Captain available for hire!

[CaptaindeJong]

Hello there, I'm captain Tyler de Jong, I teach private boating classes out of Tampa Bay as well as relocate boats all over the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic Coast.

I am always looking for more work and thought this would be a great outlet to talk to cruisers and boat owners and to network as well as to share experiences. Currently, I'll take just about any job that someone calls me to do which can get me in trouble but hey, someone's gotta do it! I just moved an older early '80s Oday 27' from Clearwater, FL to right outside Tallahassee, tiller steering with no autopilot, straight shot. And to top that, the tiller broke off at the base about six hours into the journey! I wrapped it up tight and kept going.



Ended up being a successful delivery.

DEFINITION - Successful delivery: Delivery where the boat makes it to its destination with minimal equipment failures and the same amount of crew when it departed.

I then had a delivery of a 2009 Beneteau 49' a couple days after that from St. Pete to Key West, loved the way the boat handled. Huge cockpit, 10 knots of wind pushed it at 5.5 to 6 knots on a reach, nothing but good things to say about it. Here is a kind of sun shot picture of it after we pulled in to Key West (this was only a few days ago)



I hold a Master, 50 Ton license with a sail and tow endorsement. Please message me if you're looking for a captain to move your power or sail boat.

For those of you who aren't looking for a captain but are reading this post anyway, refer others to this post and I'll make sure to upload pictures on this forum of the adventures that I get in to!

Thank you and fair winds!

[Captainmj80]

Liked your add so reaching out. I had a delivery fall through due to scheduling. Need my boat delivered from Coos Bay Oregon to Seattle/Elliot Bay Marina. Its an ugly stretch, no hiding, 4 days roughly against the ocean, would be a completely weather dependent delivery, which is why I cant really do it as I just started a new job and cant play with that loose of a schedule. You sound faraway, but I want her back, what are your thoughts on the cost for something like that?

37' S/V Sun Odyssey Jeanneau 2001
newer engine, AIS, spare jugs, life lines on board and all that is needed for open ocean.

[CaptaindeJong]

Originally Posted by Captainmj80

Liked your add so reaching out. I had a delivery fall through due to scheduling. Need my boat delivered from Coos Bay Oregon to Seattle/Elliot Bay Marina. Its an ugly stretch, no hiding, 4 days roughly against the ocean, would be a completely weather dependent delivery, which is why I cant really do it as I just started a new job and cant play with that loose of a schedule. You sound faraway, but I want her back, what are your thoughts on the cost for something like that?

37' S/V Sun Odyssey Jeanneau 2001
newer engine, AIS, spare jugs, life lines on board and all that is needed for open ocean.

I sent you a private message

[CaptaindeJong]

Yesterday I took a local couple out for some boating lessons. See that storm cloud in the background? Time to head back to the dock.

[CaptaindeJong]

I'm bumping this post to get it back to the top! Anyone that's looking to hire a captain, whether it be for a delivery, boat handling lessons or taking your family or friends out for a special event, I'm the guy. No matter what the sea throws at me, I'm going to make sure that you, the crew on board and the boat all make it back to the dock in one piece.

This 4th of July weekend I worked for three days in a row taking a group of friends out on Tampa Bay. One afternoon, I had the boat anchored off the East side of Beer Can Island (Pine Key according to maps), a couple people in the water swimming, the others relaxing under the shade. I was asked if I could take them to a waterfront restaurant in Apollo Beach. I checked my charts and the depth showed 3' at the edge of an extremely narrow channel. The tide was around 1' and was dropping towards a -.04' after the sun set. The Sea Ray 38 that I was on draws right around 3.5'. Watching the depth gauge on the way in, I saw 4.0 and after a couple hours of dining and tide dropping we left through the same channel and saw 3.1' on the gauge. Considering the height that the sounder was mounted, maybe 1' below the waterline, I probably had around 6" below the propellers.

The moral of the story is, don't be afraid to trust your charts, your equipment and your common sense. Don't let shallow water deter you from going somewhere unfamiliar as long as all the math adds up and you have at least a little room underneath of you. Check your tide! Creep slowly over shallow areas! Have a plan in case you DO make contact with the bottom!