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capt.bill11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosalie B.

"Bob" wrote:

On Feb 8, 8:39*pm, Larry wrote:

Stay tuned – this will be the last mail from me before we’re safely
back on the boat in the Keys Boat Yard, Marathon, which we anticipate
to be tomorrow. *Yay for that – I’m ready to kick butt again ?

With love, Lydia (and Skip)

I read in other post the weather that brought these two down was:

NE at 25 and seas of 7-8 feet.

Is that true?????
Bob

Sea height is VERY hard to estimate accurately, at least for me and I
suspect for other people as well. More important than just the height
is the wave period (that is how close together they are). Waves of
7-8 feet out in the Atlantic someplace are almost non-events. Waves
of 7-8 feet in the Chesapeake, and I suspect also along the Florida
Gulf Coast, and certainly in the Gulf Stream resulting from a NE wind
are entirely different and a MUCH worse problem, because they are
close enough together that the boat is burying the bow in the next
wave while still on the crest of the previous wave.

That is exactly what happens in the Gulf. Although, as I'm sure you know, you are never in the Gulf Stream in that area of the Gulf.
And as you approach the Keys from the Gulf side it gets very shallow well offshore of the Keys.

I'm not sure who's local knowledge Skip was relying on but I bet if they real had made 200 deliveries to that area and known it was going to be blowing 20-30 with 6-8 foot seas with a 6 1/2 draft vessel, they would have told them to go to Key West and not try to get in Marathon in those conditions. If they had to go.

The distance to Key West from the Tampa Bay sea buoy is in fact a few miles less (as the crow flies) than if you go to Vaca Key (Marathon). And the entrance to Key West in bad weather out of the North is much better than Marathon to say the least.

Of course going to Key West adds distance to your trip to the Bahamas. But at least you are going with the Gulf Stream on your way up and over.