Ocean Passage Wrap Up
2 August 2026 · 46 min · 214 views
What this video covers
A Norfolk-to-Mystic offshore passage-making course, run by Tom Tersey and Frank Bummer, encountered persistent headwinds and required two hove-to periods — one northbound, one southbound — each lasting roughly 16 hours.2:22 Before heaving to, the crew dropped to the second reef on the mainsail and shifted from the headsail to the staysail; with the staysail set, the boat held 70–75 degrees off the wind, and without it, closer to 60 degrees.9:22 Wave angle, not wind angle, drove that decision: keeping seas at 50–60 degrees on the bow prevented the boat from punching directly into them.9:52 The route crossed the Chesapeake Bay traffic separation scheme, the mouth of the Delaware, and heavy fishing-vessel traffic off the New York approaches before rounding Montauk Light in nautical twilight and transiting Fisher's Island Sound — where the crew gave way to a submarine.15:32 Cold was a surprise: unlike the Bermuda run, where the Gulf Stream warms conditions quickly, the northbound track put the boat in the Labrador Current.4:55 Safety discussion covers tether philosophy (quick-disconnect risks, double-leg tethers, clipping to both D-rings), man-overboard prevention, jackline use, companionway drop boards in following seas, and a coordinated offshore medical kit with a shore-side medical contact and protocol binder.25:04 Cloudy weather limited planned sextant training on the return leg.17:19
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