JetBoaters.net Bimini Fling July 10th to 15th 2017

[haknslash]

At noon I will have a pepperoni hot pocket for lunch at work, followed by a boring slow long commute home filled with idiot drivers at 4:00pm and I'll be in bed by 10pm.

Yea I'd say y'all are livin it up down there!

 

[2nazt]

You and me both @haknslash but I'll be having quinoa with chicken and green beans for lunch.... I'll take the hot pocket.

 

[Majorsmackdown]

Thunderstorms. Having spent over 20,000 hours flying general aviation and commercial aircraft domestically and internationally, and many many flights in the Miami and Bahamas, I have seen my share of thunderstorms. From the air, they can be very defining and you can see what they do easily to those on the ground and water. Circumnavigating them in a jet (aircraft) is just a seconds out of the way for small ones and maybe minutes for larger areas, but maybe many minutes for regions or lines of weather that are severe in nature. In a boat, even a small cell can have wind gusts near it that will build multiple walls of water and push them out in all directions from the downburst center. Many times, in the tropics, there is so much abundant moisture, that they don't have to grow too big before they literally dump all of their energy at once and even maintain that state for hours in the same spot. The hard part in boats the size of ours, is that you just can't navigate far enough out of the way of these to be effective. Your average speed should be north of 20kts, yet the sea prevents you from maintaining that, going 10 miles south of a storm to avoid the downburst surface conditions will add over an hour to your fuel burn and maybe 20 extra miles to your trip. To have to avoid several on a 50 mile trip could easily double the distance. Without radar to look out far enough to anticipate, you are just disadvantaged beyond being able to deviate effectively. A single cell is one thing, multiple or general area thunderstorms are just impossible to navigate around in our craft...without much extra fuel. It then makes it necessary to just ride it out. I think @Julian has hit the nail on the head. Without a departure window of multiple days, that could not ever be open, it is just a risk to property and life, to force a bad position.

I am so glad that everyone is ok. It is easy to say "things can be repaired", and they can. I for one, would not put my boat in harms way intentionally. It would be such a hard decision, to say no, when I traveled so many miles and have set days to vacation. I know the feeling, as we have had the motorhome break down and ruin a vacation for us. It is hard for someone that has no ocean experience to make this decision, as they have no experience to gauge their decision making on. Plan B, must be a higher value option in the equation. We need to learn from our mistakes and experiences, and make our future plans safer...for everyone. I could go on and on, and what do I know? I'm just glad everyone is ok, and pray for a safe return for all of you.

I believe all the captains very seriously considered all the input available to them. Some turned back. Most have children with them and many ended up flying in.

The morning forecast was pretty favorable. The fuel issue caught many by surprise, this is true, but I don't think anyone made the decision to either cross or continue thinking that they were gambling with their lives to stay on schedule.

I've boated in salt water rougher than this for over 30 years and at no time did I think my family's lives were in danger (not more than any other ocean going small craft outing). But the truth is - there are dangers in boating and ocean boating. To stay home is the only way to avoid them all.

The thunderstorm we went through formed right before our very eyes. It may have been past the point of no return.

Anyhow, it's easy afterwards to make judgment. It's more difficult to compute decisions on the fly.

Whether by skill or dumb luck, we who crossed in those seas in these boats accomplished something and learned something. I feel that some may never do it again.

 

[Speedling]

Hmm. Maybe @JetBoatPilot can make us an emergency sail and mast

That's funny but i do actually keep a parasail style kite i can use to pull the boat SLOWLY but if going with wind the kite and the bimini up actually can get some distance quickly.

 

[Drift Away]

That's funny but i do actually keep a parasail style kite i can use to pull the boat SLOWLY but if going with wind the kite and the bimini up actually can get some distance quickly.

Damn now you tell me lol

 

[SoFla David]

I believe all the captains very seriously considered all the input available to them. Some turned back. Most have children with them and many ended up flying in.

The morning forecast was pretty favorable. The fuel issue caught many by surprise, this is true, but I don't think anyone made the decision to either cross or continue thinking that they were gambling with their lives to stay on schedule.

I've boated in salt water rougher than this for over 30 years and at no time did I think my family's lives were in danger (not more than any other ocean going small craft outing). But the truth is - there are dangers in boating and ocean boating. To stay home is the only way to avoid them all.

The thunderstorm we went through formed right before our very eyes. It may have been past the point of no return.

Anyhow, it's easy afterwards to make judgment. It's more difficult to compute decisions on the fly.

Whether by skill or dumb luck, we who crossed in those seas in these boats accomplished something and learned something. I feel that some may never do it again.

I think people also forget (or don't know) that when you are 15 miles out from the coast, you have no cell service. That means No current Radar, No forecast updates, no idea how large the storm is, how fast it's moving, or if there are more storms forming in front or behind you. All you have is the forecast info you read before you left, whatever your eyes can see, and your gut instinct.

A lot of it is all perspective also. I'm sure there were some that were shaken up last night and thinking "this was a bad idea and we're never doing it again". Yet I'm sure many of those people tonight, after settling down and enjoying a beautiful day at the island, have changed their perspective and are glad glad they came and already planning for next year.

 

[Edgar Almonte]

We took a beating to get here but today alone made it worth it!!!
For me this will definitely be a life long memory!

 

[robert843]

I feel that some may never do it again.

Many will though its funny how it always works out many during all the crossings say no way never again but then by the end of the week with a return crossing with following seas they start to think its not that bad. Then a month or so later after all the wounds have healed they start looking forward to next year.

 

[robert843]

I think people also forget (or don't know) that when you are 15 miles out from the coast, you have no cell service.

This has changed drastically in the last few years. The Bahamas probably has better cell coverage then we do here in the rural areas of the states. I do not recall last year on the Bimini section where or if I lost cell service but I can tell you this year that @1948Isaac had cellular service the entire 200 mile crossing from West Palm to Abaco. He used cellular data to play Pandora the entire trip across on his phone. Last year when coming back from Exuma I had coverage almost the entire 100 mile trip from Chub Cay to Bimini I never saw that I lost service but can't be sure that I didn't at some point but received about 6 text messages during that section of the trip.

 

[Bennie]

This has changed drastically in the last few years. The Bahamas probably has better cell coverage then we do here in the rural areas of the states. I do not recall last year on the Bimini section where or if I lost cell service but I can tell you this year that @1948Isaac had cellular service the entire 200 mile crossing from West Palm to Abaco. He used cellular data to play Pandora the entire trip across on his phone. Last year when coming back from Exuma I had coverage almost the entire 100 mile trip from Chub Cay to Bimini I never saw that I lost service but can't be sure that I didn't at some point but received about 6 text messages during that section of the trip.

That being said - is there a specific carrier that is better than others? Or do I need to call and buy an "extra" plan during our travels?
(we use Sprint)

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i just happened to log in this morning to see what i've been missing as i had forgotten this was the week you guys set out.
all day, i've been picturing @swatski overhead pressing his tower across the Atlantic and it has kept a smile on my face.

i sent an email telling my oldest friend how jealous i was to not experience the carnage this group did. intrigued, i then sent him a synopsis of all the "events" that happened during the crossing. he was reading it out loud to his wife in a hotel lobby and a few people stopped to listen in on it!
so to anyone who poo-poos on those that took the risk, be it upon themselves, or put on their willing crew or their naive children, i say "go suck it." you think anyone on the Oregon Trail cared to hear how stupid they were for trying to make a better life for themselves? Haha, okay maybe that's a bit extreme. you think anyone who quits their job and moves their family out of state with no promises of anything when they get there should give up their deep desire for change? try telling anyone who rides a garbage raft the same distance and lands it in Florida to be in a better country how stupid they are and see if they care.
so with all that in mind, i ask you, what good is living if you've never truly lived? take risks, experience those thrills, laugh like a maniac about them, and tell the stories that make you feel like a man in a world where everyone is treated like a child.

currently i'm back doing dumb things on very fast sportbikes again since i sold the boat. and as good as anyone, i know what the risks are in that stupid hobby. but that is where i feel truly alive, doing the things most people think too dangerous, finding my own limits, and trying to outdo my buddies. so to anyone that braved those seas, you are my friggin hero! it was certainly an unnecessary risk, but it was an experience few will ever forget and people will be eager to hear the stories for years to come.


an anecdote:
years ago, my gf and i got lost in the Nantahala National Forest during a fall hike where our (my) directions got mixed up near the "point of no return." we went the wrong way for at least an hour and never saw another human being or vehicle that entire excursion. we were out of food, out of water, no flashlight, no matches, no shelter, and did not have enough clothes for how cold and damp that night was going to be. there was a point where i knew we weren't going to make it back before dark ...if we were going to even make it back that night at all. and i'll tell you this: that is when i started to really enjoy that hike! that was the thrill for me, to beat those odds. she's short, so i carried her on my back up stairs the Army Corp of Engineers had carved into the mountain and carried her through waist-high freezing water (no time to find a way around) as to not slow us down. i felt like an animal (i was in much better shape then), but it was almost easy because it was necessary. by some miracle we found the car an hour after total sundown (100% pitch black) and i said, "ok, now THAT was fun!" shivering, she wasn't amused in the least. i told her about you guys today and she brought that story up, "sounds like something you'd enjoy, you weirdo."

 

[robert843]

@Bennie Im on sprint as well sprint worked on all the islands including Bimimi you will get a text message from sprint when you connect on a BTC tower for the first time letting you know you are now using BTC and that your unlimited data and text messages still apply but phone calls are 10 cents per minute. Nothing needed to be done. Once again I can't confirm how far you will have service as I didn't pay attention last year when returning from Bimini. I can tell you when I got to Bimini in 2015 I had several text messages that where from during the crossing and the times on those would indicate I had service for a fair amount of time off of ft lauderdale

 

[Valerie]

Pi

At noon I will have a pepperoni hot pocket for lunch at work, followed by a boring slow long commute home filled with idiot drivers at 4:00pm and I'll be in bed by 10pm.

Yea I'd say y'all are livin it up down there!

pictures! Or it never happened!!!

 

[Valerie]

My bet is 25% won't do it again
25% are already planning what they will do differently
The rest are already signed up for next years crossing

I think people also forget (or don't know) that when you are 15 miles out from the coast, you have no cell service. That means No current Radar, No forecast updates, no idea how large the storm is, how fast it's moving, or if there are more storms forming in front or behind you. All you have is the forecast info you read before you left, whatever your eyes can see, and your gut instinct.

A lot of it is all perspective also. I'm sure there were some that were shaken up last night and thinking "this was a bad idea and we're never doing it again". Yet I'm sure many of those people tonight, after settling down and enjoying a beautiful day at the island, have changed their perspective and are glad glad they came and already planning for next year.

 

[biminibrad]

What does not kill you makes you wiser, or so they say!

 

[MazzyDan]

My bet is 25% won't do it again
25% are already planning what they will do differently
The rest are already signed up for next years crossing

Oh where do I sign up for next year. I'm defiantly in. Is there a 2018 thread started already.

 

[Majorsmackdown]

Reminds me of Kentucky Fried Movie.

High Adventure !

 

[Betik]

Maybe we got to wait until everyone is back in the US safely before reach conclusions.

For the record @swatski was not laughing. 2 days now I have not seem him crack a single smile. He is being a very good sport about it, but defiantly not laughing.

 

[Majorsmackdown]

@swatski has a broken tower. It's big and heavy and expensive. That's a serious issue to deal with especially far from home. He's also a perfectionist and doesn't like seeing his new boat banged up. That said - he's a trooper and not letting this wreck his family vacation. He's rightfully upset but righteously still gonna have fun !

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

Enjoy your time there, for people arm chair quarterbacking, live these miles in their shoes! I applaud them for making the trip, they had no idea of the thunderstorms in their way, they pushed through, some turned around, and in the end they are all safe.