I want to go to Bimini 2017

Betik said:

Polespears ? Can I bring my mother in law for practice ?

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Does Claire not know where you have been spending all of your time? Perhaps I should send her an invite to join the discussion?

Claire knows all about "boat porn", right @Betik???

2nazt said:

You can only spear with non trigger guns like a pole spear or Hawaiian sling. And not on scuba.

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Okay, that is good to know. I was wondering that, actually. I really wanted to try spearing with a Hawaiian sling anyway!
Most places around the island are quite shallow.

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Bruce !!!! what kind of sabotage is this ? You first convince me and my wife to go to Bimini. Then you make me buy a boat. Then you make me buy a truck. And finally you are trying to suicide me by spouse.... Did Claire cut you in on the life insurance ?? Well I got news. My dogs is getting all of it.

MrMoose said:

Claire knows all about "boat porn", right @Betik???

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Yes she does know ... and you should have seen her face ( and my mother's face) when I spend 10 hours at Mel's barn/house last week. LOL

And to make things worse I started looking for someone to go to Bimini with us. It just so happens I stared with friend of mine from college. Claire likes my friend, but she hates me texting back and forth with her for 2 days in row.

Kevin Sargent said:

One Marine that dropped his Flag in water....Oh no......nice to hear from you my friend...I am already excited.................. I am defiantly spending a lot of time at ours beach....

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DAMN, that stings!!!
Earned it the old fashion way-
I should have paid off @tim h with more rum, and you would have never learned about it.
I won't make either mistake again!

I am SO stoked for doing Bimini bigger and better, in '17. Bringing the whole clan!

Just read about this. This sounds AWESOME. Unfortunately, we live across the country. That said, if all goes right, we will be upgrading in the next 2-3 years to a 24' which at that time I will plan on making the x-country trek. To everyone going, enjoy! Bahamas is beautiful and very enjoyable place (at least for me). I decided I wanted a boat when we visited.

That is what I was thinking less than a month ago... and now I have a new truck and 27 hours old 240. LOL.
You should talk to Bruce about the need of having a 240 for the crossing.

Hi everyone. New member here, but I have a prop boat. 2008 Chaparral 250 Signature (27' single-engine 300hp cruiser). I joined specifically because I heard this group puts on a great annual Bahamas trip or two.

We are in North Texas (Dallas area) with our boat up on Lake Texoma. I've been working on preparing it for a Bahamas run by adding a VHF radio, changing out to a newer chartplotter/radar, etc. I just purchased a trailer and a new diesel truck as well. The boat and engine will be in tip-top shape before beginning the long haul to Florida.

I've been looking at the Bahama Flings, and we over at the Chaparral forum are talking about maybe putting together a group, but so far the response has been a little slow. This will be our first open water experience and we simply won't do it alone. Would we be welcome to join your trip? Bimini would be a fun first trip, but we're open to an Abaco trip too.

@TexasPilot71 welcome aboard!

Yes you would be welcome with the group even with your prop boat. They let me stay with them since I have switched from a jet to a prop boat, 2016 Cobalt R5 (26' long). I highly recommend doing the Bimini trip first before venturing to the farther islands. The 60 mile trip to Bimini will give you a good indication if you want to venture farther.

Here is a good read about getting ready for Bimini, https://jetboaters.net/threads/preparing-for-bimini.3800/

Last year a small group of us went to Staniel Cay, Exumas, https://jetboaters.net/threads/exuma-bahamas-trip-june-2016.9352/ so yes it is possible in our boats to get to the eastern side of the Bahamas.

Andy S said:

@TexasPilot71 welcome aboard!

Yes you would be welcome with the group even with your prop boat. They let me stay with them since I have switched from a jet to a prop boat, 2016 Cobalt R5 (26' long). I highly recommend doing the Bimini trip first before venturing to the farther islands. The 60 mile trip to Bimini will give you a good indication if you want to venture farther.

Here is a good read about getting ready for Bimini, https://jetboaters.net/threads/preparing-for-bimini.3800/

Last year a small group of us went to Staniel Cay, Exumas, https://jetboaters.net/threads/exuma-bahamas-trip-june-2016.9352/ so yes it is possible in our boats to get to the eastern side of the Bahamas.

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Thanks for the warm welcome. I was just reading the "Preparing for Bimini" thread before I saw your post here. Wow, looks like a GERAT time and I feel fortunate to be able to take advantage of this group's experience. I can't wait to go!

See people from DFW dont just sit around talking about doing something. They just get it done.

@TexasPilot71 you should to be careful though because this group is very very seductive and persuasive. They made me buy a boat and trade in a 3 month old pilot for a F150 XL
Dont worry about being welcome here, these guys are accepting me go to Bimini and I have never towed or piloted a boat

I ran across this video of some skis making the crossing. I'm posting it here as I thought it was very representative of what you can expect the seas to look like during the crossing. I've only made the crossing a few times, but I've yet to get the calm seas that you see on some of the videos posted on YouTube. I don't know their speed, but I think it's safe to say you'll be traveling much faster. If you're doing it on a ski (or even a boat IMO), I would personally suggest not getting in and out of the throttle like you can hear him several times throughout the video. Granted this is much easier said then done if your ski doesn't have cruise control. Set a speed you can tolerate (really needs to be above 20mph at a minimum) and hang on. You'll be there in less then 3 hours.

That is pretty informative! But. Who on Earth would possibly want to watch it for 45min??? LOL

swatski said:

That is pretty informative! But. Who on Earth would possibly want to watch it for 45min??? LOL

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I know right. I didn't watch it all but did skim through it. I just liked the viewing angle and the fact that it wasn't overlaid with music. The raw footage was nice, especially for those going for the 1st time, to get an idea of what the crossing is like.

Wow @Ramblin Wreck those guys were def on a leisurely stroll kind of pace that would have drove me insane.

They have a Facebook group too they just bought a couple Scarabs and talking about going to the Exumas also this year. I think #jetlifemovement. Florida to Bahamas.

robert843 said:

Wow @Ramblin Wreck those guys were def on a leisurely stroll kind of pace that would have drove me insane.

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It would be interesting to know how long it took them as I would imagine they were in the middle teens for most of the trip if I had to guess. It looks like a 4 hour crossing, but I could certainly be wrong. IMO, if you're on a ski you should hear yourself coming unhooked way more often. In all honesty, almost constantly unless you get exceptional conditions.

Ramblin Wreck said:

I ran across this video of some skis making the crossing. I'm posting it here as I thought it was very representative of what you can expect the seas to look like during the crossing. I've only made the crossing a few times, but I've yet to get the calm seas that you see on some of the videos posted on YouTube. I don't know their speed, but I think it's safe to say you'll be traveling much faster. If you're doing it on a ski (or even a boat IMO), I would personally suggest not getting in and out of the throttle like you can hear him several times throughout the video. Granted this is much easier said then done if your ski doesn't have cruise control. Set a speed you can tolerate (really needs to be above 20mph at a minimum) and hang on. You'll be there in less then 3 hours.

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I think that video maybe @Seadoo_Bimini_Crosser group from last year he maybe able to give details on their crossing.

Ramblin Wreck said:

I ran across this video of some skis making the crossing. I'm posting it here as I thought it was very representative of what you can expect the seas to look like during the crossing. I've only made the crossing a few times, but I've yet to get the calm seas that you see on some of the videos posted on YouTube. I don't know their speed, but I think it's safe to say you'll be traveling much faster. If you're doing it on a ski (or even a boat IMO), I would personally suggest not getting in and out of the throttle like you can hear him several times throughout the video. Granted this is much easier said then done if your ski doesn't have cruise control. Set a speed you can tolerate (really needs to be above 20mph at a minimum) and hang on. You'll be there in less then 3 hours.

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Thanks for sharing that video @Ramblin Wreck
I agree with you that it's probably one of the best vids to give folks an idea of what seas to expect in good weather.

That was not the group I was thinking or at least the video, the video I was thinking of was over 2 hours on YouTube. That seems like a very slow crossing to me and they could of went faster, but I was not there and I think we all know videos don't really reflect conditions accurately.