Boating from Florida to Puerto Rico in my Center Console

[spearfish3]

I would do fuel planning ahead of time. There is a website that has up to date fuel costs for the Marina's across the Bahamas. I would definitely fuel up in Nassau.

I have gone as far south as Cat Island. I think it was on the nose the whole time.... When possible, I would use the banks to your advantage. South of Georgetown and I think the runs get longer. Bring some good trolling reels and kick back if you need. I would also advise against a tight schedule.

Good luck though and congrats on the nice new center console.

[flyingfin]

No problem mon! Just leave after July 1 and you wont have problems, but be prepared to wait for fuel at some locations. Run a few hours every day early in the morning while you have calm seas and good sunlight. By the time the afternoon thunderstorms start to form, you will be tied up having a cold drink and warm shower.

If you make the trip a vacation and not a delivery, you will have the best experience ever. Take time to fish, snorkel and stay overnight at all the great little small hotels as you island hop all the way.

But if you cant make it a 10 day vacation you will be best served by shipping her south, either to PR or STT. Check with agents in West Palm, Lauderdale and Miami for best rates. They should be able to stick you on deck, unless you have a trailer and they can put you in a RORO ship.

The cost for shipping will be less than all the $6/gal Bahamian fuel, and any equipment failure on the trip down will ruin the delivery.

[Dave852]

Originally Posted by spearfish3

I would do fuel planning ahead of time. There is a website that has up to date fuel costs for the Marina's across the Bahamas. I would definitely fuel up in Nassau.

I have gone as far south as Cat Island. I think it was on the nose the whole time.... When possible, I would use the banks to your advantage. South of Georgetown and I think the runs get longer. Bring some good trolling reels and kick back if you need. I would also advise against a tight schedule.

Good luck though and congrats on the nice new center console.

In calm weather you could be there before we are finished discussing it on this thread... but. You will never find a complete calm stretching all the way from Florida to Puerto Rico. So you will have to layover waiting for the wind to die down because a fast boat is useless against 20 knots of wind on the nose. If you are sleeping and cooking on the boat maybe it will work out depending on what value you place on your time. But if you add hotel rooms, food, fuel, wear and tear and your time multiplied by how long it could take, shipping it will cost way less.

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I have made the trip to PR and the Virgin Islands a few times by sail so know that route well.

However I have also owned several power boats including 25' twin I/O center console and a 36' twin diesel cruiser and I would make that trip in a minute in either of those and certainly a 37' Whaler I assume the boat has twins of some kind for power).

Pick the season and pick the weather and you're fine. Depending on the time of year you might have to sit somewhere for a few days or even a couple of weeks waiting for a calm day or two for the next leap. I know this will raise howls from the hurricane people but summer would be the best time for this trip. Trade winds tend to be much calmer and you might even find a few windless days.

It has been many years since I cruised the far south Bahamas so this may be out of date info. Unless things have changed I don't know of any reliable fuel stops between Clarence Town Long Island and the T&C so that stretch and the one from T&C to the DR are a bit longer than 100 nm but if you have a reliable range of 400 nm you should be good. I would check the fuel consumption in rough, choppy headwinds as those conditions can significantly impact your mpg compared to calmer conditions.

San Salvador at the end of the Bahamian chain is a good stop for fuel & groceries.