New Member Sea Trial Tomorrow!!!

[mafoli]

After a week of reading these forums, I have realized I have probably done everything wrong when it comes to buying a boat and preparing for a passage to St Thomas. I will be doing the sea trial tomorrow on a 35 Cal Cruiser and if everything goes well, we will be leaving around November 10th for the Virgins where I hope to liveaboard. Any thoughts on the safest or best route?

[Pete7]

Mafoli hi and welcome to CF

Were are you setting off from?

Pete

[mafoli]

Thanks Pete for the welcome. Boat is currently slipped in Newport News, Virginia. The eventual departure will be from Manteo, North Carolina.

[GaryMayo]

Have fun! Welcome!

[mausgras]

Originally Posted by mafoli

After a week of reading these forums, I have realized I have probably done everything wrong when it comes to buying a boat and preparing for a passage to St Thomas. I will be doing the sea trial tomorrow on a 35 Cal Cruiser and if everything goes well, we will be leaving around November 10th for the Virgins where I hope to liveaboard. Any thoughts on the safest or best route?

Hi mafoil,I have just completed the process of buying my first boat too. I found these forums invaluable to a newbie like myself who had only limited previous sailing background..

My congratulations to the moderators and especially all the contributors who not only make our lifestyle more enjoyable but also safer.

I guess it is one of those things that cannot be counted but Cruisers Forum (and similar) have probably saved many lives through their ability educate and inform and make us all better sailors as much as simply entertain.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
I've not sailed that crossing except via Navy Cruiser but have enjoyed sailing the BVI and USVI once there. Happy sailing.
kind regards,

[AirBoyzT]

Welcome!

[gjordan]

Unless there is something I dont understand about your question, It seems odd that you are going to do a seatrial and leave immediatly on what can be a rough trip. Tomorrow is November 10? You dont say your sailing experiance, but maybe you dont realize how much work there is in getting a boat ready for a voyage. Even if you ment December 10 it takes a while to learn all of the systems on a new(to you) boat. I think you made a good choice with the Cal Cruising 35. I have admired them for a while. Good Luck with your new adventure_____Grant.

[captain58sailin]

Greetings, and good luck on your voyage. Welcome to the forum.

[mafoli]

Thanks for the responses. November 10th has come and gone, and we are trying to leave by this weekend. Yes, indeed, there is and was a lot more to just hopping on the boat and setting forth!!! I still have to buy a tender, install a gps and solar panels. I have some experience with a Cal 34 that I owned with my brothers but that was limited to Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. When I was younger (around 40 years ago) I had some experience in the Atlantic working on a scallop boat. I've seen enough bad weather on that boat to make me very cautious.
Anyway, I am anxious to leave and hope I can familiarize myself with the boat on the sounds and intracoastals on the way down the east coast.
In a perfect world, I would wait for a couple of months, but I have shut down my business and what I haven't sold is in storage. I need to get to St Thomas and find gainful employment. As Jack Aubrey would say "there's not a moment to lose"