Power cat from Stuart, Fla. through the Bahamas to USVI

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Llerrad

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Dec 24, 2023
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Hi. I am new to this group. I will be on a 65' 25' beam Malcolm Tennant designed power Cat. She holds 2,500 gals of diesel. She is powered by twin 650 hp diesel engines. Probably island hopping through the bahamas. Where in the Bahamas would be the last place to take on fuel before running to the USVI? I know we will be running right into the trade winds. Planning on leaving Florida around February 10th or so. Thank you...
 
I'll guess that not many have made that run (I have not). If I were looking for that information, I'd start with NoForeignLand (NFL). NFL is a decent source for this type of information. Showing Providencialies in T&C as having diesel - $8.10/gal this past April (2024). Definitely want to contact them to assure they can supply enough diesel for your needs ----- and don't be too disappointed if you have to wait days/weeks.


Nice boat - I would think Sportfisher's make this run quite a bit. Not sure the best forum to ping them though -

Peter
 
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I'll guess that not many have made that run (I have not). If I were looking for that information, I'd start with NoForeignLand (NFL). NFL is a decent source for this type of information. Showing Providencialies in T&C as having diesel - $8.10/gal this past April (2024). Definitely want to contact them to assure they can supply enough diesel for your needs ----- and don't be too disappointed if you have to wait days/weeks.


Nice boat - I would think Sportfisher's make this run quite a bit. Not sure the best forum to ping them though -

Peter
Thank you for the info Peter. From the looks of things out in the north Atlantic and the tradewinds I'm thinking of taking the Windward passage and traveling south of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and coming into St. Thomas from the south
 
Made that run years ago. Georgetown is probably the best last place in Bahamas for fuel. Turk Caicos is another place further down. Then a big run to the PR. Lots of wind that time of year. Have fun.
 
Hi. I am new to this group. I will be on a 65' 25' beam Malcolm Tennant designed power Cat. She holds 2,500 gals of diesel. She is powered by twin 650 hp diesel engines. Probably island hopping through the bahamas. Where in the Bahamas would be the last place to take on fuel before running to the USVI? I know we will be running right into the trade winds. Planning on leaving Florida around February 10th or so. Thank you...
Nice boat!
Which of the MT 20s do you own? Current name of the vessel? Previous? Vintage? Place of build?
Sorry, no help with your question as I am a West Coaster. But I am partial to your boat, I own a 2009 version of it named DOMINO.
 
Nice boat!
Which of the MT 20s do you own? Current name of the vessel? Previous? Vintage? Place of build?
Sorry, no help with your question as I am a West Coaster. But I am partial to your boat, I own a 2009 version of it named DOMINO.
It used to be named Rhumba out of Ft Sturat Fla.(that is where she is now undergoing a refit. Current name is Achilles. Getting ready to go through the Bahamas, spend a few months in the Caribbean, then down to Panama, up the Eastern Pacific and ending up in Loretto, Baja..I have heard of the adventures of Domino. Nicely done..Rhumba was built in 2008. I live in San Diego
 
Nice boat!
Which of the MT 20s do you own? Current name of the vessel? Previous? Vintage? Place of build?
Sorry, no help with your question as I am a West Coaster. But I am partial to your boat, I own a 2009 version of it named DOMINO.
Do you know Bart LeConey? He was looking for a MT cat and I remember he saw you boat.
 

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It used to be named Rhumba out of Ft Sturat Fla.(that is where she is now undergoing a refit. Current name is Achilles. Getting ready to go through the Bahamas, spend a few months in the Caribbean, then down to Panama, up the Eastern Pacific and ending up in Loretto, Baja..I have heard of the adventures of Domino. Nicely done..Rhumba was built in 2008. I live in San Diego
Well...seems like an adventure worthy of the vessel and a vessel worthy of the adventure. Welcome aboard.
Yep, I have met Bart......
 
Thank you for the info Peter. From the looks of things out in the north Atlantic and the tradewinds I'm thinking of taking the Windward passage and traveling south of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and coming into St. Thomas from the south
Not a very popular path to go. Everyone goes north of the DR for a bunch of good reasons then travel the south coast of PR as there aren't really any stops on the North side except San Juan. You can get fuel in Georgetown, then Crooked Island, then Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos, Puerto Plata, DR after a stop in Luperon if you want. Then the south coast of PR you can get fuel in a bunch of places, Boqueron, Salinas, Fajardo and you're right next to the Virgin Islands.
 
Well...seems like an adventure worthy of the vessel and a vessel worthy of the adventure. Welcome aboard.
Yep, I have met Bart......
I've never ran a powered catamaran before. Most of my adventures have been on sailboats from the 55 foot to 95 foot range. So this is going to be a new experience for me. I was curious to how these boats handle in rough seas down swell and into the seas. I have seen your boat Domino in a few articles. You guys really get around. Any advice for me?
 
I've never ran a powered catamaran before. Most of my adventures have been on sailboats from the 55 foot to 95 foot range. So this is going to be a new experience for me. I was curious to how these boats handle in rough seas down swell and into the seas. I have seen your boat Domino in a few articles. You guys really get around. Any advice for me?
The real adventurers on DOMINO were the previous owners who oversaw the design, and then the build. They got aboard her when the build was finished and cruised for basically ten years straight visiting 45 countries and crossing the Pacific three times. They will be the authority on your questions.
However, I will offer this:
The Tennant hull designs, both sail and power, were best known for their performance in sailing TO weather as was the intention with the FPBs I think. As long as the wavetops or swells have a decent interval she seems to be pretty much a joy in head seas for us. Alot of boats are decent downwind/swell and our Tennant is certainly no exception. Depending upon the rhythm of the sea, we tend to set the throttle for around 1200 rpm/11 knots and we surf, watching speed over ground go from 8-16 knots and back in a nice easy motion. In beam seas and seas quartered to beam you need to hunt around for the right speed and it is almost always a little quicker than you might think. We had a crossing in the northern Sea of Cortez with 18-22 knots on the beam and it seemed like 16-18 knots was the sweet spot.
Yours will likely be a bit different as it would appear that your metacenter is a bit higher off the water than DOMINO, perhaps a fair bit higher. Hard to predict what that will mean.
With the length and beam combination of these vessels and with the fine entry at the front of the hulls, it is hard to image a sea state that she will not be well suited for. The narrow hulls tend to result in the sea rising and falling on the hull rather than the hulls rising and falling on the sea. That really improves the motion in terms of both pitch and roll. With the bridge deck more than 10' above the waterline there is plenty of clearance to let pretty fair-sized waves pass quietly underneath.
While we have not experienced a vast range of sea conditions, we have been in conditions I would never have considered in my heavy monohull and where we have wondered whether we should venture out there and we have always felt both safe and comfortable in DOMINO. You will likely find the same though this is not a sailboat by any means.
Comfortably bashing into 6-foot head seas at speed is a strange feeling indeed. Great fun.
 

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Not a very popular path to go. Everyone goes north of the DR for a bunch of good reasons then travel the south coast of PR as there aren't really any stops on the North side except San Juan. You can get fuel in Georgetown, then Crooked Island, then Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos, Puerto Plata, DR after a stop in Luperon if you want. Then the south coast of PR you can get fuel in a bunch of places, Boqueron, Salinas, Fajardo and you're right next to the Virgin Islands.
Thank you for your response. I know there is going to be a lot of wind on the northern route and the southern route but wouldn't the south coast of DR have less swell than the north coast? A long time ago we went through the Mona Passage from the Atlantic to the Caribbean and It was horrific. Really don't want to that route again.
 
Thank you for your response. I know there is going to be a lot of wind on the northern route and the southern route but wouldn't the south coast of DR have less swell than the north coast? A long time ago we went through the Mona Passage from the Atlantic to the Caribbean and It was horrific. Really don't want to that route again.
Thank you for your response. I know there is going to be a lot of wind on the northern route and the southern route but wouldn't the south coast of DR have less swell than the north coast? A long time ago we went through the Mona Passage from the Atlantic to the Caribbean and It was horrific. Really don't want to that route again.
What are some of the reasons the Northern route off the coast of the DR is popular?
 
The real adventurers on DOMINO were the previous owners who oversaw the design, and then the build. They got aboard her when the build was finished and cruised for basically ten years straight visiting 45 countries and crossing the Pacific three times. They will be the authority on your questions.
However, I will offer this:
The Tennant hull designs, both sail and power, were best known for their performance in sailing TO weather as was the intention with the FPBs I think. As long as the wavetops or swells have a decent interval she seems to be pretty much a joy in head seas for us. Alot of boats are decent downwind/swell and our Tennant is certainly no exception. Depending upon the rhythm of the sea, we tend to set the throttle for around 1200 rpm/11 knots and we surf, watching speed over ground go from 8-16 knots and back in a nice easy motion. In beam seas and seas quartered to beam you need to hunt around for the right speed and it is almost always a little quicker than you might think. We had a crossing in the northern Sea of Cortez with 18-22 knots on the beam and it seemed like 16-18 knots was the sweet spot.
Yours will likely be a bit different as it would appear that your metacenter is a bit higher off the water than DOMINO, perhaps a fair bit higher. Hard to predict what that will mean.
With the length and beam combination of these vessels and with the fine entry at the front of the hulls, it is hard to image a sea state that she will not be well suited for. The narrow hulls tend to result in the sea rising and falling on the hull rather than the hulls rising and falling on the sea. That really improves the motion in terms of both pitch and roll. With the bridge deck more than 10' above the waterline there is plenty of clearance to let pretty fair-sized waves pass quietly underneath.
While we have not experienced a vast range of sea conditions, we have been in conditions I would never have considered in my heavy monohull and where we have wondered whether we should venture out there and we have always felt both safe and comfortable in DOMINO. You will likely find the same though this is not a sailboat by any means.
Comfortably bashing into 6-foot head seas at speed is a strange feeling indeed. Great fun.
Thank you very much for all that great information.
 
I will be on a 65 foot Malcolm Tennant designed power cat. She carries 2500 gallons of diesel has twin 650 hp Cummings diesel engine engines. Leaving Florida around mid February, destination, St. Thomas. Just curious on which route would be best for the conditions in February. The northern route over the DR and Puerto Rico or through the Windward passage and the southern route all the way to St. Thomas?
 
I'm certainly not the guy to advise anyone on routing from Florida to St. Thomas, but I can work a calculator. It's about 1200 miles, right? If you cruise at 10 mph you'll be underway for 120 hours. If you feel comfortable burning 2000 of your 2500 gallons before refueling, and if 2000 ÷ 120 =16.7 gallons per hour, is that about what your two big Cummins burn cruising at 10 mph? Surely you could make Puerto Rico before refueling.
 
Thank you for your reply. I’m planning on taking on fuel in the southern Bahamas somewhere before I set off for St. Thomas.
 
Thank you for your reply. I’m planning on taking on fuel in the southern Bahamas somewhere before I set off for St. Thomas.
I am aware that your engines are different, but unless your hulls, configuration, or weight is significantly different than mine, you will make this whole trip on less than 700 gallons at 9 knots.
DOMINO has larger fuel capacity currently than Rhumba (2950) but would make the US West Coast to Hawaii AND back without needing fuel. While I respect a conservative reserve, I prefer to run a little light in terms of fuel load when it makes sense. A full load of fuel on DOMINO will raise her waterline by a foot. Not ideal relative to her design criteria and performance characteristics.
 
What are some of the reasons the Northern route off the coast of the DR is popular?
Distance. From the southern Bahamas it's a lot shorter, Haiti swings out far to the west on the SW end and going around it adds a lot of distance. I also hear that the locals aren't very friendly with visiting yachts these days if you have an issue and need to stop in Haiti. Also because of the ESE trade winds the island casts a wind shadow at night calming down the winds on the north coast. (Except for the occasional katabatic wind if you're too close, which really surprised me once with 30 knots on a cloudless 10 knot night)
You mentioned a rough trip in the Mona passage previously, you've got essentially the same conditions between Haiti and Cuba but a little bit longer distance that you're in it. Going south of Hispaniola you're out of the North swells, but instead get the full swell of the Caribbean Sea trade winds.

Not really applicable to your boat, but also the appeal of the 'Thorny Passage' is that there aren't many long passages between stops if you aren't a fan of multi-night underways. A 6 knot boat can get from Florida to the BVI with only 3-4 overnight runs of one night.
 
Hello,
My wife and I cruised both ways.
On the way toTrinidad from New England. (Around January we left Florida) we cruised down the east coast and worked our way to the furthest out East Island in Bahamas, Mayaguana, Turks, then to DR North coast, ( STAY CLOSE TO SHORE AND RUN AT NIGHT WHEN THE WINDS DIE DOWN)
MONA ISLAND PR, THE SOUTH COAST OF PR is called the Caribbean two step,two forward one back, short and choppy close fetch.
On the way back from ABC islands we sailed windward passage to great Anagua bahamas (650nm leg)

Paul & Mary
ELL-KAT
 
Thank you for your reply. Thats good information. Depending on what the storms are doing in north Atlantic I’m planning on running the north coast of the Dominican Republic at night and timing it so I can cross the Mona Passage during the day if there’s no big swells coming south out of the North Atlantic and continuing on the north side of Puerto Rico to St. Thomas. There’s going to be wind on both sides of the DR and Puerto Rico. Big storms can develop over Puerto Rico and can be blown into the passage at the beginning of nightfall.
 
Also, watch out for the fisherman's unlit nets at night off the north shore off DR.
Bruce Vansant (Luperon)has a guide book but don't trust the Mona island Anchorage. It surges tide and can suck the water out.( the anchore holding was bad in shifting sands and we had to leave) we were centered in small entrance and leaned over in our 47' vagabond while leaving as the water surged. The next set of waves filled the
Small basin behind reef and we got out. (That was a bit of a nail bitter)
 
Also, down the middle of the hourglass is where you want to be as the waves are calmer there in the Mona Passage...
 
Also, watch out for the fisherman's unlit nets at night off the north shore off DR.
Bruce Vansant (Luperon)has a guide book but don't trust the Mona island Anchorage. It surges tide and can suck the water out.( the anchore holding was bad in shifting sands and we had to leave) we were centered in small entrance and leaned over in our 47' vagabond while leaving as the water surged. The next set of waves filled the
Small basin behind reef and we got out. (That was a bit of a nail bitter)
Thank you for the information. I plan on staying at at least 25-30 off the north coast of Dominican Republic. Are nets out that far?
 
Depending on wind conditions, the island was blocking the wind from the SE so we were closer, about 3-5 miles off, but it was much calmer then further out, (depth change from really deep to like 100 feet or so is where the water breaks and piles up as there is no where for it to go but up, especially when the wind is out of the north. If it is too rough, just start to move closer...
Also, we went ashore in 3 or 4 locations...
 
Depending on wind conditions, the island was blocking the wind from the SE so we were closer, about 3-5 miles off, but it was much calmer then further out, (depth change from really deep to like 100 feet or so is where the water breaks and piles up as there is no where for it to go but up, especially when the wind is out of the north. If it is too rough, just start to move closer...
Also, we went ashore in 3 or 4 locations...
Thanks again for that valuable information.
 
Hi. I am new to this group. I will be on a 65' 25' beam Malcolm Tennant designed power Cat. She holds 2,500 gals of diesel. She is powered by twin 650 hp diesel engines. Probably island hopping through the bahamas. Where in the Bahamas would be the last place to take on fuel before running to the USVI? I know we will be running right into the trade winds. Planning on leaving Florida around February 10th or so. Thank you...
Although this book is intended for sailors and trawler skippers heading down the Thorny Path from Florida to the lower Caribbean, it's a great resource for any captain making the trip for the first time. It provides time-tested strategies for taking the thorns out of the Thorny Path and helps first-timers understand the weather between Florida and the Virgin Islands. It's now in it's 10th edition. Don't leave for the lower Caribbean without it!

Gentleman's Guide to Passages South by Bruce Van Sant


Milt Baker, former Nordhavn 4732 Bluewater
 
Although this book is intended for sailors and trawler skippers heading down the Thorny Path from Florida to the lower Caribbean, it's a great resource for any captain making the trip for the first time. It provides time-tested strategies for taking the thorns out of the Thorny Path and helps first-timers understand the weather between Florida and the Virgin Islands. It's now in it's 10th edition. Don't leave for the lower Caribbean without it!

Gentleman's Guide to Passages South by Bruce Van Sant


Milt Baker, former Nordhavn 4732 Bluewater
Thank you for your response. Yes I am reading that book. A lot of great information. Looking forward to getting back out at sea again. Leaving Stuart Florida may be around February 18 or the 20th.
 
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