For those who are convinced that sailing a trailerable 23
footer to the Bahamas is suicidal, let me remind you that
there used to be a race in Sunfish from Lauderdale to
Bimini.


Wayne.B wrote:
All true but Bimini is just a fly speck compared to the rest of the
Bahamas and Carribean. People make the trip to Bimini in jet skis and
small center consoles also, and every year there are more than a few
who capsize out there.

Yep. I've seen tin skiffs out there somewhere between the
two. Now that's pushing one's luck IMHO

I wasn't trying to claim that a 23' trailerable was the best
pick for such a journey, only reminding the "Cap'n Salty"
types out there that smaller boats that that have
circumnavigated, and that the real deciding factor in
seaworthiness is not the LOA or trailerability of the boat.



.... There are lots of places on the gulf coast
more interesting than Bimini and without the hazards of the gulf
stream to contend with.


Agreed.

DSK

Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:09:24 -0400, DSK wrote:


For those who are convinced that sailing a trailerable 23
footer to the Bahamas is suicidal, let me remind you that
there used to be a race in Sunfish from Lauderdale to
Bimini.


All true but Bimini is just a fly speck compared to the rest of the
Bahamas and Carribean. People make the trip to Bimini in jet skis and
small center consoles also, and every year there are more than a few
who capsize out there. There are lots of places on the gulf coast
more interesting than Bimini and without the hazards of the gulf
stream to contend with.


One of the participants of the 2006 Sandpiper rendezvous in the Thousand
Islands area wants to hold the next one in the Marquesa Keys off Key
West, FL. Since this guy lives in Denver Colorado, it's the same
distance to trailer there as it would be to come to Eastern Canada.
Our Sandpipers are 5.65 meter long mini-cruisers.

Don White wrote:


One of the participants of the 2006 Sandpiper rendezvous in the Thousand
Islands area wants to hold the next one in the Marquesa Keys off Key
West, FL. Since this guy lives in Denver Colorado, it's the same
distance to trailer there as it would be to come to Eastern Canada.
Our Sandpipers are 5.65 meter long mini-cruisers.


ooops... or was it the 'Dry Tortugas??

If you have a 23 foot trailer sailer, come to Maine. Fantastic
scenery, cool enough to sit in the sun all day in Summer comfortably.
The many islands provide lots of protection if it blows. No crime to
speak of, no immigration hassles. If you start about Rockland and
head east, it will seem plenty exotic pretty quick.

Think about spending a week sitting in the hot Florida sun while
waiting to motor across a big expanse of open water when you could
spend the same week doing this:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/06Cruise.htm

which just got us to the beginning of the really good part.

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.

--

Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.


Could this perhaps be due to the FOG?

No, the fog is greatly over rated.

Unlike many sandy areas of the world, most of the shores in Maine are
very steep. You will often see sixty feet or so a couple of boat
lengths from shore. It's usually calm in the fog so you can creep
along close enough to see shore and it can be enchanting and
mysterious. Most fogs still leave enough visibility to see quite a
ways. The coast is so varied and interesting that fog often just
changes your route instead of trapping you at anchor. You motor up
the rivers where is scales up, tour harbors, or do other things.
Afternoon sea breezes blow the stuff away more often than not.

--

Roger Long



"Gm1234" wrote in message
...

"Roger Long" wrote

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years
cruising in Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.


Could this perhaps be due to the FOG?

Roger Long wrote:
No, the fog is greatly over rated.

Unlike many sandy areas of the world, most of the shores in Maine are
very steep. You will often see sixty feet or so a couple of boat
lengths from shore. It's usually calm in the fog so you can creep
along close enough to see shore and it can be enchanting and
mysterious. Most fogs still leave enough visibility to see quite a
ways. The coast is so varied and interesting that fog often just
changes your route instead of trapping you at anchor. You motor up
the rivers where is scales up, tour harbors, or do other things.
Afternoon sea breezes blow the stuff away more often than not.

Quiet, Roger, we don't want the secret to get out. Half the beauty of
the Maine Coast is the absence of large crowds.

Oh, good point.

--

Roger Long



"Jeff" wrote

Quiet, Roger, we don't want the secret to get out. Half the beauty
of the Maine Coast is the absence of large crowds.

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:05:15 -0400, Jeff wrote:

Half the beauty of
the Maine Coast is the absence of large crowds.

===============

They are there, you just can't see them through the fog. :-)

I agree that boating in and out of the fog is definitely part of the
mystique. There is nothing quite like it when the veil is lifted
temporarily and you are among a bunch of rocky little islands covered
with pine trees, and there is a gorgeous old wooden boat or two
sailing somewhere nearby.

Roger ,,, the reason that couple "hadn't seen it all" is because of the fog.

Heck,,, I once spent a week off the coast of Maine .. at least that is what
someone said ....... I couldn't swear to it in court ,,

I never saw the place.


======================
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
If you have a 23 foot trailer sailer, come to Maine. Fantastic scenery,
cool enough to sit in the sun all day in Summer comfortably. The many
islands provide lots of protection if it blows. No crime to speak of, no
immigration hassles. If you start about Rockland and head east, it will
seem plenty exotic pretty quick.

Think about spending a week sitting in the hot Florida sun while waiting
to motor across a big expanse of open water when you could spend the same
week doing this:

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/06Cruise.htm

which just got us to the beginning of the really good part.

I once met a couple who spent three months a year for 30 years cruising in
Maine and they said they still hadn't seen it all.

--

Roger Long