ELECTRIC SAILING: Heading Home

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The Oyster Bay Oyster Festival is over and it's time to start thinking about heading back. Conditions were the reverse of the sail to Oyster Bay I made a week ago. The winds were now expected out of the west in the morning which was good for my easterly journey. Unfortunately, just like a week ago the winds were expected to be light only between five to ten knots. But, the sun would be shining so it would still be a nice day on the water.  But, like last week during my Columbus Day voyage I would need to get an early start in order to ride the last of the ebb current out of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor entrance and into Long Island Sound:

Not quite as early as the trip to Oyster Bay. I figured a 6 AM departure would give me enough time to get out into Long Island Sound before the flood current started to enter in the harbor. I would be bucking the flood current for most of the day but, that's a sailor's lot sometimes.

The alarm went off at 5:30 AM. I made coffee and had a blueberry muffin for breakfast. I had everything ready in the cockpit including even having the searchlight nearby. I let go the lines off the mooring at 6:11 AM. I raised the sail  and  fired up the electric propulsion system for a 10 Amp draw and was moving along at about 1.7 knots in the pre dawn of the morning:

A slight breeze kicked in and BIANKA was soon moving along at 2.2 knots. Even though I was motor sailing I could still hear the noise of the traffic along West Shore Road which was over a mile away as the residents of Bayville started their early Monday morning commutes to work.  A solitary Seagull was keeping watch on a buoy and appeared to be checking that things were clear as I headed toward Cold Spring Harbor bound for the sound
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At 6:56 AM I was off Plum Point at the entrance to Oyster Bay Harbor. At 7:44 AM I was at Buoy 1 in Cold Spring Harbor having used 16.4 amp hours and the battery capacity had dropped to 92% .

At 8:43 AM I was in Long Island Sound off of Buoy 2 at Lloyd Point. The XBM battery monitor showed I had used 26.3 amp hours and battery capacity was at 87.4%. the current in Long Island Sound had also turned against BIANKA.

10:22 AM Found BIANKA off Eatons Neck and battery readings were 79.5% capacity and  showed the EP had consumed 42.8 amp hours in four hours of electro sailing. As I rounded Eatons Neck the Northport Power plant stacks hove into view:

They are hard to miss being 600 feet high and part of the biggest gas fired power plant on the east coast.
Here's a little Nav tip from Capt. Mike: When the Northport Stacks line up they point due north.

At 11:24 AM I was directly north of the stacks. BINAKA's electro sailing had consumed -52.7 amp hours and battery capacity was now at 79.5%. Usually by this point I would have fired up the Honda 2000 to start operating in hybrid mode and not draw down the battery bank much further. But, it was such a nice day even in the very light wind and I still was bucking the flood current so I kept motoring along. I had ducked into Smithtown Bay where the flood current was much weaker than further out in the Sound and was moving along at 2.3. knots.

At 12:05 PM the wind picked up from the northwest and I was moving along nicely at 3 knots so I backed down on the electric propulsion.

At 12:35 PM A gentle breeze developed so that I was moving along at 3.4 knots and I shutdown the EP completely after drawing down 65.4 amp hours and having a battery capacity reading of 69%.

Later in the afternoon I spied the Tall Ship MYSTIC that was docked in Oyster Bay for the Oyster Festival just north of BIANKA:

I thought they might be headed back to their homeport of Mystic Connecticut. But, they instead ducked  into Port Jefferson. Probably were on a cruise with passengers of Long Island Sound. 

I sailed on until the breeze started to lighten and fired up the EP once again to minimize the prop drag. By 2:22 PM The battery monitored showed 69% and amp hours used at 63.5.. I set the EP for a 10 amp draw. I continued on this way until about sometime around 4 PM when a nice 15 knot sea breeze made it across Long Island and BIANKA was soon sailing toward home at 5 plus knots which was a real nice way to end the day. At 5:10 PM BIANKA was back on her mooring. Where the final readings for the 20 plus mile electro sail were  85.3 amp hours and battery capacity was 58.9%. Battery voltage was 49.5 volts. I think a lot of the extra amps were to buck a hefty current coming out of the narrow harbor entrance as the current had once again turned a few hours before. Still BIANKA's electric propulsion system made for a delightfully quiet day on the water and showed that 20 mile legs are easily made in light winds without even turning on the generator during the whole trip.
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DESTINATION: THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL: Part Five

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After having some sustenance at one or two of the many food booths at the festival and checking out a few of the craft booths located under the big tent I then headed over to the waterfront dock where the Tall Ship Mystic and the John J. Harvey fireboat were docked:

I bypassed the Mystic which is actually a fairly new ship and one that you can book passages on as it has a number of cabins for passengers on board. Though I did admire some of the details of the boat as I walked past:

Instead I headed for the retired New York Fire Department fireboat the John J. Harvey. Built in 1931 and it worked New York harbor until 1994. It was the first modern fire boat because it was not steam driven but, used gas engines. It was called back into service during the after math of the September 11th attack too. Climbing on board I was amazed at the access we visitors had to the boat and the things that were to be seen. Which is why I spent most of the afternoon on board. I started down in the engine room:

Which was filled with diesel engines, pumps and electric motors:

The Harvey operates is also a "bell boat" which means (other than steering) it was controlled from the engine room via commands sent down from the helm via a mechanical telegraph system which is on display in the engine room:

It is one of the last boats in the U.S. still operating this way. There is also another telegraph up at the helm and that's how the Captain and engine room crew communicate:

I was glad to learn that the John J. Harvey uses Electric Propulsion to turn the boats props. It has been operating with electric propulsion for over eighty years. Which bodes well for BIANKA's auxiliary electric  propulsion to last for a long time too!

Heading back up topside I came upon a display of extra nozzles for firefighting.

One of the things I found out is the Harvey is not just about fighting fires with the deck mounted spray nozzles.

It has manifolds located on the deck that  extra fire fighting hoses can be connected to if needed:

For a final treat of my tour on the John J. Harvey we were allowed to stay on deck as the crew put on a pumping display (which they did every half hour during the festival):

It was fun to watch the pumping from on board.


Even if the wind did shift and I and others on deck got a little wet toward the end of this video seeing the rainbow from the boat's spray was worth it:


What a great way to spend an afternoon. If you want more info on the John J. Harvey check out their website fireboat.org.

So that was my second day at the 30th annual Oyster Bay Oyster Festival. There were many of the food booths I did not get to sample and a few other things I did not get to do like take a tour of the Mystic. But, I think I may make this even an annual part of BIANKA's sailing season. I'm looking forward to sailing back next year with BIANKA.
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DESTINATION: THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL: Part Four

As I did yesterday it was only a cup of coffee to start my day. Breakfast would be at the Oyster Bay Oyster Festival. But, unlike yesterday Oyster's would not be the first thing on the menu. This morning it's ribs to start:

The Oyster Bay Festival takes place in three major areas from what I could see. Audrey Ave, The Midway and the Waterfront Theodore Roosevelt Park.

The entrance for those who arrive by car and are bussed to the site is at the end of Audrey Ave. The Ave is a tree lined street lined with booths from some of the local businesses and also others selling various crafts which is where I spent most of my time yesterday.

Then comes the Midway which is where those who travel to the Festival by the Long Island Railroad are dropped off:

As it's name implies it is midway between Audrey Ave and the Waterfront. It's good central location to start from. I also start near here as the marina where I moored BIANKA is just a short walk away. It is also an actually a carnival midway too filled with old time carnival booths:

Filled with games where stuffed animals are the prizes and real animals are part of the games. Like these goldfish :

and what's a Carnival midway without rides:



As I was making this video I was thinking the kids on these rides have been eating all kids stuff candies, popcorn, cotton candy etc... Things that might make them sick. So I thought it best not to spend too much time standing underneath some of these rides just in case. So I moved on to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park located on the waterfront.

There I found the Tall Ship Mystic and the John J. Harvey Fireboat that I observed entering the harbor Friday Night at the dock:

 I spent delightful afternoon on board the John J. Harvey Fireboat I will chronicle that visit in the next post.

CLICK HERE FOR THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL:PART THREE

CLICK HERE FOR THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL:PART FIVE