Bahamas boating fling to bimini is 2 weeks away...who's going??

[Nacho Boat]

Barry,

Great Write-Up....Thanks for sharing!

Did Richard make the crossing?

How many boats did not make the crossing? Did any come on Friday?

 

[barryg]

Hey Nick,

Richard was at the meeting, but still has issues with his papers, so Earl and Carlton were the ones to go. They were both great. They took a vote to see if anyone wanted to go on Friday, but everyone voted for Thursday and so you either went then or not at all.

There was one boat coming from Haulover Bakers Cut (North Miami Beach) that was going to meet up with us about 10 miles out, but because of the conditions it was not a good idea for him to be alone for that long and he cancelled out. A few others also decided not to go, so about 3 boats cancelled and about 12-13 went.

 

[Odyssey]

Barry - I loved reading your post and I'm glad everyone is safe and sound and had a great time.

I just wanted to ask a question regarding your fuel usage.... did you say that one of the "low fuel" alarms were on after crossing the stream and going to B Bay? Did you start off with full tanks? Was it the seas that caused increased consumption?

Randy

 

[barryg]

Hi Randy,

I filled up before I took the boat over to Bahia Mar from my house, which is about a 45 minute ride at minimum wake to idle speed..Out of 200 gallons, 190 are usable so even after the trip to Bahia Mar I should have had at least 180 gallons. Because of the speed I was running which was NOT on plane and the combination of the high rpm's and waves, I was using about 2 gal per mile instead of the usual 1.35-1.4 and though it is about 50 miles, if you add in the wind, and wave heights, it probably was more like 70 miles...

My low fuel alarm was on the starboard tank, which took 70 gallons to fill back up.. (port side took 62)..

I'll fill the tanks again the end of the week and see what the usage was on the way back. I probably was not running at the most cost effective speed, as I was around 3800 rpm and around 27-30mph. I think around 3650 is the sweet spot for my boat.

I will say if you have to be stuck on shore, Bimini Bay is a great place to be.. That infinity pool overlooking the ocean, and the bar and grill there is fantastic..

I'll try to post some photos tomorrow..
Barry

 

[Odyssey]

looking forward to the pics!