JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 10th to 15th 2017

[Bruce]

Looking further into the Pacific Aerials P6182 Sea Master Pro VHF Antenna I am really surprised that it is from New Zealand. Generally I expect quality products from Kiwis and expected this to be bargain basement Chinese junk. Looking at their website I see the aP6182 is rated fro 3dBI gain (a 3dB increase in signal strength) but also a "Marine Gain" of 6dB. I have no idea what "Marine Gain" is but feel certain that it does not mean the antenna produces anything more than 3dBi. Even worse I see that the antenna uses a separate cable. Every connector causes a loss in signal strength. A similar antenna with a cable permanently attached would produce a stronger output. The need to buy the special mount and cable also increases cost.

If you look at the $118 Digital 528 Antenna you can see that the data sheet contains detailed information on the output and gain.

Likewise the $111 Shakespeare 5401 has gain and SWR spelled out on its webpage.

 

[Bruce]

For those who are new to boating, and are crossing to Bimini, this video might be helpful:

Am I the only one wondering what the expiration date is on my fire extinguisher? This is a good reminder to check the expirations on flares and fire extinguishers. We typically see the Coast Guard on our return from Bimini. I believe some boats were inspected in 2013.

 

[Speedling]

Am I the only one wondering what the expiration date is on my fire extinguisher? This is a good reminder to check the expirations on flares and fire extinguishers. We typically see the Coast Guard on our return from Bimini. I believe some boats were inspected in 2013.

Replaced mine last year after reading what was needed for coast Guard inspection. Sometimes it's good to have a list!

 

[MrMoose]

So, at some point, I know that @Bruce is going to steer the conversation on this thread to the serious end of things. Let me prime it a bit, so that he doesn't seem like the bad guy.
I don't have a wealth of open-water experience, so I think that I'm a pretty good guy to get the discussion started. I know that there are some captains who have as much salt water experience as I had when I made my first Bimini trip in 2015. I had none, but I took nothing for granted. There is definitely a sense of security when travelling in a group. My boys still tease me because I too often said "safety in numbers" during the 2015 Bimini trip.
But what does that mean? Well it means different things depending on the situation. It could mean that you don't run into a shallow reef while heading out on a sightseeing tour one afternoon in Bimini because someone with experience and a good chart plotter is leading the way. It could mean that you'll be able to follow someone to safe harbor if your navigation electronics die on you. It could mean that if you get swamped 5 miles out, your crew and boat will be saved because someone in your group hailed the coast guard, called for a tow, and took your crew onto their boat. It could mean a lot of things, unfortunately, it could also mean that if you run into problems in the middle of the Gulf Stream, you and your crew board a boat in your group, and are forced to leave your boat behind to drift away at 5.6 mph.
It's that last scenario that every captain needs to understand. I don't know how far tow services will venture out to recover a boat, especially when considering weather conditions, but assuming that they'll cover the distance of the crossing and the weather allows it, the only way that you'll be able to have your boat rescued is to stay on it, be in vhf communication/know your location, and/or have a Delorme inReach. With respect to vhf communication, a handheld may not have the range.
I know that many fresh captains are dependent on the experience of guys like @Bruce; as a matter of fact, I still am.
BUT now is the time to start thinking of the kinds of situations that can arise while on this bucket list adventure, and do your best to prepare yourself, your boat and your crew.

 

[Julian]

I translate @MrMoose 's post to: Have insurance and be prepared to use it to replace your boat, and be prepared to swim away from it and everything on it in an emergency!

 

[2nazt]

You will want a SeaTow type coverage if you do not have it. For such a small amount of money conpared to not having it there is no such excuse. You can even include to help have coverage towing your boat on the road.

 

[Bruce]

I translate @MrMoose 's post to: Have insurance and be prepared to use it to replace your boat, and be prepared to swim away from it and everything on it in an emergency!

Yes, but only get into the water after a plan of rescue is agreed upon. Our boats are self bailing. They will not sink. A boat full of people is much easier to rescue than a spread out group of people washing around in the waves.

 

[Bruce]

You will want a SeaTow type coverage if you do not have it. For such a small amount of money conpared to not having it there is no such excuse. You can even include to help have coverage towing your boat on the road.

I have always invested the couple of hundred dollars into my boat instead of tow insurance. In order to do so I have to have comfort with the possibility that I might have to abandon her. I am aware of two or three boaters using tow insurance over the history of Yamaha Bimini Flings since 2010. One or two of those were outside Port Everglades in 2015 where it saved them around $800 each. The other was a boat making a single boat crossing in rough water in 2014 who was towed perhaps 20 miles. That tow would have been quite expensive. Typically the insurance will only tow you to the nearest port. If you were over half way you might get towed to Bimini or back to Bimini after waiting hours for the tow boat to arrive.

 

[robert843]

I have always invested the couple of hundred dollars into my boat instead of tow insurance. In order to do so I have to have comfort with the possibility that I might have to abandon her. I am aware of two or three boaters using tow insurance over the history of Yamaha Bimini Flings since 2010. One or two of those were outside Port Everglades in 2015 where it saved them around $800 each. The other was a boat making a single boat crossing in rough water in 2014 who was towed perhaps 20 miles. That tow would have been quite expensive. Typically the insurance will only tow you to the nearest port. If you were over half way you might get towed to Bimini or back to Bimini after waiting hours for the tow boat to arrive.

If you are picked up one mile off Bimini they are towing you back to Florida they are not taking you back to Bimini. At least that's what Sea Tow does. They will not pick you up in Bimini though they said you would have to be towed at least a mile from there somehow first.

 

[2nazt]

I boat to much off shore to not have SeaTow for any unknown emergency. I have had friends towed 55 miles in from the Gulfstream and I would probably pass out at that bill if I wasn't a member! If I was an inland I may have a different opinion, but to me I would probably pick it up anyways.

 

[Julian]

Yes, but only get into the water after a plan of rescue is agreed upon. Our boats are self bailing. They will not sink. A boat full of people is much easier to rescue than a spread out group of people washing around in the waves.

True...our boats won't sink within 48 hours....but that doesn't mean it won't fill with water completely and in wavy situations allow waves to wash your stuff out of it...including those not holding on. A self bailing deck isn't going to do a thing once your engine is swamped. But those who plan to do this for the first time would be well advised to watch videos of some of the serious sub-moves people have done, and how keeping forward momentum can clear water from your boat-and why keeping your deck drain clear is important.

 

[Drift Away]

If you are picked up one mile off Bimini they are towing you back to Florida they are not taking you back to Bimini. At least that's what Sea Tow does. They will not pick you up in Bimini though they said you would have to be towed at least a mile from there somehow first.

Not to self add 2 oars to my packing list

 

[Speedling]

Not to self add 2 oars to my packing list

I have one. Guess i go in circles?
Seriously with our freeboard how would you row effectively? Try it from the back deck?

Edit - any word on bahia mar or did i miss that?

 

[Amar Nanduri]

Well....my brother officially certified me as crazy and told me to get my "will" in order before I even attempt this. I don't blame him though. I just bought my boat last summer and this summer planning for Bimini.

 

[Speedling]

Well....my brother officially certified me as crazy and told me to get my "will" in order before I even attempt this. I don't blame him though. I just bought my boat last summer and this summer planning for Bimini.

Yeah, i am getting a lot of that too. And horror stories of getting caught in bad weather etc.
To the bad stories i just look at them and am like, seems YOU made it just fine!

 

[robert843]

Not to self add 2 oars to my packing list

LOL! I love it. If you have Sea Tow you are still covered to get a tow out of Bimini if you can not talk any one of the hundreds of other boats in Bimini to do so for you. It just falls under their international coverage and they will assist you in arranging it with a Bahamian towing vessel which you will have to pay for up front and Sea Tow reimburse you up to $5000. They will have the Bahamian vessel tow you to a point they can pick you up and finish the tow. Apparently they do this to avoid customs as the same rules apply to them if they enter a port of Entry they must go through customs and there were other reasons along that line I just do not remember the full answer I was given from the owner of Ft Lauderdale Sea Tow as it was two years ago when I had the conversation with him.

 

[Betik]

I love my 3 month old boat, but if she needs to be sacrificed so be it. So out of curiosity, if we have to abandon ship and the boat drifts away would the insurance cover it as loss? Granted there we are covered in BImini and are willing to eat up the deductible and future premium increases.

 

[Valerie]

I don't know if anyone is interested in joining This is right in my back yard so I will be there
This is the large jetski group that's coming into Bimini for the weekend while we are there

https://www.facebook.com/events/1886542068284690/?ti=icl

 

[Bruce]

@Betik, we will be watching the weather and reading reports of other crossings closely for weeks and likely months ahead of the crossing. If the forecast is too bad we will cancel the trip four or more days in advance. Last year the leaders and I were having daily go /no go discussions for a week or so before hand. Then we will review the weather conditions the night before and morning of departure. In any weather conditions where I would take the group out the roughest water should be at the mouth of the Port Everglades inlet. My family will be the first of the Yamaha sized boats to exit Port Everglades. If the water conditions are not suitable for crossing we will head back in.

The organizational changes that we made in 2016 were intended to reduce the likelihood of any getting swamped, improve the recovery effort if it were to happen and limit the number of boats effected by a swamping. The most likely wave swamping scenario would be just outside Port Everglades where a boat could be easily recovered. Mid crossing issues would likely be due to mechanical or structural failure and are much less likely.

@ClemsonTiger, thanks for the vote of confidence.

 

[Bruce]

Edit - any word on bahia mar or did i miss that?

We are still waiting for the discounted reservations link, I sent a followup email earlier today.