macgregor 26x from FL to South America?

[DreadPirateRob]

Getting out of the country is easy. He could drive across into Mexico at any number of places. I walked across the bridge into Tijuana a decade ago without even having to show an ID. (getting back is another story, but that doesn't seem like your 'friend's' problem.) Take a cruise and then just don't get back on the boat- presumably he's not flying because his passport is being held? But they don't require a passport for a cruise. It's absurdly easy to leave the country if you don't care about coming back.

Yes, a Mac 26x would be sufficient to get to South America if you get lucky and are patient regarding weather. There are a whole mess of 30' ish heavy keelboats that would probably be a better choice for that mission at the same price point, but the boat he bought isn't just WHOLLY INADEQUATE or anything. But again - leaving the country is easy.

What's hard is... doing ANYTHING while a fugitive. If he's truly content to eat fish and rice forever... he can probably go quite some time totally 'off-grid.' But the kind of person who builds a 100K follower youtube audience doesn't SEEM TO ME like the type of person who goes the rest of their life without a hot shower, internet, email, bank account, hotel stay, friends, etc. If the authorities back home can locate him (and they will be looking. It's not just the bail bondsman), the local police WILL pick him up and mail him back. And beyond that... once they know he's an international fugitive - his passport, if he has one, will be flagged so ANY casual contact with local authorities is likely to lead to arrest and extradition. It's hard to travel 3 days in a country where you stick out without having to produce your passport for SOMETHING.

Assuming he still has a passport in the first place... once that original passport expires... he's in a new world of hurt, because he can't renew it and so now he can't access basic services like banking or rental cars... getting medical care becomes downright difficult too. Without a credit or debit card or address... getting spare parts shipped out for that fairly flimsy sailboat is going to start to be a problem sooner rather than later...

TLDR: If this guy were an honest to god genius who devoted himself to solving these problems practically and quietly and who has a million dollars and is willing to waste a lot of it getting it laundered so he can actually access it without it being connected to his name, there'd be a chance that he could disappear to sea and never be heard from again, sure. But if he's the type to buy a Mac 26 and refinish it on his youtube channel while milking it for more likes and shares from an audience that knows he's a flight risk... he's pretty certain to be caught in six months and add some very serious additional charges that will turn what might have been a 5 year plea deal with a chance of early parole into a rest of your life stay in prison.

[Ken Z]

ok, sex predator running in a mac. die, zeromercy , hopefully slow, I would be depressed if I had to rescue him. HELLO DAVY JONES...👎👎👎👎☠️☠️🍸🍸🍸

[Volkeno]

If I recall the Mac 26X with a 50hp-75hp motor is going to burn about 4 gallons per hour and it has two 12 gallon gas tanks under the seats, or one if they didn't spring for two. I think it has a top speed around 25mph if lightly loaded, or less if loaded down. So unless he is bringing a lot of extra gas he isn't going to motor far.
Sailing he will make a lot of leeway. He would probably be better off going to Cuba, but if he doesn't have gps and charts, he could end up in Columbia instead of Venezuela. Because of he situation in Venezuela, there are a lot of US and Dutch Coast Guard boats and aircraft and pirates near the coast. I'm sure he wouldn't stand out to any of them.

You can buy a burner phone for cash at any store like Walmart, so unless he did something dumb, he could be incognito, but sexually assaulting minors is dumb, so he probably gets picked up in a week.

I met a guy in the early 90's that did a dumb thing and the cops were one step behind him all the way down the coast to LA, but he popped up and got arrested a few months later in Brazil, but they wouldn't extradite him because there was a possibility of the death penalty. So he got to spend a few months in a Brazilian jail until the US prosecutors pinky swore not to kill him, then they sent him back to enjoy US Federal prison, which was a giant improvement in living standards from the prison in Brazil.
I don't think it's as easy to disappear as he thinks it is.

[joshash]

I want to buy a Mac any leads ?

[Hardhead]

This is bizarre. As others have said, it could be done with the needed skill and some good luck. It would require the actual skill though, and the actual luck.

If the objective were to be to stay hidden, traveling in any way is certainly going to increase the risk, and traveling internationally to places where you stick out like a sore thumb is going to be much, much more difficult. I hope this anonymous fellow gets whatever it is that he deserves.

[rapping boomer]

Originally Posted by Volkeno

I met a guy in the early 90's that did a dumb thing and the cops were one step behind him all the way down the coast to LA, but he popped up and got arrested a few months later in Brazil, but they wouldn't extradite him because there was a possibility of the death penalty. So he got to spend a few months in a Brazilian jail until the US prosecutors pinky swore not to kill him, then they sent him back to enjoy US Federal prison, which was a giant improvement in living standards from the prison in Brazil.
I don't think it's as easy to disappear as he thinks it is.

yeah, all the nations in the western hemisphere apparently have extradition treaties with america...but about half of african nations have no extradition treaties...but an atlantic crossing seems dubious

[jrau18]

Originally Posted by rapping boomer

what I am trying to get at here is this: how would you expert sailors try to pull this sort of thing off?

The age old "can this boat to xxxx" always comes down to personal risk. Very few people would say that taking a macgregor from florida to S America fits their personal risk versus reward balance. Of course, in the hands of a competent sailer, it would "probably make it."

But that is kind of like climbing Everest. I wouldn't do it, because 10% of people die in the process, it doesnt meet my risk versus reward equation. But if it was that or head to prison for the rest of my life, maybe suddenly it looks worth the risk.

Anyway, you're making too much of the flat bottom thing. Nobody is beaching a boat to avoid a marina in the caribbean, most people are just anchoring out anyway, no flat bottom required.

And he would need to not check in at any places he stops, but it is unlikely to be caught that way, mostly you dont get checked for documentation.

Local sim cards are cheap. Carry lots of cash.

Anyway, yeah, its possible, on that boat, the chances are he would get lucky if he has a modicum of skill to go along with it and enough desperation or lax view of risk to try. Chances would be higher in a more suitable boat. If he has no sailing experience, he will probably fail when he breaks something or gives up from a rough few days.

I will ignore the part about the criminal past and stick to the sailing question.

Really though, south america seems pointless, just go to Cuba or DR, those are closer places to hide. I'm sure there are similar scofflaws hiding in those places already.

[belizesailor]

Odd first post, but there have been posts with a similar pattern here before...like my friend is thinking of running away w his kids...these kind of threads have ended in news headlines a few times.

[Pete7]

Why go to S America? surely it will be easier to just stay in the US and keep slowly moving. A Mac 26 gently cruising along the US Eastern Seaboard or the ICW is hardly likely to attract attention and be really difficult to find amongst tens of thousands of other boats.

Pete

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why go to S America? surely it will be easier to just stay in the US and keep slowly moving. A Mac 26 gently cruising along the US Eastern Seaboard or the ICW is hardly likely to attract attention and be really difficult to find amongst tens of thousands of other boats.

Pete

Its rumoured there are a few Witness Protection 'stooges' who do that already..

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why go to S America? surely it will be easier to just stay in the US and keep slowly moving. A Mac 26 gently cruising along the US Eastern Seaboard or the ICW is hardly likely to attract attention and be really difficult to find amongst tens of thousands of other boats.



Pete

You can effectively disappear in Central America pretty easily. I know folks who have. They cant travel on their home country passport or they go directly to jail...so they just buy another one in CA.

However, sex offenders (esp pedophiles) are a different case with a different set of laws that apply. A few have been hauled off from the Rio Dulce. [emoji122][emoji122][emoji106]

[rapping boomer]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Why go to S America? surely it will be easier to just stay in the US and keep slowly moving. A Mac 26 gently cruising along the US Eastern Seaboard or the ICW is hardly likely to attract attention and be really difficult to find amongst tens of thousands of other boats.

Pete

I dunno about that...the american waterways are swarming with one form of cop or another...

[rapping boomer]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

You can effectively disappear in Central America pretty easily. I know folks who have. They cant travel on their home country passport or they go directly to jail...so they just buy another one in CA.

However, sex offenders (esp pedophiles) are a different case with a different set of laws that apply. A few have been hauled off from the Rio Dulce. [emoji122][emoji122][emoji106]

yeah, a couple of other responses here have alluded to the issue of whether a person accused of child molestation might be caught again in latin america because of further molestations...doubt that would happen...this guy is in his mid 50s and the alleged molestation happened decades ago...

[KP44]

I looked at a MacGregor 26 many years ago. The foredeck easily flexed when I stepped onto it. It's not a boat I would take across an ocean.

If this person is charged with a Class A felony, it is doubtful he will be out on bail.

[rapping boomer]

he was arrested and bailed out...and recently indicted...still out on bail...still making youtube vids