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Arriving in Tacoma at the Thea Foss Waterway.

Arriving in Tacoma at the Thea Foss Waterway.

I made my first Single-Handed trip in Sea Eagle, taking the 50′ (LOA) Nordhavn from Olympia to Tacoma without crew. The trip went smooth as silk, with both un-docking and docking accomplished without the use of thrusters or help.

The most interesting part of the trip was riding the Ebb Tide north. The 35 mile cruise normally takes more than 5 hours (averaging 7 knots with long no wake zones at either end). This time, even though I was only running at 1700 RPM (~ 7 knots), my average speed was 9 knots, thanks to the ebbing current and I arrived in only 4 hours.

Radar passing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  Notice the Speed over Ground!

Radar passing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Notice the Speed over Ground!

By the time I cruised through the Tacoma Narrows, my SOG (Speed Over Ground) was more than 12 knots (see the photo to the right)! At 1700 RPM, the average fuel burn rate is 3.5 GPH, so I only consumed 14 gallons of fuel (aka 2.5 NMPG). The fast currents give the autopilot a work-out as they keep swirling the boat around, but it sure makes the trip economical. 😉