An Introduction to Capt Bill Foster and His Trip
Jul 21st, 2008 by EarthNC
Hi, I’m Capt. Bill Foster from Sarasota/Ft. Lauderdale. I currently run a 1988 98’ Broward Motor yacht full time. While the Broward is in the paint shed getting a shinny new skin, myself and two mates of mine have been contracted to bring a 46’ Maxum 4600 SCB (2000 model year) with twin 450 HP Cummins diesels down from New Buffalo Mich. to Marco Island on the west coast of Florida.
The trip will cover a short stretch of Lake Michigan from New Buffalo to Chicago, through down town Chicago (hopefully) then on to the Illinois Waterway and down the upper Mississippi for a distance of 825 statue miles. With a short (25 mile) jump onto the Cumberland River to bypass the Kentucky lock.
Then on down the Tenn -Tom and Black Warrior – Tombigbee Waterways to Mobile, AL. for 456 miles.
Giving a total distance of approximately 1350 statute miles on the river based waterways.
Once down through Mobile, based on the weather, we will either travel on the “outside” in the Gulf of Mexico or use the “inside” ICW route through the Pensacola, Destin, Panama City areas. And on over to Carrabelle, FL.
From Carrabelle, again based on the weather, we will at some point head across the Gulf of Mexico to the Tarpon Springs area. And then on down to Marco Island with perhaps one more stop in between Tarpon Springs and Marco. The distance from Mobile to Marco Island is about 610 statue miles. For a total trip length of approximately 2000 miles.
I’m estimating our avg. speed in the rivers will 10 – 12 mph based on the travel, stops for locks and weather. Once in the open waters of the Gulf, again based on conditions, I would think we can run 18 – 20+ knots.
We should be setting of on Tuesday the 22nd of July and take a total of, if all goes well, around 17 – 18 days to get to Marco Island. But, as many of you know, all it takes is one small thing to go wrong to add to that total. So follow along and see how we do.
- Capt Bill
Interactive Map
See Capt Bill’s most recent position along with EarthNC Online chart data with the Google Map below. Check the ‘Show Navaids’ box to also see buoys, lights, and markers along his route.
You can also follow along in 3D with Google Earth. Click HERE to open Capt Bill’s journey in Google Earth. Positions will update roughly once per minute while Capt Bill is underway and has network connectivity.
Most Recent Webcam Image
We’ll be posting his most recent webcam image here when it’s active - hopefully starting Tuesday morning (22 July).
