Ft Lauderdale to NY

"Fort pierce also has a commercial fuel dock thats much cheaper." Sorry, its been closed since 2016 and is being converted into a mega-yacht repair yard.

That's good then, you know you should stay flexible and not try and beat some schedule mother nature will do everything in her power to disrupt! This time of year fronts are passing through almost daily but you will get a few windows where outside running is possible but usually only a day or two at most. Ideal conditions like light southern breezes are few and far between until after the migration season is over. I got lucky one year and had a three day stretch and a fast boat to move, did Hillsboro inlet to Hilton Head, HH to Beaufort and Beaufort to Cape May in three days of running. It was decent weather but running 40 knots all day for three days is grueling too!

We've done a couple of runs up the coast at 35 knots in a 63' Riva, but the limitation was the same as the OP faces in that the range is only around 260 nm so only 7 1/2 hours between fueling and typically less as the fuel options don't hit exactly when you might need them. Also on our boat, even running at 15 knots wouldn't pick you up any range.

Always amazes me that decent sized boats don't have enough fuel capacity for longer runs. That 63 carried 1800 gallons so range wasn't a factor, only available daylight. At first the owner (who was one of the relief drivers and spotters!) thought I was crazy but the fuel burn difference was minimal, 100 gph at 40 knots vs. 64 at 30 and he got home a day quicker!

Marblehead, give me a shout if you make a stop in Beaufort. I can show you the good places to eat and will buy the first round!

These are a lot of the same stops I use, except I would skip Savannah and substitute Hilton Head as it's a MUCH shorter run into the marina. Another thing I do a lot of times is go in Southport, take the ditch north to I forget the town and then stop for the night, then go straight out Masonboro inlet so I don't have to go way out to go around the point between Southport and Masonboro.

OP=You could do 2-3 hours at hull speed.......1000 rpms or less and extend your range 20 NM that way. and then pick up and run. Real easy to do that in places that have long runs to the sea buoy's without getting bounced around. What brand of boat is it? What length? Judging by the fuel burn/speed around a 55'-60' FB motoryacht.

BILL- yeah, that's the problem with the SF. I used to deliver Cabo's for the factory and had enough range usually to run 10+ hours at cruise (30+) knots......and also run some other SF. I don't care how calm it is, 10+ hours of 30+ knots really wears you out. I run an express similar to olderboaters Riva that cruises at 28 knots but only have enough fuel to go 7 hours safely, so makes for a nice normal day. You still make 200 NM, but aren't wearing yourself out. Plus I get paid by the day!

6 hours home from Lucaya in 5 and 6' waves at 5 seconds and some 8' was a long enough day for us. lol.

A lot depends on whether you have others to at least give you a break here and there. 10 hours at the helm for one person is a very long day. In rougher conditions, we switch more frequently as well. Today though we averaged 3 hour shifts at the wheel and cruised at 65 knots, all interstate highways. Only have 17.5 gallon fuel tank though.

It really depends on the boat and the conditions. In an enclosed flybridge or pilot house, with air conditioning you can run much longer hours without fatigue. It really makes a huge difference. We often run up to 16/18 hours between MIA and the Exumas. I usually do 80% of that with short relief periods.

I'd never do that on an open boat.

Should hopefully be settling into a summer weather pattern by then so you'll likely get to run outside on some legs. Be safe, enjoy the ride and first cocktail's are on me! Same goes for any other YF's passing by! Caught and finally met Nycap a couple years ago but putting faces to the names is always a pleasure!

We'll be making the trip up to the Chesapeake starting May 5th from Ft Myers. Our paths may cross on the way! We'll be outside whenever the weather permits.

Captain Ralph I see you posted you prefer to run at night - or did I read that wrong? How do you accomplish that? Inside or Outside? I'm very curious.

Sorry I missed you on your Beaufort stop over marblehead. Don't know if you tried to take me up on my cocktail offer or not but if you did I apologize. I'm over in Liberia commissioning a new build that finally made it over here via ship. I'll buy the first two rounds on your way south this fall for penance!