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Subject: Re: [worldcruising] Re: looking for a boat
From: Rosalie B. (gmbeasley@XXX.XXX)
Date: Fri Aug 03 2001 - 20:19:30 EDT
On Fri, 03 Aug 2001 09:27:18 -0400, you wrote:
>gmbeasley@XXX.XXX wrote:
>>
>> If you are living in south FL, there isn't much place to sail unless you
>> are up in the Indian River area (not offshore) or fairly far down in the
>> Keys. In the Keys (or the west coast), unless you have a pretty shallow
>> draft, you are going to be restricted to the Hawk Channel, and there's
>> virtually no place to anchor along there until you get down to Boot Key
>> Harbor (Marathon). The Gulf coast is also pretty shallow.
>
>?What about Biscayne Bay? I'm looking out there right now. Great wind, flat conditions, clean water, lots of places to anchor and swim. Draft is not a big problem if under 7'. I draw almost 6' and never run aground, except when I'm getting bold about getting into someplace very skinny. Marina space is a little tight these days, but slips can be found. The bahamas are less than 50 miles away.
We felt that drawing 5' that the water was too skinny to get down the ICW
on the west side of the Keys to Marathon. Particularly because of the wind
tides. My SIL goes all over that area without charts and rarely has a
problem, but he was raised there.
The best sailing we had was coming back from Ft. Jefferson - a wonderful
day with 15 to 25 knots of wind. Was a little hairy on the way down
though, with big square waves coming past Rebecca Shoal (? can't remember
the name for sure). About 4 hours of rolling back and forth.
And we also did a nice day trip down to Stiltsville with the family (in
Biscayne Bay) and sailed down and back. But that wasn't a 3 day trip.
The main problem with the Miami Ft.Lauderdale area (or anywhere in So. FL)
IMHO is the plethora of crazy sports fishermen, and the lack of good all
weather inlets.
As far as marinas go - I know someone that lives aboard at Dinner Key and
it is nice, but in the winter dock space for transients is almost
non-existant, and live aboard slips are pretty tight. Some marinas
wouldn't even talk to us because we were over 36 feet.
>
>> If you are talking about going to the Bahamas for a 3 day weekend, forget
>> it. A sailboat is too slow for that to be an option. It will take you the
>> most part of 24 hours to get there and ditto to get back. All you'd be
>> able to do is rest up for the return trip. If that's what you would like
>> to do, a power boat (and I don't mean a trawler) is much more practical.
>
>Too slow? I do it all the time. Leave on Thursday night. Crossings have taken me 8 to 14 hours, but average 12 which puts me in to Bimini early Friday. Clear customs and either stay in Bimini, or sail down to Dollar Hbr. at South Cat Cay. Return Sunday morning which pits me back in Miami Sunday night. Most of my crossings, including a few in less than ideal weather, have been with only one other person on board. I wouldn't recommend this in the winder if yours is a lightly constructed
>boat.
If you leave on THursday and come back Sunday, that is more than 3 days.
That is 4 nights. We don't have as much experience as you do, but going
over took us 18 hours (because we had an east wind - was supposed to be
from the south - from Miami to Bimini), and coming back (from Lucaya to
Miami) was also about 18 hours (would have been shorter to Lauderdale).
If you don't leave until Friday evening (because you have to work Friday,
you will get in on Sat early after having been awake all night, and have to
leave Sunday, and will get back to Miami Sunday night, in time to go to
work Monday morning. I wouldn't want to be your employer.
Plus you can't count on having good weather, appropriate wind for the
weekend.
Whereas with any decent motor boat it will take about 2 hours.
grandma Rosalie
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