Florida to Bimini, Bahamas

[Anchor Mgmt]

Originally Posted by Snore

Listen to the above voice of reason!

Rule #1 if you have to ask strangers on the internet if you are ready. You are NOT ready.

Do some small trips- Virginia Key, Elliott Key or Key Largo. Do some deep sea fishing ---- head 5 then 10 then 20 or miles out. Taking small controlled steps reduces the odds of a failure.

It will also let you understand your fuel consumption and how to navigate with a GPS.

No matter what purchase, register and learn about the use of, an EPIRB. It is reasonable to assume that your life and the life of your passengers/crew are worth the cost of an ACR EPIRB.




Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

we just moved from Seattle to Georgia about 4 months ago, we will be moving to south florida due to work at the end of next yr. We would like to also haul the boat down to your area. any good novice boating spots in key largo or around you?

[Anchor Mgmt]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Think about the trip this way. Ft Lauderdale to Bimini would be like going from Browns Bridge to Bald Ridge Marina and back about three times. But you'll be in the Ocean and out of sight of land for an hour or two.

If you pick a reasonable day the water won't be any choppier than Sunday afternoon on the lake.

lol it sounds like we might be neighbors. I live in Sugar Hill. We were just up at bald ridge marina and port royale yesterday

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Anchor Mgmt

we just moved from Seattle to Georgia about 4 months ago, we will be moving to south florida due to work at the end of next yr. We would like to also haul the boat down to your area. any good novice boating spots in key largo or around you?

You may want to consider going somewhere in the Keys and making a shakedown passage to the Dry Tortugas. It is basically all in sight of land to the Boca Grande Pass. Once you cross the Pass to the Marquesas it is about the same distance in open water to Dry Tortugas as from Miami to Bimini. You can get cell coverage till you cross the Boca Grande Pass. Once you get to the Dry Tortugas the ranger station has internet for their use and post weather reports in the radio room. If you get in trouble the fast boat that makes a daily trip from Key West can bring parts or what ever, probably a lot cheaper than you could in the Bahamas.

There are also a lot of places both ocean side and in the Keys back country worth exploring. Price in the Keys are lower in general than the Bahamas and there is no fuss about passports and the clearing fee. You will also have a first hand experience with what is like to be on a boat and completing a passage out of sight of land.

Not saying there is anything wrong with the Bahamas, just that there is a lot to like in the Keys.

[captain mitch]

JESUS, Lets not scare the guy enuff to sell his boat and move to Oklahoma !
The crossing from Miami to Bimini is a non-event as long as you take care of the basics.
NO North component in the winds and at least 6 hours since the north component went away (takes that long to settle down the seas).
Light or no-wind days are not that un-common in the area, so be patient and WAIT for the right weather.
The rules apply to both gettin dere and comin back !
A good working VHF and a GOOD reliable engine.
Add to that all the other regular safety stuff and you are in decent shape.
If you can cross with another (similar speed ) boat , that will calm the "out of land site" nerve issue.
North Bimini is much more entertaining than South.
Customs and immigration are no issue (passports, boat reg. or document please)
Have fun, but be prepared to be patient and wait for the right weather to go home

[Perstarebob]

You did not say what time of the year ? In the summer months on any weekend there will be many, many boats in the eighteen to twenty five foot range departing from all of the so Florida inlets at daylight and will be in Bimini or West End before lunch .Years ago we crossed with fish club to Walkers Cay , about twenty five boats for a small boat tourney ! Sailors will do it different as the trip at five knots will take eight to twelve hours because of the stream setting you north 30 or 40 miles during the crossing .

[Perstarebob]

I have crossed twice in an eighteen foot I/o , 4 times in a twenty three foot Robalo , Half a dozen times in a 34 foot Morgan . Summer is the time for power boats .

[skipmac]

Problem with trip to the Dry Tortugas, it would be almost 150 miles round trip from Key West and there's no fuel anywhere after you leave. Don't think the OP's boat has the range to make that with reserves.

Originally Posted by tomfl

You may want to consider going somewhere in the Keys and making a shakedown passage to the Dry Tortugas. It is basically all in sight of land to the Boca Grande Pass. Once you cross the Pass to the Marquesas it is about the same distance in open water to Dry Tortugas as from Miami to Bimini. You can get cell coverage till you cross the Boca Grande Pass. Once you get to the Dry Tortugas the ranger station has internet for their use and post weather reports in the radio room. If you get in trouble the fast boat that makes a daily trip from Key West can bring parts or what ever, probably a lot cheaper than you could in the Bahamas.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Anchor Mgmt

we just moved from Seattle to Georgia about 4 months ago, we will be moving to south florida due to work at the end of next yr. We would like to also haul the boat down to your area. any good novice boating spots in key largo or around you?

More of a sailor than a power boater. I normally head out the inlet and sail open ocean.

Wait for a nice day and head out close a few miles off shore.

Biscayne Bay is also a nice spot to start.


Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

[Skuzzlebutt]

Don't forget that nasty $150 fee per boat that the Bahamas likes to charge! Of course, that includes a fishing license, so makes it OK, according to them.

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Snore

Listen to the above voice of reason!

Rule #1 if you have to ask strangers on the internet if you are ready. You are NOT ready.

Do some small trips- Virginia Key, Elliott Key or Key Largo. Do some deep sea fishing ---- head 5 then 10 then 20 or miles out. Taking small controlled steps reduces the odds of a failure.

It will also let you understand your fuel consumption and how to navigate with a GPS.

No matter what purchase, register and learn about the use of, an EPIRB. It is reasonable to assume that your life and the life of your passengers/crew are worth the cost of an ACR EPIRB.

Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

Why would an EPIRB be necessary when one is never out of VHF range from one side or the other?

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by captain mitch

JESUS, Lets not scare the guy enuff to sell his boat and move to Oklahoma !
The crossing from Miami to Bimini is a non-event as long as you take care of the basics.
NO North component in the winds and at least 6 hours since the north component went away (takes that long to settle down the seas).
Light or no-wind days are not that un-common in the area, so be patient and WAIT for the right weather.
The rules apply to both gettin dere and comin back !
A good working VHF and a GOOD reliable engine.
Add to that all the other regular safety stuff and you are in decent shape.
If you can cross with another (similar speed ) boat , that will calm the "out of land site" nerve issue.
North Bimini is much more entertaining than South.
Customs and immigration are no issue (passports, boat reg. or document please)
Have fun, but be prepared to be patient and wait for the right weather to go home

Amen! It's 50-odd nm for goodness sake, not an Atlantic crossing! Pick a good day with southerly (or no) winds, keep an eye out for the big boys transiting the Gulf Stream and have a great time. Bimini is a great place and definitely worth the visit - we can't wait to get back there early next year

n

[Snore]

Originally Posted by ramblinrod

Why would an EPIRB be necessary when one is never out of VHF range from one side or the other?

You are right he should just go for it. No one ever has a problem crossing. Batteries never go dead. Antennas never break. Hoses don't fail and no one ever hits UFO's. @&$ never happens.

If you sail with any regularity off SFLA and monitor ch16 you will hear securite calls from the CG about vessels and often the CG 1/2 of conversation with a boat needing assistance.

It would truly suck dying with my final thoughts being that if I had properly outfitted my boat I would be alive. My life worth more than the cost of a $700 EPIRB.


Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

[motion30]

something nobody has mentioned. You not only need a weather window going to the Bahamas, you need a weather window to return home. as most on here can attest to a schedule is the most dangerous thing to have while cruising. all that said it could be an easy trip for you and the Bahamas are beautiful and you will probably have fun

[svJasmine]

In a small powerboat, just wait until the seas have settled. Usually a couple days after the wind dies some. If you can get 1-2 foot. Just get up on plane for a couple hours and go. you will be fine. Leave from anywhere on the south east. hillsdale or south. With a planing boat the current won't matter as much as with a displacement boat.

3 and above waves will slow you down a bunch and will cause the north current to matter.

Have fun!!!

[ramblinrod]

Originally Posted by Snore

You are right he should just go for it. No one ever has a problem crossing. Batteries never go dead. Antennas never break. Hoses don't fail and no one ever hits UFO's. @&$ never happens.

If you sail with any regularity off SFLA and monitor ch16 you will hear securite calls from the CG about vessels and often the CG 1/2 of conversation with a boat needing assistance.

It would truly suck dying with my final thoughts being that if I had properly outfitted my boat I would be alive. My life worth more than the cost of a $700 EPIRB.


Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

All I can say is, different folks have different pucker factors.

Every body of water deserves due respect, including the bathtub, where many have drowned.

IMHO, an EPIRB is not essential safety equipment for crossing Florida to Bimini. Meanwhile, I wouldn't cross the Atlantic without one.

Of course, if your boat sank, you'd kick yourself if you didn't have one, and a life raft, and a completely redundant mothership in tow.

There is no such thing as zero risk of something bad happening.

Everyone has to evaluate what level of risk they can tolerate.

I can easily tolerate the risk of crossing from Florida to Bahamas without an EPIRB.

You, obviously not.

That's OK. You are entitled to carry an EPIRB if you wish.

But to suggest others are wrong, or foolish without, is going to far IMHO.