www.iFourWinns.com

Cubans do it all the time in card board boxes. Some make it!

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During the summer weekends the traffic b/w Miami and Bimini really makes it the time to go. You need to give yourself a cushion should you need to wait for poor weather to pass. The best month to go is July since the wind is rarely out of the North which is what makes the gulf stream nasty. One thing you definitely want to take with you is a spare fuel filter if you are going to need to fuel up there.

Your vessel should obviously be in top mechanical shape.

I usually go with a couple of friends who have a 30 and 53 footer. Look me up when you are ready and perhaps we can make the trek together.

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Walter

2003 248 Vista - VP 5.0 GXi
2009 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7L 4x4

If you've never had your boat out in open water, you might think about modifying your trip plans and doing a week at Disney and then doing a week in the keys rather than trying for Bimini. There is great boating in Central Florida and some is very close to Disney. I live in Orlando and I'd be happy to give some you some info.

I have a 23' FW deckboat and I wouldn't even consider trying to do the Bimini crossing in it - even if the weather looked perfect. As a previous poster mentioned, you have to cross the Gulf Stream and the forecasts always say "Waves higher in the Gulf Stream" but rarely define higher. You really don't want to be out in anything over 2'. We were out in Tampa Bay once and I had checked the weather the night before, but didn't check it again right before heading out. We got caught in 4'+ seas IN THE BAY and it was seriously no fun...and it happened completely without warning. The problem is the lower freeboard on a typical open-bow sport boat causes the boat to act like a shovel if a wave comes over the bow...I'm definitely not an expert, just have some first-hand experience.

Anyway, by going to the keys you can test out both the Atlantic and the Gulf (Florida Bay) side and get a feel for how your boat will respond to various conditions, etc and get a feel for what to expect for a given forecast. There's plenty of boating, snorkeling, etc to keep you busy. If the weather is poor in the Atlantic you can generally still do the Bay/gulf side as it's usually just chop rather than swells. You'll need a decent GPS and charts because the water on both sides is very shallow. If you're interested, check out this site http://www.bootkeyharbor.com - lots of good info, waypoints, etc.

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'99 234 Candia Funship, 5.7Gsi SX

Lived on the east coast for a while, went out of Jupiter Inlet and St. Lucie inlet near Stuart. Went out in a 22' Stiegercraft, the Atlantic is a lot rougher than the Gulf. Now living on the west coast going out of Boca Grande Pass in a V268. The wife and I say a bad day on the Gulf is like a good day on the Atlantic.

Good luck

9BALL

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2005 V268

I think I am going to buy a bigger boat.
Been looking at a 29 foot mariah midcabin open bow.

I'd love to visit Castaway's sometime. It's 5 o'clock somewhere!

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I have crossed from Stuart to West End Grand Bahama toke about 3 hours with the normal gulf stream in Dec last year also crossed from Ft Lauderdale to Freeport thats a bit longer 4 hours or so the only thing to really watch is the weather do not even think about it if there is a NE wind best is a Southerly or SW it's a good trip we used 1/2 a tank of fuel (each side so a ggod margin), West End very very slow, Freeport not bad make sure you stock up on everything it's real expansive in the Bahamas but a good feeling when you have done it. Have fun. It cost $100 for additional coverage for the year from BoatUS, the down side $300 cruising permit when you get to the Bahamas payable only in cash!!!!!

Sean

2008 358 with 300 SXI Volvos on legs