JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 9th to 14th 2018

[Pedro cruz]

OMG all the drama from the June group is creeping in now...
let’s get our reservations figured out first!

Totally agree

 

[Mainah]

Data just updated in Windy, Sailflow, and TWC a few minutes ago for me. Best crossing day appears to be Saturday with Tuesday being a good candidate as well. Both of those options impact lodging. The weather looks a bit better for the week now too. Going to forge ahead but definitely need a new crossing day.

@ Bruce we can spare space for kids or adults for a night or two if needed to work out the condo situation. What do you think about a Saturday crossing?

 

[D3nN1s]

I like Saturday as well, just need to know as soon as possible to start moving reservations around and cancel others

 

[ThatJeepGirl]

OMG all the drama from the June group is creeping in now...
let’s get our reservations figured out first!

Ohhh, burn...from someone who has never crossed. Just saying, with the forecast, some people might need the “reality check”. Keys are GORGEOUS this time of year.

 

[Rod5]

Same openions keep being expressed at nausea. We’ve all read them 50 times. The very beginning of this thread fully explains in detail the challenges and dangers of crossing as well as that each captain must decide what their abilities are and that of their crew. We get it! Just because some of us haven’t made this particular crossing before doesnt mean we don’t have other significant and relavent big water experience.

 

[Speedling]

I am loading and double checking everything this morning. On road around noon Lord willing.
One of my top secret personal ideas is to be a day early and fet the boat out on the open ocean to feel it out once before we go in the morning.
We should be in plenty time for any crossing.
But yes, people need places to stay!
If needed i am sure we have space with my little ones to join.

 

[Bruce]

I can not make a Saturday crossing and I expect Bimini Sands to be pretty full.

SailFlow, Windfinder and Windy all show the widest wave spacing on Tuesday.

My focus is on finding a place for everyone to stay.

 

[Betik]

Same openions keep being expressed at nausea. We’ve all read them 50 times. The very beginning of this thread fully explains in detail the challenges and dangers of crossing as well as that each captain must decide what their abilities are and that of their crew. We get it! Just because some of us haven’t made this particular crossing before doesnt mean we don’t have other significant and relavent big water experience.

Please understand that @ThatJeepGirl has no dog in this race. She is just trying to help. At the end of the day, as Kate said " this is supposed to be a vacation"

 

[Berrie]

Saturday is definitely the best option but I don’t think I can get there and be ready until in the afternoon.
I don’t see any significant difference between Sun and Tue.

Tuesday is not really an option for us as it makes the trip too short.
I’d rather cancel and use the credit next June.

 

[ThatJeepGirl]

Please understand that @ThatJeepGirl has no dog in this race. She is just trying to help. At the end of the day, as Kate said " this is supposed to be a vacation"

Actually...until I saw the forecast, I was trying to talk @ThatJeepGuy into going back this trip as well. Still throwing around the idea of flying over...

 

[Betik]

you know how when you are about to die everything seems to be moving at real slow speed????? this is quite the opposite, Everything is going at 120mph ( messages per hour)

 

[Berrie]

I can not make a Saturday crossing and I expect Bimini Sands to be pretty full.

SailFlow, Windfinder and Windy all show the widest wave spacing on Tuesday.

My focus is on finding a place for everyone to stay.

All good points, and i know and appreciate all the effort you are putting in to this.
Weather stateside is better Tue but Bimini forecast is about same for Sun and Tue.

Still, Tue is not an option for us.

 

[Betik]

@ThatJeepGuy can do it while you fly over. He just needs to name the boat " JeepOftheSeas"

 

[ThatJeepGirl]

you know how when you are about to die everything seems to be moving at real slow speed????? this is quite the opposite, Everything is going at 120mph ( messages per hour)

DONT use the word “DIE” in this post...it’s synonymous with using the word “BOMB” on an airplane. Adds too much drama.

 

[bronze_10]

All good points, and i know and appreciate all the effort you are putting in to this.
Weather stateside is better Tue but Bimini forecast is about same for Sun and Tue.

Still, Tue is not an option for us.

Go early and stay in the boat!

 

[ThatJeepGirl]

@ThatJeepGuy can do it while you fly over. He just needs to name the boat " JeepOftheSeas"

Haha, he has that (see my profile picture????). LOL!

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

I sure hope The Sands get the rooms figured out for you all. I know it's a lot of planning, preparation, and excitement for these trips. It certainly appears you'll have to earn it a bit more then we did crossing in June. @Rod5 this may read as redundancy and I totally get your point because if you read these threads and never been in the ocean you'd be scared to death but I think that's a point to a degree. I think the goal is to set reasonable expectations, especially for those crossing for the first time because youtube videos are misleading to what is actually felt and experienced. This probably isn't meant for you but hopefully will help someone doing it for the first time. For those crossing soon please don't take it condescending as that's not the intention, but everyone should have zero expectation of a comfortable ride. I was a little surprised to see the results of the poll @Bruce made when a large number choose comfortable conditions. I don't think that's a reasonable expectation unless you live close by and can pick a weekend and go at will. It is extremely rare to find comfortable seas riding in a jet boat and that's certainly the case when it's a planned date months in advance. Granted I've only crossed the stream 6 times which is a limited data set, but of those 6 this year was the only time I would call it comfortable. There were trips we made comments like "that wasn't that bad", however it was far from comfortable. The reality is you're taking a small vessel, fairly light vessel, across a very large body of water. If it's you first time, you need to set your expectation and the expectation of your crew that it's going to extremely rough. Hopefully it will not live up, but more then likely especially crossing your first time, you'll think it's really bad. I've mentioned it several times, but my crossing in 2017 was the most annoying rough ride to date for me personally. It wasn't the biggest seas I've seen but the toughest. Let the clip play out a bit and you'll hear constant disconnect and hard slaps along with a lot of spray. My wife was on the boat and while they didn't bury the bow and take waves over, they all were pretty much soaked from spray. To put this into perspective a little, I didn't get a singe drop of water above my knee until we were approx. a half mile out of FL on our return this year. In 2017, I felt like a drank half the ocean and I was pretty beat arriving in Bimini. The seas were absolutely 2ft with short period and a strong head wind. Video never does it justice but it was rough. We were able to safely without breaking anything, or tearing anything up run 20ish mph. It took us 3 hours. After last years crossing that's when I confirmed to myself that if I couldn't run upper teens at a minimum I need to turn back and give it another shot another time. To counter @swatski a bit, I'm not sure it's capabilities rather willingness and expectations. If you're expectation is for you and crew to take an ass beating for several hours then you'll likely be satisfied. If you watch these youtube videos and think your local lake gets that rough at times I think you're setting yourself up for a major surprise. Lastly, if you get out there and 5 miles in your running 10mph its ok to turn around and give it another shot later on that same day or another day. The reward of the adventure and clear Bahamian waters are worth it. Take it all in and enjoy it as not many people have the opportunity to do what you're about to accomplish.

 

[Rod5]

Actually...until I saw the forecast, I was trying to talk @ThatJeepGuy into going back this trip as well. Still throwing around the idea of flying over...

I’d love for @ThatJeepGirl to go again in our group! I’ll buy her a beer and want to hear about the great places to see and visit in the Keys. We definitely want to do a week vacation in the Keys soon!

 

[Berrie]

Go early and stay in the boat!

@bronze_10 We are planning on that but i think we’re the only ones that can. All i need is shore power.

 

[Bruce]

I don’t see any significant difference between Sun and Tue.

Tuesday is not really an option for us as it makes the trip too short.

The difference in the current Sunday versus Tuesday forecast is 3 seconds versus 6 to 8 seconds between waves. The longer period means that you hit half as many of them and your boat has time to settle between waves.

There is a very nice beach at Bahia Mar. Bahia Mar would be a fun place to hang out if we were not comparing it to Bimini.

The reality is that your boat will be capable and comfortable in larger and rougher seas than the Yamahas that are crossing. However in 2017 the biggest problems were with 30’ cabin cruisers.