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Old 12-30-2017, 07:22 PM   #276
boater3
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City: Z
Vessel Model: tbd
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 1,027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donsan View Post
There is no intracoastal from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs. You can hug the coast but you will be dealing with skinny water, bars, and crabpots. Not sure what changes Irma has made but Steinhatchee, Cedar Key and Crystal River used to be places you could duck in and spend a night. It is a challenging trip at this time of year and waiting 2-3 weeks or more for a weather window is not uncommon.

Given your lack of knowledge of the route, it might be best to hire a delivery captain to do the whole trip.
I guess I was too focused on the TX to NOLA part, hadn't charted the rest of the route yet except for a quick mileage estimate. Didn't know there were so many locks I'd have to pass through to get to NOLA. Anyone know if these are open 24x7 or have limited hours? The USACE web page for Louisiana locks seems to be malfunctioning and I can't find any other information online.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ranger42c View Post
A schedule adds a layer of complexity to almost all boat trips.

A tight schedule and a long distance adds another order of magnitude of complexity.

A tight schedule for a long-distance trip on a new-to-you boat, new-to-you route, whatever speed zones you might encounter... would be a bridge way too far, for me.

The delivery captain idea might be worth some additional exploring, even for parts of the trip you can make at a manageable pace. Cap'n could then carry on even when you have to leave.

Or... maybe break the delivery into separate legs. Take the boat part way, stop, go home, return for the later leg(s) later.

??

-Chris
I know its aggressive. As long as I can get the boat to Florida I suppose I can fly down for a long weekend to get it to JAX. The alternative is trusting a delivery captain with my new girl or having her trucked across to the east coast of florida at a cost of probably 2x+ what it would cost me to do myself via water. I still have 1,000 miles from JAX to the North East. 2,500 miles to cover...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ski in NC View Post
Yep, the weather gods frown on tight boat schedules. Especially in feb when fronts are marching through.

Might get lucky, but have a backup plan if things get snotty.

My bud took a 47 from NC to SFL on a schedule last week. Got beat up.

I took a 58 on same trip in Oct and got beat up.

Back up plan is key.
I am curious what beat up means? I don't need the smoothest ride but don't want a broken neck either..

Quote:
Originally Posted by High Wire View Post
Scope out a couple places to bail with nearby airports if you get boxed up. Here is a few:
Marina Jacks, Sarasota - Sarasota Bradenton airport nearby
City of Ft Myers Yacht Basin -Southwest Regional (RSW) airport nearby
Sunset Bay Marina - Stuart - West Palm Beach airport about 25 miles.
Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona Beach - Daytona Beach International

The second worse than the weather this time of year is the short daylight. Sunrise to sunset plus 1/2 hour on each end is pushing it to the max. Today is a little over 10 hours of light.
Yes, I was thinking of not booking my return flight until I make it to FL and have a better sense as to how things are going.

Day light should be 11 hours in February plus the 30 mins on either end gives me 12 hours. I was going to aim for a max of 10 hours per day of running time but 2 hours contingency.

Quote:
Originally Posted by O C Diver View Post
You don't specify the size of the boat, but most of this will apply regardless.

A lot of the weather patterns during the winter have a southern component . Waves have a long way to travel up the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the waves can come from hundreds of miles away. These waves / large swells give you a beam sea. If there is another weather pattern with winds from the North or East, you end up with a confused sea ( waves from 2 or more directions ). When the wave crests meet at your bow, the waves are much bigger. Doing this crossing in a confused sea is referred to as the washing machine as you get bounced around by waves from different directions. While cruising through these conditions can be done, you would need a very large boat to maintain 20+ knots, and the fatigue factor for 7 hours would be horrific.

Generally the weather window requires a number of days without winds from SE, S, or SW to let the seas calm down and 36 hours without significant winds from the NE or E.

As already mentioned, there is no GICW from Carrabelle to Tarpon Springs. Most Loopers wait at Carrabelle or Panama city for the window. Determining safe weather is very dependent on boat and crew. As you will be 75+ miles from land and the weather has been known to deteriorate, a forecast of 2' seas is the limit for many Loopers.

Ted
45'

I chatted with a couple delivery captains and they both brushed off weather in mid-to-late February saying its worse now and will be OK then. I don't know if that was them just trying to close the deal. I agree, beam sea the whole trip, plus confused waves, will not be pleasant at all.

What speed wind is tolerable? Is there a good buoy or weather site to help me plan for this crossing?


Thank you all for the input!
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