Puerto Rico to Galveston, TX

[andyv94]

Howdy folks,

I am looking at purchasing a Hans Christian 33 that is presently located in Puerto Rico. I haven't personally seen the boat yet, but I do have all of the boats information and a recent survey. The boat has not been used much in the last couple of years due to the owner passing away, etc............

The boat does not have a lot of modern equipment (radar, electronic self steering etc..and also no life raft) but everything else on the boat is in working order.

Ideally, I would like to have the boat shipped to Galveston from Puerto Rico but honestly I am having a hard time finding shipping companies or decent prices.
So I thought about sailing it with a crew and myself from Puerto Rico to Galveston but even that is starting to get expensive too.
Between needing a new self-steering and a life raft (as minimum) to sail from PR to Galveston plus making sure that the vessel is in good enough shape to make the trip..........I am starting to get worried.

So lets for the moment forget about all that I have posted above and concentrate on the actual sailing part of the trip.

I would probably make the trip sometime in late November, my question to you gentleman is what is the Gulf of Mexico like during this time of the year, how long of a trip is it (I have an idea of course but would like to hear from folks that have actually made the trip or a similar trip during this time of the year)

What can one expect to encounter, what is the best course to take, sail west thru Jamaica, Cancun, etc......or the outer route thru Turks and Caicos Islands and on to Florida??

If I do sail the vessel I would hire a crew because I have not sailed in about 10 years and my offshore experience is very limited to a couple of trips from Orange County down to Cabo and down to Acapulco!

Any input, information, ideas would be welcomed in regards to sailing or finding a way to bring the boat to the mainland safely. I am not one to just go and take a chance, I am a fairly safe and careful person.

Thank you

Andres

[Teknav]

Hi Andy! You may want to contact Boatman61 and Atoll; two well known delivery skippers, on here. They will tell you what your trip entails, as they are Old Salt. In addition, there are many folks on here who regularly sail portions of this route. Hang in there and you'll get a good consensus. Good luck!

Mauritz

[bill cartwright]

I think you 1st should concentrare on going down and seeing the boat. I am sure there will need to be a lot of work done as the owner may not have worried about the boat for a long time. At least get the bottom wiped down and test all the equipment, water and fuel tanks as well. I am sure there will need to have some work done before you leave. After the boat is deemed seaworthy, I am sure there aew several skippers who would sail the boat for you. I would recommend a survey and also a test sail to check it out further before you turn over your hard earned money. Then look for a crew.
What if you get there and discover the boat is diddled with dry rot, delaminations, water mildew inside and so on. Dead Batteries and electronics? I have seen this before but you may have a perfect boat also. Go down inspect, take your laptop and some time to check it out. This is just my honest opinion on what I would do before getting others involved.

[atoll]

not a very tough trip for an experinced crew,even if hand steering without the aid of an auto pilot,in november though light you can expect easterly winds,and a good push from the current.

it would be probably best to find a skipper and crew ex-usa,as flight costs from europe would add a lot to the expense.

[andyv94]

Thank you all for your replies!

Bill,
You are absolutely right about surveying the boat, getting
acquainted with it and making sure that everything on the boat works!
I'm planning on having a survey done on the boat and a sea trial before
closing on the deal. Assuming everything is ok I plan on staying in the boat
before heading out to sea and to the main land!

[andyv94]

I hear that there are TONS of oil platforms in the gulf and it looks like the best route would be to sail to the Keys and then go on a reach from there to Galveston.....is it doable with the vessel not having a radar, or is radar a MUST to have now a days??

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by andyv94

I hear that there are TONS of oil platforms in the gulf and it looks like the best route would be to sail to the Keys and then go on a reach from there to Galveston.....is it doable with the vessel not having a radar, or is radar a MUST to have now a days??

We just did the run from Isla Mujeres last year without radar. It is not mandatory, but is useful. Either way, going from key west or Isla you'll hit the same section of the fairway heading into galveston. For the most part the platforms are well marked, several along that route have been removed and the density isn't too bad west of Louisiana.
I did turn on the laptop running Opncpn for the home stretch into Galveston, no biggie.

[bob_77903]

Having done the Gulf crossing several times, and living on the Texas Gulf Coast, I would add at the end of November that norther's roll off the coast about every 7 days, give or take a day. And they do and will stir the Gulf up with some pretty horrendous washing machine sea's. So if bashing into 14'-16'+ seas is an easy sail, I need to know what really is a tough sail!

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by bob_77903

So if bashing into 14'-16'+ seas is an easy sail, I need to know what really is a tough sail!

+1
April or may is a better time to head north. Most people are heading south in November.

[andyv94]

unfortunately it will have to be November to bring the boat up to Galveston.

Bob, can you give me a little more detail on those northerners and what your experience has been in the past with them sailing in the Gulf from Key West?

[cesar maraver]

I am here in puerto rico. I am just getting ready to in a near future buy my own boat... If i can help you around let me know... Cesar Maraver...

[andyv94]

Thank you Caesar, shoot me a private email here if you don't mind!

Gracias

Andres

[Wench'sCaptain]

Originally Posted by andyv94

unfortunately it will have to be November to bring the boat up to Galveston.

Bob, can you give me a little more detail on those northerners and what your experience has been in the past with them sailing in the Gulf from Key West?

I am no expert but here is my take. I am out of Kemah, TX.

Just IMHO. New boat to you, Hired crew, no radar, and manual steering, and maybe the list is longer.
Weather in Nov can be tough, short interval 12+ seas. If you have a good weather window maybe a direct crossing. I would not unless you have a very good skipper.

If I were in your shoes, I would bring it to Florida, then up the Florida west coast to ICW and ICW all the way as much as possible. You miss the oil rigs, the rough sea's and can stop and rest as needed.

[andyv94]

What about going from Islas Mujeres wait for a "good weather"window and head out northwest sailing with the current towards Matamoros and from Matamoros we hug or stay close to the coast all the way to Galveston? We can stop in Corpus Christy if we have to?!

How does that sound?

[rgscpat]

The oil rigs seem a bit more thick as you get to within 5 to 20 nm of the Texas coast, and there's more miscellaneous traffic for you and crew to watch out for as well, plus the rhumb line between Brazos Santiago Pass (S. Padre/Brownsville/Matamoros) and Galveston does take you a bit offshore, so I would assume you don't mean hugging the coast too closely.

Texas blue northers (not northeners) make for rough going but they usually only last a couple of days before settling down. Sometimes there's a nice strong southeasterly before the passage of a norther that might even be useful for a relatively heavy boat like the Hans Christian.

Port Aransas has a harbor just a very short distance from the Gulf that's a good hour or two closer than the city harbor in Corpus Christi proper, all the way across the bay.

Good luck and hope you have fun!