1982 Mirage 33 and coastal cruising

[Pete7]

Solo or crewed? its what 600 miles depending were you jump off from. Haven't sailed to Bermuda but did spend 3 weeks diving their care of the Bermudian Regiment. The Canadians were just pulling out from their base at the north end of the island, they very hospitable inviting us to several BBQs and a dive off their private beach. Take mask, fins and snorkel.

You do need a good up to date chart as the island is surrounded by a ring of coral starting about 200 yards from the shore. Great for diving but not for the faint hearted in a small boat so stick to the channels.

Expensive island, so take your own spirits and staples from the US. Over all we really enjoyed Bermuda.

[NormanMartin]

Hello GuyFromTheNorth.
One more idea... turn left coming out of the Hudson, sail up Long Island Sound into Southern New England (which is basically Newport, RI) and spend the summer with us. Sail South with the fleet. They collect in Norfolk/Portsmouth VA in late October/early November. The only offshore leg is the NJ coast. Maybe a lot of motoring/motorsailing.

Places like Mystic, Sag Harbor, Block Island, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyeard, New Bedford... just to name a few... are memorable.

[GuyFromTheNorth]

Originally Posted by NormanMartin

Hello GuyFromTheNorth.
One more idea... turn left coming out of the Hudson, sail up Long Island Sound into Southern New England (which is basically Newport, RI) and spend the summer with us. Sail South with the fleet. They collect in Norfolk/Portsmouth VA in late October/early November. The only offshore leg is the NJ coast. Maybe a lot of motoring/motorsailing.

Places like Mystic, Sag Harbor, Block Island, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyeard, New Bedford... just to name a few... are memorable.

Interesting, thanks for the offer Norman. I'll keep that in mind! Plans are not really set yet as we have to see what value our home has. If we end up making a move I'll get in touch for sure.

[Mirage35]

There's a Mirage owners' group on Yahoo that I could point you to if you're interested - you would probably find people that have done it. I have a Mirage 35, which is the same boat with a different transom, and am confident the boat could do it. (The crew is a different question.)

[GuyFromTheNorth]

Originally Posted by AnglaisInHull

There's a Mirage owners' group on Yahoo that I could point you to if you're interested - you would probably find people that have done it. I have a Mirage 35, which is the same boat with a different transom, and am confident the boat could do it. (The crew is a different question.)

Thanks and I am on that group and for some reason didnt think to reach out lol. I usually go for tech advice. I'll poke around when I get a chance. Glad to hear your confidence on it. I think i knew the boat could do it it's just my lack of actually seeing the ocean that left me wondering. Good old fear of the unknown.

[mirage33]

Your M33 will handle it just fine. We sailed (2 adults 2 young children) from Toronto to Martinique via Bahamas, DR, Virgins and south in '94/'95 on our M33 hull #008. It was the best year ever !!

A couple of things to check on...

The factory stemhead plate is made of cast aluminum and prone to failure at the clevis pin. I replaced the steamhead plate with a stainless steel version with twin anchor rollers.

The rudder post on the earlier M33 models had a hollow rudder post made in 2 sections. Our rudder post failed at the weld on our very last day returning home across Lake Ontario, our rudder sank and was lost. I was fortunate in 1995 to find the owner of some Mirage moulds in QC, who made a new rudder with a solid rudder post. The weld is hidden inside the fiberglass rudder tube so we had no idea about the weld. We also had the 13hp Yanmar, it performed well but at times had difficulty against tides/waves and a 105 amp alternator at higher amp outputs.

Good Luck and go enjoy life !

Gord.

[GuyFromTheNorth]

Originally Posted by mirage33

Your M33 will handle it just fine. We sailed (2 adults 2 young children) from Toronto to Martinique via Bahamas, DR, Virgins and south in '94/'95 on our M33 hull #008. It was the best year ever !!

A couple of things to check on...

The factory stemhead plate is made of cast aluminum and prone to failure at the clevis pin. I replaced the steamhead plate with a stainless steel version with twin anchor rollers.

The rudder post on the earlier M33 models had a hollow rudder post made in 2 sections. Our rudder post failed at the weld on our very last day returning home across Lake Ontario, our rudder sank and was lost. I was fortunate in 1995 to find the owner of some Mirage moulds in QC, who made a new rudder with a solid rudder post. The weld is hidden inside the fiberglass rudder tube so we had no idea about the weld. We also had the 13hp Yanmar, it performed well but at times had difficulty against tides/waves and a 105 amp alternator at higher amp outputs.

Good Luck and go enjoy life !

Gord.

Thanks gord great info and related boat too. I am not sure the older mirages used the same rudder post however they definitely had the stemhead. Already replaced mine with a beefy polished stainless one fabricated in Barrie. Shes ready!