Galveston to Miami

[Dave the Canuck]

Hey All: An opportunity exists for me to crew a delivery from Galveston to Miami. It's a 38 foot ketch. Has anyone done this stretch of the Gulf of Mexico? Any pearls/words of wisdom/watchouts? I believe that the biggest issue is to not hit an oil rig/tanker. Anything else?

[djmarchand]

I have done the reverse: Miami to Tampa via the keys and Tampa to Galveston.

Yes oil rigs are plentiful, but at least in those deep waters they all are big, manned and are well lit at night unlike the shallow water rigs. Also watch out for sesmic survey ships. We were hailed by the picket boat for a fleet of seismic ships and had to alter course for a few hours to miss them. Also came across one lone fishing trawler way out in the gulf.

Keep your radar on all night and a good watch.

But do stop in Key West for a few days of R&R before continuing up to Miami.

David