It was a lovely late September morning when we left the fuel dock at the Port City Marina in Wilmington, NC. Temps were in the mid eighties and there wasn&#8217;t a cloud in the sky. I had just put 200 gallons of diesel in each of the four fuel tanks and they all showed half full. Let me run that by you again. <em>That&#8217;s 800 gallons and it&#8217;s only half full! <\/em>I guess that&#8217;s why they call it a long range trawler.<br> &#8220;That should last a while,&#8221; I mused. &#8220;About four years!&#8221; By comparison our old boat held about 200 gallons total. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9875\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9875\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633360455&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00069979006298111&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9875\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9875\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_151413599_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>At the fuel dock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"> All manner of boaters were out enjoying the beautiful weather, including the marine cops who politely asked us to move over so an ominous looking military spook ship could slink by. This huge vessel was muted grey and had absolutely no markings on it. Judging by all the flat panels at odd angles, it obviously employed the latest in stealth technology, probably obtained by reverse engineering all those captured UFO&#8217;S. I tried several times to take pictures, but every one came out blurred. Coincidence? I think not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9832\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9832\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1601197293&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;102&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;8.8676066329698E-5&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20200927_090133320\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20200927_090133320.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>      Okay, only kidding about the blurry picture, but let&#8217;s just say<em> I want to believe<\/em>.<br> I had the helm as the Old Captain was busy deploying the stabilizing outriggers which made this boat look so much like a commercial fishing vessel that a dozen hungry pelicans flew along beside us.<br>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have those in Massachusetts,&#8221; I said. I suspected he didn&#8217;t hear me so I repeated it louder. Still no response.<br>&#8220;I bet you don&#8217;t have those in your neck of the woods,&#8221; he said, confirming my suspicions. <br><em>Lesson #1: small talk will be difficult. <\/em><br>Lesson #2: <em>the stabilizing outriggers slow down the boat to about 5MPH.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9828\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9828\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1632834987&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;101&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00074906367041199&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20210928_131624657\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9828\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?resize=584%2C779\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20210928_131624657.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Pelicans at the Cape Fear River.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\">  We put the stabilizers away because 5 MPH is just too slow. The outriggers are a part of this boat that I never liked. They&#8217;re meant to keep the boat steady in certain unfavorable conditions by dragging 50 pound winged weights (birds) through the water at a depth of about 15 feet. Obviously, they can only be used in the open ocean or large bodies of water like The Great Lakes. The tethered birds have been known to fly out of the water and smash into the hull. The biggest problem is they have to be deployed manually while the boat is stopped. The XO and I don&#8217;t plan on crossing oceans and if the weather is bad we&#8217;re not going anywhere. We&#8217;re seriously thinking about removing them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9926\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9926\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?fit=555%2C740&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"555,740\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?fit=555%2C740&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9926\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9926\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?w=555&amp;ssl=1 555w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a good shot of the outriggers. The 50 pound birds have to be attached for use. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>  I followed the aids to navigation eastward out into the Atlantic a few miles to avoid the treacherous Frying Pan Shoal. The boat felt good, strong, responsive, and fairly quiet considering he had two engines going. Why was he running the 12 kilowatt generator along with the main engine? Seems like a terrific waste of fuel. <br><br> &#8220;Okay. We need a course,&#8221; I said.<br>The Old Captain took out his dividers and parallels and laid them on the chart which was spread out next to the big steering compass. <br>    &#8220;Interesting,&#8221; I thought to myself. I was expecting a GPS coordinate. But what the heck, back in the stone age before GPS,<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dead_reckoning\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dead_reckoning\" target=\"_blank\"> Dead Reckoning<\/a> was the only way to get anywhere on the water. It&#8217;s very cumbersome. On your paper chart you draw a pencil line to where you want to go, get out a tool called a<em> Parallel<\/em>, line it up with the pencil line, walk it over to the compass rose on the chart, and read the number. That&#8217;s your course. You&#8217;re supposed to write that number on top of the pencil line. You need another tool called <em>dividers<\/em>, and using the distance key on the bottom of the chart, set the dividers and figure out how far it is to where you&#8217;re going and write that number under the pencil line. Now you can use math to figure out how long it will take you to get to your destination based on your speed. Like I said, cumbersome. <br><br>Nowadays, a mariner can simply enter the latitude and longitude into an instrument and like magic, it will give you the direction, tell you how far it is, and what time you&#8217;ll get there.  Or you can simply follow your c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chartplotter#:~:text=A%20Chartplotter%20is%20a%20device,(AIS)%20or%20other%20sensors.\" target=\"_blank\">hartplotter<\/a>, which is a dandy instrument that shows your exact live location on a screen that looks like a navigational chart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9876\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9876\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633602716&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;102&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00043346337234504&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211007_103154077\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_103154077-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>   &#8220;Head three three zero,&#8221; he said. I looked hard at the chartplotter and the compass<br>   &#8220;Can&#8217;t be,&#8221; I said, shaking my head.<br>   &#8220;I checked it three times.&#8221;<br>   &#8220;Look, it&#8217;ll take us over the shallow part of the shoal,&#8221; I pointed it out on the chart.<br>   &#8220;That&#8217;s our bearing,&#8221; he insisted. I seriously wondered if he was looking at the same chart as me. Just for the heck of it, I swung the boat around to his suggested 330 degrees. Our heading was a deadly one.<br>   &#8220;Into the rocks? Dude, I&#8217;m not going there.&#8221; I pulled out my trusty handheld Garmin GPS and entered the coordinates for the nav aid that guards the Cape Lookout Shoal, which is, for the time being, the easternmost point I would have to go around. It&#8217;s located south of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. The display read  050 degrees NNE and a distance close to 300 miles. ETA of 30 hours. It&#8217;s going to be a long night. <br><em>Lesson #3: Don&#8217;t trust the Old Captains navigational skills.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9854\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9854\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?fit=640%2C480&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,480\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;COOLPIX L20&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1469431817&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.72&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0018382352941176&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DSCN8969\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?fit=584%2C438&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?resize=584%2C438&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9854\" width=\"584\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DSCN8969.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"> <br><br><br>I have never cruised in the open ocean at night. There&#8217;s no reason to. It&#8217;s dangerous enough boating in broad daylight. The Intracoastal Waterway, which follows the eastern coast of the United States is so much nicer than the ocean because it offers protection from the wind and waves. Plus, it has things to look at. There are marinas and anchorages where you can park the boat before nightfall and do whatever you usually do before going to bed. So civilized.<br><br>As the sun dropped below the horizon, and the lights from the shoreline twinkled weakly and then faded away into the darkness, I regretted letting the Old Captain talk me into this ridiculous overnight crossing. &#8220;I will never, ever, do this again,&#8221; I vowed to myself. But there we were, all alone in the North Atlantic Ocean. There were no boats and no land in sight. There&#8217;s only the stars and the reddish glow of my instruments. I felt so small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9836\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9836\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?fit=1440%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;XT1526&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1469136806&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.471&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.06666&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20160721_213325764\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?fit=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764-576x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C1038&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9836\" width=\"584\" height=\"1038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?resize=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 576w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?resize=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1 169w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?resize=768%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?resize=864%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?resize=1152%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20160721_213325764.jpg?w=1440&amp;ssl=1 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>   At 2:00 am it was still warm enough to have the cabin doors open on each side of me. Ocean in stereo! Looking forward from the helm, the inky Atlantic was indistinguishable from the horizon. That and the northeast current pushing us from behind at about ten knots made it difficult to steer in a straight line, so I was following a star that happened to line up with the mainstay (the cable that runs from the top of the mast to the bow). It wasn&#8217;t the brightest star, but it seemed to be going my way. I got to know it well by it&#8217;s position among its peers. Occasionally, it would wink out, maybe behind a cloud, and I would go off my course. Minute steering adjustments were needed or we could end up broadside to the waves. The concentration needed to do this was making me very tired. I cursed the broken autopilot and woke up the Old Captain who was stretched out on the day bed behind me. <br>&#8220;Gotta crash,&#8221; I said and immediately regretted my choice of words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9930\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9930\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633248268&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00019704433497537&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211003_080425959_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>Suddenly, I was startled awake by a violent shake that tossed me off the day bed like a rag doll! The microwave, pizza oven, toaster, and coffee maker crashed loudly on the floor next to my head. There was another violent shake and everything else that wasn&#8217;t nailed down joined the debris party on the floor. To add to the mess, four gallons of drinking water in plastic jugs toppled off the counter and spilled their entire contents. Everything was loudly sloshing around. <br>&#8220;What&#8217;s the hell&#8217;s going on!? I yelled and jumped up.<br>&#8220;We&#8217;re going backwards!&#8221; the old Captain croaked. &#8220;We&#8217;re 180!&#8221; He was fighting the wheel, and as the compass spun west I knew we were moments away from another broadside wave hit. I quickly sat back down but couldn&#8217;t find anything to hang onto. The next moment I was flying across the galley and into a cabinet. We leaned over so far I was surprised we straightened out. A lesser boat would have capsized. <br>I quickly scrambled to my feet. <em>Gotta get to the helm before we loop around again<\/em>.<br>&#8220;Here, let me take over,&#8221; I said, and put a hand on the wheel. He was incensed!<br>&#8220;Don&#8217;t ever grab the wheel from me!&#8221; he screamed. His eyes were spinning in his head. I felt like knocking the guy over but then there would be two crazies on the boat. Instead, I took a deep cleansing breath.<br>&#8220;Okay, sorry,&#8221; I said in a calm, even tone. &#8220;But I&#8217;m pretty good at this.&#8221; Thank God he finally relented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" data-attachment-id=\"9952\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9952\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;XT1526&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1526054296&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.471&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00041&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20180511_155815961\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961-1024x576.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?w=1168 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180511_155815961.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br> <br>The big steering compass was not properly lit, and the electronic compass on the chartplotter is displayed digitally. Just numbers that change rapidly making it hard to follow. I prefer a digital arrow, fortunately, my hand-held Garmin GPS has one. I fired it up and began the slow process of getting this boat back on course. The biggest danger is overcorrecting, but it was a clear night and I was able to steer from star to star, again, using the mainstay as a pointer until we were back on course, and whatta ya know, I found my little star I&#8217;d been following all night.<br>&#8220;Hello old friend.&#8221; I said. <br>&#8220;Welcome back, Rick,&#8221; said the little star. <br>&#8220;So now I&#8217;m talking to stars?&#8221; <br>&#8220;Apparently, Rick. This is what happens when you only get an hours sleep.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180531_052933530.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" data-attachment-id=\"9947\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9947\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180531_052933530.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" 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https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180531_052933530.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>   &#8220;Dammit!&#8221; I said. &#8220;The depth sounder is out.&#8221; This is a huge problem in a boat that needs four and a half feet of water to float. In the melee, something could have fallen on a wire, or maybe a connector shook loose. I opened the access door to the area that held all the gauge wiring and started poking around. <br>    &#8220;Hey! Don&#8217;t touch that!&#8221; The old Captain shouted. I shot him a look. &#8220;I mean it!&#8221; he snarled.<br>    &#8220;You know this is my boat, right?&#8221; I said.  <br>I&#8217;m an easy going guy, ask anyone, but this not the first time that bastard has talked down to me like some wet-behind-the ears greenhorn. Hey, I&#8217;m a wire guy! I know something about wiring and electronics. I was wicked ticked off and the resulting jolt of adrenaline was better than three cups of coffee, which was good because my brand new Mr. Coffee lay in pieces on the floor. <br>I started thinking,<em> he hasn&#8217;t shown me anything about this boat that I couldn&#8217;t figure out myself. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" data-attachment-id=\"9948\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9948\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" 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srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?w=1168 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20180510_113826743.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>&#8220;Hello Mister Sun,&#8221; I said softly as he crested the horizon. <br>&#8220;Good morning Rick, How was your night?&#8221; <br>Oh boy. Delirium had set in, but what the hell, if I can talk to a star I can talk to a sun. I&#8217;m an equal opportunity nut job. I slapped myself hoping I&#8217;d return to sanity, but what I really needed was a cup of coffee. I checked the fridge for a Coke or something. <br>&#8220;Excellent!&#8221; The XO had left behind a bottle of her homemade cold brew! A choir of angels sang as I held up my prize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091528899_HDR.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9954\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9954\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091528899_HDR.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto 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https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091528899_HDR.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091528899_HDR.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>   Daylight at last. With still no land in sight, I discovered I could stay on course by keeping the sun centered in one of the portside windows. It worked well until it rose above me, but by then my marker was in sight. Yay! We were approaching the Cape Lookout Shoal.<br> The Old Captain was busily studying the chart with his parallels and dividers. <br>&#8220;You&#8217;re not where you think you are,&#8221; he said.<br>&#8220;What?&#8221; I got a scared rush. Could he be right?<br>&#8220;We&#8217;re over here somewhere,&#8221; he said. His finger was pointing to a spot about a foot off the chart! <br>&#8220;No way,&#8221; I said.<br>&#8220;I checked it three times. We&#8217;re way over here.&#8221; Now his hand was <em>two<\/em> feet off the chart. <br>&#8220;I&#8217;m exactly where I know I am,&#8221; is all I said. I wasn&#8217;t going to argue with the guy. This boat has two chartplotters, radar, and two GPS units. They&#8217;re all telling me the same thing: the Old Captain&#8217;s wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9883\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9883\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?fit=1440%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1440,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;XT1526&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1485074554&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.471&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;9.0E-5&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20170122_084234072\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?fit=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072-576x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C1038&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9883\" width=\"584\" height=\"1038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?resize=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 576w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?resize=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1 169w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?resize=768%2C1365&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?resize=864%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 864w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?resize=1152%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20170122_084234072.jpg?w=1440&amp;ssl=1 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>There was a storm racing north from the Bahamas. It&#8217;s hundreds of miles away but I could feel the ocean&#8217;s unrest when we rounded Cape Lookout. The waves were hitting us at an uncomfortable angle.<br>&#8220;We should use the Intracoastal,&#8221; The Old Captain said. <br>&#8220;On it,&#8221; I said and opened my laptop to<em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.garmin.com\/en-US\/p\/573254\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.garmin.com\/en-US\/p\/573254\" target=\"_blank\"> Active Captain<\/a><\/em>, a greatest website for boaters ever developed, and it&#8217;s free!<br>&#8220;Ooh! We just passed Beaufort,&#8221; I said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been there. It&#8217;s a nice deep water port right on the Intracoastal Waterway, but it&#8217;s 30 miles in the opposite direction. Not so bad.&#8221; I said it aloud, but it still felt like I was talking to myself. Funny how easily I got used to that. <br><br>I banged a yooie but the wave action was worse. No way could I do 30 miles of that. I turned back around and a quick phone call secured us a slip at the <em>Anchorage Inn and Marina<\/em> on Ocracoke Island. I set a course for the closest inlet through the North Carolina barrier islands. <br><br>I&#8217;ve never docked a single screw inboard boat. Most of my experience has been with twin screw inboards, single screw stern drives, and single outboards. This new boat is a different animal all together. <br>   &#8220;Show me how it&#8217;s done,&#8221; I said with a hand flourish so the Old Captain would understand. He got my meaning and slid behind the helm. When I radioed the marina to announce our arrival and get a slip assignment, I got an urgent message.<br>    &#8220;If that&#8217;s you at the inlet you&#8217;ve got to hug the greens!&#8221; the voice on the radio said. &#8220;I repeat. STAY LEFT NOW!&#8221;<br><br>The Old Captain failed to hear the warning. I waved my arms like Carlton Fiske right in front of the guy but it was too late and we came to a rather abrupt halt. After some aggressive maneuvers involving the bow thrusters and then flooring it in reverse, he somehow wriggled us free then approached the tee dock way too fast for my liking. My number one rule for docking is: <em>never<\/em> <em>go faster than you want to hit something<\/em>. He came in for a port side tie-up and things got ugly fast. The ass end started sliding away but the dock hands held onto the bow line and the big boat completely flipped around. So now we had a starboard side tie-up. Hey, what the heck, any landing you can walk away from&#8230;  <br><em>Lesson #4: Don&#8217;t trust the Old Captains driving<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9868\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9868\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633106219&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00066979236436705&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211001_163657859_HDR-2-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>    We left Wilmington, NC. 34 hours ago! Boy! Did I ever need and cold beer and a hot shower. When the Old Captain chewed me out for <em>not having his back<\/em> at the inlet, and <em>not having the fenders ready <\/em>for the docking debacle, the seeds of discontent were firmly planted.  He wasn&#8217;t teaching me anything about the boat, and in fact, he kept everything a secret. One time he was working on some wiring. I was curious and walked up to him. <br>&#8220;Whoa,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So now you&#8217;re gonna come up behind me?&#8221;<br>&#8220;Want me to solder those wires for you?&#8221;<br>&#8220;I&#8217;m perfectly capable of soldering wires,&#8221; he said rather bluntly. I thought he was gonna bite my head off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9871\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9871\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633200753&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;294&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211002_185231290\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9871\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9871\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211002_185231290-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Docked in Wanchese Harbor, NC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9872\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9872\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633331509&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00089686098654709&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211004_071147192\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9872\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9872\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211004_071147192-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Wanchese Harbor morning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9870\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9870\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633632835&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1220&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.058823529411765&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211007_185353926\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9870\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211007_185353926-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Tilghman Island bar scene.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9869\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9869\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1440\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;XT1526&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1526110724&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;2.471&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00095&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20180512_073844725\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9869\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725-1024x576.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9869\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?w=1168 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20180512_073844725.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Typical Chesapeake Bay fishing boats.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9873\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9873\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633435982&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00051229508196721&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9873\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_121300849_HDR-1-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Approaching a lock on the Intracoastal Waterway. The Lockmaster told me to come in next to the tug.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9886\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9886\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633437068&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0010940919037199&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9886\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211005_123105757_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>There was more room than I thought.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9956\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9956\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1634369383&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;158&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0083333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9956\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072942308_HDR-1.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>One day when there was no dockage available in our cruising range, I announced we were going to anchor out for the night.<br> &#8220;Right here,&#8221; I said and put my finger on the chart. &#8220;It&#8217;s good depth, and not too far off the channel.&#8221; <br> &#8220;Good protection from the northerly winds if you tuck it in right over here.&#8221; He said, his knobby finger traced the shoreline. I thought we were in agreement, but when I pulled up to the anchorage, and faced the bow into the breeze, he gave me a weird blank look.<br>&#8220;This spot looks good,&#8221; I said. He just stood there.<br>&#8220;Please go to the bow and deploy the anchor.&#8221; I said. He looked perplexed for a second, then obeyed. I shut down the main engine and joined him on the bow for a look around.<br>&#8220;Well, here we are,&#8221; I said. <br>&#8220;You are not a hero,&#8221; he said, obviously miss-hearing me. &#8220;There are things I could have done to prepare if I knew we were anchoring.&#8221; <br>   I couldn&#8217;t believe it! It was bad enough that he forgot we were anchoring, but now he was chewing me out again. I lost it.<br>&#8220;WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM, ASSHOLE,&#8221; I yelled right in his face. &#8220;WHERE DID YOU THINK WE WERE GOING WHEN WE LEFT THE CHANNEL BACK THERE?&#8221; I swept my arm towards the line of boats anchored nearby. &#8220;WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?&#8221; I stormed off and immediately began charting a new course.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9958\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9958\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1634369294&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;269&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211016_072814322\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211016_072814322.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>     The next morning was as grey as my mood, but I was buoyed knowing my plan will soon be enacted. <br>&#8220;Where we goin&#8217;?&#8221; the Old Captain asked. <br>&#8220;Havre De Grace,&#8221; I answered.<br>&#8220;What. Why? It&#8217;s only 10 miles away.&#8221;<br>&#8220;It&#8217;s a big enough city for you to rent a car and go home,&#8221; I said.  <br><br>I texted the XO about what was happening and she arranged for an Uber to meet us and take the Old Captain to Enterprise to rent a car. We weren&#8217;t at the dock ten minutes when the Uber car arrived and he was gone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-11 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9864\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9864\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1633857175&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0023148148148148&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211010_091252499\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9864\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9864\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211010_091252499-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Docked at the Log Pond Marina in Havre De Grace, MD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><br>  After looking around a bit, I discovered that both alternators attached to the main engine were disconnected. The Old Captain was running the huge 12 kilowatt diesel generator to power a dinky old Sears battery charger. I reconnected the alternators and started the engine. No output, they were both junk. It was baffling. Replacing them is so easy even for a novice. I also noticed the inverter&#8211; the gizmo that changes 12 volts DC into 120 volts AC&#8211; was disconnected as well. At anchor, this particular inverter can easily power the fridge, microwave, TV, lights and other stuff that doesn&#8217;t demand too much amperage. And finally, the water heater was not plumbed to the engine cooling system. Hot antifreeze can be circulated to heat water cheaply and efficiently while underway. Well, now I know why he was constantly running the generator. The so-called<em> professional surveyor<\/em> we hired failed to mention any of these very important things. Geez! It&#8217;s his<em> job<\/em> to notice!  While I&#8217;m on the subject, the survey stated the beam (width of the boat) was 16&#8217;2&#8243; but at the Salt Pond Marina in Hampton, Virginia, I couldn&#8217;t fit the boat into a slip that was 17&#8217;6&#8243; wide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9959\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9959\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1643274913&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0021097046413502&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9959\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20220127_091511550_HDR.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br>Two days later the Old Captain called and apologized for being such a jerk (his own words.) I asked him why he disconnected the alternators. He said he thought they were dragging the batteries down. That answer didn&#8217;t make any sense at all, but I let it go.<br>&#8220;Sorry I flew off the handle,&#8221; I said. <br>&#8220;No hard feelings Rick. Call me if you need anything.&#8221;<br>&#8220;Will do, Take care.&#8221; I lied. I&#8217;m not calling him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9935\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9935\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1632826111&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.000364564345607&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9935\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20210928_104829295_HDR-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"> <br>I felt good about my decision, he absolutely had to go, but it bothered me that I failed to keep my cool. Swearing and yelling is just not like me. I pride myself in my ability to let things roll off my back. I should have been more compassionate, after all, he was giving up this beautiful boat that at one time held all of his dreams. He talked about how he was going to cruise the Caribbean with his wife, and how happy they would be living the romantic life of vagabond Gypsy sailors. But life caught up with him and he couldn&#8217;t fulfill his dreams. Hey, that would damn well take a chunk out of me. I&#8217;d be a total dick after that too.<br><br> The Old Captain possessed the bearing of a man who&#8217;s had some hardship in his life. His personal story, as interesting as it may or may not be, remains a mystery, but I would have loved to learn more, and talk with him about his life on the water as a professional delivery captain. I&#8217;m sure he had many adventures to talk about, and I would enjoy laying some of mine on him, but as I mentioned before, small talk was difficult. It&#8217;s too bad. <br><br>The unforgiving sea, relentless and full of dangers, is no place to become surly and absentminded, yet many of us are drawn to it regardless of the perils or our state of mind. I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s a lesson in there somewhere, but sometimes it&#8217;s not about what you&#8217;ve learned, it&#8217;s about whether you wear your scars, or your scars wear you. <br><em>Lesson #6: Always be kind. <\/em>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-12 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9961\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9961\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?fit=800%2C1066&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,1066\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1634322479&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1229&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.05&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211015_182757434\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9961\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9961\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?resize=768%2C1023&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/IMG_20211015_182757434.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>&#8220;So, you wanted a bigger boat,&#8221; said my new friend and marina owner Chris after struggling for two hours to get <em>Jane Marie<\/em> out of the water. Apparently, she&#8217;s more than twice the weight reported in the survey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"the-greatest-teacher-failure-is-master-yoda-the-new-bigger-boat-can-t-be-trucked-over-the-road-too-wide-somebody-has-too-sail-her-home-me-of-course-and-we-decided-to-ask-the-previous-owner-to-go-with-and-teach-me-all-he-can-about-this-boat-you-re-like-yoda-i-will-watch-and-learn-i-said-to-the-old-captain-as-i-motioned-with-two-fingers-to-my-eyes-then-pointing-them-towards-his-in-this-case-it-was-more-than-just-a-common-gesture-the-old-guy-was-hearing-impaired-well-i-learned-all-right-quite-a-bit-in-fact-shortly-after-we-left-the-dock-he-turned-the-helm-over-to-me-as-we-cruised-down-the-cape-fear-river-towards-the-north-atlantic-ocean-little-did-i-know-that-i-would-be-glued-to-that-helm-for-the-next-34-hours-straight-i-ll-tell-you-the-story-it-was-a-lovely-late-september-morning-when-we-left-the-fuel-dock-at-the-port-city-marina-in-wilmington-nc-temps-were-in-the-mid-eighties-and-there-wasn-t-a-cloud-in-the-sky-i-had-just-put-200-gallons-of-diesel-in-each-of-the-four-fuel-tanks-and-they-all-showed-half-full-let-me-run-that-by-you-again-that-s-800-gallons-and-it-s-only-half-full-i-guess-that-s-why-they-call-it-a-long-range-trawler-by-comparison-our-old-boat-held-about-200-gallons-total-that-should-last-a-while-i-mused-bout-two-years-the-cape-fear-river-was-uncharacteristically-smooth-the-xo-and-i-here-in-2018-during-our-great-loop-trip-and-the-conditions-were-quite-different-it-was-much-too-rough-for-our-old-32-footer-but-we-made-the-crossing-anyway-having-waited-so-long-at-a-tiny-marina-we-ended-up-with-a-conked-out-engine-because-the-wave-action-was-so-intense-it-stirred-up-the-sediment-in-the-fuel-tanks-and-clogged-the-filters-but-today-all-manner-of-boaters-are-out-enjoying-the-beautiful-weather-including-the-marine-cops-who-asked-us-to-hug-the-reds-so-an-ominous-looking-military-spook-ship-could-slink-by-i-had-the-helm-as-the-old-captain-was-busy-deploying-the-stabilizing-outriggers-which-made-this-boat-look-so-much-like-a-commercial-fishing-vessel-that-a-dozen-hungry-pelicans-flew-along-beside-us-we-don-t-have-those-in-massachusetts-i-commented-amiably-i-suspected-my-companion-didn-t-hear-me-i-repeated-it-louder-still-no-response-i-bet-you-don-t-have-those-in-your-neck-of-the-woods-he-said-confirming-my-suspicions-lesson-1-small-talk-will-be-difficult-lesson-2-the-stabilizing-outriggers-slow-down-the-boat-to-about-5mph-i-followed-the-aids-to-navigation-out-into-the-atlantic-a-few-miles-to-avoid-the-treacherous-frying-pan-shoal-on-my-left-okay-what-s-my-course-i-asked-the-old-guy-took-out-his-dividers-and-parallels-and-laid-them-on-the-chart-which-was-spread-out-next-to-the-big-steering-compass-interesting-i-thought-to-myself-i-was-expecting-a-gps-coordinate-but-what-the-heck-in-pre-gps-days-i-took-a-course-in-navigation-because-it-was-the-only-way-to-get-anywhere-it-s-very-cumbersome-on-your-paper-chart-you-draw-a-pencil-line-to-where-you-want-to-go-get-out-a-tool-called-a-parallel-line-it-up-with-the-pencil-line-and-walk-it-over-to-the-compass-rose-on-the-chart-and-read-the-number-that-s-your-bearing-you-re-supposed-to-write-that-number-on-top-of-the-pencil-line-then-get-out-another-tool-called-dividers-and-using-the-distance-key-on-the-bottom-of-the-chart-set-the-dividers-and-figure-out-how-far-it-is-to-your-destination-then-write-that-number-under-the-pencil-line-now-you-can-use-math-to-figure-out-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-based-on-your-speed-like-i-said-cumbersome-nowadays-a-mariner-can-simply-enter-the-latitude-and-longitude-into-an-instrument-and-voila-not-only-does-it-give-you-the-direction-it-tells-you-how-far-it-is-and-how-long-it-will-take-you-to-get-there-or-if-you-prefer-you-can-simply-follow-your-chartplotter-which-is-a-dandy-instrument-that-shows-your-exact-live-location-on-a-screen-that-looks-like-a-navigational-chart-three-three-zero-he-said-i-looked-hard-at-the-chartplotter-and-the-compass-can-t-be-i-said-shaking-my-head-i-checked-it-three-times-look-it-ll-take-us-over-the-shallow-part-of-the-shoal-i-pointed-out-that-s-our-bearing-he-insisted-i-seriously-wondered-if-he-was-looking-at-the-same-chart-as-me-just-for-the-heck-of-it-i-swung-the-boat-around-to-330-degrees-our-course-was-a-deadly-one-into-the-rocks-i-m-not-going-there-i-m-gonna-follow-my-gps-i-pulled-out-my-trusty-handheld-garmin-and-entered-the-coordinates-for-the-nav-aid-that-guards-the-cape-lookout-shoal-it-is-for-the-time-being-the-easternmost-point-i-would-have-to-go-around-it-s-located-south-of-cape-hatteras-in-north-carolina-the-display-read-about-050-degrees-nne-and-a-distance-somewhere-in-the-300-mile-range-eta-of-about-30-hours-it-s-going-to-be-a-long-night-lesson-3-don-t-trust-the-old-captains-navigational-skills-i-have-never-cruised-in-the-open-ocean-i-have-never-cruised-at-night-i-had-no-reason-too-it-s-dangerous-enough-boating-in-broad-daylight-the-intracoastal-waterway-which-follows-the-eastern-coast-of-the-united-states-is-so-much-nicer-there-are-things-to-look-at-marinas-and-stuff-you-park-the-boat-before-nightfall-and-do-whatever-you-do-before-going-to-bed-like-civilized-people-as-the-sun-dropped-below-the-horizon-and-the-lights-from-the-shoreline-twinkled-weakly-and-then-faded-away-into-the-darkness-i-regretted-letting-the-old-captain-talk-me-into-this-ridiculous-overnight-crossing-i-will-never-ever-do-this-again-i-vowed-to-myself-but-here-we-were-all-alone-in-the-north-atlantic-ocean-there-were-no-boats-and-no-land-in-sight-there-s-only-the-stars-and-the-red-glow-of-my-instruments-i-felt-so-small-it-was-2-00-am-warm-enough-to-have-the-cabin-doors-open-on-each-side-of-me-ocean-in-stereo-looking-forward-from-the-helm-the-inky-atlantic-was-indistinguishable-from-the-horizon-that-and-the-northeast-current-pushing-us-from-behind-at-about-ten-knots-made-it-difficult-to-steer-in-a-straight-line-i-was-following-a-star-that-happened-to-line-up-with-the-mainstay-it-wasn-t-the-brightest-star-but-i-got-to-know-it-well-by-it-s-position-among-its-peers-occasionally-it-would-wink-out-maybe-behind-a-cloud-and-i-would-go-off-my-course-minute-steering-adjustments-were-needed-or-we-could-end-up-broadside-to-the-waves-for-some-reason-i-always-found-my-star-again-off-to-my-left-as-if-my-brain-told-me-to-steer-right-when-there-was-nothing-to-aim-at-the-concentration-needed-to-do-this-was-making-me-so-tired-i-cursed-the-broken-autopilot-and-woke-up-the-old-captain-who-was-sleeping-on-the-day-bed-behind-me-gotta-crash-i-said-i-awoke-to-a-violent-shake-and-a-loud-crash-the-large-microwave-pizza-oven-toaster-coffee-maker-fell-off-the-counter-and-smashed-on-the-floor-there-was-another-violent-shake-and-everything-that-wasn-t-nailed-down-joined-the-debris-party-four-gallons-of-drinking-water-in-plastic-jugs-spilled-their-entire-contents-and-everything-was-sloshing-around-what-s-going-on-i-yelled-and-jumped-up-we-re-going-backwards-the-old-captain-said-i-was-following-a-star-and-lost-it-we-re-180-he-was-fighting-the-wheel-and-as-the-compass-spun-i-could-see-we-were-moments-away-from-another-broadside-wave-hit-i-sat-back-down-and-held-on-i-swear-we-went-leaned-30-degrees-a-lesser-boat-would-have-capsized-here-let-me-take-over-i-said-and-put-a-hand-on-the-wheel-he-was-very-reluctant-don-t-ever-grab-the-wheel-from-me-he-said-okay-sorry-i-said-in-a-calm-even-tone-but-i-m-pretty-good-at-this-he-relented-with-no-land-based-reference-it-s-extremely-difficult-to-steer-a-boat-straight-the-electronic-compass-on-the-chartplotter-is-displayed-digitally-just-numbers-that-change-rapidly-on-anything-smaller-than-a-ship-for-me-i-prefer-an-arrow-like-on-an-old-fashioned-magnetic-compass-fortunately-my-garmin-gps-has-an-arrow\"><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-13 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"779\" data-attachment-id=\"9888\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?attachment_id=9888\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?fit=1920%2C2560&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,2560\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;moto g(7)&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1634638848&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.95&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;102&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00050251256281407&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_20211019_102046932\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?fit=584%2C779&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"9888\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-768x1024.jpg?resize=584%2C779&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/IMG_20211019_102046932-scaled.jpg?w=1752 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><em>Jane Marie<\/em> on the hard for the winter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new bigger boat can&#8217;t be trucked over the road. Too wide. Somebody has to sail her from North Carolina to Massachusetts. Naturally, I assumed it would be the XO and I, but it occurred to both of us that &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/?p=9488\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2TWzP-2t2","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9488"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10021,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9488\/revisions\/10021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rickcoraccio.com\/boat\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}