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

[Sbrown]

d stuff which is good because if the wind is out of the south at 15-20 mph, you can probably be fine! But 5 mph out of the north... not so much!
Just gotta know the water and how it works, so I like watching how the weather works down there.

From what I've been reading about crossing the Gulf Stream, wind direction is very important. Most of what I've read says to avoid crossing with the wind out of the North. A southerly wind isn't supposed to be as bad.

 

[Betik]

I'm still concerned with the DURATION of the crossing if it's bad, not so much just if it's bad. I mean, we can all handle big water for like 30 minutes, but a few hours? sheesh! I should start saying my prayers now!
.

Let me outline this very bluntly

• if you go through 30 minutes of hell sure as hell you do not want to turn around and go back to that hell. A very internalizing idea especially when your engines cut off but not a realistic option if you ask me.
• I promise you this, at worse case scenario you only need to suffer for 5 hours. At the 5 hour mark, you either are resting at Bimini Sands or you are drifting towards Iceland.

Besides @Edgar Almonte daughter I have not heard of anybody saying that they enjoyed the 2017 crossing.

 

[Betik]

From what I've been reading about crossing the Gulf Stream, wind direction is very important. Most of what I've read says to avoid crossing with the wind out of the North. A southerly wind isn't supposed to be as bad.

If I recall correctly in 2017 it was coming from the north with zigzag pattern

 

[robert843]

My crew will probably be in the front of the boat waiting for us to get air! They usually LOVE the big waves to the point where I gotta pull them back for safety! It's ME that will probably get annoyed with it due to the duration! I mean, cmon, that's gotta be stressful!
Sure, I"ve seen 6' waves before, but they were rollers, NOT chop! I've seen chop that came over the sides of my boat and had to head directly into it in order to not get swamped, and that is on a very small lake!
Just because you have seen it, doesn't mean you're ready to deal with it for 2-3 hours! I guess there is only one choice once out there... go ahead, or go back!

I will check out Sail Flow.
Lake Michigan has people that have made apps strictly for the south shore and stuff which is good because if the wind is out of the south at 15-20 mph, you can probably be fine! But 5 mph out of the north... not so much!
Just gotta know the water and how it works, so I like watching how the weather works down there.

Yes rough conditions are stressful due to the extended duration as a captain. If your crew loves big waves they will have a blast even in great conditions you will be airborne whole boat out of the water likely 50-100 times on the crossing in rough conditions it will be too many times to count. My comments on getting the crew across another way came from my 2015 experience when we got there my wife looked at me and said no way never again though she never complained on the trip across. I don't think it was the conditions but a 4 plus hour crossing takes a toll on the whole crew she then didn't really enjoy the week as much as she should of due to dreading the return crossing. I have since flew her to Abaco and plan to fly her this year as it will make my trip more enjoyable. She has talked about wanting to cross this year but its only because she knows I won't have any more 4 hour crossings if get out and conditions appear to be that way I will turn around and depart at another time.

 

[Sbrown]

...if conditions appear to be that way I will turn around and depart at another time.

I feel the same way.

 

[Betik]

I feel the same way.

I had this exact plan. Good luck making good with it.

 

[Sbrown]

I had this exact plan. Good luck making good with it.

Easier said than done, yes? Lol

 

[robert843]

I had this exact plan. Good luck making good with it.

I have no issues making good with it and have done it before but I also know what is a 4 hour trip for some is a 3 hour trip for me and vice versus. If I can't maintain a 20+ mph pace I'm nothing but a danger to myself and others out there and thats not fair to anyone including myself and I would know that I need to turn around. Now that said the first few miles out especially if you don't leave Port Everglades and head a little north or little south to get out of the current from the channel will be rough and may require a slower pace then that but if you get 5 miles offshore and are running 15-18 mph thats a sign its not a good day to be running. I can understand the hesitation though but the best example I can give is 2015 we got maybe two miles offshore a boat became disabled and then a second one did a mile or so further out due to conditions and the whole group returned to Port Everglades as it was the correct move at the time for safety reasons.

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

I feel the same way.

It's easier said than done. At what point do you say turn around? Say last year 1 hour in you're only 25% there. Turn back? Or the wind slows and you can get to Bimini in another 2 hours? Who knows?

This year we're bring a 7 yr old, maybe 2, seas won't be a question. It'll be smooth or nothing

 

[robert843]

This year we're bring a 7 yr old, maybe 2, seas won't be a question. It'll be smooth or nothing

It's funny a lot of time kids can handle the rough conditions better then the adults. In 2015 my at the time 7 year old basically slept the entire way during both crossings in fact on the return trip she didn't wake up till we were in Ft Lauderdale and was a little disoriented by that she woke up on the crossing over and got seas sick and then went back to sleep. My one year old is a trooper @1948Isaac said while we were in Abaco that he handled the chop better than most adults on his boat and he could roll with air Isaac anytime lol as he did the same the entire time the boat was moving he pretty much slept and would only wake up when we stopped. The tough part of crossing with kids on this trip is you pretty much need a 1 to 1 ratio to keep things safe should an emergency situation arise you really need one adult per kid on board to make sure they are taken care of.

 

[Lowstar]

I updated the registration info and compared it to condo bookings this morning.

I found a few discrepancies that hopefully you can help me correct.

@blacksapphirez, @Pantelis, @JerseyYami, @Lowstar I did not find condo reservations for your units.

There are condos reserved under the names of;

1. MATTHEW APPLEBAUM
2. MARCUS THOMPSON
3. XIOMARA MAYSONET
4. MICHAEL HENSCHEL
5. PATRICIA MERSHON
6. JOHN WADDELL

that I do not have sufficient information to associate with registrations.

If you know these people please let me know which registration they are associated with.

If you have not registered please do so at https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2018-registration-july-9th-to-14th.6/respond

@Xiomara Maysonet, I suspect some of these are your friends.

I also updated the first post to reflect all registrations. Currently we are up to 25 vessels for the crossing.

Hay

I updated the registration info and compared it to condo bookings this morning.

I found a few discrepancies that hopefully you can help me correct.

@blacksapphirez, @Pantelis, @JerseyYami, @Lowstar I did not find condo reservations for your units.

There are condos reserved under the names of;

1. MATTHEW APPLEBAUM
2. MARCUS THOMPSON
3. XIOMARA MAYSONET
4. MICHAEL HENSCHEL
5. PATRICIA MERSHON
6. JOHN WADDELL

that I do not have sufficient information to associate with registrations.

If you know these people please let me know which registration they are associated with.

If you have not registered please do so at https://jetboaters.net/forms/bimini-2018-registration-july-9th-to-14th.6/respond

@Xiomara Maysonet, I suspect some of these are your friends.

I also updated the first post to reflect all registrations. Currently we are up to 25 vessels for the crossing.

hay Bruce , lowstar and me (Michael Henschel) are one in the same...... I think, yup definitely

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

It's funny a lot of time kids can handle the rough conditions better then the adults. In 2015 my at the time 7 year old basically slept the entire way during both crossings in fact on the return trip she didn't wake up till we were in Ft Lauderdale and was a little disoriented by that she woke up on the crossing over and got seas sick and then went back to sleep. My one year old is a trooper @1948Isaac said while we were in Abaco that he handled the chop better than most adults on his boat and he could roll with air Isaac anytime lol as he did the same the entire time the boat was moving he pretty much slept and would only wake up when we stopped. The tough part of crossing with kids on this trip is you pretty much need a 1 to 1 ratio to keep things safe should an emergency situation arise you really need one adult per kid on board to make sure they are taken care of.

That's very encouraging! I don't want to ruin the water for this young man. When he first came into my life (2 years ago) he was scared to death of waves. Now he's yelling "GO FASTER".

 

[Speedling]

Let me outline this very bluntly

• if you go through 30 minutes of hell sure as hell you do not want to turn around and go back to that hell. A very internalizing idea especially when your engines cut off but not a realistic option if you ask me.
• I promise you this, at worse case scenario you only need to suffer for 5 hours. At the 5 hour mark, you either are resting at Bimini Sands or you are drifting towards Iceland.

Besides @Edgar Almonte daughter I have not heard of anybody saying that they enjoyed the 2017 crossing.

(Looking up weather and boating in Iceland in July...)

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

It's easier said than done. At what point do you say turn around? Say last year 1 hour in you're only 25% there. Turn back? Or the wind slows and you can get to Bimini in another 2 hours? Who knows?

This year we're bring a 7 yr old, maybe 2, seas won't be a question. It'll be smooth or nothing

I think you're absolutely correct but I do think that decision is easier to identify and make the more times you cross. I'm not sure if being on a ski is different or if my time on the water isn't enough to make a blanket statement, but I personally think I can tell within the first 15 or 20 minutes how the crossing is going to be. At least crossing the gulf stream, I've never experienced a massive shift in sea conditions in a short 55 mile crossing. For me if I come out of the inlet and can only run 15mph or less, I personally think it's just best to turn around unless I'm good with getting my butt kicked for an extra hour or so. I may be willing to do that, but I'll know its coming. I'm sure others will disagree completely, but again that's my perspective from a ski and it could be different on a boat. I do not plan on making a 4+ hour crossing. I can't say I wouldn't do it (as I have before) but it shouldn't be more then 3hrs for my personal preference. Now last year, I believe it took us a full 3 hours from Miami and I thought it was the sloppiest and most unpredictable/annoying crossing I've had to date. I could be wrong, but I think the few that came back last year, regrouped, and left again later that day did not regret it.

Laying down seems to make the crossing much easier. I've seen my daughter do that and I know Isaac's wife and teenage daughter does as well.

 

[Sbrown]

I don't see this as a big difficult decision. As @Ramblin Wreck said, an experienced captain should be able to make a decision within a few (15 or 20) minutes. I don't see a need to tough it out for an hour then make a decision; at that point you've already pretty much committed in my mind. I'm not exactly a newbie like some here, I've been around boats since I was born and I'm 48 now. I grew up boating the Chesapeake in an old 16ft alumnacraft and I've been out in the ocean many times. I'm quite confident that between the hearing the weather forecast and seeing actual conditions, I can make the right decision quickly. I'm not even concerned. Not trying to brag or anything, just being honest.

 

[Bruce]

Throwing in my thoughts in random order;

• Typically the water is rougher on the Florida side of the stream.
• The mouth of Port Everglades is almost always the roughest that will be experienced.
• It is most unfortunate that there are no wave buoys in the area.
• The weather forecast is significantly less accurate when the weather station is down in Bimini.
• Weather conditions can change quickly in the stream.
• Kids are fine, they bounce well. You can see in my videos that they handle the crossing much better than adults.
• The back row of seats is the best place to sit.
• Laying down does spread out the impact.
• Standing without locking the knees is likely the best position for the captain.
• The farther you get the more difficult it is to decide to turn back.
• At some point, determined by fuel usage, you have gone too far to turn back.
• There is always hope that water conditions will improve ahead of you and they normally do.
• You know the beating you have already taken and are unlikely to want to repeat it.
• Unless you turn back within the first five miles you are unlikely to do so.
• Turning back within the first two miles may be a decision influenced by the tidal current at the port.
• Several of us have turned back, refueled and gone back out only to find rougher water the second time.
• You know that you will enjoy Bimini once you arrive despite the rough crossing.
• Some of those that have made rough crossings choose to do so again.

In summary, turning back is not an easy decision.

 

[swatski]

Throwing in my thoughts in random order;

• Typically the water is rougher on the Florida side of the stream.
• The mouth of Port Everglades is almost always the roughest that will be experienced.
• It is most unfortunate that there are no wave buoys in the area.
• The weather forecast is significantly less accurate when the weather station is down in Bimini.
• Weather conditions can change quickly in the stream.
• Kids are fine, they bounce well. You can see in my videos that they handle the crossing much better than adults.
• The back row of seats is the best place to sit.
• Laying down does spread out the impact.
• Standing without locking the knees is likely the best position for the captain.
• The farther you get the more difficult it is to decide to turn back.
• At some point, determined by fuel usage, you have gone too far to turn back.
• There is always hope that water conditions will improve ahead of you and they normally do.
• You know the beating you have already taken and are unlikely to want to repeat it.
• Unless you turn back within the first five miles you are unlikely to do so.
• Turning back within the first two miles may be a decision influenced by the tidal current at the port.
• Several of us have turned back, refueled and gone back out only to find rougher water the second time.
• You know that you will enjoy Bimini once you arrive despite the rough crossing.
• Some of those that have made rough crossings choose to do so again.

In summary, turning back is not an easy decision.

I would add to this - some very small storm cells can form quickly off shore of the FL strait and are completely unpredictable unless you are equipped w/radar in your vessel and can look those up close.

—

 

[Betik]

I would add to this - some very small storm cells can form quickly off shore of the FL strait and are completely unpredictable unless you are equipped w/radar in your vessel and can look those up close.—

Hence, the drive to PA to pick up a tower for my boat, now only if my wife could let me pull $3,000 of of my kids college fund.

 

[BBottoms]

Hence, the drive to PA to pick up a tower for my boat, now only if my wife could let me pull $3,000 of of my kids college fund.

Are you considering installing a radar? I'm not saying it hasn't crossed my mind since I now have a radar capable chartplotter but I have zero use for it 99.999% of the time, haha. If only there was a place you could rent them reasonably.

 

[swatski]

You can have it all in one small package, AIS, radar, and live satellite weather w/GPS/chartplotter overlay, plus sonar.