Med-Yacht

MY wife and I are buying a 62' Med Yacht, and are planning to live aboard, on Clear Lake TX with access to the Gulf. We have sold our home and gotten rid of many things and put some in storage. Currently we are living in a hotel waiting for our boat to be ready. we must bring it over from Tampa to Galveston. Has anyone done this trip directly across the gulf?

We have not made that trip. So there is no advice I can offer to you.Other than you better get going before hurricanes get here. What marina will you be staying in with such a large yacht?

Seabrook Marina. In the fall they will be opening a new floating covered dock that will hold up to 62'.

That is where we are. It is not that fancy. But it is convenient. And its deep water all year

look forward to meeting ya'll in the near future.

I did that trip a couple of years ago in a sailboat in late April. It was perfect with 20 kts of wind on our starboard quarter all the way and 3-4' seas. But it all depends on when you go. I don't think I would try that trip in August-October.

Straight across the gulf means that you are a solid day from a port if a storm pops up. How would you monitor weather? I wouldn't trust any forecast more than 48 hours out and that trip is at least 4 days.

If you don't have significant blue water experience and the equipment to go with it, why not hug the coast and stay within 50 miles of shore? Or bounce from port to port along the way. There are some nice stops in the Florida panhandle and Mobile Bay. It would add maybe a day to the passage and give you some options to bail out if the weather turns south. You could probably pick up NOAA weather on the VHF some of the time.

The downside is that you will pass hundreds of oil rigs in Lousiana and Texas waters. You will sure need good radar at night.

David

Growing up in south Louisiana and spending much of my time fishing offshore, I am aware of the oil rig situation. Weather is my major concern. I am hoping to avoid any tropical disturbances with at least a 6 day window. The gulf should be relatively calm in late May/ early June.
2 of my crew members will have made the trip before, albeit in sail boats.

Yes, but not straight across. Kinda curved with the coast. I think max distance was 200 nm. The boat I was in had to fuel daily. Nice trip. Only stayed at a dock one night because of weather.

Made the trip both ways but in a sailboat. Once in the oil rig area we stayed in the fairways. I wouldn't trust radar to pick up some of the structures.

On both trips while out in the open water we encountered a survey ship, at night of course, towing sonar buoys behind them on mile long cables. Both times they hailed us on VHF and gave course corrections to avoid the cables and buoys.

Bob