Newbie question: sunseeker manhattan 50 - long distance trip.

I have been chatting to the owner in the meantime so it looks like we'll be going pretty slow from Sardinia to Messina where we will refuel after which we may pick up the pace a bit. Using an online map it looks to be a 350 mile run. The rest of the trip is something over 250.

I had a look at some youtube vids … seems that cooking underway is not really practical … no gimbals in any of the vids I saw.

Anyway ticket booked and looking forward to it. Not quite a bucket list item but it will satisfy my curiosity and would tick an rya box or two if the fancy ever took me.
 
mcaquestion said:
it looks like we'll be going pretty slow from Sardinia to Messina where we will refuel after which we may pick up the pace a bit. Using an online map it looks to be a 350 mile run.
Click to expand...
Considering the distance you are talking about, I suppose you are leaving Sardinia from far North, Olbia possibly?
If so, of course the shorter route is straight to Messina, but 'fiuaskme me, 350Nm in the middle of the Thyrrenian sea, with a 50 footer designed for speed but constrained to single digit for range reasons, ain't exactly my idea of pleasure boating.
I understand that it's a job for you, but if you want to get it done asap (and arguably more safely), I'd rather head S along the E Coast of Sardinia, in one go from Olbia to Villasimius, refuel there, cross to Trapani, and from there it's all coastal cruising alone the N coast of Sicily. All at the fastest speed you can fancy, with no range problems whatsoever.
Can't tell by heart how much more Nm you would make compared to those 350 (it's essentially two legs of a triangle vs. its hypotenuse), but the possibility to make it at P vs. D speed means that it's going to be much quicker anyway.
Not to mention that this way you would never be at more than 70Nm or so max from a safe harbor (as opposed to 170Nm in the straight passage).
As an aside, along that route there are some of the most beautiful spots in the whole Med (arguably in the world), but I'm not going to make suggestions if you couldn't take your time to enjoy them anyway. If interested, just ask!
Anyway, fair winds, whatever your final choice - particularly if you'll go for the straight passage!
 
Back form the trip. It was quite interesting. The boat turned out to be equipped with Cat diesels rather than volvos. We did pretty much bang on 10 knots (cog) the whole way except for a few hours before we arrived in Messina as as there was no point in getting there are 1 am when the fuel pontoon didn't open till 7 am. Olbia to Messina took about 1200 litres so about 3.7 litres per mile are good. The owner put it up to low 20's briefly which brought the file consumption up to 250 l/h versus 37l/h.

A bit roll with a side wind. High point was seeing a sea turtle underway and of course the nights sky.

Maybe it is time to learn a bit more about stinkpots. :-)
 
mcaquestion said:
The owner put it up to low 20's briefly which brought the file consumption up to 250 l/h versus 37l/h.
Click to expand...
37 l/h @ 10 kts sounds about right, because that's already well above economic D speed for a 50 footer, but blimey, 250 at low 20s is a helluva lot of fuel.
Do you possibly remember the exact speed/rpm at which you read 250 l/h in the engine displays (I guess)?
My 56 footer, btw much heavier than a 'hattan 50, is supposed to burn 160 l/h @ 23 kts/1800rpm!
With the caveat (hence "supposed to") that I neither have electronic displays, nor enough experience to confirm the numbers empirically...

PS: yup, sea turtles are more common than most people believe, in the Med.
A few years ago, I spotted one of them in the shallow channel right in front of my home marina, a great sight indeed - and easier to "follow" than dolphins! :encouragement:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top