"I think a ARC 27 with a 22 foot beam and outboard may be your answer here...." Bruce, St. Croix

If the goal is just to get to the other side the best answer is airplane. In this case the destination is not important. The important thing is the challenge of getting there in a small beach cat. Right?

Thats correct Mary.
There are a few of us talking about doing it sometime this summer. We are thinking 4 boats would be a good numnber, that way if someone gets into trouble, there can be at least 1 boat to help/use as a lifeboat. Planning is in the very beginning stages at this point. Obviously the boat will be gone through, rigging replaced, things checked etc...

The reason to do it is the challange, without a doubt. 1 day over, one night there, one night back (assuming the weather is good to come back) Thats the plan right now. Please don't take offense to me still wanting to do this. I understand some people don't "recommend" this journey. But if we do it, I would like to get all the advice and help that is out there. I'm certinly not a gung-ho type.

I have been across the Gulf Stream several times, always at night except for one time when I had to come back to the mainland on a small powerboat. There was no wind on that day. It was extremely spooky. There were no waves. There were swells, but they were not like ocean swells that go in a certain direction. These were very long, low, flat, lazy swells that seemed to be coming up from somewhere below and didn't seem to be going anywhere -- just heaving up and down. It was like the Stream was a living thing, like it was breathing. Very eerie sensation.

This is a old report from 'the daily sail'

Claire Bailey and PlayStation captain took at 20ft Ventilo cat from Antibes to Corsica


Playstation captain David Scully likes fast sailing and slow dinners, so a quick blast across the Med for a romantic dinner in Calvi, Corsica, sounded like a great way to spend an evening.

Unfortunately, his transport for the occasion was not his normaly 125 foot maxi-catamaran, but a 20ft high performance Ventilo sport catamaran. Fortunately, his date was skiff skipper and multihull veteran, Claire Bailey, who cheerfully agreed to make the crossing with him. He persuaded her that they could twin wire the 100 odd miles between mainland France and Corsica in less than eight hours, have a great meal, and be back the next day. Fortunately, the weather was great for a midday departure, and the pair blasted out of Antibes already discussing the choice of entrée. Unfortunately, the fun only lasted for a few hours, and the little boat, named for the compass manufacturer, Tacktick, was left ghosting along in the glazed sea that local sailors recognize as 'la petole'.

Claire takes up the story. "My hopes for a romantic dinner that evening were fading rapidly, and the thought of splitting a packet of fig rolls and two stale Power Bars just didn't have the same appeal.

Alas, this became the least of my worries, as I felt my bladder becoming increasingly full. Of course, being the conscientious medic, I had insisted on us both drinking plenty of fluid to re-hydrate in the blistering heat. As my bladder reached it's elastic limit, I reached for the cooking funnel and tubing device I had invented earlier. Of course it was designed to fit through the fly in my drysuit, and "hey presto". Without going into too many details, yet another one of my 'good ideas' rapidly bit the dust. However it was a source of much amusement for David as he witnessed the fast ever exit from a Musto drysuit.

Just as the sun was setting we were joined by eight or ten dolphins, surfing around our little boat close enough to touch. Spirits went up, the sun went down, and we settled in for a long night.

David takes over. "Turn back? I felt obliged to ask the question, but with the moon rising, and the calm sea starting to speak it's night sounds, neither of us felt like rejoining the busy parade of the Cote d'Azur. We set watches, and had no trouble sleeping on the trampoline as the hulls cut twin creases in the calm water. Moon set, sun rise, and still no wind disturbed the carpet of mini portuguese men o' war that were so numerous in places they looked like wind ripples in the moonlight. Sea turtles munched busily on these little, purple, jellyfish babies, cleaving the surface of the sea with their oddly upraised flippers. Then it began to get hot..."

Claire says: "In fact, so hot that we decided to get rid of drysuits and thermals, and adapted the boat to shelter us from the frying sun. I looked around, following the horizon, and saw nothing. The sea was like a mirror, blue and clear. The sails draped on the rigging. We could have been anywhere.

Dufdufdufduf. "Sounds like a helicopter", I said to David. "Oh, don't be daft, was his reply, It's a powerboat engine." His confidence reassured me until I actually saw the 'bird' circling us. David did then admit that he was wrong! Good job, really, as two minutes later the helicopter doors opened, and out dropped a diver.

We stowed the empty kite and stood by with the mainsheet in hand, as the downdraft was the most wind we had seen for 14 hours. The diver swam rapidly toward us.

Bonjour, ca va?, said the swimming gendarme, hanging by his elbows from our hull. 'Mais, bien sur', we replied. On receiving our assurance that we were fit and healthy despite being more than 12 hours overdue, he was winched back up to the chopper, and we continued toward Calvi, after a brief spot of skinny dipping!

'Life is life, and fun is fun' thought David, "but I was ready for this trip to be over. The high coastline closed with aching slowness. We rounded Pointe d'Espano doing jibing angles in a light and faltering sea breeze, relying on big boat style trimmer-driver dialogue to maintain concentration and maximize VMG. Finally, we hit the beach just after 1700 hrs."

A bottle of cold water and a beer were at the top of the 'To Do' list, but first we chatted with the local journalist, and posed for the obligatory photo on the boat. The local welcome was so friendly that we were doubly surprised when we opened the Corse-matin newspaper at breakfast the next morning, to see the photo and article, closing with a note that we had broken French law by sailing offshore in a beach cat, and that the police were after us to issue a summons!! In the middle of croissant and coffee, we suddenly felt like Bonnie and Clyde.

What were we to do? Our plan was based on sailing home as soon as we could, and ferries and fines were not in the budget. First we called Pierre, our weather router. 'Don't leave today, don't leave tomorrow,' he said. There may be wind on Friday. So, if we couldn't outrun the cops, we had better confront them. Deeply concerned, we called the reporter, got the name of his contact, and placed a call to Cross-Med, the rescue and sea safety authority for the region.

I explained to the official that this was not a spontaneous event, and that despite the small size of our vessel, we were carrying safety material and supplies that exceeded the French category three requirements for an offshore vessel. Our shore contact had followed correct procedure by reporting us overdue, but he had specifically stated that we were carrying a distress beacon, and had not expressed any concern for our safety. Fortunately, Cross-Med were very understanding, saying that the chopper we had seen had been on routine surveillance, and not specifically sent to rescue us. They gave us permission to depart when we were ready. The paper even published a retraction!

Having safely tested our endurance and the boat, we are now fired up and ready to tackle the TransMed world record attempt around the 18th July 2002.

If only you could find a Reynolds 21 to tag along.... Just add two or three trapeze wires to each side and spinnaker pole

I'd be up for doing this over Spring Break (Saturday, March 20th- Sunday, March 28th).

Depending on the costs involved, of course. Isn't there a $150 fee per boat now?
The Bahamas Cruising Guide

If these are truly serious intentions, priority should be placed on setting the date and place to meet/launch, course to be sailed, and creating a list of minimum requirements. Boat size, crew size, safety items, etc.

I would say... no less than an 18' boat, no less than 2 and no more than 3 people per boat, at least one GPS, at least one hand-held VHF in waterproof container, one gallon of water per person and x# of power-bars per person (as emergency rations), plus enough food, per person, for two days. Also some other form of propulsion, like oars and paddles if it's asking to much to add outboard brackets and engines to each boat.

I'm not sure about the 406mhz EPIRBs though....

Also, as always, this depends on weather conditions.

Ok, enough talking. So far we have two boats that are in for the trip. My boat and Theo's boat. Anyone else interested?

I would like at least four boats to go over. I live on Singer Island which is directly accross from the Bahamas. All participants are welcome to stay at my condo and the boats can stay on the beach in front. We just need to know who is going and find a date that is good for all. Once all plans have been set I will try to get some media coverage. Theo, I will be in Daytona this week for the 24 Hours of Daytona. Call me so we can set a time to meet at the Ocean Deck and talk.

Who's on board?

You guys will be going overboard with the safety equipment right? EPIRBS, personal strobes, etc.? Your safety is paramount.

If I had my tornado right now, I would go for it. My H17 would sink before it made it to the bahamas

Count myself and my Hobie 18 in. I live in North Florida but I'll meet you guys when ever. Seems like March and April are popular crossing months. Keep me posted. MSCN78@aol.com

Please don't end up as another statistic that we have to debate here later....consider renting an EPIRB if you guys don't already have one:

http://www.boatus.com/foundation/epirb/faq.htm

Thanks for the link Jake, that's great information. I'm fixing my G-Cat 5.7M up (retrofitting a TheMightyHobie18 rudder system onto it), and also looking at selling mine to buy a G-Force21GP if I can contact the owner and convince him to sell the boat (haven't seen it used in a long while). I can't commit to making this trip until my boat is ready or I've bought the other boat, but I am trying to be ready for this. (and I wouldn't hardly consider doing this without an EPIRB)

Maughan- If you'd like to go, I'm sure you could crew for someone making the trip. If my boat is ready in time, I'd sure like to have some experienced-yet-crazy crew aboard.

depends on when the trip is. I'd need a solid 3 month notice ahead of time to be sure to get the time off work. I've already planned out a majority of my 3 weeks of freedom.

You guys definitely need an epirb on each boat (406 much preferred). Also, handheld VHFs often go for only 5 miles, and their batteries are unreliable in salt water (e.g. beachcat).

Each boat needs to be COMPLETELY independent of the others. When the weather goes bad or something breaks, you can not count on another cat being able to help you. It is highly likely they won't even see that you are in distress (esp. at night or in bad weather).

I have done about 20 crossings from L.A. to Catalina Island (25 miles), and 5 times in the Newport-Ensenada race on a cat (145 miles down the coastline). Please see http://www.whitecaps.net for how we organize things. Keep in mind that we have much milder weather in SoCal than the Gulf Stream.

Trust me, the first time the sun goes down and you can't see shore, you will really begin to wonder if this was such a good idea. I would highly recommend doing some shorter sails (preferably in bad weather) before setting out to Bimini.

Please don't become another statistic.

Alan Thompson
I20 - San Diego

Just completed my first cruise. Sailed from my home in Cape Coral down to watch the fast boats in the NAMSA Mid-Winters. You can't believe how easy it is to become disoriented, or how difficult to hold a course at night without any landmarks. Keep in mind that stars move and clouds sometimes cover them. I had to refer constantly to my GPS, which can be grueling in and of itself.

Also, I once raced a Hobie 16 off Singer Island in "square Waves" but only of 6-8 feet. Very, very rough sailing.

You guys need to remember the old saying " there are old sailors and bold sailors, but there are no old bold sailors"

Anyway, the trip has been done before. Jack Sammons refers to it in "Welcome to A Fleet." Incidentally, he also refers to being nearly run down by a freighter. If memory serves, his description had to do with red and green nav lights getting further and further apart!

Why don't you guys do a trial run in Florida Bay? There are lots of possible courses without having to contend with the Stream.

On the way home, saw lots of tents on Cape Sable with moored power boats in attendance. Made the run from Tavernier to Cape Sable with plenty of day light even in my boat (Tiki 21).

Sorry a little late in replying. My schedule this week has been crazy. Love the old/bold saying and a lot of truth to be had there.

I have been racing in one form or another whether it be go kart, cars or boats for almost 30 years and I am a firm believer in safety first. Jake thank you for the eperb rental information, I will definitely make use of it.

pete_pollard, I have been sailing on the ocean for 14 years and I am ready for this trip and anyone else going needs to be sure of their ability as well.

MauganH17 & Sycho15, what do you think your timeline is to get ready for the trip? We could hold off a bit if you have serious plans make the trip. I would hate to leave out anyone that wants to join us. MauganH17, please send me your e-mail address craig@teamcyberspeed.com

JohnFolds, I have your contact info and will contact you soon to talk. Where do you live?

Should be a great trip!!!

See "Jesse sails to Bahamas on Hobie 16" link story on the left side of our home page:
http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/delraybeachcatsailor/

I wouldn't do it, what if you DNF, like I always do? But a normal South East wind in the summer would be best, especially if you left from West Palm.

Pete,

I saw you at Tradewinds - that's a beautiful boat! I didn't think much of it when I saw the Tiki photos on the internet but it's much prettier in real life. Very nice!

Cyberspeed- I think your summer scheduling might be the best time for both Maughan and I. He'll need a good advance notice, and I'll need a little time to finish and test my rudder swap. I've yanked my old rudders, 'glassed the inside of the transmoms with thick woven-roving, and am grinding and filling the gelcoat cracks from when the Dotan housing twisted off. I've got some TheMightyHobie18 housings but still need to buy new blades for them.

I've been planning on buying a new set of sails for this summer anyhow, and am already saving up. All of my standing and running rigging is recent and has few hours on it, all of my blocks have been replaced and are working nicely. I went through those systems last summer.

I do have a Cheeta motor mount on my boat, but haven't yet got an engine for it. I'll get looking for some 2.5-4HP kickers, but was also thinking of setting my boat up for oars. It's too wide for a single person to row from the center (tried it before) but it would be fine for two people to each take an oar.

As for capsizing possibilities, I guess I should order one of Gary's Solo~Rights sooner rather than later After all, I don't know if Maughan and I are fat enough to right my boat when it's got a few extra pounds of gear onboard.

I have also been thinking about putting a tri-color and VHF antenna at the top of my mast. I could easily store a deep-cycle battery and VHF radio in a box in front of my mast on the forward trampoline. Mostly, these are all things I could borrow off my Seafarer 24 sailboat...

Pete Bollard- I've been thinking about sailing from Tampa Bay to Dry Tortugas this Spring Break (March 20-28). I know it's not crossing the Stream, but it should let me put enough miles under the keel to figure out which systems need to be tweaked.