Help..Am I being foolish? Hawaii to Florida

[Barefootnavigat]

To the op while this is neither here nor there here is a prime example of taking a small production off shore, a very good read. EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm) - Lessons Learned: Sailing to Hawaii...The First Attempt by Arnold Rowe

[Don C L]

btw, just curious, which Hunter 36 is this? 36-2 or Cherubini?

[J Clark H356]

I have a Hunter 356 and have sailed it in the Gulf of Mexico in no more than 4 foot seas. It is a good coastal cruiser, but I would have a hard time equipping my boat for a trip that long. I have a 38 gallon fuel tank, 75 gallons of water plus 6 gallon hot water tank. Must have watermaker, It is straight line 4700 NM to Panama where you can re-provision. Looks like to me a 45 to 60 day trip to Panama with mostly sailing. I know nothing about the weather coming that direction. If it was my boat I would put it in a ship to Florida and take a plane.

[widmn]

I am not. Going on this trip. Your input was invaluable.

[Caribbeachbum]

oof. a quick check of the pilot charts suggests this would be 12+ weeks non-stop beating into christmas tradewinds in a lightweight, shallow-keeled production boat. it would take a bit longer, but yeah, I'd consider going around the other way.

[Capt. Ray]

It depends on the route. I have sailed from Panama to Hawaii and it took 5,800nm. At an average of 100 nm per day that is 2 months. Going the opposite way will probably take much longer.

Originally Posted by widmn

Wow, that long I was thinking about 2 months
A month to get to the canal and another month to get to Florida. I guess I am way off

[Jas0381]

Anybody can do anything on a land table, optimism required.
You haven’t done it, so, you’re totally dependent. Has he? How many times?
My last Captain had crossed the Columbia bar frequently, he inferred. He hadn’t actually.

[akprb]

You made a good decision.

;-)

[bobfnbw]

Just came back from Hawaii where I seriously contemplated buying a Westsail 43. The owner told me if I purchased it, he would help me deliver it to Texas. I looked at the wind charts and saw that it was a pretty good beam reach south then east to Panama. I forget the distance but I figured on 2 to 3 months. The Westsail is a true off shore boat with large tankage. I would not do it with a smaller boat with a 30 gal fuel tank and limited storage. You know what they say, if you have to watch the clock sailing, get a motor yacht, or something like that... you made a good decision.

[P3sailor]

Am curious, would you be sailing from Oahu or Maui? I know of one captain that wouldn't hesitate to take this on. If his name is Rik, I may be able to answer some of your questions.

[widmn]

Originally Posted by P3sailor

Am curious, would you be sailing from Oahu or Maui? I know of one captain that wouldn't hesitate to take this on. If his name is Rik, I may be able to answer some of your questions.

No, Not Rik.

[Tony_English]

Your post says that this trip will be "over Christmas." You're talking about a couple of months from Hawaii to Florida, and that's moving fast. Having said that, the trip could either be fun (if you like sailing alone) or miserable (weather issues). Before you commit, check historic weather patterns ad see if you will be mostly beating, reaching or running. Weather makes a huge difference in comfort. And, since you will be double-handing, it will be very much like single handing.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by markpierce

With only a crew of two, you'll end up exhausted and traveled without sufficient lookout.

Without commenting on the merits of the individual case, this comment is silly and shows a total lack of experience with cruising boats.

Lots of boats do long passages with a crew of two, if fact that is the way most cruising boats in the real world actually sail. Certainly for us it is our normal procedure. We can keep up a watch on watch schedule indefinitely, without getting exhausted and keeping a watchstander AWAKE in the cockpit 100% of the time.

[blueazimuth]

*This is a serious offshore passage
with too many unknowns.

*The above comments say it all.

And I'll add more -
*I'd request a look at the delivery contract. If skipper refuses, that alone would make me walk away.
*Who pays your way home, and under what circumstances? This should be in writing.
* Even if this boat was new, and right out of the builder's yard, it would not my choice for a offshore passage.
* You, too, are an unknown, which says something about the skippers judgement.

My bottom line? Politely decline

[SteveSadler]

I've done many passages to weather just for fun and experience, but all aboard big boats and full crew. Bashing to weather for a month shorthanded, with a stranger, on a small boat doesn't sound like fun. If it's a delivery, you need to get paid. Also look at the pilot charts for January, it looks like a lot of motoring.