How far have you ventured offshore?

[David Krozier]

lobster traps

We have a small collection of lobster trap buoys around our pool. Each one has a little story. Not much to do except take it home after cutting it off. I've never had one wrap around the prop that I could get off without cutting.  Fortunately we have not been snagged while out at night. Just lucky. I thought the odds of catching one were low under sail but I have been hooked even with the engine off.If you are familiar with the area, you know where the buoys are concentrated and you can avoid those areas. Better yet is knowing where they are not and staying in those areas. They are usually pretty thin in the shipping channel where I sail (Narragansett Bay)cause the larger ships would just tear them up. Deep water doesn't guarantee there won't be buoys. I caught one in over 100' of water.In the worst case we haul out the searchlight and spot them to avoid them.DavidH27-Renegade

 

[Bill Lemond]

Harvest Moon

We took my new Hunter 380 offshore for this annual race from Galveston to Port Aransas (near Corpus Christi)in Oct 1999. We beat into headwinds of 15-20 knts from Noon Friday through most of the night. About daylight the winds gradually increased to the 20-25knt range and shifted to a reach, then a run down the coast to the finish line at 6:00pm Sat night. WE returned the next day sailing approx 45 miles east which put us approx 85 miles south of Freeport, Tx. The gulf water was a beautiful bule (yes really). We forgot about the wind blowing directly from our destination and enjoyed the beautiful bright full "Harvest Moon" and a terriffic sail.The boat performed superbly. The radar was very helpful for monitoring offshore traffic at night. I highly reccomend you get out there.

 

[Wilkie Marvel]

Offshore Cruising

We have made three trips to Maine where we sailed Offshore up to 50 miles...We have never experienced any problems and hopefully this is due to proper preparation and Crew... I always make sure there are at least two on deck at all times with one on the Shift having knowledge of the boat and it capabilities. The first two times we went alone and this past Summer we had eight boats with us. It felt very comforting to know others were with us. I will say the previous times we knew other boats were out there and felt certain if something happened they would assist. I have made offshore trips to Bermuda, FL, etc. but always on larger boats ie: 40'+...To me it is very relaxing sailing offshore... My Wife thinks I'm NUTS!!!!!

 

[Bill Jones]

St. Catherine's Sound to Charleston

Last Spring, I brought my 40.5 from Jacksonville, FL to Deltaville, VA and did about a third of the trip off shore. The most memorable part was leaving St. Catherine's Sound, GA and raising our sails at 11:00 in the morning. We sailed the next fourteen hours on a beam reach without ever touching a control line. Winds from the ESE about 12-15 knots, a beautiful sunset, stars like I've never seen before in my life. Our farthest point from shore was about 20 nm, but the coast at that part of the country is so low that it disappears at 4-5 miles away.It was wonderful!!!!!!!!Bill Joness/v Bardi Sea

 

[HOW Editorial]

Final results

Final results for the Quick Quiz ending 10/23/2000: How far have you ventured offshore  35% 11-50 miles (153) 26% Over 51 miles (115) 18% Under 10 miles (81) 15% Haven't (66)

 

[Wes Colley]

Off shore sailing

About 12 years ago I was heavy into racing Prindle Catamarans, one stormy day my crew and I and My daughter and her boyfriend had sailed our Prindle 19's from Dunedin Causeway on Fla's West Coast south about 8 miles to Clearwater to have lunch, a few beers and to wait out the rain storm. About 3:30pm the rain quit and we left Clearwater to sail north back to the causeway. Three miles north of Clearwater another squall could be seen coming from the NE so we started vering NW to avoid the storm it was full of nasty lighting. The squall grew very fast and we changed from NW to W. We figured we could sail out and around the storm since it seemed to be heading SW. It wasn't long before we not only lost sight of land but the squall caught up with us. The seas were so rough I would lose sight of my daughters boat only 100-200 yards away. Luckily we did sail for the most part around the extreme NW side of the storm. Some guys fishing told us we were 15 miles off shore. The scary part is NO One knew where we were, we had no water, now jackets, no food, no compass, no radio, nothing, we were in deep caca. The Gods were with us that day because we ended up north of the causeway almost to Tarpon Springs which is 35 miles north of where we started. Never again I would head for the beach and dump the boat and wait it out.Wes and Jama Colley(Lucky sailors)

 

[Pete Barton]

St. Petersburg, FL to Mexico

Back in 1993 I help crew a 31' sailboat in a race from St. Petersburg, FL to Isla Mujares, Mexico (about 450 miles direct) our farthest offshore was about 200 miles.It was my first "blue water" sail and I remember it fondly. We had five people on board and very soon into the trip two people got sick and remained that way til we got to Mexico. We had good size thunderstroms (with associated 30-40 foot seas and 40-50 knot winds).But what I remember well are the beautiful blue seas, the dolphins, the portagese man-o-wars, the incredibly clear nights and the first landfall after 96 hours at sea.I'm looking forward to doing it again this time in my 1989 Hunter 37 Legend in late April of 2001.Anyone interested in going along ??Pete BartonE-Mail: peteb93@hotmail.com