Help..Am I being foolish? Hawaii to Florida

[boatman61]

If its the Cherubini 36 I'd take it on.. the 36-2 I'd think hard about it.
You'll be beating into NE winds and going against the current to near (500nm)the Mexican coast where you should in theory start picking up light N'lies and a little favourable current as you curve SE.. the hard bit to my mind will be the last 1000nm to Panama so lots of spare fuel in jerry cans would be useful.. little to no wind.
Once through the canal it depends on the route chosen whether its a beat or near beam reach before a hard beat..
Definitely allow 3months.. anything less is a bonus..

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]If its the Cherubini 36 I'd take it on.. the 36-2 I'd think hard about it.
...

Hmmm, Ive never really looked at the 36 Cherubini. Very similar to the 37...but quite a bit lighter though per SailBoatData...esp for just 1' LOA diff.

Damn...I miss my old 37 Cutter ever time I think of it. 😢

[DennisRyan]

Another important bit of info to learn is: "Does this passage have anything like a drop-dead delivery date?".

If you do, then the skipper will be more reluctant to put in a reef "just in case", change course to avoid storms, etc, etc.

If not, the cruise will be more comfortable and probably safer too.

I also just came off a 2 man delivery of my boat to Marathon FL. We used a 6 and 6 watch schedule. That worked great for me, but not so great for him since he only slept 15min - 30 min at a time. I arrived in Marathon FL pretty well rested, he arrived fairly exhausted. So, ask your other crewmate about any sleeping issues. If no issues, I heartily recommend the 6 and 6 watch schedule.

[dakno]

You don't mention age and condition of boat. Are you in Hawaii now? Electronics, auto pilot, self steering is huge. It could be great, it could be disaster, homework needed.

[Kalinowski]

I keep a Pearson 424 ketch in Honolulu and previously bought a Hunter 33 new off the show floor. My personal experience is that the Hunter is a great lake/ coastal cruiser, but I wouldn’t personally trust it offshore. I’m basing this on experience with challenging waters in/around O’ahu.

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by widmn

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

Don't worry. This thread will probably morph into a more general discussion of such trips, as is meant to happen on a forum. You need not reply or comment any more, it won't be considered impolite.

[Sailohmon]

So interesting to sit back and read all of your interesting responses however I agree that two people can maintain a Vigilant watch ,have a good trip, showing up rested and ready for more. As I for one love to sail and can easily drive 1819 hours and sleep during the best part of the day. This were my trip which it surely was I would not be in a hurry as I like time out at the sea MyPay actually being time out at sea as well as love of the ocean

[Sailohmon]

If the question is if you're foolish to sell on the strip ,well obviously yes is a hunter it is a long way and you're not too terribly close with the captain. now that being said ,I have to wonder why after hearing basically everything that's has been set on here from me you would have made a plane reservation had Captain provision boat and expecting your arrival in 3 days you would propose this question to other strangers you know less .I'm pretty easy going guy I offered that you could take your son I said I could find another crew I told you you are more than welcome to call any of my references as they would love to spend hours speaking about me I let you know that although this was not my boat I made two passages as Captain to Molokai aboard said Hunter and Hawaii is among the hardest sailing that I found Molokai being you know up there. You told me that you wanted to buy a boat after this trip and done some sailing races well I sure you after a few days sailing aboard my vessel you would most certainly be able to call yourself an accomplished sailor I don't expect this shall happen now in conclusion the main concern that I have is with a text 3 days before you were to arrive saying iI will not be able to make trip sorry for such short notice as I get link after link from friend after friend saying dude dude is this your guy da pilot

[Sailohmon]

My first choice of crew did not come through so their name from my mistakes I basically decided to not take on this venture until I read this guy's email to me with showed a lot of passion and got me excited about the trip again so perhaps in this case it doesn't show the captain's incompetence just wanted to teach this guy out of sale cuz he had lots of passion standing by Rodger out

[Sailohmon]

From the limited information you were given anyway standing by

[hamburking]

A Hunter 36 is not a blue water boat. Its thin hulled production boat with a bolt on keel and a spade rudder. I notice you didn't say Hunter 360 or Hunter 356, which might indicate a newer boat. Although none of them are "blue water" vessels, IMHO, which is likely why the owner wants someone else to move his boat instead of sailing it himself.

The captain may seem like a terrific guy and have tons of references. But once you get out there, people change. They get tired, sea sick, bored, cranky, hungry, lonely and angry. This happened to me. The skipper/owner was friend I had known for a while. I jumped at the chance to cross the atlantic with him. But once we were off the coast of Morocco, his wife called on the sat phone to tell him she was leaving him, and would not be there when he came back. Well, as you can imagine, the skipper went rather nuts, and took out his anger on his crew. What could have been a great trip turned into a nightmare. However, the boat was a 1972 Swan 48 that had a recent refit including new engine, rig, and electronics. It had a deep, full keel and a thick hull with well supported rudder. So I was confident the boat would make it across, at the very least.

You would be committing to a very big trip on an unknown boat with an unknown person. If your daughter asked if she could go...would you let her?

The owner should be looking at sailing from Hawaii to the mainland, maybe even BC along the usual route, in the proper season. From there the boat can be hauled out and loaded on a truck for the rest of the trip to Florida. Another option would be to sell the boat in Hawaii, and buy another, similar boat in Florida.

[coastalexplorer]

IS the person calling them selves Sailohmon the mysterious delivery skipper that this thread and narrative/dispute is all about??

IF only that person would do some editing corrections to what is posted I would find it so much easier to understand.

[waterman46]

Bad timing. To avoid winter storms off CA you have to get into the high pressure zone and will need to motor a lot, and that high moves and weakens and can leave you exposed to NW gales.

[savoir]

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

Hawaii - Panama is one of the longest point to point voyages you can do. Expect 8 - 10 weeks. Four months for the entire voyage would be about right, provided there are no dramas.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by widmn

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

Dang ! I missed this post on my first skim through the thread. Anyway, if you are still out there, why not head for California which is a ride that is easy to find. Allow 3 weeks on a cruising boat and don't leave before April