Bimini 2015 - July 6th to 11th

[MrMoose]

We changed condos and slips today then decided to relax at Bimini Sands. Tomorrow the forecast is showing the best water that we have had here with widely spaced waves in the 0.3' to 0.2' range. We are planning to head out to Victory Reef in the morning which will be around a 40 mile trip.

Wow! Awesome!

 

[1948Isaac]

45 mph! Wow! I did around 33 mph, but I felt like going slower. I just kind of wanted to get it over with... and keep up with the group. I think that we arrived at Port Everglades in around 1 hour and 50 minutes. I had 45% fuel left. Very different than the crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini, where I made it to Bimini Sands marina with my fuel alarm dinging and my gauge reading 0%. It was really great meeting you and your wife @1948Isaac.

Yeah @MrMoose , i was going between 38 40 and 45 ... it was such a great crossing....and i also made it there with.a bit more than a.1/4 of gas. .... we had such a great time. . It was.nice meeting you and your kids. ..... if your ever wanna go to the.Keys or you come. Down to Florida, letme know...

 

[MrMoose]

Yeah, i was going between 38 40 and 45 ... it was such a great crossing....and i also made it there with.a bit more than a.1/4 of gas. .... we had such a great time. . It was.nice meeting you and your kids. ..... if your ever wanna go to the.Keys or you come. Down to Florida, letme know...

We'll definitely look you up if we head down to the Keys. You can't beat great company who knows the waters. I'll bring my wife.

 

[Ryan Sheely]

Drive safe everyone, I just hauled 1200 miles today from Captiva to VA, traffic was crazy on 95! Wished I could have been to Bimini but this was not too shabby

 

[chris24]

1'ers and 11sec period, they should be back in an hour.

we made it back in one hour and 45 minutes and I didn't even use a half tank 212 ss

 

[soundshark]

Did anyone have a drone?

 

[David D]

My cost was one 212x... Boat is totalled

Really sorry to hear about this -- I was on vacation and have been reading this thread for the last couple hours ... and was really bummed to hear about the first crossing. I'm happy that everyone is ok. I'm assuming the other 212 was totaled as well. I think I need to review my insurance, just in case.

 

[BgTravis]

Glad everyone made it back safely. Love the photos and videos. We had a great day on Kentucky Lake and talked about Bimini most of the day. Safe travels home!

 

[Tony Sweasy]

My crew abandoned ship and got on someone else's boat. Pretty sure those were the kids mentioned. Whoever picked my family up thank you very much, please let me know who you are. I believe it was a 242 with a guy named Toby on it???

Yes, It was myself/Tony, Toby and Eric. We were right behind you guys and saw everything happen and immediately went over to assist. I am US Army and Toby is in the German Army s0 helping someone in distress comes second nature and especially when kids are involved! Glad we could assist and that everyone is OK. The kids were in shock and Toby was doing the best he could to get them calmed down. The guy that had the hurt shoulder, was in broke or just dislocated? He asked for a beer and we gladly gave him one in seconds of his request! LOL Instant pain killer! LOL

 

[Tony Sweasy]

I hope you're kidding but I fear you aren't. This secures the fact that my kids are not going next year.

I agree with you, I think unless you have an adventurous, physical wife and older kids, it's probably not a bad idea for them to take a flight or ferry to get to Bimini and enjoy the vacation from there. LOL

 

[SoFla David]

Great job guys.

It's funny, I've realized there's two types of people. Those who see an emergency and jump in to help without even thinking about it, and those who panic and can't even think. I've had the pleasure and frustration of dealing with both. It's really interesting how we are all "wired" differently.

 

[Speedling]

Or stay home with grandma!

 

[Bruce]

I agree with you, I think unless you have an adventurous, physical wife and older kids, it's probably not a bad idea for them to take a flight or ferry to get to Bimini and enjoy the vacation from there. LOL

We can not predict what the crossing weather will be when the dates are chosen early in the year. This year we learned that even same day forecasts are not always accurate. So I have to agree that if you have family members who would be uncomfortable crossing in rough water it would be best to send them via plane or ferry or at least have a plan to do so if the water turns out to be rough. This is the reason that my parents, brothers and their families have not made the trip. I have told them that we have plenty of room to run them around the islands after we get there but they need to make their own way to Bimini. I do not believe that I have sufficient room or weight capacity on my SX230 for two families.

@Emma is 8 and @Gavin is 5. They were scared and started crying when they heard reports of boats sinking on the radio. They were in a LS2000 that filled with water and had to be towed back to the ramp on a test drive so they know the experience of taking on water. They were stressed about going back out but agreed to after a little time at the fuel dock. I was concerned about taking the kids back out when they did not want to go. Despite the fact that we did not have any troubles on the first attempt I probably would have given in to their requests and stayed in Fort Lauderdale if it had not been for @Rana's encouragement.

This years crossing to Bimini was the second or third roughest water that my family has been in. I have boated in rougher water three or four times. I know that my least stressful rough water experience was when I was alone in the boat. Not worrying about keeping my family safe greatly reduced the stress level. My previous experiences with rough water and impact in the boat gave me the confidence that our boat could handle more than what we were asking her to do on that crossing.

Each of my family members had a type 1 life vest with reflective strips and a whistle on for the crossing. @Emma had a GPS tracker with a distress button attached to her vest while @Rana and @Gavin had marine radios attached to theirs. Had they ended up in the water they had flotation for days and the ability to communicate.

We heard several people say that being in Bimini was worth the rough crossing. I believe that everyone that made it here would agree that the great days in Bimini outweighed the rough day getting here.

I do believe that we need to understand what happened with @kthrash and @David Hoff's boats. Hopefully they can share more about their experiences to help the rest of us avoid a similar fate. I also hope that they will join us for Bimini 2016.

 

[SoFla David]

Only they can tell us the exact series of events that led to the swamping, but after 15 years of boating with Yamaha jetboats, I can tell you that when the front of the boat is pointed into the oncoming waves, you HAVE to keep the power applied and understand how the boat behaves in waves. If you cut the power, the nose comes down and you start taking waves over the bow. Also depending how close the wave peaks are, if you go too fast, you will fly over the top of one wave and nose dive right into the other wave. I suspect either of these could have been the case. Too much, or too little power.

This knowledge comes only with years of boating in the ocean and I myself took a wave over the bow of my Exciter when I first owned it that scared the bejesus out of everyone on board. It happened right where the Miami river meets Biscayne bay. There were a couple of big boats going by causing a bunch of waves and wake. I cut the throttles to let a boat pass and stuffed the nose into the wake. I ended up with about a foot of water in the boat almost instantly (which is no big deal for an exciter, but my passengers didn't know that and started to panic).

In my opinion, that is the Achilles heel of our boats. The sloped bow is great for boarding and flat water, but if you loose power due to clogged intakes or some other issue at the wrong time, it could spell disaster. I never beach nose in, so the low bow has no benefit for me. I wish it had a traditional "Deep Vee" bow. "Love the back, Hate the front"

Very often when I am in no wake zones and I know here is seaweed, I cut one engine and run on a single engine. That way, if the running engine gets clogged, I know I have an unclogged backup to get me out of there and to somewhere safe. As a bonus, once I shut off the clogged engine and run on the other, the water itself often rips the obstruction right out of the intake so I don't even need to open the clean out ports.

Also, after going through a no wake zone with seaweed, I usually accelerate the engines one at a time and listen for cavitation to see if either one is clogged so I can deal with it before I hit the main channel. Once I know both engines are clear, then I hit the throttles and get up on plane.

 

[Jerry Ferrera]

That was a very thoughtful and well written post and should be reinforces throughout the group.

1. I agree that was a very difficult crossing
2. The change from freshwater boating to saltwater can be very stressful and may require some practice before making the attempt.
3. I should have made alternate plans to send my wife and guests via Ferry/plane (Very reasonable price). Next year my (9 year old to be) Son will be with us. My better half and son will fly over or take the day cruise over and depending on weather and wind may Return the same way (in case the weather takes a turn for the worst).

We planned the trip on a spur of the minute decision. (Over packed and over paid for allot of items we didn't use).

We still say it was an AWESOME ADVENTURE!!!!!!!!!! and can't wait for the next boat trip to any destination.

You ROCK!!!!!!!!

Jerry and Natalie

We can not predict what the crossing weather will be when the dates are chosen early in the year. This year we learned that even same day forecasts are not always accurate. So I have to agree that if you have family members who would be uncomfortable crossing in rough water it would be best to send them via plane or ferry or at least have a plan to do so if the water turns out to be rough. This is the reason that my parents, brothers and their families have not made the trip. I have told them that we have plenty of room to run them around the islands after we get there but they need to make their own way to Bimini. I do not believe that I have sufficient room or weight capacity on my SX230 for two families.

@Emma is 8 and @Gavin is 5. They were scared and started crying when they heard reports of boats sinking on the radio. They were in a LS2000 that filled with water and had to be towed back to the ramp on a test drive so they know the experience of taking on water. They were stressed about going back out but agreed to after a little time at the fuel dock. I was concerned about taking the kids back out when they did not want to go. Despite the fact that we did not have any troubles on the first attempt I probably would have given in to their requests and stayed in Fort Lauderdale if it had not been for @Rana's encouragement.

This years crossing to Bimini was the second or third roughest water that my family has been in. I have boated in rougher water three or four times. I know that my least stressful rough water experience was when I was alone in the boat. Not worrying about keeping my family safe greatly reduced the stress level. My previous experiences with rough water and impact in the boat gave me the confidence that our boat could handle more than what we were asking her to do on that crossing.

Each of my family members had a type 1 life vest with reflective strips and a whistle on for the crossing. @Emma had a GPS tracker with a distress button attached to her vest while @Rana and @Gavin had marine radios attached to theirs. Had they ended up in the water they had flotation for days and the ability to communicate.

We heard several people say that being in Bimini was worth the rough crossing. I believe that everyone that made it here would agree that the great days in Bimini outweighed the rough day getting here.

I do believe that we need to understand what happened with @kthrash and @David Hoff's boats. Hopefully they can share more about their experiences to help the rest of us avoid a similar fate. I also hope that they will join us for Bimini 2016.

 

[Jerry Ferrera]

Yes, It was myself/Tony, Toby and Eric. We were right behind you guys and saw everything happen and immediately went over to assist. I am US Army and Toby is in the German Army s0 helping someone in distress comes second nature and especially when kids are involved! Glad we could assist and that everyone is OK. The kids were in shock and Toby was doing the best he could to get them calmed down. The guy that had the hurt shoulder, was in broke or just dislocated? He asked for a beer and we gladly gave him one in seconds of his request! LOL Instant pain killer! LOL[/QU

We were there with you within 15yds. The group mentioned below jumped into action.
We have to be prepare and acknowledge emergencies will happen. We have to commend
how well the team did in a combines support effort. Tony, Toby, Eric, and Andy on jetski jumped into action without regard for their own safety.
Please send me a private message with your contact information.

 

[DieselCamel]

THANK YOU to everyone. We had a blast. Was great to put faces to screen names. Can't wait to do it again. We made it home about 2330 Saturday night.

 

[justason]

@upperdeck Sit tight. I'm going to find us a 2/1 discount!!!!

Grrrrrrrrrrr. So much anger!!!! My own dumbassery only to blame!!!!

 

[David Hoff]

Only they can tell us the exact series of events that led to the swamping, but after 15 years of boating with Yamaha jetboats, I can tell you that when the front of the boat is pointed into the oncoming waves, you HAVE to keep the power applied and understand how the boat behaves in waves. If you cut the power, the nose comes down and you start taking waves over the bow. Also depending how close the wave peaks are, if you go too fast, you will fly over the top of one wave and nose dive right into the other wave. I suspect either of these could have been the case. Too much, or too little power.

This knowledge comes only with years of boating in the ocean and I myself took a wave over the bow of my Exciter when I first owned it that scared the bejesus out of everyone on board. It happened right where the Miami river meets Biscayne bay. There were a couple of big boats going by causing a bunch of waves and wake. I cut the throttles to let a boat pass and stuffed the nose into the wake. I ended up with about a foot of water in the boat almost instantly (which is no big deal for an exciter, but my passengers didn't know that and started to panic).

In my opinion, that is the Achilles heel of our boats. The sloped bow is great for boarding and flat water, but if you loose power due to clogged intakes or some other issue at the wrong time, it could spell disaster. I never beach nose in, so the low bow has no benefit for me. I wish it had a traditional "Deep Vee" bow. "Love the back, Hate the front"

Your comments about everything are spot on. Our story started with taking a few good waves as we were heading out. Nothing deeply concerning at first, but large enough that the kids where overwhelmed. We then hit some seaweed that clogged the port engine. The boat started to come off plane just as a big wave come over the bow. Once that happened, the boat filled (slightly above our ankles at first). Both engines were still running, but, with a heavy cooler in the front, the entire boat pitched forward and the bow porpoised. I put the engines in reverse to try and get the bow out of the water. I then walked up front to release the heavy cooler, but the nylon straps had tangled under the cooler and I couldn't release them. As I was going for a knife to cut it free, both engines died. There were a few other boats nearby and they helped call the coast guard. We started to bailing, and both bilge pumps were pouring out water.

The Coast Guard arrived very quickly, and after several tries, they were able to get close enough to get everyone off the boat. We called BoatUS (since I'd signed up for a towing policy), and they arrived shortly there after. They said we'd have to wait until boat was pumped out before towing. At the time, I didn't fully understand why, but now I do. If you've ever been hit by a really large wave, you'll understand how much force/damage it can do. Towing a boat full of water slams everything around, as I later found out.

Things I'd do different:
1. I'd packed the cooler up front to try and smooth out the ride; as other people have echoed this is fine for a small chop; this was not a small chop. I should have quickly moved it to the back of the boat when the waves kicked up.
2. We had several extra tanks of gas, based on hearing that there was a run on gas after arrival last year. Unfortunately, I'd lashed the gas cans down to the swim deck (it seemed like the safest place for fuel) in a way that I couldn't easily open up the hatch to access the cleanout ports. Especially in the midst of chaos.
3. After the water got in the boat, everything that wasn't tied down got in the way. I'd make sure that everything is stored completely out of the way before taking off.
4. If you put all of the expensive electronics in a drybag, make sure it secured in place where it can't snag on any stray bolts or sharp edges. It was floating in the boat when we evacuated in to the Coast Guard boat. When I started to clean out the boat, I picked it up and water drained out the hole that had been torn in it. Between camera, iPads, laptops, cell phones, kindles, let's just say that was bitter pill. Or a really, really, really expensive pill.
5. Don't take the fancy camera out of Pelican case just because a F1.2 lens will be able to get a good shot at 6 AM lighting level. Stick with the waterproof GoPro.
6. Arrive a little earlier so that you have extra time to review where everything is packed on the boat and how it's anchored down.

Things that I'd do again:
1. Buy BoatUS towing insurance. I think it was a little over $100, but totally worth it. I never thought we'd use it, but very worth the money. Everything was completely covered.
2. Keep *all* camera gear in a Pelican case. Everything *in* the case survived. Even after floating outside the boat and getting beaten by the waves. It saved several Canon L-series lens.
3. Have a backup, floating, waterproof VHF radio with floatie. I was running around the boat, and it was really helpful to have it. I'd likely upgrade to something that has DSC for the next trip, as it was hard to get coordinates as we were taking on water.
4. Install extra high-capacity bilge pump hard-wired to extra large (AGM sealed) battery. Even with all electronics totally submerged, the pump was able to completely empty the boat in about 45 minutes. We watched the whole time as it just kept pumping away and the boat popped back out of the water.
5. Keep all important documents in a small pelican or waterproof case on the dashboard. This included car keys, boat registration, passports, wallet, and insurance papers. I keep it velcroed to the dash and I was able to grab it as we got off boat. Having everything was really helpful for dealing with the aftermath.

Notes about clean-up:
1. Get the plugs out of the engines as soon as you can. Run the engines to kick as much of the water out as you can. Note that this isn't a little water spitting out. It was enough to drench the three cars parked next to boat. And yes, it's coming out under high pressure.
2. Getting a long air nozzle that fits down though the spark plug holes really helps get the water out.
3. Plan to make friends with OPEC for oil. I've now changed 12 gallons of oil and it's just at a point where it looks like normal oil. Change the filters every two or three oil changes. I've gone through 8 filters so far.
4. Don't underestimate the damage of the salt-water. All the amplifiers, radio, and several harnesses under the dash are were trashed. The main battery is dead (it was a vented design). The AGM battery seems to be fine.
5. Spray everything with Salt-Away as soon as possible. Common sense, but really makes a big difference.

Happy News!
We took the boat out on the lake yesterday, and most things are returning to normal. I've still got to replace the radio, amps, and some wiring, but this will all come in time. Next year, it will likely be a guys trip on the boat with wife and kids taking the ferry or flying.

 

[SoFla David]

Totally agree @David Hoff

Hindsight is always 20/20, but putting it in reverse probably sunk the bow even further in the water (all the water rushes to front of boat and reverse tends to sink he bow anyway (think sub move).

Glad you were able to salvage the motors and other stuff. Sucks abou the electronics. My wife and I had a similar situation canoeing on the peace river is western Florida. We had all the electronics in dry bags, but little by little they came out as we got more confident and paddled for miles uneventfully. iPod, blackberry, Nikon camera, Palm Treo (yes, this was quite a few years ago). Next thing we knew, we hit a log just under the surface and all went swimming. Luckily, I saved everything except the iPod (non-removable battery).

Here is a little secret about water damage to electronics.

If something electronic gets wet, cut the power immediately! Water alone will not damage most electronics, but electricity running through something wet will destroy it. If you cut the power to it and let it dry out completely before re-applyin power, most electronics will work again just fine.

If something gets submerged in fresh water, take the battery out or unplug it and then submerge it in alcohol. Let it dry out completely before reconnecting the battery or power.


If something gets submerged in salt water, cut power to it (remove the battery or unplug it). Then as soon as you can, submerge it in either alcohol (preferably) , or fresh water. You want to get all the saltwater out because the water will evaporate, but the salt will stay behind and ruin it. Then let it dry completely before reconnecting or plugging the battery back in.