Hobie Wave from Miami to Bahamas ?

[Lizzard]

Long time sailor here. New to forum. Experience?...sailing 25'-32' boats around lakes, rivers and a little ocean experience sailing from Laguna Beach to Catalina....once.

I have a Hobie Wave and want to sail it from Florida to the Bahamas. I want advice.

I know I would need to trailer it to FLL or MIA (I live too far north of there) and set out from there with south or southeast winds. That is about all I have figured out.

I would also need some advice on where to put in and stay in the Bahamas.....no motor so sailing only.

[Ram]

back in the 70s there were some big races to the Bahamas, on hobies and Prindels, I thought about taking my Prindle over but never did- west end, or Binimi would be the place to go-

[nautical62]

Considering people have a rowing regatta across the Atlantic every year, this does not sound too crazy to me. Where to stay if you wish to continue to sail the islands could be a problem. Camping in the Bahamas is illegal, but I can't imagine anyone would give you a hard time if you are discreet about it.

At West End you could probably pull it up on the beach and get a room. I'm sure there are places to stay in Bimini as well.

[s/v Beth]

It would be like biking across a state. Just carry enough food and water, and watch out for the big guys. I would figure out how to get it to sail on its own and get some protection from the elements.
BTW- I would do it in a daysailor but not a hobie for those reasons...

[cal40john]

I can't find the original account anymore, but I remember reading in Pradel's and Laurent's account that they were very upset when they found on the first few days that all their cigarettes had gotten wet.
They went across on a Hobie 18.

From: The Wetass Chronicles

"The idea of crossing the Atlantic with a sport catamaran was born in 1986, when two attempts took place.

The first was by Frenchmen Daniel Pradel and Tony Laurent, who set the record in 18 days and 22 hours.

The second attempt was made, that same year, by the renowned Primagaz skippers Laurent Bourgnon and Frederic Geraldi, who took two days less than the French.

In 1993, two Frenchmen tried to better their record, with a KL18, but they took 21 days and 6 hours.

Nobody did better than Bourgnon and Geraldi until 1999, when the record was shattered by Hans Bouscholte and Gerard Navarin, sailing on a NACRA, who set the new record of 15 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes."

[s/v Jedi]

If you wait for the right day (enough wind) it shouldn't be a problem at all. It's only 50nm or so if I remember right.

ciao!
Nick.

[Lizzard]

Ok, I am now looking for S to SE winds. Getting the boat to sail on it's own is a good idea. I have found that it does that somewhat right now but seems to turn a little into the wind, luff the sail and then repeat.

Protection from the elements...looking into that. Not much to attach to on a Wave. I am considering a clamp on the aft spreader bar and something that comes up over me.

I have a SPOT. Going to buy a handheld VHF radio and some flares/smoke signals. Any ideas on those would be welcomed.

The stuff I carry needs to be minimal and able to get wet because flipping a Wave is not hard and might happen en route.

[Inkwell]

I knew a guy that did the Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini race in a Hobie. He had a ball, no problem. Weather was perfect. Go for it.

[Hudson Force]

I've taken this route or similar a dozen or more times since 1975 and back in the sixties I used to take my 12' Aloca-craft out to a large portion of this trip and back. My current favorite is out from Lauderdale to Indian Cay Rocks just north of West End, but the same route from Miami would take the best advantage of the Gulfstream current vector and give you a 10 hour trip if you were able to maintain a 7 kt' speed not including the kick from the 'stream, so pick your weather (primary directive) and depart before daybreak,- say break the inlet at ca 5:00am and take weather that gives you something fair out of a beam reach without any northerly wind activity over ten knots for the previous two days. The success and pleasure of this trip is 95% choice of weather and 5% course, but pick something that uses the Gulfstream. If you choose Bimini at the end of your rhumbline, then start at Angelfish on the north end of Key Largo or at least Boca Chita. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

[Sailmonkey]

I plan on doing the GT300, Cuba Run, and Ruff Rider this year. All are offshore beach cat races. A 50 mile trip should be no problem at all on a wave.

[sww914]

I'd make sure I and my crew (of 1) and I were nice & tight first, but it sounds like fun. On my old Nacra my partner and I did 30 nautical miles in 1 1/4 hours once. It was blowing that day. Your trip could be really quick if the conditions were right.

[mindsofman]

I have done this trip three times now on my Hobie 21SC.
Top wind strength being around 22kts from the south,,not comfortable but still felt
safe all the way across.
As for staying in the Bahamas,,if you can't find a boom tent for one of these,,its not hard
to make one,plus a Mossie screen...either a small Fortress anchor or pull up onto the beach
at night,,,again,,Mossie and noseeum screens recomended...Good sailing......

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

SNIP

The success and pleasure of this trip is 95% choice of weather and 5% course, but pick something that uses the Gulfstream. If you choose Bimini at the end of your rhumbline, then start at Angelfish on the north end of Key Largo or at least Boca Chita. 'take care and joy, Aythya crew

Basically agree. Conventional advice is to have a good idea of what the Gulf Stream will do to your boat and take advantage of it to the best of your abilities.

I would suggest a good GPS unit that provides VMG data. You will not be sailing a straight course as the Gulf stream can be pushing you around.

Lots of folks have done the trip in smaller and slower boats than yours, just be sure you get a good weather window.

[pete33458]

I've made that crossing a lot of times. Of course it is possible. My observation (other than to select the right conditions for crossing, the details of which you will find in many other threads here) is that it will be slow. If it's calm, it will be slow for obvious reasons. If it's not, you'll be looking at sailing a 13' (correct?) boat into chop that generally runs around 4' in normal conditions, much more, of course, when it is really windy or from the north. Personally, it doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me (Hobies ARE fun, just not in the Gulf Stream), but certainly it can be done, I don't really even consider it to be much of a challenge (under ordinary conditions), other than being grueling. Let us know if you do it! Best wishes, Pete