Sailing from Florida to California
 

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Did you mean to North or South of Cuba instead of East West? The answer
would be North.
Most people head to the Florida Keys, go along the Gulf coast, then
through the Panama Canal. You'll need to hire line handlers & make a
reservation to go through the Canal. http://www.pancanal.com/
Don't go during hurricane season (June 1 through October 31).
Plan on 5 knots per hour (probably a maximum of 100 miles per day) made
good. Measure the distance out and you'll have your answer. Include
days for lay days, sopping, breakdowns, weather delays.

wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Did you mean to North or South of Cuba instead of East West? The answer
would be North.
Most people head to the Florida Keys, go along the Gulf coast, then
through the Panama Canal. You'll need to hire line handlers & make a
reservation to go through the Canal. http://www.pancanal.com/
Don't go during hurricane season (June 1 through October 31).
Plan on 5 knots per hour (probably a maximum of 100 miles per day) made
good. Measure the distance out and you'll have your answer. Include
days for lay days, sopping, breakdowns, weather delays.

wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Thanks for the advice.

According to Google Earth, Panama is located almost directly
to the South of Miami with Cuba blocking the way just below the
Tropic of Cancer. Doesn't this mean I have to sail West if I want
to go between Cuba and Mexico or East if I want to go between
Cuba and Dominican Republic ?

Or are you suggesting that I sail North and go along the coast
of Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas,
Mexico, etc. and triple the sailing distance from Miami to Panama ?

"TabbyCat" wrote:

Did you mean to North or South of Cuba instead of East West?
The answer would be North.
Most people head to the Florida Keys, go along the Gulf coast, then
through the Panama Canal. You'll need to hire line handlers & make a
reservation to go through the Canal. http://www.pancanal.com/
Don't go during hurricane season (June 1 through October 31).
Plan on 5 knots per hour (probably a maximum of 100 miles per day) made
good. Measure the distance out and you'll have your answer. Include
days for lay days, sopping, breakdowns, weather delays.

wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Getting around Cuba is the least of your problems. Count on 3 months
minimum

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

wrote in message
...

Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way
?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote:
Getting around Cuba is the least of your problems.
Count on 3 months minimum

Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my
progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com

You're doing a great job. I tried to visit John's web site
at http://members.bellatlantic.net/~fcsdsg/ but got an error
message saying that it cannot be found.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

wrote:

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the
way ?

Have you considered another hobby?

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Larry wrote:
snip

Never take anyone out in your sailboat that just HAS to "get there". Buy
him or her a plane ticket and tell them you'll call them IF you ever
arrive at THEIR destination, at all. Never try to be "on time" at some
destination because that forces you to pass up anything of interest in
between where you are now and where they will be when their plane touches
down so they can get on with their lives. On this trip, for instance,
you may fall in love with some place or people you encounter and decide
to stay a "few years" or never make it past the place, at all, which is
just fine for "sailors", but not normal, ratraced humans.
snip...

I used to hate it when we would take a new 'passenger' out for their
first (usually last) afternoon sail on the yacht I crewed on. They
always had to be back at the marina in a couple of hours for some other
pressing social engagement. Usually I wouldn't hear about this
rquirement until we were already underway....or I would have told our
skipper.....I'm sitting this one out. If I wanted to rush around, I'd be
out on a stinkpot.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Don White wrote in news:5pDjf.132324$Ph4.4056575
@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca:

I used to hate it when we would take a new 'passenger' out for their
first (usually last) afternoon sail on the yacht I crewed on. They
always had to be back at the marina in a couple of hours for some other
pressing social engagement. Usually I wouldn't hear about this
rquirement until we were already underway....or I would have told our
skipper.....I'm sitting this one out. If I wanted to rush around, I'd
be
out on a stinkpot.



In last year's Gulfstreamer Race from Daytona Beach to Charleston, we all
got becalmed 90 miles S of Charleston after a great run all night in the
Gulf Stream. It went on for hours and the go-getters in the crew got all
antsy over just sitting there. After 6 hours of good rest and listening
to comments about having to go to work on Monday (this was Saturday),
Cap'n Geoffrey made the decision to drop out and we dieseled home. The
calm went on for a lot longer as I watched it on the net. Cap'n and I
would have been just as happy to finish the race as we would have
probably placed fairly good in the cruiser class as most all of them
dropped out, too. It's all part of sailboat racing. "Lionheart" isn't
any kind of racer, but we do have a lot of fun trying to get the big
elephant to go as fast as she can...(c;

Pity we didn't finish what we started....

I usually poll any guests on the harbor cruises, especially those I've
never met, casually mentioning that we might not be back by tomorrow in a
joke. If one is discovered while we're tied to the dock, I mention it to
the cap'n as part of the planning. Once in a while someone will bow out
and everyone aboard thanks them, profusely, for not spoiling the cruise-
to-nowhere....

Sailing from Florida to California
 

John has moved to Melbourne, Florida and closed down his design shop. He is
doing the engineering for Mark Mills Design now and helping Nancy run a
canvas shop called Team Foxy.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

wrote in message
ink.net...

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote:
Getting around Cuba is the least of your problems.
Count on 3 months minimum

Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my
progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com

You're doing a great job. I tried to visit John's web site
at http://members.bellatlantic.net/~fcsdsg/ but got an error
message saying that it cannot be found.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Dave wrote:
On 30 Nov 2005 19:30:39 -0800, "TabbyCat" said:

5 knots per hour

?????

It's known as acceleration.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA


Cruising Ports: Florida to California via Panama
by Capt. John E. Rains, Capt. Patricia Miller Rains
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/096...books&v=glance

--
The email address above is a spam trap. Don't expect a response.
Reach me using firstname at lastname dot net

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Dave wrote:
On Thu, 1 Dec 2005 11:43:12 -0500, "Armond Perretta"
said:

It's known as acceleration.

Understood. But I think he intended to talk about velocity.

I think he intended little beyond palaver.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On 30 Nov 2005 19:30:39 -0800, "TabbyCat" said:

5 knots per hour

?????


If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be going
when it reaches Panama?

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message
...
wrote:

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the
way ?

Have you considered another hobby?

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare




Maybe the OP is at the beginning of his sailing life and is just curious
about the possibilities. The realities will be obvious enough with time.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Dave wrote in news:u66uo1122e8lo39dplsc823s9unttpavm1
@news-east.newscene.com:

5 knots per hour

?????



He's accelerating....The hull should plane in a couple of hours at this
acceleration rate....(c;

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 05:16:38 GMT, "Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be going
when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote ...
"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time I've
started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly zero knots. give
or take.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Armond Perretta wrote:
Bryan wrote:

"Dave" wrote ...

"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.


Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time I've
started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly zero knots. give
or take.


When you have to back out of the slip! -0.25 knots!

--
The email address above is a spam trap. Don't expect a response.
Reach me using firstname at lastname dot net

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message
. ..
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote ...
"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time I've
started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly zero knots.
give
or take.

Let's see. Tied up at the slip with a current running bow to stern and the
knot meter reads something above zero knots. Does that count?

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...

On 30 Nov 2005 19:30:39 -0800, "TabbyCat" said:


5 knots per hour

?????



If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be going
when it reaches Panama?


Depends on the wind of course.... anywhere from 1 knot to the hull speed.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 15:31:38 GMT, "Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going
when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

40 years ago, when integral calculus was fresh in my mind, I could have
told
you quickly how to derive the answer, assuming that the top speed of the
vessel were unlimited. Prolly still could figure it out if I sat down for
a
bit, but it's not worth the effort.

The simple answer, of course, is that the top speed of the vessel is not
unlimited, so it would be going at that top speed.

The fun would be to assume 5 knots per hour and assume a total number of
hours to get from Miami to Panama and assume no top speed. Otherwise,
where's the fun.
So that would be 5 knots at 1 hour, 10 knots at 2 hours, ...
Just need to know how many hours or NM to Panama.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

I think its rather simple.

if you start a velocity = 0, then
d = .5 * a * t ^^2

The straight line from Miami (lat 26 N), to Panama (9 N) is just about
1000 miles, and the acceleration is 5 knots per hour, or 5 m/hour^^2.

Plugging in:
1000 = .5 * 5 * t^^2
400 = t^^2
t = 20 hours.

At that time, the final speed will be 100 knots.


Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 15:31:38 GMT, "Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going
when it reaches Panama?
Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.
Starting speed: 0 Knots.
40 years ago, when integral calculus was fresh in my mind, I could have
told
you quickly how to derive the answer, assuming that the top speed of the
vessel were unlimited. Prolly still could figure it out if I sat down for
a
bit, but it's not worth the effort.

The simple answer, of course, is that the top speed of the vessel is not
unlimited, so it would be going at that top speed.

The fun would be to assume 5 knots per hour and assume a total number of
hours to get from Miami to Panama and assume no top speed. Otherwise,
where's the fun.
So that would be 5 knots at 1 hour, 10 knots at 2 hours, ...
Just need to know how many hours or NM to Panama.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Jeff wrote in :

At that time, the final speed will be 100 knots.



At that speed, if we lay the mast out horizontally, we'll be able to FLY
over the canal, bypassing all the ripoff fees, bureaucrats and other vermin
sucking the boater's wallet flat.

Will the mainsheet act like an aileron??...(c;

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Cindy Ballreich" wrote in message
...
Armond Perretta wrote:
Bryan wrote:

"Dave" wrote ...

"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be
going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.


Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time I've
started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly zero knots.
give
or take.


When you have to back out of the slip! -0.25 knots!


No, no, no! Remember, there is a current running bow to stern, so backing
out of the slip will only reduce the forward velocity, again bringing us
back, possibly, to a starting velocity of zero.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Don White" wrote in message
...
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...

On 30 Nov 2005 19:30:39 -0800, "TabbyCat" said:


5 knots per hour

?????



If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be going
when it reaches Panama?
Depends on the wind of course.... anywhere from 1 knot to the hull speed.

Don, we're not limited by hull speed in this case. Why not? Because a hull
speed limitation would take the fun out of the equation.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Bryan wrote:
"Don White" wrote in message
...
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote in message
...

On 30 Nov 2005 19:30:39 -0800, "TabbyCat" said:


5 knots per hour
?????


If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it be going
when it reaches Panama?
Depends on the wind of course.... anywhere from 1 knot to the hull speed.

Don, we're not limited by hull speed in this case. Why not? Because a hull
speed limitation would take the fun out of the equation.


I can work it out using "c" as hull speed.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Jeff wrote:
Bryan wrote:
"Don White" wrote
Bryan wrote:
If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour,
how fast will it be going when it reaches Panama?
Depends on the wind of course.... anywhere from 1 knot
to the hull speed.

Don, we're not limited by hull speed in this case.
Why not? Because a hull speed limitation would take
the fun out of the equation.

I can work it out using "c" as hull speed.

It would be more fun if we can go faster than c
and get younger everyday.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time I've
started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly zero knots.
give
or take.

most races start when you cross the start line, most crews like to be
underway as they cross it

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Dave wrote:
On Fri, 2 Dec 2005 11:30:59 -0500, "Armond Perretta"
said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it
be going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time
I've started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly
zero knots. give or take.

Er... you seem to have missed the point. The phrase "5 knots per
hour" tells you nothing about speed. It tells you only about
acceleration (that is, the rate at which speed is changing). So if
the boat is cruising by Miami at 10 knots and leaves Miami with an
acceleration of a steady 5 knots per hour, its speed after 1 hour is
15 knots.

Vintage "Dave." I can only guess that you either missed my post on
"acceleration," or intentionally ignored it. The same comment applies to
the original writer's comment regarding "leaving Miami."

Yup, vintage Dave.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Nigel wrote:
[Armond ventured] ...

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time
I've started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly
zero knots. give
or take.

most races start when you cross the start line, most crews like to be
underway as they cross it

Interesting, but we're not discussing races. However since you brought it
up, we _could_ consider the very popular races in the Family Islands of the
Bahamas. These start from anchor.

Speaking of other races that start from zero velocity, I like to think back
to my youth as a fairly successful participant in the Le Mans Formula Car
races (falls asleep in a pleasant fantasy)..

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Bryan wrote:
"Armond Perretta" wrote ...
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote ...
"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it
be going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time
I've started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly
zero knots. give
or take.

Let's see. Tied up at the slip with a current running bow to stern
and the knot meter reads something above zero knots. Does that count?

No. Velocity is measured relative to the coordinate frame affixed to the
terrestrial sphere.

Consider for example a coordinate frame affixed to the vessel. In such a
case the GPS will, regardless of the physical location of the vessel, always
indicate a position where the Greenwich Meridian crosses the Equator.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Cindy Ballreich wrote:
Armond Perretta wrote:
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote ...
"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it
be going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time
I've started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly
zero knots. give or take.

When you have to back out of the slip! -0.25 knots!

What was the vessel's velocity relative to the geodesic coordinate frame
when it _began_ moving in reverse?

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://home.comcast.net/~kerrydeare

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"Armond Perretta" wrote in message
. ..
Cindy Ballreich wrote:
Armond Perretta wrote:
Bryan wrote:
"Dave" wrote ...
"Bryan" said:

If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour, how fast will it
be going when it reaches Panama?

Impossible to determine without knowing its starting speed.

Starting speed: 0 Knots.

Can you give an instance when this is _not_ the case? Every time
I've started a trip I've experienced a starting speed of roughly
zero knots. give or take.

When you have to back out of the slip! -0.25 knots!

What was the vessel's velocity relative to the geodesic coordinate frame
when it _began_ moving in reverse?


OK, I'm stumped. Isn't the geodesic coordinate frame that house designed by
buckminster fuller in the 60's or 70's?

Sailing from Florida to California
 

wrote in message
nk.net...

Jeff wrote:
Bryan wrote:
"Don White" wrote
Bryan wrote:
If a sailboat leaves Miami at 5 knots per hour,
how fast will it be going when it reaches Panama?
Depends on the wind of course.... anywhere from 1 knot
to the hull speed.

Don, we're not limited by hull speed in this case.
Why not? Because a hull speed limitation would take
the fun out of the equation.

I can work it out using "c" as hull speed.

It would be more fun if we can go faster than c
and get younger everyday.

What I'd give to be 20 years old and on a boat again! Hull speed shall
therefore be c+!

Sailing from Florida to California
 

This is really amusing how this question has taken on a life of its
own!
1. A "knot" is a distance, as in "one nautical mile" in the sense that
I intended it.
2. Newbie Tia - you should purchase Cornell's "World Cruising Routes"
instead of using Google Earth to plan the trip.
3. Tia, have you ever sailed before? Is this a boat you already own, or
were you offered a ride on someone else's boat? We'd all like to know
why you asked such a peculiar question.

Thanks,
Sailor

wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA

Sailing from Florida to California
 

TabbyCat wrote:
This is really amusing how this question has taken on a life of its
own!
1. A "knot" is a distance, as in "one nautical mile" in the sense that
I intended it.

Wrong! A knot is 47 feet 3 inches.

Sailing from Florida to California
 

Jeff wrote:
TabbyCat wrote:

This is really amusing how this question has taken on a life of its
own!
1. A "knot" is a distance, as in "one nautical mile" in the sense that
I intended it.


Wrong! A knot is 47 feet 3 inches.

Yeah! Good on ya!

Gaz

Sailing from Florida to California
 

"TabbyCat" wrote:
This is really amusing how this question has taken on a life of its
own!
1. A "knot" is a distance, as in "one nautical mile" in the sense that
I intended it.
2. Newbie Tia - you should purchase Cornell's "World Cruising Routes"
instead of using Google Earth to plan the trip.
3. Tia, have you ever sailed before? Is this a boat you already own, or
were you offered a ride on someone else's boat? We'd all like to know
why you asked such a peculiar question.

TIA = Thanks in Advance

http://www.answers.com/topic/tia


wrote:
Hello Everyone,

Has anyone here sailed from Miami, Florida to California ?

Please tell me which is the best route (East or West of Cuba)
and best time of year to do this.

How long does this take in a 40' monohull ?

Should I bring a lot of supplies or is it easy to find them along the way ?

TIA