You bring up a good point that I am finding difficult to understand having not been on the trip. How does one become separated from the group? Is not the purpose of a group to ensure the the group stays together for safety? If one boat is stranded for some reason and the group must continue why would they do so before they know that aid is there or at the very least on the way? Lets say somehow one does get separated. If a mechanical issue is the reason someone got separated did they not attempt to communicate soon enough AND the group left them low and wet. If the reason someone got separated is because they wanted to go slow for comfort or fast because they are impatient then that is on them.
I have not been on this trip so I am truly am not judging. If getting separated is somewhat common for whatever the reason then I can see the wisdom of installing a fixed VHF even given my parameter of having a PLB. This has also gotten me considering the simple etiquette of it as well. While I have to look out for my ship and crew if I expect others to help me I should also be prepared to help them, and I am better able to do so if I can hear them. So here I am again waffling but getting closer so what will shift it the other way. Is getting separated either during the crossings or over the course of the week even somewhat common?
The guys here are giving you good information, so not much to add, I'll just chime in with my own take on it.
Being lost in the international waters is no joke, and it can happen on this trip.
It helps to entertain various scenarios, but at the end of the day it is like everything else - nothing will prepare you other than actual experience. so, if you have a chance to get out there and do some ocean boating, even if only for a weekend or whatever, by all means do it. It is like driving a car, shooting guns, or having sex - the ideas we have about those things vs the actual experience when you are doing it can be two entirely different things.
(at least that's been the story of my life, LOL, LOL
, YMMV of course! LOL)
The state of mind is usually a critical part of being able to pull through, get out on the other end, and still enjoy the experience. For me a really good example is
@Drift Away and his crew - who got into a pretty sticky situation at some point during the 2017 crossing (well... literally "drifting away"!) - but they remained calm and positive, didn't panic, did not push the "button" (avoiding a nasty bill that would inevitably accompany an emergency call/CG rescue), and ended up getting help, pulling through and having a blast (in tropical paradise) for the remainder of the week. To me - what they did was the smartest thing to do - by simply remaining calm and being patient. I believe
@Drift Away is out in the ocean all the time, so for him it was a natural thing to do, think strait and do not panic.
The Strait of Florida weather patterns are pretty crazy and there is no rhyme or reason to small storm cells popping up here and there - out of nowhere - when the pattern is active. Without an on-board radar, that none of us typically uses, if you get hit - you get hit. Last year my group got hit pretty hard soon after coming out of the inlet, even though we tried to run around it for a little bit which was not really possible.
If the waves are in the 4-6ft range the visibility in our boats is compromised and you just can not see much at all past some bigger rollers, so it is very easy to become disoriented and confused - if one is not watching a working plotter/compass (stationary, marine grade is a must IMO). When the storm got bad, the visibility became
zero and I mean - I could see my GPS plotter from like literally 10 inches away - that was about it. One can hear nothing (through the storm and lightning) standing on the deck - and there is absolutely
no way to communicate through the radio (stationary or hand held, in my boat) in those sorts of conditions (unless you are inside a cabin you just won't hear a thing). For us - it lasted maybe 30-40min? (something like that - while we got separated from my group).
(now - I also had some technical issues with my boat that I had to deal with on top of all that, but that's a different story)
When we emerged from the storm cell, we failed to get in touch with anyone in my group or the next group up albeit apparently
@Betik could hear me... So, we just continued on our own, and that was okay - basically - you must be prepared to be separated/lost from a group. I like
@Andy S idea of the buddy system, would probably work better than larger groups. But at the end of the day - you may still find yourself alone - and it is a big ocean out there and can feel very lonely. I have always personally loved that aspect of ocean boating - the enormity of the ocean and the feel of how small and insignificant we are when out there, out of the comfort of our back yard, really wanted my kids to experience that. Which they did, and loved it - so that was a great trip for us.
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