USS Alternative I Mac21 Log Details on 7/4/2000

Log ID # - 10

Departure Port - Keyport, NJ

Destination Port - OpSail 2000

Hours Launched - 12

Distance Traveled - 30

Number of Crew - 5

Crew Names - Jack,Dotti,Robin,Wes and Kathy Raymond

Remarks - Op Sail 2000. Poor weather and >10 knot wind all day. Made to Veranzanno bridge, about 1/2 mile south to watch parade of tall ships, very hazy day. Were able to see some ships on horizon and the planes that flew over including B2 Stealth Bomber. Before starting I estimated that we would motor out on one tank of gas and sail the rest of the way. Winds were forcast 10-15 knots from south west moving to west northwest later. At least that is what I had planned because of forecast weather from 3 sources. Wrong! We were in the water at about 8am so I thought that we had enough time to make it. It should have been about 14 miles and if visibility had been good we could have had a clear view at 4 miles out. Wrong again. Ended up using 3 tanks of gas and still were about 2 miles away when event started. We able to see ships at distance and could hear clearly the cannons firing as each ship passed under the bridge. We finally got 1/2 mile away at about 11am even as close as we were, the heavy haze and fog made it difficult to see everything. Because of no wind, hazy weather, and one tank of gas left we did not go into NY harbor. Officials before the event had forecast, for the day, 50,000 plus small craft. NOT EVEN CLOSE! Traffic was very light! Had hard time getting back because of winds we so light. At times we did not even move at all for 1/2 hour! Finally made it back OK before dark. Good trip overall! All systems on boat worked fine. No problems launching or retieving at Keyport, other than the ramp was pretty busy.

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