[Public-List] Velcro Beach, FL 11/27/2012

John Riley jriley at dsbscience.com
Tue Dec 4 09:17:36 PST 2012


I have not passed under that particular bridge, but this is a good 
warning.  Nothing trumps 'local knowledge.'

I have passed through Snow's Cut several times, and the turbulence there 
can be quite....dramatic.  Especially tricky is approaching the bridge 
from the seaward side, and then on the Cape Fear side of the bridge 
where the channel is quite narrow and the runabouts zip here and there.

It's enough to convince me that even in this day of mechanical 
propulsion, we still need to be aware of, and work with, the tides. 
Passing such hazards at slack water is, in my opinion, worth the 
potential delays in most cases.

Fair Winds, Jim; glad this was not a trip-ender.

JR


On 12/01/2012 09:32 AM, John Boor wrote:
> Jim.
>
> I have passed under the McCormick bridge 4 times on my two trips south and
> had no indication of standing waves.  Has this always happened or has some
> dredging been done to deepen the channel.
>
> John Boor
>
>
>
>
>> We had one scare that almost finished our trip.  We had just crossed the
>> St.
>> Johns River and were approaching the McCormick Bridge when we saw standing
>> waves at the bridge.  It was too late to try and turn since the waterway
>> is
>> rather narrow.  Sandy was driving and I was at the throttle when we went
>> under the bridge with RPM's that give us 7.5+ knots.  The turbulence was
>> unbelievable and the current actually stalled forward motion for an
>> instant.
>> Our bowsprit almost hit the bridge which could have dismasted us.  A
>> trawler
>> behind us put out a warning about the current, then complimented our
>> seamanship for being able to maintain control.  He also said that was the
>> worst current he had ever seen or experienced (I fully agree with his
>> assessment).  He later passed us and reported the conditions at the next
>> three bridges.
>>
>>
>>
>> We will be here for at least two weeks.  Sandy flew back to Annapolis for
>> some pre-Christmas time with her family.  Jazz and I are remaining in Vero
>> catching up on maintenance.  Then when Sandy gets back we will move down
>> to
>> the Lake Worth area and wait for a weather window to cross.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jim Davis
>> Privateer Isa Lei
>>
>> Victory is reserved for those willing to pay the price.
>>
>> Sun Tzu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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-- 
John S. Riley
S/V Gaelic Sea
1972 Alberg 30 #521


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