Cape Canaveral to The Abacos

[kjg1951]

Has anyone gone from Cape Canaveral to Abacos it is 265 miles Can a 28 T albin make it across with 132 gals of fuel? I know there are alot of things to consider but do you think at a certain speed you could make it .. I have 6 cyl Volvo diesel ...... How do you figure MPG ??? thanks
kevin G

[jleonard]

Sounds a little tight to me. You need to only figure on 80% of your fuel capacity to make sure you have some reserve. That means figure on roughly 105 gallons.
265 miles / 105 gallons = 2.5 miles per gallon that you would need to achieve to make the trip.
Does not sound practical to a conservative skipper.
I would look for a port to refuel before going across.

[jprohan]

why not go south and start at Stuart; it's only 60 miles to west End. Or Palm Beach, and ride the stream north to West End. From CC, you'll be fighting the gulf stream the whole way.

[Jay Knoll]

I agree, we've made the crossing to the Bahamas several times (in our sailboat) and it is always easier to go south inside and then cut across the stream. Palm Beach is a great jumping off point and a good place to sit while waiting for a weather window. Going back to the cape is a different manner, then you can ride the stream up to your destination. I don't have charts with me but draw a rhumb line from Great Sale Cay to the Ft Pierce inlet and you should see an area called White Sand Ridge near the edge of the Bahamas Bank and the stream.

http://www.wadespage.com/B800DS02RF02.shtml

We used to use that as a waypoint when we headed home. We would hang at Great Sale have a nice dinner and then head across the bank in the early evening. Sweet memories

Jay