Cruising Bahamas in A27FC

[ALBIN_IF]

Has anyone had any experience cruising in the Bahamas?

Crossing the Gulf Stream, in fair weather, to get there from Florida?

[don123]

We plan on doing it in ours this winter

Shouldn't be any problem for a skipper without a schedule (so you can wait out the weather for the best day to cross) as there are many, many smaller boats which do it every day - The two missing teens were headed there in a 19' open fisherman, though they shouldn't have been headed out on the day they were . . . . everyone else as headed in because of the approaching weather

Don

[Vic K]

Just never cross the Gulf stream with a north wind. A north wind will kick your butt like it has never been kicked before. There aren't waves...the water becomes like pistons thatt evaporate from under you and the boat falls and slams down. The sea is so confused you can not hand steer.

Anything else other than a north wind its a pleasure going across. It's about 40 miles over. Look out for submarines and fast moving ships.

I've crossed twenty plus times and had el butt kicked twice. The first time because I didn't heed a warning. The second time because I was stupid. Coming off the bank at 2:00 in the morning with a north wind of about three kts, clear night I was sure we could fetch Florida with no problems. As soon as we hit the stream it kicked to 35. We were in a 40 pilothouse motortsailer running a staysail with engine power. You couldn't pay me enough money to go on deck to pull in the sail. We could barely hang on. Had the engine coughed or the auto pilot quit I'm sure we would have been rolled.

In a sailboat we would leave at midnight to give us enough time to get across in daylight. Always motorsailed. In a power boat petal to the metal to get across ASAP.

Enjoy,

Vic

[CayoHueso]

Check this out: http://www.florida-family.net/albin/albin-bahamas.html

[Mark Deeser]

WOW! What an adventure. Great boating, fishing, snorkeling, places to explore, new people to meet. With the right weather window our little boats should be well suited for the trip. Don how long would you plan staying on your trip? There would be so much to see and do it would be hard to leave. Heck go down for the winter, head North in time to start the Loop. That's life as it should be. Thanks, Mark.

[ALBIN_IF]

I'm sort of weather/sea state student for many years captaining/delivering vessels in NE-Carib-Bahamas area (slightly bigger than A27). So impulsive transits of the GS aren't in my play book!

Planing ICW-Florida, maybe a small bite of the Bahamas... Eyeing Cuba...Great Loop 2016-2017...until the money runs out :(

Keep'n it small.

Dan (some call me capt.)

[don123]

Don how long would you plan staying on your trip? There would be so much to see and do it would be hard to leave. Heck go down for the winter, head North in time to start the Loop.

That's our plan! How long in the Bahamas (or anywhere else for that matter) is completely dependent on the weather. We'd like to cruise there for several weeks (3 or 4 at a minimum) and the weather will determine how much of it we get to see

From the link above "Never arrange to meet other cruisers at a specific date or place. Trying to get there on time could cause you to go out in weather you ordinarily would not." I'd change that to "should not". I remember one time we waited ten days in Appalachicola for a favorable weather window to cross to Cedar Key. During that time, several boats who had a schedule to keep gave up waiting and went ahead on days we would not. Boating on a schedule can be a dangerous thing to do

Don

[Jay Knoll]

It will be a great trip, we spent several winters in the Exumas and many more spring/early summers in the Abacos, all were great experiences seasoned with the occasional "moments of terror" that seem to accompany any extended time at sea.

Here is a link you might enjoy

http://www.cruisingworld.com/destinatio ... ng-bahamas

Don if time allows I would suggest that you consider 3-4 months, you won't be sorry

Jay

[tbnolin]

When coming down the coast a few years ago...that was on my mind....to cross over to the Bahamas. Went as far as getting all the info that we needed for our traveling cat, had all the maps, talked to some seasoned boaters about the do and don'ts. The biggest don't was not to cross with a north wind. Unfortunately, that year, we were hanging out in Stuart figuring out when the best time would be to make the trip, we had nothing but north winds! Once a cold front blew through, it would be a couple days of wind which would start shifting to a favorable direction, and then another cold front blew through. All winter long it was like that. We ended up scrapping the trip as it was time to start looking for a job and ended up buying a place in Stuart. Still would like to do it some day....we'll see!

Good luck in your travels!!

Tom

[smacksman]

And when I sailed down from Connecticutt to Key West in 2012/3, Tom, all I had were southerlies! Aint that just saili'n!