Experienced sailor knowledge needed in Florida!

[VoodooClamama]

Hi all,
I bought myself a 1968 Morgan 24 a few years back, the Voodoo Clam, but haven’t had the chance to take her out much, and she hasn’t even been in the water since 2020. however, I have since decided I want to sail her down through the Caribbean from Florida.
The catch is that I really don’t know much about my boat, nor cruising in the ocean. I know there are a few things I need to fix up before I head out (hoping to leave beginning of january) and would love to get as much input as to what I need to check and repair and have working before I put her in the water and attempt to sail her.
Also if there is anyone in the Sarasota Florida area that may be willing to check her out and give some boat owner/ cruising tips I would love to chat!
Otherwise recommendations on where to find professional or knowledgeable opinions and help for cheap would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
-CC

[edmundsteele]

Hi VoodooClamama,
Sorry, I'm in Colorado so I can't help you much with your boat in Florida. I did find a Practical Sailor review of the Morgan 24 (https://www.practical-sailor.com/sai...s/morgan-24-25) that describes it as "tender in heavy air".

I purchased a 1981 Cape Dory 28 in Florida in late 2019 and sailed her to Puerto Rico. I have described the voyage on my website (DoodleBug Website) and you can take a look and get a feel for some of the sea conditions etc. that you might face and also a brief description of the modifications and repairs that I made before I set sail. I had expected to take 8 weeks to sail the 1,250 miles from Florida to Puerto Rico but I set sail at the beginning of the Covid panic and after getting the boat trapped for 5 months in a Dominican Republic covid lockdown, finished up taking 8 months!

"Your actual mileage might vary", meaning in your case, the weather. I faced seas up to 10 feet with winds forecast as 25 knots (I had no anemometer). I had expected to sail more than I did but the weather didn't cooperate and I motored far more than intended into headwinds and head-seas. You need to have fuel on-board to motor the entire way, or be prepared to tack in big seas. Not fun with a vessel like yours described as "tender". Obviously a reliable engine is an advantage.

This is a serious sea passage. I replaced my fixed rigging and running rigging before I left Florida, upgraded my lighting to LED, added life-raft, epirb, spare auto-pilot, engine spares and so on. Your navigation equipment will probably need upgrading, at the very least with up to date charts as the transit of the shallow banks of the Bahamas can be tricky. I spent about $10,000 on my boat to prepare for the trip but some of this was for comfort items.

Good luck with your plans and fair winds.
Ed

[MicHughV]

Endeavoring a trip to the Caribbean from Florida entails days of slugging it out to windward.
That's not to say it can't be done with a 24' boat, but it will be very hard work, especially so for a Morgan 24.

You'll be better off just hanging out in the Bahamas for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is your limited sailing experience, but not to worry, the B'mas can be and is a blast to visit.