I want to go to Bimini 2017

[Bruce]

@jameskeller76, this is an Essay my at the time 7 year old wrote about her first trip https://jetboaters.net/threads/emmas-bimini-2014-essay.4449/

 

[MrMoose]

@jameskeller76. If I were you, I would think of it from a safety perspective. You know your kids best. Think of your worst case scenario, and consider how you would handle it with the crew/passengers that you are thinking of crossing with. If you have the safety aspects covered, then move on to the comfort aspects.

 

[Glen]

In your opinion how young of children would be ok on this trip? Our kids will be 5 and 7 at the time. Thanks !

Question is how well will your wife handle the crossing? Your kids will mirror her, in most cases.

Only reality is that I may decide with my wife and kids (older and have done offshore, over-night sailing) to make a crossing, when you would (and should) not. You will put a little more effort into alternative FL adventures (Keys, Sarasota,...), in case you wave off.

 

[MrMoose]

@Glen, you are SOOOOooo right with your comment! In 2015, I crossed with just my two boys (11 and almost 15), without mom. The boys had no saltwater experience, and very little boating experience overall. They trusted me, even after a big wave came into the bow. They were amazing, and they became a seasoned crew over the time that we spent in Bimini. I think that it's safe to assume that my wife would have flown back to Houston with my boys if she were with us in 2015. This year, we had two new crew members: my father-in-law, and my wife. This year, I expected that my boys would progress from where they left off last year, which was not the case at all. Different crew, different dynamics.
Now that my wife has experienced the crossing, I am confident that things would be very different (in a good way) if we go again.

 

[jameskeller76]

Question is how well will your wife handle the crossing? Your kids will mirror her, in most cases.

Only reality is that I may decide with my wife and kids (older and have done offshore, over-night sailing) to make a crossing, when you would (and should) not. You will put a little more effort into alternative FL adventures (Keys, Sarasota,...), in case you wave off.

This was exactly my thinking. Have a good backup plan in case the weather doesn't pan out. I've already been looking at some options on the gulf side, etc. is case it doesn't work out.

Wife is VERY headstrong and the kids loved bouncing off big waves in BVI last year so I'm sure they will love it, at least for the first 30 minutes .

As far as safety I plan on bringing and doing everything the veterans suggest.

Has anyone created an excel spreadsheet checklist for the crossing?

 

[Bruce]

Has anyone created an excel spreadsheet checklist for the crossing?

I am not aware of anyone creating a checklist spreadsheet. It would be nice to have one.

The Preparing for Bimini thread and the first page of JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling June 19 to 25 2016 would be good places to start gathering items for the list.

This was my packing list for the 2015 crossing which is far from a complete list

X Fishing stuff
X Grill and 2 propane bottles
X Clothes
X Toiletries
X Medicine & First Aid Kits
X Marine radios
X Gatorade (powder and premixed)
X Customs paperwork
X Passports
X Boat registration
X Cash
X Flare gun
X Flags
X InReach
X Tools
X Spare oil and spark plugs
X Sunglasses
X Ham

 

[latitudeadjuster]

I am not aware of anyone creating a checklist spreadsheet. It would be nice to have one.

The Preparing for Bimini thread and the first page of JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling June 19 to 25 2016 would be good places to start gathering items for the list.

This was my packing list for the 2015 crossing which is far from a complete list

X Fishing stuff
X Grill and 2 propane bottles
X Clothes
X Toiletries
X Medicine & First Aid Kits
X Marine radios
X Gatorade (powder and premixed)
X Customs paperwork
X Passports
X Boat registration
X Cash
X Flare gun
X Flags
X InReach
X Tools
X Spare oil and spark plugs
X Sunglasses
X Ham

Rum isn't on the list!!! Oh that's right, that's on the ARRIVAL list, just after customs! LOL

 

[Bruce]

Rum isn't on the list!!! Oh that's right, that's on the ARRIVAL list, just after customs! LOL

We cross without any alcohol on the boat. Rum is readily and cheaply available in Bimini. We do bring mixers (juice, coconut milk, etc) as they are harder to come by on the island.

@ACrews was told by the lady who boarded and inspected his boat last year that we are limited to $100 of groceries per person per week. I have never been boarded or asked how much we brought in groceries. I have always carried a receipt for the groceries on board but have never been asked for it.

 

[ACrews]

We cross without any alcohol on the boat. Rum is readily and cheaply available in Bimini. We do bring mixers (juice, coconut milk, etc) as they are harder to come by on the island.

@ACrews was told by the lady who boarded and inspected his boat last year that we are limited to $100 of groceries per person per week. I have never been boarded or asked how much we brought in groceries. I have always carried a receipt for the groceries on board but have never been asked for it.

That is correct @Bruce. They allow $100 per person per week, so it's best to keep it below that or at least the estimate that you give them. Anything over that amount you will have to pay taxes on before they'll clear you, crew, & boat. They also asked if we had planned on giving anything to the locals. We didn't have any intentions too so the answer was "no"...which turned out to be the correct answer as well. If you had answered "yes", you will be required to pay taxes on that as well.
According to the customs officer, they see it as a nice gesture, but being a fairly poor economy, they don't want people scooting around their tax laws.

 

[1948Isaac]

Our family is new to Yamaha and jetboaters.net but we are seriously considering this trip for '17. I originally stumbled across this video and it gave me the itch

The amount of time some of the Bimini veterans have put into preparing and writes ups is amazing. Thank you all. Looking forward to meeting some of you in the future.

If you are in the Austin, TX area hit us up!

Glad to share a bit of our journey . Hope to see you on the bahamas next year

 

[1948Isaac]

@1948Isaac recruiting through YouTube lol!

Man your too funny LOL LOL

 

[1948Isaac]

Anybody for a Labor Day trip?

We probably go to bimini for the weekend

 

[2nazt]

We probably go to bimini for the weekend

I am watching weather most forecast is only till Monday prior which doesn't look good 30mph wind and 5+ waves. Let's hope it dies down.

 

[1948Isaac]

I am watching weather most forecast is only till Monday prior which doesn't look good 30mph wind and 5+ waves. Let's hope it dies down.

I hope it gets better

 

[veedubtek]

I am watching weather most forecast is only till Monday prior which doesn't look good 30mph wind and 5+ waves. Let's hope it dies down.

Shit, that's nothing for @1948Isaac !

Thursday looks good. We were looking at it a little bit ago Not sure what app @DieselCamel was using to see that far though.

 

[DieselCamel]

i use sailflow and wind finder

 

[1948Isaac]

Shit, that's nothing for @1948Isaac !

Thursday looks good. We were looking at it a little bit ago Not sure what app @DieselCamel was using to see that far though.

LOL I am down

 

[2nazt]

I'll have to try wind finder

 

[DieselCamel]

I am watching weather most forecast is only till Monday prior which doesn't look good 30mph wind and 5+ waves. Let's hope it dies down.

yeah sunday, monday look a little sporty but it lays back down after that. but 2 week forecasts are not the accurate

 

[DieselCamel]

@2nazt when you planing on crossing