Maiden Trip Home Advice

[Larry Neese]

I need the advice of some of our best sailors out there, call it "All in the Family" if you will. We are converted stinkboaters, sailing for 8 years now, our children have grown up with all the boats out back ( not much else for kids here ) and now our "baby" wants her own sailboat with lots of dreams. She finally found a boat on Ebay and bought it..a 1980 24 ft
American Spirit, great deal lots of extras...the problem? its up on the SW coast in Ft. Myers
and she wants to sail it back herself, Mom is not thrilled at the idea and really wants her to stay on the island while my buddy and I sail her back, I say she needs the practice that the 120 mile open water trip would bring ( so does Dad ) we will be outfitted quite well and provisioned for 4 days, still its a small boat, we are still getting used to our C=26 after losing
our Hunter 30 in Hurricane Wilma. Any advice for the still rookies? weather looks good.
NE winds 15-20 Highs in the mid 70's lows mid sixties. Thanks, Keysskipper

 

[seadaddler]

More Info

Where is summerland key,explain the trip more.
Nick

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

kind of hard to make any comment without knowing how old she is, how much experience she has, how responsible, how diligent, etc... The limiting factor is more often the captain rather than the boat

 

[Larry Neese]

Summerland Key is 24 miles from downtown Key West, the boat is at Olsen Marine Ft. Myers Beach, I had it hauled, inspected and bottom done ( no trailer ) all our boats are in the water out back, we will sail to Moser Channel to ocean side and home so I can do some "daddy do " stuff. Thanks

 

[Larry Neese]

Our Baby is 23, knows and loves the water but not a real experienced sailor, thats why she wants her own, she has had a Boston Whaler Squall since she was little and once had the helm crossing the stream, not afraid at all.

 

[sailingdog]

How well outfitted is the boat, and what shape is it in? I'd highly recommend that your baby do some daysails in the boat to get use to how it handles in various conditions and how the boat is rigged/equipped before setting off on a 120 NM coastal cruise. 120 NM in a 24' boat is going to be a few days of sailing under ideal conditions, assuming she isn't going to sail through the night.

Why not compromise and see if you can find a buddy boat for her to do the trip with. That way someone is nearby if she does get into trouble, yet she gets the experience of singlehanding the boat the distance herself, with a safety net.

Given the start and finish, and the weather conditions you cite, she'd be on a beam reach most of the way down... which would make it relatively simple sailing and relatively quick.

 

[Larry Neese]

Thats part of the problem, Ft. Myers is a 6 hour drive north, I've made two trips up already in prime tourist season, so it has to get off the hard and to the Keys asap, the boat is in excellent condition, outfitted very well, plans are to sail thru the night. If we had the time we would sail up and follow her back that would eliminate the one way fare
car rental to go back up again, but season is here and we are busy, she does have
"find me spot" the new gadget at WM, and autohelm as well as GPS/plotter

 

[Bob S]

How long should the trip take and how long can you go without sleep? I guess it's your decision. How well do you trust her skills/experience? Sounds like she wants to do it. Can you keep in touch with her? Cell phone reception or other means. Can't you go with her as a passenger, wouldn't you want to? No one but you can answer your question.

 

[sailaway78]

This time of year

This time of year the weather can be kind of iffy. However 120 miles shouldn't be much over a 24 hour sail. Weather forecasts are usually reasonably reliable for a 24 hour period. I'm not real familiar with the area S.of Ft.Meyers, but can't a lot of this trip be made inside. How good are her navigation skills. Do you feel that the boat is capable, and she has enough experience. Other than that, cut the apron strings and let her go for it.

 

[Ed Schenck]

To Nice, nope that's an outside trip. And other than Naples not many chances to go in. When I did that from Tampa Bay to Marathon it was motor all the way. I think she needs her Dad along. Otherwise an easy trip if the forecast holds but motorsailing it sounds like.

 

[Larry Neese]

Thanks for all the great advice, we leave the Lower Keys Tuesday morning, splash her and leave at dawn Wed. morning, Dad and very experienced friend will ride along to observe only she says! Fire up the blender and help keep watch I guess. Mom can track her with "find me spot" will post pics from the sail across Florida Bay

 

[s sauer]

Having owned and sailed a Hunter 25 for 10-12 hour days by myself and with very young crew members, I'd sugggest you plan on a minimum 2 person crew and preferably three including someone with experience with navigation. If the crew is less experienced and does not know the area, I'd be inclined NOT to sail thru the night. There
You also shouldn't figure 5 knots over the ground as an average speed unless the conditions are completely favorable. Not many protected areas on the way down; what is your intended track ? What is the auxiliary for this boat and what are the limits on her fuel supply?

 

[sailaway78]

In that case

Without an auto pilot, single handing any boat on an overnighter, is going to be a bitch. I have done a couple and really don't like it, even with auto pilot. Get off the boat so tired I am more than likely a danger to myself and others. On an inside passage, where you have the ability to stop for a nap, it's not bad, but if it has to be an offshore overnighter, I would not recommend it.

 

[Ted]

Leap of faith

I don't mean to offend somone here but I question the judgement of anyone planning a 120 nm offshore trip in a boat that they have launched less than 24 hours prior to setting sail. You must really trust the previous owner and his/her maintenance skills or be out of touch with what's at risk here. I sincerely hope someone has throughly inspected all systems on the boat, especially the underwater parts. Why don't you just have it transported over land and play it safe? I agree that the skipper and crew will be just as important as the vessel to make this a successful voyage. Glad to hear that your daughter will have capable crew. Be Safe.

 

[seadaddler]

Just did the trip

I just did the trip on a thursday morning left Rodriquez key at 5 am went under
the five mile bridge and motored all the way up to Charlotte Harbor and into
Burnt Store Marina at 12 pm friday lunch time.
It's all about the weather,it's pretty much all open coastal cruising with some places to duck in if need to due to weather,it's a easy trip if good weather.
But I did have a 36 ft sailboat with auto and very good chartplotter and all the comforts,also did have backup crew with no sailing experience in case I feel asleep over night,I did stay a wake all night while they took turns sleeping.
Like I said it's an easy trip with the good weather and the proper wind conditions for sailing,I had to motor the whole trip and when I got up north of FT Myers the weather got nasty which we were prepared for.
Sounds like a good plan you observing,have a great trip and good weather.
Nick

 

[MacMikey]

I made the trip from Naples to Marathon back in the fall and had to motor/sail most of the way. I used less then 5 gallons with a 8 hp 4 stroke. You have Naples, Marco Island, Goodland, Everglades City, Shark River and several more spots to duck into in case the weather turns. I only lost cell service between Everglades City and Flmingo.
I left at 0:630 on Saturday and arrived 7 mile bridge at 0:830 on Sunday. I sailed all night with "Leroy" , a Autohelm 800 and loved the trip down.

Your daughter will be glade to have you along just for the company and in case of trouble, try to let her work out the solution on her own.

Good Luck & Fair Seas

 

[letterman]

Why not hire a boat mover-I hear there's a Captain Ron somewhere down there who is available (now that the statute of limitations ran out)!

Couldn't resist....

 

[Steve Kamp]

Captain Ron was spotted last February sailing "Freedom", a Hunter 376, in Marsh Harbour, Abaco. The last thing I heard from him was he was bound for the Exumas.
Steve

 

[TimCup]

She's 23- of course she doesn't want help!

And my hat's off to her for wanting to do it solo. But you get the real tip of the cap for taking care of her. Yes, weather permitting, she probably wouldn't have a problem, but if a thru-hull broke, or the motor, or she got hurt, or some idiot collided, or, or, or....

Fearless children are the ones that scare us the most, huh? As my flying buddy says:
There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots....

Safe trip to all-


cup

 

[Rick9671]

Good Plan. Go along but let her run the trip. You never know when something will go wrong and an extra hand can make the difference between an inconvenience and a disaster.