sailing skills and seamanship needed.

PrincessoftheLake · Nov 22, 2011

Buy me a plane ticket and I'll come down and give your wife some OJT.

Ross · Nov 22, 2011

Much of what you are seeking is available in the books. MOB drills can only be learned by hands on practice. There are many excellant books that cover navigation. The 1800 dollar courses are for people that don't/won't /can't self educate.

Stu Jackson · Nov 22, 2011

www.boatsafe.com

For starters.

Then there's always www.boatus.com.

Google "boating safety."

There's been tons written on crossing the Gulf Stream.

Be creative on your keyboard. What you've learned so far on your C25 will stand you in good stead.

sailcruiser · Nov 22, 2011

I would check with your local US Power Squadron. They have excellent classes that are affordable. SC

Bill1565 · Nov 22, 2011

How far are you from Punta Gorda? Both Coast Guard Auxilliary and Power Squadron here give classes in th $50 range.

sailaway78 · Nov 22, 2011

Check out sailmonster

There is a site called sailmonster, which is basically a Tampa/St.Pete group. You might post up the same message there.

seadaddler · Nov 22, 2011

Power Squadron

I agree for a power squadron near you for classes and learning from their members when you join or also join a sailing club,how far are you from Punta Gorda.
Sounds like you need more time on boat and water cruising before jumping to Bahama's for sure.
Nick

Johnb · Nov 22, 2011

If that schooling includes going out on their boats, under the supervision of their instructors, it may not be all that out outrageous in cost. Nothing beats getting the experience of actually being out at sea.

There is a myth that if you can sail in San Francisco Bay you can sail anywhere. Well, it may be some good training, but it does not prepare you for how its going to be when you can't just declare "thats enough" and duck into the lee of Angel Island to get the sails down.

My own experience of being at sea is limited, but one thing is for sure, the mental and physical wearing down is pretty humbling, and I was very glad to be along with experienced friends when the time came to go off duty for a break.

The other thing is how difficult it can be to multi task navigation, sail handling, steering and feeding, and how much more complex it can be in the dark and when you are going up and down 20 feet. I remember sitting on the cabin sole taking 20 minutes to put on foul weather gear because the motion was so violent, getting progressively more sea sick. Picture being on a roller coaster ride that never stops.

I am all for self education, but also getting some real exposure before taking the whole burden on yourself. Another possibility is to try and get some crew time with someone else who is experienced/

All U Get · Nov 22, 2011

Hi Steve,
There may some crew match opportunities that you could get involved with to get some experience or the OPO http://www.sailopo.com/Home_Membership_Information.aspx
might be your answer. Occasionally some poster on this site are looking for a deck hand. I did ASA classes through Offshore Passagemaking that have helped me tremendously. It took some doing to find reasonable prices, but it's worth it.
All U Get

Gunni · Nov 22, 2011

Johnb said:
The other thing is how difficult it can be to multi task navigation, sail handling, steering and feeding, and how much more complex it can be in the dark and when you are going up and down 20 feet. I remember sitting on the cabin sole taking 20 minutes to put on foul weather gear because the motion was so violent, getting progressively more sea sick. Picture being on a roller coaster ride that never stops./

Aye! Might want to drill on these conditions before you have to lead your crew! Have the folks at Bluewater Sailing School work YOU over for a few days. She really doesn't want to see you make the grade.

Wanderer138 · Nov 22, 2011

How about a shakedown cruise from Ft. Myers to the Dry Tortugas? It's remote and well out of sight of land but the navigation is easy, the trip is under 24 hours, the route is well traveled so help won't be far away if you need it and there are no complications from the Gulf Stream, customs or immigration. As you know, the cold fronts come in fast and hard this time of year, so you may want to wait until spring when the weather is more settled. Good luck.

higgs · Nov 23, 2011

Read read read and go. From FL to the Bahamas is a reasonably short shot - doable in less than 24 hrs. You can reasonably rely on that forcast for your crossing.

Morgan30 · Nov 23, 2011

All of the above is awesome. And Get that plane ticket for her!

Reading books, even excerpts form books written by people who have done extensive cruising is very helpful.

Paul Mermelstein · Nov 23, 2011

There's skill and there's knowledge. For piloting/navigation, use of the VHF, rules of the road, and other knowledge you can self educate or take a class. It does not need to be on the water. I recommend checking out a local squadron of the US Power Squadrons (USPS.org). My squadron has been very helpful to me. There are several in your area.

Sumner · Nov 23, 2011

We explored some of the area you have been in so far last fall in our Mac....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-trips-1/macgregor-trips-1-index.html

....that kind of got us use to the area and using a chart plotter (SeaClear and and handheld).

Then this past spring left again from that same area (Charlotte Harbor) and went south down the west coast spending time in the 10,000 Islands/Everglades and then across Florida Bay to Marathon again in the Mac and then from there north to south of Miami.

This gave us 2 more months of experience with anchoring in the area, tides, currents and navigating. We bought the Mac home to Utah, but now have an Endeavour off Charlotte Harbor. Even thought we moved the Endeavour ourselves from Ft. Myers Beach up to Charlotte Harbor we want to go down in the early spring and spend a couple weeks getting to know her better and actually sail her more in Charlotte Harbor, anchoring out the whole time.

Then we plan on going south again to the Keys and hopefully the lower Keys this time before returning her to Charlotte Harbor. Hopefully this experience will then set us up to either head over to the Bahamas the next year or up the East Coast.

My suggestion would be that if you are living there and have the time start taking some extended trips on the west coast and down to the Keys or the Dry Tortugas for some experience and read, ask questions and learn and you will know when you are ready to go. In some ways though I feel that the Dry Totugas can with the right weather conditions present you with as much or more of a challenge than the crossing to the Bahamas.

Ruth and I had never been on a sailboat until a couple years ago and still have never received instruction, not saying it wouldn't hurt us. We have spent a lot of time on the hook during that time under varying conditions though and now feel pretty comfortable doing that. Get out on your own for some extended trips and you will learn fast. Just pay attention to the weather, be conservative with that and where you anchor and don't be on a fixed time schedule and you will do fine,

Sum

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Our MacGregor S Pages

Mac-Venture Links

seadaddler · Nov 23, 2011

Princess

So when you coming down to Charlotte Harbor for some great sailing and I am sure for some relief from your winter months,we can plan a Hunter get together.
Nick

CaptChuck · Nov 23, 2011

Steve - I hold a USCG Master License with sailing endorcement & teach sailing during the summer in Buffalo NY. I will be in Belaire Beach for the month of February. I would be happy to sail with you and help you. Contact me at CaptainSevenSeas@aol.com and perhaps we can work something out

DAVA390 · Nov 24, 2011

PrincessoftheLake said:
Buy me a plane ticket and I'll come down and give your wife some OJT.

Yeah... sure... she`ll come runnning to Fla. in December! Try to schedule her in August, see how that works out!!

seadaddler · Nov 24, 2011

Hot

Sure it's Hot here here in August but our boating season is way much longer here than way up north but yes I usually go up to NY in the hot summer months because we get to do so much more sailing here.
Nick