Bahamas Trip Planning

0

04winger

New Member
Oct 5, 2008
11
East Prairie
Boat Info
280 Sea Ray
Engines
Twin 5.0 Mercruiser Bravo III Drives
I'm all new to open sea cruising, so can everyone out there give me some ideas what I need to know and carry in the boat (safety equipment and other stuff) to cruise from Miami FL to the Bahamas? We will be going in our new 280 with twin 5.0's sometime next June, it does have a Garmin 5??? V2 series plotter,radar,xm weather. I just really need to get educated by some people here that does it!
Thanks for any help!!
 
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1. EPIRB
2. Life Raft
3. Ditch Bag (with appropriate stuff in it)
4. Paper charts (Maptech has chartkits for the Bahamas)
5. Spare parts
 
I would also add a buddy boat. If you run into bad weather or big seas, you'll be pushing the range of the 280.
 
Watch the sea conditions. The 280 has a limited range. I made the run from Ft Lauderdale to Bimini several years ago in a 280 w/ twin 4.3s. Conditions were rough. We arrived beat up and on fumes.
 
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The Bahamas Tourist Agency runs 4 Bahama "Flings" from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini as well as from Fort Lauderdale to Port Lucaya. I went last year and will go again this year. If you are interested, PM me and I'll get you in touch with them. We had about 20 boats go over and we all had a blast!

Barry
 
It appears that you don't actually own a boat so your question is hypothetical.

Any boat you buy is going to need significant shakedown before you go offshore. This is shakedown for both the boat and the crew! You have not clewed us in to where you are located or how much boating/mechanical experience you have. These are important factors, but even the most experienced mariner will take several months to fully vet a new vessel before going offshore. Remember "new" stands for never, ever worked.

Some steps you should take in your shakedown process include:
Running all systems for extended periods.
Sleeping on the boat for an extended period to witness any intermittent problems like pumps cycling that you might not notice on day cruise.
Running offshore in varying sea conditions with your regular crew to get a feel for how the boat and crew handle.
Develop a comprehensive list of things that could go wrong and what you would do - on your own and away from help - to deal with them. (how would you clean a raw water strainer while the engines are hot, with 1 running, in a 4' sea?)
Build a set of appropriate tools and spares and know how to use them.
Get the right safety equipment - including a sea anchor, jack lines and all the stuff Gary listed.

As previously suggested, there is some safety in numbers. Find a friend or group who have made the trip before and will advise you on local conditions, make the trip with you and stand-by in case you have problems.

Just a few things to think about off the top of my head.
 
You asked "what you need to know"...

What "you need to know" is all of your boat's systems and how they work, and experience in open water boat handling and navigation.
How much experience will you have operating the boat- in less than ideal conditions- before making the trip?

You gotta learn to walk before you run. A gulf stream crossing is not to be taken lightly.
 
Sea Gull said:
It appears that you don't actually own a boat so your question is hypothetical.

Any boat you buy is going to need significant shakedown before you go offshore. This is shakedown for both the boat and the crew! You have not clewed us in to where you are located or how much boating/mechanical experience you have. These are important factors, but even the most experienced mariner will take several months to fully vet a new vessel before going offshore. Remember "new" stands for never, ever worked.

Some steps you should take in your shakedown process include:
Running all systems for extended periods.
Sleeping on the boat for an extended period to witness any intermittent problems like pumps cycling that you might not notice on day cruise.
Running offshore in varying sea conditions with your regular crew to get a feel for how the boat and crew handle.
Develop a comprehensive list of things that could go wrong and what you would do - on your own and away from help - to deal with them. (how would you clean a raw water strainer while the engines are hot, with 1 running, in a 4' sea?)
Build a set of appropriate tools and spares and know how to use them.
Get the right safety equipment - including a sea anchor, jack lines and all the stuff Gary listed.

As previously suggested, there is some safety in numbers. Find a friend or group who have made the trip before and will advise you on local conditions, make the trip with you and stand-by in case you have problems.

Just a few things to think about off the top of my head.
Click to expand...

Really, really good advice above.
 
Gary,

I was curious, how do you fit a real life raft on a 280 (the boat the author mentioned using)? I don't mean this to be sarcastic, I'm really asking - is there a compact life raft that would fit on that sized boat (if so I want one)?

Regards,
Jason
 
You can get a decent life raft and it's the size of a cooler.... 2 x 1 x 1 feet

You don't have to carry it around inflated.

I actually think every boat (even a bow rider) should have a life raft on it... like a fire extinguisher. Boat manufacturers could put them embedded in the back seat and make them standard equipment... but I digress.
 
Thanks Jim. Two questions:

- It says "Coastal Compact is not recommended for offshore use.", isn't going to the
Bahamas from Miami offshore?

- how/where do you get something like this serviced (I noticed it said service every two years)?

I'm looking at life raft options (also for a Stuart, Fla to Bahamas run) so I appreciate all the feedback.

Regards,
Jason
 
Hi Stan:

I concur with most of the other comments and you need to get some experience. A run to the Bahamas is not the same as running a few miles offshore near the inlet. We made 2 runs to the Bahamas out of Ft. Lauderdale this summer, had a blast too. Be aware that Bimini is the closest island to Miami, about 45 miles if I recall correctly, and you will be out of sight of land for an hour or so. The Gulf Stream crossing is not to be taken lightly, the conditions change quickly out there and you should make the trip with at least another boat or preferably with a group.

The next issue would be your range/fuel capacity. I looked at the specs for your boat and it has a 100 gal. fuel capacity. Bimini is within your range but I believe the other islands are out of reach for you. When planning a trip you should always reserve 1/3 of your fuel supply as a safety reserve. Even to Bimini, if the weather kicks up I imagine you could easily use 60 gals of fuel. Fuel is available in Bimini but it is not cheap, this summer we paid $6 a gal for gas in Bimini, that was over $2 per gal more than in the US.

Finally, I would take Barry's suggestion and go on one of the Bahamas sponsored trips. They seem to attract a nice crowd and you'll have a bunch of more experienced boaters along with you. I'm not sure where you live but if you are in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area there are number of us who get together from time to time, send me a PM and I'll let you know when and where.

Ray
 
We have been to Bimini this year and the Abacos in 2006. The Bahamas are not out of range for that boat. Yes you have to watch the weather and true you things can kick up quickly but not enough quickly enough to force you to use up your fuel load. Thunderstorm come and go and the seas will get angry but that rarely last a long time in the summers in FL. I would also agree you should look for others to go but your boat will make it on fuel.

Fully loaded boat, 3 people full fuel water, I use 18GPH at 30MPH. 100x.85(safety margin)=85 gallons of fuel to use. (Actually I called the manufacturer of the fuel tank and talked to the engineers and the tanks actually hold 110 gallons but lets on worry about that right now). So 85 gallons to use. 85/18=4.72 hours of running. 4.72x30=141 miles with 15 gallon reserve still left in the tank. These equations have worked time and time again while we run our 280 from FL to the Bahamas and south FL multiple times per year. So, yes, your 280 will make it on fuel.
 
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