FL/LA to Seattle recommendations, please

[puncta2000]

Hello y’all,

We are planning to power boat on a Hatteras 72’ CPMY from either South Fl or Louisiana To Seattle through the PC. I have zeroed in on either of 2 yachts to purchase. One is in Louisiana and the other is in Stuart, FL area. Both boats are ready to go after 2-3 weeks of prep.

Any advice, recommendations or suggestions regarding the route, stops, dangerous areas and such would be immensely appreciated. Right now, it’s my wife and I only. We have not done this route before. Our experience is primarily based on Coastal cruising in the PNW. Nothing extensive due to the heavy demands of running our business and medical circumstances.

Fuel capacity around 1500 gallons. Expect to cruise at 8kts more or less.

Should we hire a Captain to help us make the trip? We hope to spend a few days here and there for sightseeing, especially once we get to Panama. Since we have never cruised with a “stranger” so to speak, we are not sure how this would work?? If we hire a Captain, would we also need a first mate? I am quite capable of doing that job, but would be smoother to have another person to keep the Captain company and be fully on the Job, so to speak?

We have a relatively open timeline.. we would like to depart in early March 2020 at the latest.

Thank you in advance for your help and comments

Harry

[Paul L]

The trip will take some serious timing. You want to be in Panama before the Caribbean hurricane season starts. You want to stay out of Pacific Mexican for it's hurricane season, June to Nov/Dec. And you'll want to do the north bound trip from San Francisco to PNW in the summer. This is probably going to require a layup somewhere or else a really quick delivery.

[daysgoneby]

Sea Magazine has a bunch of articles on cruising Mexico.
https://www.seamagazine.com/category...mexico-report/

[donradcliffe]

Stabilizers would be nice, and you want to be in San Diego by May 1. If there are just two of you, bringing along someone else will mean you get a lot more sleep. If this is your first boat of this type and size, hiring a captain would be good--in fact your insurance company will probably require it.

You mentioned medical issues; I made several deliveries for an owner who was a very competent seaman, but his wife and his doctor forbid long passages.

[ebs001]

Why not just hire a delivery captain and get him to deliver the boat to Seattle for you?

[fatherchronica]

I always hire a delivery captain, it saves me the trouble of having to be on my boat and going to places that are not my living room. As long as we get some selfies from the captain that I can photoshop my face onto I am happy and safe and never had to make any decisions.The last time I made the mistake of using a female captain. She was excellent, but the photos of me in bikini on my trophy wall make me look a little gay, not that is a bad thing. On another note. I sailed down from Seattle to Ventura 5 years ago in late October, quite exhilarating. We motored from So. Cal. to Humboldt Bay in September 2 years ago, also quite exhilarating. We had, what NOOA reported, 19 foot breaking seas South of Santa Cruz and sustained 65 kt. winds South of Cape Mendocino for almost 12 hours, but the cape kept the waves down. But, and it is a big but, last month a buoy 20 miles out from Cape Mendocino reported a 75 foot wave. If my wife ever saw a 75 foot wave we would never be on a boat again. Come to think of it, I probably would be first on the dock.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by ebs001

Why not just hire a delivery captain and get him to deliver the boat to Seattle for you?

Sounds to me like they are looking forward to the trip.

[puncta2000]

Thank you very much to all that responded with valuable insight.

You make a very good point, Paul L, about the timing.. We may just get a Captain to deliver the boat. We were hoping to take advantage of the boat being already on the East Coast to visit the Bahamas , experience the passage of the PC and visit the Sea of Cortez on the way to Seattle. Kinda 2 birds with on stone so to speak.

Thank you for the links to the Mexico cruising, Daysgoneby... I am learning a lot about reading them.

The medical issue I have/had is the occasional vertigo, especially at sea. Not always but enough. I never took/used the patch for fear of it messing with my concentration. But I see a few folks in the marina use the patch without much concern.

This new to us boat will have Stabilizers for sure. And I may upgrade them with beefier fins. And I will definitely try the patch and see how it goes. I will try it first around the house to get used to the feeling.

The broker had indicated a Captain’s fee of $300/day plus fuel, expenses and the return flight. I am not sure how much a second crew would be... same as the Captain/day or less?

I did get an estimate from a Captain who does West Coast deliveries only and it was just over $13,000 (all inclusive fuel, flight, food, etc) from south of SD to Anacortes, WA.

It got me thinking that if we take part of the trip then the experience would be worth the $$$. And we get to find out if there are areas that we would want to go back and revisit.

If we do this, I am thinking possibly going on the western tip of Cuba to Grand Cayman then straight to the PC. Then possibly a straight cruise to Mexico’ Baja. Maybe hire a crew for the trip up to the PC then we can take it from there??

A 75 ft wave would certainly make things interesting, LOL.

Thank again

Harry

[Ocstoker]

We did that trip from Ca to Ny. After leaving the canal we went to San Andreas, Caymans, Cancun then Fort Myers Fl. I highly recommend you take your time and enjoy the scenery and different ports along the way. Just plan your stops based on weather windows and make sure you research and make reservations ahead of time at the Marina’s due to the size of your boat.

[Paul L]

If you aren't going to do the delivery personally, then you might want to look into shipping as deck cargo. You can load in South Florida, Palm Beach, and unload in Vancouver. No wear and tear on the boat, low insurance vs using a delivery captain.

[rsn48]

Just to provide you with a link for transporting your boat on a ship. I used to live in Deep Cove in North Vancouver (Greater Vancouver, BC) and I would see these ships come in, sink, and the boats would depart in the Spring. In the early fall this ship would come back, re-float a new load onto the decks, then leave for Florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNEJO4gMydI

[puncta2000]

Thank you Paul L and rsn48. Great information. I am leaning toward shipping the boat.. so many attractive things about this option, except not participating in the delivery which would be a great experience.

I did find a transport company that let's the owners accompany and stay on their boats for the transport. I am not sure if I am up for that but it's intriguing..

Thanks again

Harry

[PYV58]

Originally Posted by puncta2000

Thank you very much to all that responded with valuable insight.

You make a very good point, Paul L, about the timing.. We may just get a Captain to deliver the boat. We were hoping to take advantage of the boat being already on the East Coast to visit the Bahamas , experience the passage of the PC and visit the Sea of Cortez on the way to Seattle. Kinda 2 birds with on stone so to speak.

Thank you for the links to the Mexico cruising, Daysgoneby... I am learning a lot about reading them.

The medical issue I have/had is the occasional vertigo, especially at sea. Not always but enough. I never took/used the patch for fear of it messing with my concentration. But I see a few folks in the marina use the patch without much concern.

This new to us boat will have Stabilizers for sure. And I may upgrade them with beefier fins. And I will definitely try the patch and see how it goes. I will try it first around the house to get used to the feeling.

The broker had indicated a Captain’s fee of $300/day plus fuel, expenses and the return flight. I am not sure how much a second crew would be... same as the Captain/day or less?

I did get an estimate from a Captain who does West Coast deliveries only and it was just over $13,000 (all inclusive fuel, flight, food, etc) from south of SD to Anacortes, WA.

It got me thinking that if we take part of the trip then the experience would be worth the $$$. And we get to find out if there are areas that we would want to go back and revisit.

If we do this, I am thinking possibly going on the western tip of Cuba to Grand Cayman then straight to the PC. Then possibly a straight cruise to Mexico’ Baja. Maybe hire a crew for the trip up to the PC then we can take it from there??

A 75 ft wave would certainly make things interesting, LOL.

Thank again

Harry

As a boater physician I want to warn you about the "patch" if you are over age 55--if you are prone to BPH symptoms the patch can intensify them. Testing it out at home is a good idea--but nothing like the experience of a rough sea