Boatnerd Discussion Forum

.1258 h EDT .Fri. July 17/26
On a 290 deg. course, Ocean Tower continues northward. The north wind is blowing 8 kts out of the N.at 5 kts and gusting 8.The tow is making 7 kts.The arrival date Hawaii is July 27. No sea data is available.

1032h EDT Wed. July 15/26
Thanks Guest rcrvrp for getting on here, your thoughts and questions….
This morning the tow is running a 291 deg. course about 45nm off the W coast of Guatemala coming abreast Guatemala City which is about 50 nm inland in a sparsely populated region.
Other than basic meteorological stats; could not find sea conditions info…very remote!
They are located generally at 40 deg. N and 21 deg. W. They are making 7.7 kts under broken skies in a temperature of 19-22 deg.C. Winds are out of the N at 4 kts gusting 8.
As for your thoughts-questions…
I imagine crew might be round 6 or 7. A captain, engineer, cook if lucky, and others for wheeling and/or on deck jobs.
Probably fair sized refrigeration locker, smallish quarters, galley-dining table, and toilet-shower.Watches could be 6h on.
I think I saw that she’s got something like 96k gal. fuel cpty.
As for tow speed 7.5 kts is about max. safe with this monstrosity lurking aft.Sea and wind are real big concern always!
I see they have an ETA Hawaii of July 23.

Steamboater66 wrote: July 13, 2026, 10:04 am 1058h EDT Mon. July 13/26
Just checked mileage from Panama City to Hawaii. It is a great challenge to be covered. Also very humbling…4 800 to 5 100 nautical miles. Statute mileage is 5 100 to 5800 miles. Yikes!!

Just rough figuring that would be 3 weeks at 10 knots 24 hours a day. Holy cow! Can they do 10 knots? Do they have the ability to crew the boat around the clock for 3 weeks? Food and fuel for that long? Resupply by ship? So many questions come to mind.

2354h EDT Mon. July 13/26
Under a cloudy sky in light rain, Ocean Tower continues her trek generally NW on a course of 306 deg. At 7.1 kts. They are 50-60 nm at sea off thie SW coast of Costa Rica just past Garza. Winds are out of the NW at 2 kts gusting 6. Seas are running from the SW with surface waves of 1.6 m.
Thanks to other Guests following this epic tow voyage and posting questions and comments here. I too wonder where this will turn into a more westerly directed run. I will hazard a possibility….The tug will need to shop for shopping before the turn….diesel fuel and other running necessities as well as stocking food for the galley…and wouldn’t San Diego give the crew a sweet spot to have some shore time as they’ve been in there last trip?

1058h EDT Mon. July 13/26
Just checked mileage from Panama City to Hawaii. It is a great challenge to be covered. Also very humbling…4 800 to 5 100 nautical miles. Statute mileage is 5 100 to 5800 miles. Yikes!!

They are staying very close to the coast with good reason. I wonder where they'll break to open ocean?
Following intently. Thanks Steamboter66!
As an aside toward moderators, I think I logged in here before email address was required so I can't fix my password. Been here since 2004.I

How many miles of open ocean away from shore do they have to travel? Is there any island stop on the way?

1957h EDT Sat. July 11/26
Before I start…A point of interest; and I’ve often wondered what the time is where my subject is positioned….So the crane tow time is the same as my home time..,2000h EDT.
Ocean Tower has them 30-40 n off the West coast of Costa Rica cruising at 7.3kts on a 287 course. The wind is ENE.at 17 kts gusting 21…so noticeable. The seas are from the E tonight forming waves of 1.2m. The sky is slightly overcast with a quarter moon. The temperature is warm at 28C. The meteorology tonight is based on data at the land-based station at Rincon, Costa Rica; about 40 miles inland from that country’s west coast.

0001 EST Thursday. July 9/26
Ocean Tower has cleared the Panama Canal. Their latest update on ais was 2356h local time. They are 40-50 nm off the coast in the Gulf Panama. They are cruising at 8.1 kts under cloudy showering skies. The winds are SW 9 kts gusting 11. The seas are running from SW creating a swell of 0.5m. Let’s hope it’s a peaceful night aboard for the start of the Pacific Ocean crossing.

0028hEDT Mon.July 6/26
Good to hear from you, Guest rcrvrp ; who also followed the winter tow.
Good to leave the political stuff out….but I can well imagine that the Panama US relationship is not the positive one of years ago…so as you’re suggesting no favors are likely in creating a speedier passage for the tow.
I did get into a website today that explains to an involved extent how Canal operations organizes Canal entries and passages. I’m not clear enough on it to describe it here. I’ll try to refind that site, reread and maybe try to write about it here.

I was the one in Panama last winter. I was not able to get to the canal the day it was going through. Now I won't be back there for several months. I don't know if the Navy would get any preferential treatment in scheduling through the canal. With out getting too far into politics I'll just say there is no large reservoir of good will towards the US regarding the canal at this time. Used to be but no more.

1243h EDT Sun. July 5/26
Thanks to July 4 0700 Guest for the appreciative comment about my posts.
Questions…
Can anybody aboard here who has some knowledge of Pan Canal operations tell me if this crane tow will get any preferential treatment in terms of position in the queue to be put thorough? This is a Navy job, right? It is a good size etc. But so much of their traffic is big and important. Any thoughts, folks?
Is anyone on here going to be within sight of this event? I think on the winter ruin through to Seattle that a b’nerd came on to say he thought he might be there and send us pics or video. Can’t recall if that ever came to be. This is a pretty big deal for the folks aboard OT and the company, Dann Towing, right?

Thanks for the update. Appreciate it

0112hEDT Sat. July4/26
Ocean Tower is making 6 kts on a 173 deg. course towards Colon Panama! .Yes, they have arrived at the major turning point in the voyage to Hawaii.They are just hours away. They will likely be sequenced and put in a line awaiting entrance to the Panama Canal for the final leg of this historic voyage.

2333h EDT Tues. June 30/26
Ocean Tower is cruising the Caribbean Sea tonight on a 139 deg. course at 6.1 kts. They must be trying for fuel economy and safety. Safe towing speeds under the setup they have could be as much as 7.5 - 8 kts….especially because the wind at Puerto Barrios, Guatemala airport is just 4 kts from the N. Sea surface condition is a ripple at 0.1m. Seas are approaching from the E. The temperature is 27C. The tow is really deep sea as it is 350 or so nm E and abreast of PB under showery skies.

2334h EDT Sunday, June 28/26
In response to Guest,
You likely read my last post where I made a remark about the good speed theyre making.Yes, speed seems up a bit. BUT…the sea surface this trip has been so much calmer because they haven’t had the huge December winds as they had going way. Up to and around Cape Breton NS. Also they had less mileage because this time they used the Canso Canal as a shortcut to pass Nova Scotia and further south from Chesapeake Bay they got into the Cape Cod Canal which was like a shortcut time saver into NYC. Theyve made quicker progress getting southward to the Panama Canal is the big difference.
Tonight they’re in the middle of theYucatan Channel, halfway between SW Cuba and Cancun, Mexico. Ocean Tower is making 7.9 kts. On a course of 149 deg.The wind is ENE at 8kts and gusting 13. Waves are running from ESE making waves of 1.5m. Rain is possible. Temperature is 27C.

Seems they are making better time than the last tow correct?

230h EST Sat. June 27/26
Ocean Tower is about to leave the Straits of Florida. The tow is about 110 n.m NW of Havana, Cuba. They are making 8.1 kts ….really moving compared to recent checks in the 5-6 kt range. Winds are pretty quiet and steady at 3 kts out of the E. Seas are running from the SE making just a swell of 0.1m….hence the speed increase perhaps? The sky is cloudy with showers falling.

0007h EDT Sat. June 27/26
Ocean Tower is in the midst of the Florida Keys tonight; ENE of Key West. They are making 7kts on a heading of 248 deg. Temp and humidity are respectively 29C with the feeling of 33C…Hope the ac aboard is keeping the crew comfy.
Wind is E steady 9kts. Waves are out the SE creating a swell of 0.6m. It is a cloudy night for sailing.

Nice job keeping us all informed