The driver has always got to be focused- ETG isn’t equipped with auto pilot!
Wednesday, April 22nd we were blessed with a beautiful spring day. Not sure of the exact temperatures but the smell of suntan lotion was in the air as we enjoyed the warmth of the sun on our pale skin that had been covered up all winter. The morning hours to about lunch time consisted of minimal winds requiring the always reliable diesel to be fired up. Again, no big deal since our batteries and fridge needed to charge and the drivers could kick back and relax a little. Not sure if I mentioned that Euro Trash Girl is not equipped with auto pilot technology, thus requiring the driver to remain completely focused during their 1 hour stint at the wheel. Read more
It was early afternoon and we were all very excited to finally be sailing away from the Charleston Harbor. As I mentioned, one of the requirements for this US Sailing Coastal Passage Making course required that each of us assume the role of skipper for at least 100NM and Charlie was selected first.
Over the next 24 hours Charlie would coordinate all operational needs of the vessel, under the watchful eye of JWorld Captains of course! First and foremost he would need to make sure we were heading in the right direction! Based on our preliminary course, which was plotted prior to departure with traditional navigation techniques, we were dead reckoning right on track. Over the next several days each crew member would rotate assignments including navigator. We would routinely and often plot a fix on our paper charts using GPS, knowing where you are can come in handy!
Once we were several miles out of the channel and into the deep blue sea we chose to adjust our first projected waypoint to take advantage of the prevailing winds, which saved time and distance. Adjustments like this…were made occasionally during this passage and we all became proficient at correcting and adjusting our dead reckoning on the charts. After taking an electronic GPS fix on our position we changed our course to steer to 069 magnetic. This bearing was projected all the way out 114NM to Frying PanShoal off the coast of Cape Fear North Carolina. Cape Fear, why did they name this area that? never mind, don’t think about it! Read more
