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- Boat Make
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This is a long story....hopefully interesting to some....worth reading if you are planning on going to Bimini!
Thanks to the Coast Guard for all you do! @PedalPirate I made up the numbers for the Helicopter that helped us out...but those guys rocked and although this was a simple day for them....helped save a boat for sure!
Rescue At Sea
This is my humorous account of an event that took place in July 2017 in the waters off the island of Bimini (50 miles offshore from Miami). I have taken some narrative liberties with the telling of this story as time always shifts one’s perspective on events – especially events that are more stressful in nature. Also, I’m a sarcastic Brit (from England), sarcasm is my attempt at comedy…so if you think my commentary isn’t funny….blame it on my being English! LOL There are some who say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. I Guess I live in the gutter!
First let me set the stage. After reading and seeing tons of amazing photos and videos of Jetboaters (from Jetboaters.net)going to Bimini, I decided this was a trip I’d love to make. So I asked my brother if he was interested in making it a guy trip – and he was instantly in! I’ve been boating since my teens on small 19-24’ boats, and my brother owned a 33’ Grady White for a number of years – taking it offshore most of the time. So we felt comfortable making the trip – even if we had to do it alone.
Ok…comfortable is relative! I was still very worried about a few things, but primarily how my boat would handle rough water, and how my brother would handle it – as he has had back issues in the past. Also, since my boat is only 1 year old….I didn’t really want to mess it up….this was always in the back of my mind as we moved closer and closer to “D Day” (departure day). I had visions in my head of Yamaha test boat like scenarios where my boat left the water and came down with massive impacts…leave us like two 50+ year old cripples wondering why the heck we’d done this!
So as D-Day approached I began looking at the weather and Wave forecasts. The plan was to leave on Monday the 10th with the large group. On Friday I drove from Raleigh down to Tampa where my brother lives, and together we looked at the forecasts for the weekend and Monday. It was pretty clear to us that leaving sooner was going to be better. So we made the call that we’d try and tow down to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday really early, and then launch and leave for Bimini on our own and cross a day earlier than the big group. The only issue we had with this plan was we needed a full 25 watt marine radio, not just a hand held. So Saturday we went out and bought all the stuff, and I installed it into the boat on evening on Saturday! Why into the evening you ask….well, if you know my brother, there is always something else that has to be done….so Saturday morning we printed the last remaining shirts for the event….and ran some other errands! LOL All the while I keep saying…..”Hey….installing this won’t be hard…but I’d prefer not to be doing this at night!” Silly me!
Do any of you have experience with these f’ing invisible gnats they have in Florida???? They come out in force at dusk….and apparently they like sweaty people, laying on their backs in boats drilling holes!
SUNDAY MORNING
So we get up early Sunday morning and drive down to Ft. Lauderdale, see some of the other jetboaters who are planning to cross on Monday, quietly mention that we are leaving today….not tomorrow….and off we go! (feeling a little guilty for not offering to take anyone with us, but not wanting to do so as we’d never done this, and didn’t want to feel responsible for people/boats other than ourselves!)
Waves are not too bad, we keep up 14-18mph for the first half of the trip and slowly speed up as we pass the half way point. As we approach Bimini two massive thunderheads blow up right between us and the Island of Bimini. Our course has us going right between the two, but we can’t see/tell which way they are moving. Fortunately an 88 foot yacht comes out of the north and heads right between these two storms, so we figure…he’s got radar….we’ll follow him. PLUS—he’s taller than us, so if there is any lightening…hopefully HE gets struck and not us!
Looking back….the lightening was freakin’ scary, and driving anywhere near it on the water is a really bad idea! We had a couple of strikes where we saw the lightening and heard the thunder at the same time…..But we made it! This was a topic for later discussion….perhaps having radar would be a good idea so we could navigate around these storms if we had to!
We go through the customs process, unpack, and head out to eat and drink our First night in paradise. We end up meeting Bill, the owner of the 88’ Lazzarra Yacht that we followed in-another side story for telling later…great family, partied with them and they gave us a short tour of the south end of south Bimini. We might meet them next year?
MONDAY MORNING
The next morning, we get up late, taking our time, and I look out the balcony window and I see the first of the jetboaters group approaching the island, so I head down to the harbor to see how their trip was.
One of the first boats that comes to tie up at the docks near -his tower is down, his port side seat is broken and his anchor locker cover/door is gone! I’m thinking….”Holy shit….I’m glad we came over yesterday!!!! For once – JUST ONCE – I made the right decision!”
We help more boats tie up, and casually ask “are there any boats that need assistance”, and someone says – “YES, there are boats out there out of gas”. Since we came over with three 5 gallons gas cans as contingency fuel, I run up to the condo, fill my brother in, and back down we go to the harbor and head out with fuel.
As we are heading out of the harbor, while we can still talk easily without the engine, wind and wave noise, Alistair and I look at each other and have a quick chat –
Me-“Definitely windier today”
Al –“Yup…we don’t want to get too far offshore as this is getting pretty rough pretty quick”
Me “Yup…that’s why we didn’t do this today. But they can’t be that far offshore…”
Oh how wrong I could be!!!!! Rewind up a few paragraphs….I was right once….that’s not going to happen often! LOL Especially if you ask my wife!
I throttle up, enter the GPS course to head back to Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and start following the return course plot line.
3 Miles offshore: In no time at all, we find a boat out of gas. We stop and over the radio have a discussion with this boat:
Us-“Hey do you need gas…we have 15 gallons?”
Them-“Nope, we have someone coming out with gas for us…there are boats further out that need gas, go help them.”
“Are you SURE?”, I reply “We have 15 gallons…you could fill with one of them and make it in”
”We are fine” says the captain. “We have someone bringing us Gas”
Us “You are certain?”
Them “Yes….help the boats further out”
So we leave them. This is another side story….this boat is called “Drift Away”, and yes, that is what happens to them! Lesson learned here…Call back on the radio to the Bimini Sands or other Jetboaters, give them the boats location and make damn sure someone IS INDEED coming out with gas! D’Oh! Sorry Drift Away (we joked about their boat name for the rest of the week….name needs to be changed to “DriftED Away”! The confusion here is that the boat that was to bring them gas saw us go out with gas and figured they didn’t need to bring gas to them.
His boat after adding the "ED":
2-3 Miles Further Offshore
At this point we get on the radio “Breaker breaker 19”….oh crap….not a trucker…..LOL….”Jetboaters still out there, this is Hydrotherapy 3 anyone need assistance” and there is radio silence. Looking back, this was a bad omen….but I wasn’t thinking about radios and their range. We had a monster 8’ antenna on top of our tower, so our range was as good as we could make it! But those with handhelds should have been able to reach us within 3-4 miles….I didn’t think about this then. Lesson learned. I call another time…no reply. So we decide we’ll head out about 6 miles offshore and call again (I thought we were around 2-3 miles at this point, although Drift Away’s account said he was 5….somewhere in that range).
6 Miles offshore: “Jetboaters, Jetboaters this is Hydrotherapy 3 does anyone need assistance”….and yes….its a lot wavier out at 6 miles and just getting wavier.
A woman’s voice comes on “YES! This is <Name of Boat> we need assistance, we’ve been drifting for an hour!” comes a reply, not quite frantically, but close to it.
“<Name of Boat>, can you please give us your GPS coordinates?” I ask
“We are at (I’m making up the numbers) - 25.40.30 North 79.82.22W”
“Ok…hold on a sec while I enter that to see how far you are” I reply
“Umm….that’s not a valid coordinate” says Alistair to me, “coordinates are in degrees – 90, Minutes- 60, and seconds-60, she gave us 82 minutes west….does not compute” – he was writing this stuff down and is also putting into his phone (we both downloaded Navonics and maps as redundancy to the built in GPS on the boat-triple redundancy!). I put the closest thing I can into my phone, and it puts them 5 miles off Miami.
“<Name of Boat>, Hydrotherapy 3 here, can you repeat those coordinates please as I’m not able to enter that number. They need to be in degree, minutes, seconds, and those coordinates put you off Miami and out of our range”
“Our coordinates are 25.43.30N 79.85.44W….I’m reading this off a fish finder, that is all we have.” Beginning to sound more nervous.
“Those coordinates aren’t valid either, they put you off Ft. Lauderdale, also out of our range.” I reply.
<Name of Boat>’s tone is now getting more frantic, and Alistair and I are discussing options and thoughts.
“They can’t be that far away…they are coming through loud and clear on the radio” I say.
“Yeah…but without a coordinate and with the wind and current, they could be anywhere…we can’t go anywhere without a coordinate” says Alistair.
“<Name of Boat>, do you have another device you could give us coordinates from?” I ask
“No all we’ve got is this fish finder” she replies rather desperately.
“Ok, since we can’t find you via GPS, we are going to need to switch over to Channel 16 and get the Coastguard involved to assist in locating you. Switch to Channel 16 now and we will continue over there. Ok?” I say
“OK…switching to Channel 16” she replies
7 Miles Offshore (we are drifting)
“Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Hyrotherapy 3 assisting a vessel in distress called “<Name of Boat>”, they are out of gas and drifting and we can’t locate them via their coordinates, please assist” I say.
“Hydrotherapy 3 acknowledged. <Name of Boat>, do you read?”
“Coast Guard, this is <Name of Boat>, we read you.” She says…her tone beginning to sound calmer.
“<Name of Boat>, please give us your coordinates we have a helicopter in the air”
“Coastguard, we are at are 25.43.30N 79.46.44W”
WHAT? Now we have the Coast guard involved, you come up with a valid set of coordinates??? Alistair and I both plug the new set into our phones and they are 9.7 miles from our location – 17 miles off shore from Bimini Sands. We look at each other and both have that same look on our faces….”are we going to do this?” I ask.
“That is a long way offshore….we came yesterday to avoid this shit” Alistair says….”Lets see how this plays out with the Coastguard”
The CG asks them a bunch of questions, “anyone injured, next of kin" etc, and then helicopter arrives on site and takes over communications. Asking a bunch of the same questions again. Eventually we get to:
“This is Coast Guard helicopter 6550 circling over a vessel in distress, out of fuel at the following coordinates:___, any vessel that can see us, or within range of these coordinate that can assist this vessel with fuel please respond”
Alistair and I look at each other…. “there has to be someone closer….right?” we wait…..
“This is Coast Guard helicopter 6550 circling over a vessel in distress, out of fuel at the following coordinates:___, any vessel that can see us, or within range of these coordinate that can assist this vessel with fuel please respond”
“F#@$….we are going to have to do this aren’t we?” I say
“It’s that or the boat is toast….so yup….buckle up brother” says Al.
“Coast Guard Helicopter, this is Hydrotherapy 3. With those new coordinates, we are 9.7 miles from the vessel in distress and have three 5 gallon gas cans onboard and will proceed to their location”
“Hydotherapy 3, please hold your location and provide us your coordinates. We will come to you”
8 Miles Offshore (drifting):
We provide them our coordinates, and in a few short minutes they arrive in their HH-65 Dolphin Helicopter and circle us, asking us all sorts of questions. # on board, willing to assist, how much gas in the cans, names, phone numbers, emergency contact/next of kin etc.
“Ok Hydrotherapy 3, we will return to the vessel in distress, please use their coordinates in your GPS, and follow our flight line. We will hover over the vessel in distress until you arrive.”
“OK Coast Guard…following you now”
Now keep in mind, this helicopter can fly 135MPH so in about 30 seconds to 1 minute it is completely out of sight. So back to GPS track we go!
16 Miles Offshore (driving out to <Name of Boat>):
We finally see a boat (a white spot in the distance) on the heading we were given and I start driving right at it.
“Hydotherapy 3 this is Coast Guard Helicopter 6550, the vessel you are vectoring on is not the vessel in distress, they have drifted to the following coordinates_____. The vessel in distress is north of that vessel. You should be able to see us hovering soon”
“Thanks Coast Guard, adjusting course” I say, depressed because we saw this boat out there and hoped we were getting close. The new coordinates have us driving towards nothing visible again. It was interesting to note that the CG helicopter was tracking us the whole way to the point that they could see us targeting the wrong boat…..pretty cool!
18 Miles offshore:
“Coast Guard, this is Hydrotherapy, we think we see you and the vessel, are we on course?”
“Affirmative Hydroptherapy, you are on course”.
24 Miles Offshore we arrive at <Name of Boat>:
“Hydrotherapy 3, this is Coast Guard Helicopter, we have to depart the location. Contact us on this channel if you need further assistance”
“Thank You Coastguard” Says <Name of Boat>.
“Yes thank you Coastguard” I say…and off they fly….
We approach <Name of Boat>, my brother is driving at this point, so I throw out every fender we have on our port side and get the two longest lines I have and we slowly approach each other in rolling seas. I unstrap the three Gerry cans on the back and move them from the bottom step to the next one up as I’m concerned they may roll off the back in the waves. We gingerly pull the boats closer and closer together, there is a brief lull, and we quickly begin moving the jugs over. Right as I’m handing the third jug over <Other boat’s Captain> says ”can you come over here and help me load it?” I have a split second to make a decision, and of course being the helpful guy I am, I jump over to his boat with the can. My brother looks back and is like WTF?
“We are really sea sick” says <Other boat’s Captain> “I’m nearly useless! We’ve been drifting for over an hour and 45 minutes!”
I yell to my brother “I’ll help them load the gas and will swim back over to you”
To <Other boat’s Captain> I say “Do you have a docking line?”
“A what?”
“A docking line”…..I get a blank stare….now I have a slight English accent, and have been told I pronounce some words strangely….like “Yamaha”, but “docking line”….huh….must be seasickness….
“A rope?”
“Yes….here”….he hands me a docking line….I chuckle inwardly….thinking…you crazy brit!
I tie the docking line through the side handle of the 5 gallon can, swing it out over the side and proceed to load the fuel in the boat without hanging over the side of the boat.
“You’ve done this before I take it” says <Other boat’s Captain>
“Nope…just thinking on my feet….no way I want to hang over the side of the boat that long holding up 5 gallons of gas in these rollers!” I reply.
27 Miles Offshore (gas loaded)
OK….lets get this show on the road!
I say to the occupants (husband and wife), “You are all set, I’m going to swim back to my boat, you follow…”
“Um….could you drive my boat…I think I’m too sick to drive” says <Other boat’s Captain>.
“Uh…I guess….” And into the captains seat I jump!
“Alistair, switch to Channel 69” we switch, “These guys are too sick to drive, so I’m going to drive their boat and follow you REALLY closely. I need you to break the waves so this boat is as fuel efficient as possible. Do you have Bimini sands loaded in your GPS and Phone?”
“Yup…I’m ready to roll….you do realize we are nearly 28 miles offshore…yes?” he says
“No…shit….this is going to be interesting….we might not make it with only 15 gallons…..oh well….nothing we can do. Just don’t stop fast as I’m going to be right up your ass with this boat, so its more fuel efficient and takes less of a pounding!”
“Ok…lets go!” and off we go. I start up <Name of Boat> and begin to follow my boat as close as I can so he flattens the waves and we run more efficiently. I immediately realize something is wrong with <Name of Boat>…..she’s cavitating.
“Does your boat always sound like this?” I yell back to <Other boat’s Captain>
“Yes…why?” he replies
“Its Cavitating. We aren’t going to make it to Bimini with it driving like this” I say.
Out of nowhere, Mrs <Other boat’s Captain> says “FUCK IT….SINK THE BOAT - I’m DONE!”
“OK….lets not jump there just yet….we just put in 15 gallons of gas…we might as well run it dry and then decide on the next course of action” I reply
“FINE” she says “but if we don’t make it I’m done with this boat!” clearly she’s at her wits end with this whole endeavor.
“Ok, lets see if we can get this boat running any better”. On the radio I say “Hydotherapy 3 stop a minute, I need to see if I can fix this boat”…..Alistair can’t hear the radio over the wind, waves, engines, spray etc., so I press the horn button….and am welcomed with a pathetic squeaking noise that wouldn’t wake a new mother…..WTF….no horn! You have to be kidding me! Now I’m beginning to think the wife is right….lets sink it!!! I stop the boat and assume that Alistair will notice I’m not behind him as he has my big mirror up and should see us quickly…he does.
I tell him I need to fix the boat…
“Can you get the clean out ports out?” I ask <Other boat’s Captain>
“Starboard side yes, the port one is stuck. Even the starboard is hard to get in and out” <Other boat’s Captain> replies.
Now I’m thinking his wife is right!
“THAT’S IT….can we sink it now?” she pipes in again….
I chuckle….”not yet, we still have options. First we’ll try a reverse maneuver” I look around at the waves and wonder to myself if this is a wise thing to trying in heavy waves….but what do I have to lose? She wants to sink it anyway! So I do a reverse move….don’t take any water over the stern seats!! YIPPEEE….still floating, and the port side sounds better….starboard side is still cavitating…..F@$#.
“I’m going to have to pull the starboard plug…it’s still cavitating”, I jump in back, lift the hatch, and under the hatch is black…..mold/mildew everywhere. Disgusting! I push the button on the starboard plug and it doesn’t budge. S@$#. I’m thinking….I don’t want to force it or I won’t get it back in. I wiggle it and pull and she comes out! I reach in and there is seaweed wrapped around the shaft. I pull it off quickly, and go to put the plug in and it won’t go. The waves are splashing over the swim deck, my glasses are covered in salt spray (I’m wearing my glasses with clip on shades-my vision is pretty poor at this point), and I can't get the f’ing clean out plug in!
"Do you have a trick for getting the plug back in once pulled" I ask
"I use a broomstick to bang it down with" says <Other boat’s Captain>
"Don't happen to have a broomstick do ya?" I reply, trying to say it without sounding snarky
"Nope" he replies
"Anything like that?"
"Nope"
So back wiggling the plug I go. Now remember, I'm kneeling on the stern of a boat in rough water, trying to fix this boat while he is laying in the boat suffering from some serious seasickness. So my attitude, although still positive, is beginning to wane a tiny bit. The hatch keeps closing on my head - thunk - and each time I swear a little inside. First because I probably shouldn't have pulled the f'ing plug in the first place, and 2nd, because the bastard just won't go back in!
Then I get a tap on top of my head, and I look up to see <Other boat’s Captain> holding the nozzle to a 5 gallon gas can.....it looks like this:
"Would this help?" he asks as he passes it to me.
WTF? is all I can think to myself....(it is a short 8" bendable plastic tube -not something, by ANY stretch of the imagination, that you could use to force in a clean out plug with!)....but none the less....I politely tap the plug with it out of sight, thinking bad thoughts...LOL.....and another wave hits me, reminding me....we need to get moving here!!! We are drifting 5 mph in the wrong direction!!!
FINALLY, I get the plug back in, climb back into the boat start her up again, and she’s running better – no cavitation! WOOT! Off we go again! Now I’m thinking to myself…well that explains why he ran out of gas…if it was cavitating all the way and they didn’t notice….but how could you not notice?
“Ok….she’s running better now….” I say
“Great” says the wife….I’m trying to read if that was a “Great”-now we can make it in, or “Great” sarcastically as she wants off this boat….not clear….methinks it is the latter though! LOL
So we are now cruising, trying to keep the speed as high as possible. I’m getting spray in my face repeatedly (only happened twice the day before on my boat on the trip over…which means either my boat handles the waves better or its wavier, or both…..I think both).
This f’ing spray is annoying…..yeah…and where is the freakin gas gauge on this boat? I peer around and realize it doesn’t have a dedicated one….it is in a small LCD screen at the bottom of the RPM gauge. But that is showing RPM….must have to press the black button to cycle to Gas Gauge….press….press…press….s$#@…lots of s%$# on this gauge…press….hit wave…ha-free press with wave (hitting a wave with finger close to button)….press….press….THERE IT IS….WAVE…there it WAS…F@#$ @#$ @#$ I’m an idiot! Round we go one more time! Squinting through my salty glasses, trying not to drive up the ass of my boat….pressing the little black button…..GOT IT! HA! @#$ YOU! The little victories are worth celebrating!!!
OK…WTF…says we have half a tank????
“Does your gas gauge work” I ask <Other boat’s Captain>
“Not well” he replies
And you know what's coming next!!!
“Can we sink it now????” the wife says with a laugh…
Was she kidding? Or was that a maniacal laugh of pleasure at the thought of sinking this POS? Not sure….keep driving…..half a tank….I never checked the gauge before we started…I have to assume he really was out of gas…right????? Starting to 2nd guess….I keep driving….
10ish Miles Offshore
“You can just see Bimini now” I say to the crew as I’m standing up taking the waves and they’ve not noticed land is visible.
Spirits are lifting…but 10 miles is still a long way.
2 Miles Offshore
Sputter…starboard engine dies……sputter….port engine dies…..
“Now we can sink her” I jokingly say….”Just kidding…”
I get on the radio….”<Name of Boat> to any Jetboaters at Bimini Sands, we just ran out of gas 2 miles offshore, need another 5 gallons”
Bitik (another of the Jetboaters crew) and Bruce come out on Betik’s boat with gas and we loaded another 5 gallons onto <Name of Boat> and made it into Bimini Sands! Where, unbeknownst to me, there was a family reunion between <Other boat’s Captain> and their kids, who they’d offloaded onto another boat when they ran out of gas.
Looking back on it, we made very good gas mileage slip streaming behind Hydrotherapy….but just not quite good enough!
All kidding aside….<Other boat’s Captain> paid us for our gas and the gas we loaded on their boat. And on the day of departure, his wife gave me an additional gift for our troubles…when I said that was not needed, she said “I need to know you have that, so I know you’ll rescue us on the way back if needed”. I said we’d do that anyway….but she was adamant that she’d feel better knowing I had it, and it was much appreciated regardless!
Things I learned that altered my perspective on this trip:
Thanks to the Coast Guard for all you do! @PedalPirate I made up the numbers for the Helicopter that helped us out...but those guys rocked and although this was a simple day for them....helped save a boat for sure!
Rescue At Sea
This is my humorous account of an event that took place in July 2017 in the waters off the island of Bimini (50 miles offshore from Miami). I have taken some narrative liberties with the telling of this story as time always shifts one’s perspective on events – especially events that are more stressful in nature. Also, I’m a sarcastic Brit (from England), sarcasm is my attempt at comedy…so if you think my commentary isn’t funny….blame it on my being English! LOL There are some who say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. I Guess I live in the gutter!
First let me set the stage. After reading and seeing tons of amazing photos and videos of Jetboaters (from Jetboaters.net)going to Bimini, I decided this was a trip I’d love to make. So I asked my brother if he was interested in making it a guy trip – and he was instantly in! I’ve been boating since my teens on small 19-24’ boats, and my brother owned a 33’ Grady White for a number of years – taking it offshore most of the time. So we felt comfortable making the trip – even if we had to do it alone.
Ok…comfortable is relative! I was still very worried about a few things, but primarily how my boat would handle rough water, and how my brother would handle it – as he has had back issues in the past. Also, since my boat is only 1 year old….I didn’t really want to mess it up….this was always in the back of my mind as we moved closer and closer to “D Day” (departure day). I had visions in my head of Yamaha test boat like scenarios where my boat left the water and came down with massive impacts…leave us like two 50+ year old cripples wondering why the heck we’d done this!
So as D-Day approached I began looking at the weather and Wave forecasts. The plan was to leave on Monday the 10th with the large group. On Friday I drove from Raleigh down to Tampa where my brother lives, and together we looked at the forecasts for the weekend and Monday. It was pretty clear to us that leaving sooner was going to be better. So we made the call that we’d try and tow down to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday really early, and then launch and leave for Bimini on our own and cross a day earlier than the big group. The only issue we had with this plan was we needed a full 25 watt marine radio, not just a hand held. So Saturday we went out and bought all the stuff, and I installed it into the boat on evening on Saturday! Why into the evening you ask….well, if you know my brother, there is always something else that has to be done….so Saturday morning we printed the last remaining shirts for the event….and ran some other errands! LOL All the while I keep saying…..”Hey….installing this won’t be hard…but I’d prefer not to be doing this at night!” Silly me!
Do any of you have experience with these f’ing invisible gnats they have in Florida???? They come out in force at dusk….and apparently they like sweaty people, laying on their backs in boats drilling holes!
SUNDAY MORNING
So we get up early Sunday morning and drive down to Ft. Lauderdale, see some of the other jetboaters who are planning to cross on Monday, quietly mention that we are leaving today….not tomorrow….and off we go! (feeling a little guilty for not offering to take anyone with us, but not wanting to do so as we’d never done this, and didn’t want to feel responsible for people/boats other than ourselves!)
Waves are not too bad, we keep up 14-18mph for the first half of the trip and slowly speed up as we pass the half way point. As we approach Bimini two massive thunderheads blow up right between us and the Island of Bimini. Our course has us going right between the two, but we can’t see/tell which way they are moving. Fortunately an 88 foot yacht comes out of the north and heads right between these two storms, so we figure…he’s got radar….we’ll follow him. PLUS—he’s taller than us, so if there is any lightening…hopefully HE gets struck and not us!
Looking back….the lightening was freakin’ scary, and driving anywhere near it on the water is a really bad idea! We had a couple of strikes where we saw the lightening and heard the thunder at the same time…..But we made it! This was a topic for later discussion….perhaps having radar would be a good idea so we could navigate around these storms if we had to!
We go through the customs process, unpack, and head out to eat and drink our First night in paradise. We end up meeting Bill, the owner of the 88’ Lazzarra Yacht that we followed in-another side story for telling later…great family, partied with them and they gave us a short tour of the south end of south Bimini. We might meet them next year?
MONDAY MORNING
The next morning, we get up late, taking our time, and I look out the balcony window and I see the first of the jetboaters group approaching the island, so I head down to the harbor to see how their trip was.
One of the first boats that comes to tie up at the docks near -his tower is down, his port side seat is broken and his anchor locker cover/door is gone! I’m thinking….”Holy shit….I’m glad we came over yesterday!!!! For once – JUST ONCE – I made the right decision!”
We help more boats tie up, and casually ask “are there any boats that need assistance”, and someone says – “YES, there are boats out there out of gas”. Since we came over with three 5 gallons gas cans as contingency fuel, I run up to the condo, fill my brother in, and back down we go to the harbor and head out with fuel.
As we are heading out of the harbor, while we can still talk easily without the engine, wind and wave noise, Alistair and I look at each other and have a quick chat –
Me-“Definitely windier today”
Al –“Yup…we don’t want to get too far offshore as this is getting pretty rough pretty quick”
Me “Yup…that’s why we didn’t do this today. But they can’t be that far offshore…”
Oh how wrong I could be!!!!! Rewind up a few paragraphs….I was right once….that’s not going to happen often! LOL Especially if you ask my wife!
I throttle up, enter the GPS course to head back to Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) and start following the return course plot line.
3 Miles offshore: In no time at all, we find a boat out of gas. We stop and over the radio have a discussion with this boat:
Us-“Hey do you need gas…we have 15 gallons?”
Them-“Nope, we have someone coming out with gas for us…there are boats further out that need gas, go help them.”
“Are you SURE?”, I reply “We have 15 gallons…you could fill with one of them and make it in”
”We are fine” says the captain. “We have someone bringing us Gas”
Us “You are certain?”
Them “Yes….help the boats further out”
So we leave them. This is another side story….this boat is called “Drift Away”, and yes, that is what happens to them! Lesson learned here…Call back on the radio to the Bimini Sands or other Jetboaters, give them the boats location and make damn sure someone IS INDEED coming out with gas! D’Oh! Sorry Drift Away (we joked about their boat name for the rest of the week….name needs to be changed to “DriftED Away”! The confusion here is that the boat that was to bring them gas saw us go out with gas and figured they didn’t need to bring gas to them.
His boat after adding the "ED":
2-3 Miles Further Offshore
At this point we get on the radio “Breaker breaker 19”….oh crap….not a trucker…..LOL….”Jetboaters still out there, this is Hydrotherapy 3 anyone need assistance” and there is radio silence. Looking back, this was a bad omen….but I wasn’t thinking about radios and their range. We had a monster 8’ antenna on top of our tower, so our range was as good as we could make it! But those with handhelds should have been able to reach us within 3-4 miles….I didn’t think about this then. Lesson learned. I call another time…no reply. So we decide we’ll head out about 6 miles offshore and call again (I thought we were around 2-3 miles at this point, although Drift Away’s account said he was 5….somewhere in that range).
6 Miles offshore: “Jetboaters, Jetboaters this is Hydrotherapy 3 does anyone need assistance”….and yes….its a lot wavier out at 6 miles and just getting wavier.
A woman’s voice comes on “YES! This is <Name of Boat> we need assistance, we’ve been drifting for an hour!” comes a reply, not quite frantically, but close to it.
“<Name of Boat>, can you please give us your GPS coordinates?” I ask
“We are at (I’m making up the numbers) - 25.40.30 North 79.82.22W”
“Ok…hold on a sec while I enter that to see how far you are” I reply
“Umm….that’s not a valid coordinate” says Alistair to me, “coordinates are in degrees – 90, Minutes- 60, and seconds-60, she gave us 82 minutes west….does not compute” – he was writing this stuff down and is also putting into his phone (we both downloaded Navonics and maps as redundancy to the built in GPS on the boat-triple redundancy!). I put the closest thing I can into my phone, and it puts them 5 miles off Miami.
“<Name of Boat>, Hydrotherapy 3 here, can you repeat those coordinates please as I’m not able to enter that number. They need to be in degree, minutes, seconds, and those coordinates put you off Miami and out of our range”
“Our coordinates are 25.43.30N 79.85.44W….I’m reading this off a fish finder, that is all we have.” Beginning to sound more nervous.
“Those coordinates aren’t valid either, they put you off Ft. Lauderdale, also out of our range.” I reply.
<Name of Boat>’s tone is now getting more frantic, and Alistair and I are discussing options and thoughts.
“They can’t be that far away…they are coming through loud and clear on the radio” I say.
“Yeah…but without a coordinate and with the wind and current, they could be anywhere…we can’t go anywhere without a coordinate” says Alistair.
“<Name of Boat>, do you have another device you could give us coordinates from?” I ask
“No all we’ve got is this fish finder” she replies rather desperately.
“Ok, since we can’t find you via GPS, we are going to need to switch over to Channel 16 and get the Coastguard involved to assist in locating you. Switch to Channel 16 now and we will continue over there. Ok?” I say
“OK…switching to Channel 16” she replies
7 Miles Offshore (we are drifting)
“Coast Guard, Coast Guard, this is Hyrotherapy 3 assisting a vessel in distress called “<Name of Boat>”, they are out of gas and drifting and we can’t locate them via their coordinates, please assist” I say.
“Hydrotherapy 3 acknowledged. <Name of Boat>, do you read?”
“Coast Guard, this is <Name of Boat>, we read you.” She says…her tone beginning to sound calmer.
“<Name of Boat>, please give us your coordinates we have a helicopter in the air”
“Coastguard, we are at are 25.43.30N 79.46.44W”
WHAT? Now we have the Coast guard involved, you come up with a valid set of coordinates??? Alistair and I both plug the new set into our phones and they are 9.7 miles from our location – 17 miles off shore from Bimini Sands. We look at each other and both have that same look on our faces….”are we going to do this?” I ask.
“That is a long way offshore….we came yesterday to avoid this shit” Alistair says….”Lets see how this plays out with the Coastguard”
The CG asks them a bunch of questions, “anyone injured, next of kin" etc, and then helicopter arrives on site and takes over communications. Asking a bunch of the same questions again. Eventually we get to:
“This is Coast Guard helicopter 6550 circling over a vessel in distress, out of fuel at the following coordinates:___, any vessel that can see us, or within range of these coordinate that can assist this vessel with fuel please respond”
Alistair and I look at each other…. “there has to be someone closer….right?” we wait…..
“This is Coast Guard helicopter 6550 circling over a vessel in distress, out of fuel at the following coordinates:___, any vessel that can see us, or within range of these coordinate that can assist this vessel with fuel please respond”
“F#@$….we are going to have to do this aren’t we?” I say
“It’s that or the boat is toast….so yup….buckle up brother” says Al.
“Coast Guard Helicopter, this is Hydrotherapy 3. With those new coordinates, we are 9.7 miles from the vessel in distress and have three 5 gallon gas cans onboard and will proceed to their location”
“Hydotherapy 3, please hold your location and provide us your coordinates. We will come to you”
8 Miles Offshore (drifting):
We provide them our coordinates, and in a few short minutes they arrive in their HH-65 Dolphin Helicopter and circle us, asking us all sorts of questions. # on board, willing to assist, how much gas in the cans, names, phone numbers, emergency contact/next of kin etc.
“Ok Hydrotherapy 3, we will return to the vessel in distress, please use their coordinates in your GPS, and follow our flight line. We will hover over the vessel in distress until you arrive.”
“OK Coast Guard…following you now”
Now keep in mind, this helicopter can fly 135MPH so in about 30 seconds to 1 minute it is completely out of sight. So back to GPS track we go!
16 Miles Offshore (driving out to <Name of Boat>):
We finally see a boat (a white spot in the distance) on the heading we were given and I start driving right at it.
“Hydotherapy 3 this is Coast Guard Helicopter 6550, the vessel you are vectoring on is not the vessel in distress, they have drifted to the following coordinates_____. The vessel in distress is north of that vessel. You should be able to see us hovering soon”
“Thanks Coast Guard, adjusting course” I say, depressed because we saw this boat out there and hoped we were getting close. The new coordinates have us driving towards nothing visible again. It was interesting to note that the CG helicopter was tracking us the whole way to the point that they could see us targeting the wrong boat…..pretty cool!
18 Miles offshore:
“Coast Guard, this is Hydrotherapy, we think we see you and the vessel, are we on course?”
“Affirmative Hydroptherapy, you are on course”.
24 Miles Offshore we arrive at <Name of Boat>:
“Hydrotherapy 3, this is Coast Guard Helicopter, we have to depart the location. Contact us on this channel if you need further assistance”
“Thank You Coastguard” Says <Name of Boat>.
“Yes thank you Coastguard” I say…and off they fly….
We approach <Name of Boat>, my brother is driving at this point, so I throw out every fender we have on our port side and get the two longest lines I have and we slowly approach each other in rolling seas. I unstrap the three Gerry cans on the back and move them from the bottom step to the next one up as I’m concerned they may roll off the back in the waves. We gingerly pull the boats closer and closer together, there is a brief lull, and we quickly begin moving the jugs over. Right as I’m handing the third jug over <Other boat’s Captain> says ”can you come over here and help me load it?” I have a split second to make a decision, and of course being the helpful guy I am, I jump over to his boat with the can. My brother looks back and is like WTF?
“We are really sea sick” says <Other boat’s Captain> “I’m nearly useless! We’ve been drifting for over an hour and 45 minutes!”
I yell to my brother “I’ll help them load the gas and will swim back over to you”
To <Other boat’s Captain> I say “Do you have a docking line?”
“A what?”
“A docking line”…..I get a blank stare….now I have a slight English accent, and have been told I pronounce some words strangely….like “Yamaha”, but “docking line”….huh….must be seasickness….
“A rope?”
“Yes….here”….he hands me a docking line….I chuckle inwardly….thinking…you crazy brit!
I tie the docking line through the side handle of the 5 gallon can, swing it out over the side and proceed to load the fuel in the boat without hanging over the side of the boat.
“You’ve done this before I take it” says <Other boat’s Captain>
“Nope…just thinking on my feet….no way I want to hang over the side of the boat that long holding up 5 gallons of gas in these rollers!” I reply.
27 Miles Offshore (gas loaded)
OK….lets get this show on the road!
I say to the occupants (husband and wife), “You are all set, I’m going to swim back to my boat, you follow…”
“Um….could you drive my boat…I think I’m too sick to drive” says <Other boat’s Captain>.
“Uh…I guess….” And into the captains seat I jump!
“Alistair, switch to Channel 69” we switch, “These guys are too sick to drive, so I’m going to drive their boat and follow you REALLY closely. I need you to break the waves so this boat is as fuel efficient as possible. Do you have Bimini sands loaded in your GPS and Phone?”
“Yup…I’m ready to roll….you do realize we are nearly 28 miles offshore…yes?” he says
“No…shit….this is going to be interesting….we might not make it with only 15 gallons…..oh well….nothing we can do. Just don’t stop fast as I’m going to be right up your ass with this boat, so its more fuel efficient and takes less of a pounding!”
“Ok…lets go!” and off we go. I start up <Name of Boat> and begin to follow my boat as close as I can so he flattens the waves and we run more efficiently. I immediately realize something is wrong with <Name of Boat>…..she’s cavitating.
“Does your boat always sound like this?” I yell back to <Other boat’s Captain>
“Yes…why?” he replies
“Its Cavitating. We aren’t going to make it to Bimini with it driving like this” I say.
Out of nowhere, Mrs <Other boat’s Captain> says “FUCK IT….SINK THE BOAT - I’m DONE!”
“OK….lets not jump there just yet….we just put in 15 gallons of gas…we might as well run it dry and then decide on the next course of action” I reply
“FINE” she says “but if we don’t make it I’m done with this boat!” clearly she’s at her wits end with this whole endeavor.
“Ok, lets see if we can get this boat running any better”. On the radio I say “Hydotherapy 3 stop a minute, I need to see if I can fix this boat”…..Alistair can’t hear the radio over the wind, waves, engines, spray etc., so I press the horn button….and am welcomed with a pathetic squeaking noise that wouldn’t wake a new mother…..WTF….no horn! You have to be kidding me! Now I’m beginning to think the wife is right….lets sink it!!! I stop the boat and assume that Alistair will notice I’m not behind him as he has my big mirror up and should see us quickly…he does.
I tell him I need to fix the boat…
“Can you get the clean out ports out?” I ask <Other boat’s Captain>
“Starboard side yes, the port one is stuck. Even the starboard is hard to get in and out” <Other boat’s Captain> replies.
Now I’m thinking his wife is right!
“THAT’S IT….can we sink it now?” she pipes in again….
I chuckle….”not yet, we still have options. First we’ll try a reverse maneuver” I look around at the waves and wonder to myself if this is a wise thing to trying in heavy waves….but what do I have to lose? She wants to sink it anyway! So I do a reverse move….don’t take any water over the stern seats!! YIPPEEE….still floating, and the port side sounds better….starboard side is still cavitating…..F@$#.
“I’m going to have to pull the starboard plug…it’s still cavitating”, I jump in back, lift the hatch, and under the hatch is black…..mold/mildew everywhere. Disgusting! I push the button on the starboard plug and it doesn’t budge. S@$#. I’m thinking….I don’t want to force it or I won’t get it back in. I wiggle it and pull and she comes out! I reach in and there is seaweed wrapped around the shaft. I pull it off quickly, and go to put the plug in and it won’t go. The waves are splashing over the swim deck, my glasses are covered in salt spray (I’m wearing my glasses with clip on shades-my vision is pretty poor at this point), and I can't get the f’ing clean out plug in!
"Do you have a trick for getting the plug back in once pulled" I ask
"I use a broomstick to bang it down with" says <Other boat’s Captain>
"Don't happen to have a broomstick do ya?" I reply, trying to say it without sounding snarky
"Nope" he replies
"Anything like that?"
"Nope"
So back wiggling the plug I go. Now remember, I'm kneeling on the stern of a boat in rough water, trying to fix this boat while he is laying in the boat suffering from some serious seasickness. So my attitude, although still positive, is beginning to wane a tiny bit. The hatch keeps closing on my head - thunk - and each time I swear a little inside. First because I probably shouldn't have pulled the f'ing plug in the first place, and 2nd, because the bastard just won't go back in!
Then I get a tap on top of my head, and I look up to see <Other boat’s Captain> holding the nozzle to a 5 gallon gas can.....it looks like this:
"Would this help?" he asks as he passes it to me.
WTF? is all I can think to myself....(it is a short 8" bendable plastic tube -not something, by ANY stretch of the imagination, that you could use to force in a clean out plug with!)....but none the less....I politely tap the plug with it out of sight, thinking bad thoughts...LOL.....and another wave hits me, reminding me....we need to get moving here!!! We are drifting 5 mph in the wrong direction!!!
FINALLY, I get the plug back in, climb back into the boat start her up again, and she’s running better – no cavitation! WOOT! Off we go again! Now I’m thinking to myself…well that explains why he ran out of gas…if it was cavitating all the way and they didn’t notice….but how could you not notice?
“Ok….she’s running better now….” I say
“Great” says the wife….I’m trying to read if that was a “Great”-now we can make it in, or “Great” sarcastically as she wants off this boat….not clear….methinks it is the latter though! LOL
So we are now cruising, trying to keep the speed as high as possible. I’m getting spray in my face repeatedly (only happened twice the day before on my boat on the trip over…which means either my boat handles the waves better or its wavier, or both…..I think both).
This f’ing spray is annoying…..yeah…and where is the freakin gas gauge on this boat? I peer around and realize it doesn’t have a dedicated one….it is in a small LCD screen at the bottom of the RPM gauge. But that is showing RPM….must have to press the black button to cycle to Gas Gauge….press….press…press….s$#@…lots of s%$# on this gauge…press….hit wave…ha-free press with wave (hitting a wave with finger close to button)….press….press….THERE IT IS….WAVE…there it WAS…F@#$ @#$ @#$ I’m an idiot! Round we go one more time! Squinting through my salty glasses, trying not to drive up the ass of my boat….pressing the little black button…..GOT IT! HA! @#$ YOU! The little victories are worth celebrating!!!
OK…WTF…says we have half a tank????
“Does your gas gauge work” I ask <Other boat’s Captain>
“Not well” he replies
And you know what's coming next!!!
“Can we sink it now????” the wife says with a laugh…
Was she kidding? Or was that a maniacal laugh of pleasure at the thought of sinking this POS? Not sure….keep driving…..half a tank….I never checked the gauge before we started…I have to assume he really was out of gas…right????? Starting to 2nd guess….I keep driving….
10ish Miles Offshore
“You can just see Bimini now” I say to the crew as I’m standing up taking the waves and they’ve not noticed land is visible.
Spirits are lifting…but 10 miles is still a long way.
2 Miles Offshore
Sputter…starboard engine dies……sputter….port engine dies…..
“Now we can sink her” I jokingly say….”Just kidding…”
I get on the radio….”<Name of Boat> to any Jetboaters at Bimini Sands, we just ran out of gas 2 miles offshore, need another 5 gallons”
Bitik (another of the Jetboaters crew) and Bruce come out on Betik’s boat with gas and we loaded another 5 gallons onto <Name of Boat> and made it into Bimini Sands! Where, unbeknownst to me, there was a family reunion between <Other boat’s Captain> and their kids, who they’d offloaded onto another boat when they ran out of gas.
Looking back on it, we made very good gas mileage slip streaming behind Hydrotherapy….but just not quite good enough!
All kidding aside….<Other boat’s Captain> paid us for our gas and the gas we loaded on their boat. And on the day of departure, his wife gave me an additional gift for our troubles…when I said that was not needed, she said “I need to know you have that, so I know you’ll rescue us on the way back if needed”. I said we’d do that anyway….but she was adamant that she’d feel better knowing I had it, and it was much appreciated regardless!
Things I learned that altered my perspective on this trip:
1. Seasickness is way more debilitating that I ever knew….so be careful, and do not be like me, wondering why <Other boat’s Captain>/wife were so out of it. I’ve never been seasick….but am very thankful I was able to help this couple out! A drift anchor would have helped them....we now take one with us to Bimini!
2. Never leave a disabled boat in the ocean without ABSOLUTELY confirming yourself that someone was coming out to assist them. Drift Away-sorry….had I paid attention and noticed you didn’t have a full size radio, I would have ensured no confusion existed!
3. If you’ve committed to bring someone gas do it or confirm that someone else did it, don’t assume.
4. When boating in the ocean, you want a full size 25 watt radio with a really good antenna mounted as high as you can get it (for optimal range). Thankfully <Name of Boat> had a full size radio, otherwise they might not have been able to contact us, and possibly the Coast Guard. They would probably have been able to always reach another boat, as it was rare (if ever) that we were out of sight of a boat, but I’d not want to play pass through with another boat in an emergency situation.
a. I’d also want an external speaker for the radio, or linkage to my stereo. Hearing the main radio isn’t easy when driving. (I've since installed an external speaker for my marine radio)
5. When boating offshore your boat needs to be in full operating condition. <Name of Boat>’s clean out plugs should have been rebuilt before the trip, the horn replaced, and the gas gauge sender replaced (not sure on this one, as it might just be the nature of the beast on this model boat).
6. Our boats should always take spare gas with them. We calculated we’d want 15 gallons with us in case we had to divert around a storm. We nearly had to do this….and probably should have based on how close we came to lightening. Also, be sure you know how you are going to get that gas into the boat! I have since installed vents and speed nozzles on my gas cans as sitting in waves slowly pouring gas as air gurgles up the pipe sucked. Also - if you have someone who can start and drive the boat once you have started loading (have enough in for the engines to start) this might be advantageous from a sea sickness perspective.
7. Boating around storms is freakin scary and dangerous. Getting struck by lightening would likely be terminal. If you survived, your boat would be fried.
- As such, if I do this trip again, I will strongly consider getting a radar, or travel with someone with radar so we can see where the storms are going, and how big they are getting. This would make going around a storm easier.
- Furuno makes a wireless radar for $999 that is the option I’d look into.
- XM also offers a weather radar plan…but that would mean a new GPS unit….its only money right! LOL
- Another alternative would be to have a satellite data plan so one could pull down weather radar from online.
8. Before going on an offshore open ocean trip you want to know your boat and equipment inside and out.
- I failed on this with my GPS. I didn’t know how to enter a set of coordinates into it. We had phones as backups, and they were easy, but when you are driving in rain/wind/waves, you don’t want to be holding a phone.
- I also failed on this with the radio I’d just bought! I had no idea how to monitor 2 channels at the same time. I did enter my DSC#, but ran out of time to test it. We also took off on our own not knowing for sure what our range was on the radio (if we had it wired well). Poor last minute planning for sure!
- I’m not sure if <Name of Boat>’s crew could hear the cavitation noise over all the other noise, but it stood out to me right away as I’m VERY familiar with that noise.
9. Only go as fast as you are comfortable – if you are launching out of the water repeatedly, that is no fun, tiring and stressful for your boat. Slow down. If you feel you MUST drive faster so you keep the gas mileage up….you need more gas, not faster driving.
10. Have a complete emergency plan and kit ready to go. We failed in this regard. We had a dry bag with a radio and couple of bottles of water….but next time I’d like a properly prepared plan and kit.
11. Cavitation seriously reduces your fuel efficiency! I’ve not confirmed this, but <Other boat’s Captain> said he brought extra fuel (10 gallons), so it took this boat 80 gallons to reach Bimini Sands!!! That gives you an idea of how badly it impacts MPG!
12. I’d like a full vinyl windshield like I had on my SX230 if I do this again! Getting pelted and soaked in the rain is not pleasurable! (I have since made one of these)
13. Bean bags chairs looked interesting. I ended up sitting on my throwable cushion as the seats bolster bracket was digging into my ass without it! A smaller flat bean bag cushion would be perfect…not sure if they make such a thing.
14. With all the boats having issues with the clean out tray buttons causing engine shutdowns in the heavier waves we should come up with a way to determine if a boat’s buttons are in the optimal position. That said…I’d prefer not to be making the crossing when there are waves large enough to constantly cause airborne situations! We went airborne on Sunday maybe 5-10 times max.
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